On the road again...

There was a point when I was very little that I wanted to be old enough to walk to the bus stop on the corner all on my own. 

Most people my age (22) would be petrified that their parents still take them to the bus stop in the morning. But as the bus was taking me from Washington, DC to New York, NY, I suppose the feeling of embarrassment is unnecessary.

I admit as the bus took off, and I looked back at my father as long as I could before the bus turned the corner, I had tears in my eyes. Definitely the kind of tears that in the movies threaten to become a full-blown sobbing fit if unleashed.

Now, as the bus travels along, I can’t help but think of all the things that I might have left behind. I keep lifting a hand to my belly to feel the bulge my passport makes in the travel wallet under my shirt. My mental checklist has been checked and re-checked hundreds of times already, and I’ve only been out of my house for an hour.

I was lucky enough over the summer to be able to stay with my parents in the home I grew up in. Taking odd jobs helped me increase the amount of money in my bank account. This summer prepared me for the year ahead, and I would like to think that I am ready for any obstacles that might pop up. Given that relative peace of mind and heart is the outcome of a summer with my parents, I can honestly say that the pangs of embarrassment are weak and short-lived. 

Getting dropped of at the bus stop is not embarrassing; it is a gift from my parents. 

Last Day

Woke up at 5:30 this morning to go see the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial before I left the country. It is nice to know that part of the world that I intend on exploring this year is right in my backyard.

1 day left...

I spent the second to last day home finishing up my to do list: setting up my netbook, tooling around with my new Kindle (!!!!), and packing my big camping backpack. I’m taking the bus from Washington, DC to New York on Wednesday, staying with a friend in the city for the night, and then flying on Thursday night. 

Still excited, still scared, but finally prepared. It’s taken two years of working 2 or 3 part-time jobs in college and a summer of saving to get to this point.

This is the plan as it stands: 1 night in New York, 1 night on the plane from New York to London, 4 nights in London (visiting my sister, Carlyn!), 2 nights in Bath (taking in “the waters”), 1 day in Salisbury (Stonehenge!), 2 nights in Holyhead, Wales, and 1 night in Dublin. After that, starting September 11th, I will be working on various farms around Ireland.

Keep following me ‘cause I haven’t even started yet!

2 more days

You know that feeling that you get on your first day at a new school? The one where your stomach is tied up in knots and can't eat because you really don't want to throw up? But yet you're still excited because you finally have the chance to reinvent yourself and be someone totally different than the dweeb you were in high school? You know that feeling?

I hate that feeling.

I'm nervous and scared and, embarrassingly enough, the stress is making me break out... badly.

It doesn't help that family and friends keep introducing scary scenarios designed to freak out any young woman traveling alone in an foreign country. I know they mean well, but let me tell you, the nightmares have been keeping me up later than usual and waking me up before my alarm goes off.

And yet, through all of this, I can't keep the smile off my face. I feel more animated when I talk about my plans and people seem to be genuinely interested in my venture. I imagine the things that I'm going to get to experience for the first time and the people I'm going to meet.


It's weird to be feeling two completely disparate feelings. A sinking feeling fights with the feeling of buoyancy.

Oh well... 2 more days!

Song to pump me up for the trip (I can be so overly dramatic :P), Maybe by Sick Puppies