At 4am tomorrow morning, I will be dropped off at the Birmingham airport where I will catch a flight to Houston and then to Auckland, New Zealand. It still seems quite surreal that all of my preparation has finally paid off and the day has finally arrived. I spent hours packing my bag, practically all day today. I used the packing list my professor sent me, and I also got some advice from friends who had been abroad before. They are the ones who reminded me of the small details such as to bring a towel and an outlet adapter. I keep going between the anxiety of feeling like I packed too much and then the feeling that I packed too little, but I finally just had to put it to rest and pull the zipper closed. My preparation has taken a couple weeks between calling my phone company and talking to my bank and finalizing my payments with the Study Abroad office, but now it’s all said and done. Now I’m just waiting. I’ll have to say goodbye to my family and home and state and country tomorrow which seems daunting, but I’m not the only one waiting. The world is waiting out there for me. While I’m lying in the dark nervous about the next few weeks and my ability to cope, the sun is up over New Zealand and the day has already begun. While the drum of nervousness keeps my heart beating steady, the excitement is even more overwhelming. Tomorrow I become a world citizen. Tomorrow I’ll be flying over the Pacific on my way to adventures unimaginable. Tonight I’m waiting. Tomorrow I’ll be ready.
