May True Be the Hearts That Love You

It's been over a year since I have started this blog and honestly I never thought I'd make it this long, granted my posting frequency varies from month to month and sometimes months. I began this blog because I was beginning on a new path in my life and I hope you have enjoyed reading about my journey as much as I have had sharing it with all of you. To those of you who don't know, I will be beginning down another path within the next couple of months as I prepare to leave for Valparaiso, Chile to study abroad.

I sat down with my parents in September and told them that I had enough hours that I could easily graduate next December. However, I would be only twenty years old and have only spent a little over two years in college. I asked them if they would consider letting me study abroad....4,686 miles away. I'm their baby and so it took them a minute to swallow the idea but after a couple minutes my dad looked at me and said, "Go for it." The process has been very long and overwhelming but exciting and gratifying all at the same time. I will be leaving in late February and staying for a little over four months with a host family while attending the Catholic university in the city. It took some bargaining to get my mom to actually give me my passport, which is understandable, especially considering she has read every post on my Africa blog.  Throughout the past few months my parents have been super supportive helping me prepare for my departure. I cannot explain how blessed I am to have the opportunity to study in a different culture, learning a new language, meeting new people, and having the experience of a lifetime. My nerves are constantly on edge from excitement and I find myself daydreaming of the foreign place to which I will be traveling to. While in Chile I hope to learn Spanish enough to understand and speak it fluently. Others have told me I have set my goals high; I know this, I wouldn't be me without huge aspirations. My life dreams have always been focused on service in countries distant from my own; among other things I hope to get a taste of this in the Chilean culture. When I am in South America I hope to be able to give to the culture as much as it will give to me. Leaving Austin and St. Ed's is frightening to me at times, but I know that this is a good fear, and in this context, fear and frightening seem to be the wrong words to describe my emotions. I remember feeling this way leaving home for college. My parents had told me I had a ten hour radius, so I went ten hours away. My dad once explained to me that Papoo had always told him that as a parents it's all about giving rope and pulling it back when it needs to be pulled. I know that my parents are still holding onto my rope and I am always glad to know that they are at the other end. This journey for me is a bit of a swing and I couldn't be more thrilled. From the FBI background check to constantly Googling "Valparaiso" I know that I am about to swing my rope into a thrilling experience. I hope to continue to blog so that you can all experience a piece of this swing with me; the ups and the downs, who knows maybe by the end you will have to use a translate button to read a post! (Like I said, my expectations are high.)

As for my Thanksgiving thankfulness-as cliche as it sounds I really am thankful for so many things, today is just a great reminder to me to be mindful of all that I am blessed with. To my family and friends thank you all for who you have been, who you are, and who you will always be to me. I love you all and am blessed to have you in my life. Now...let's get back to watching the Aggies lose. What a great Thanksgiving! Well...except for these research papers. ;-)

Thank You.