Last lullaby here

Hello all. Today I’m at Justin’s house in Sterling. We got here yesterday afternoon, and had dinner with his family and then went to his sisters’ basketball games. Tomorrow we fly out of Dulles, which is pretty close to his house.

I am excited about the trip. That has been the answer for quite a long time to anyone who asks. However, my deeper feelings about the trip are being anxious (for now—I want to change that :). I am concerned about getting there in one piece with all my stuff and about doing okay traveling around in Europe and keeping up with schoolwork.

However… :) God is good and it’s incredible that I actually am going to Europe. I’ve wanted to my whole life. And to be going with Justin… amazing. :) I’m thankful for a family that supports me in what I want to do and who will miss me while I’m gone. And I’m thankful for all the good friends who want to keep up with me and hear about the trip.

The things I’m most excited about right now are… resting from the hectic schedule I had last semester, enjoying the beauty of the mountains and the other incredible places I’ve always wanted to go to in Europe but never thought I’d see, getting back into shape by walking and hiking and jogging, and getting used to new people, schedules, and ways of thinking.

I hope and think I will change and grow a lot while I’m in Europe. When I thought I was going by myself, without Justin, I felt it would be really hard without any really close friends to help me through being homesick and getting used to things. My perspective is a lot different now that Justin is coming and I’m much closer to leaving. I know I will learn things in class, but as far as what that will actually be, I’m content to just wait and find out. I think what I will really learn [as in, take away from the trip and remember for my whole life] has more to do with seeing things new to me but incredibly old, and meeting people who carry on their lives much differently from how I do. I am really excited about learning new ways of looking at life and new ways of doing things. :) Also, I know I will learn a lot by coexisting so closely with Justin and my roommate and the other people on the trip. This trip will be a great opportunity for Justin and me to learn to work better as a team and work through problems and conflicts. I hope when it’s over I look back and see definite things I learned and ways I changed for the better. I’m excited about having a roommate and hope we enjoy spending time together. I’m glad to be doing something new.

So, for now, goodbye all, and I’ll update again sometime soon. :) Please comment and email and stuff. :) If you need to get in touch with me, you can get my address and email address from my parents.

posted by LizC @ 1/12/2005 10:46:00 PM