12:32am
Today is the day. The day I have been awaiting for 8 whole months. There are so many things to do before I embark on this great journey. I must pack and make my round of phone calls to the people whom I love the most. I have never packed a month’s worth of clothes and personal belongings. How do you even do that? I do not know what to expect from the great land of Italy. I am going into this sort of blind it seems. I never ever thought I would be studying abroad. I promised myself I would make the most of every moment. I promised myself I would take advantage of every single opportunity and be spontaneous in everything I do. This opportunity of a lifetime will not come around again in the near future and it is my duty to take it all in. I often wonder how blessed and grateful I must be to have been given the opportunity to take a trip like this. Italy has always only been a fiction of my imagination. It is a place that, when the word rolls off your tongue, instant excitement and amazement is the initial reaction. I want to run in a field and possibly drink a glass of wine as I watch the sun set over the vast landscapes around me. It is very flat in Oklahoma…This dry and landlocked place in which I call my home is all I have ever known. One thing that crosses my mind is how I want this experience to change my life. How it will change my life is still a mystery, but I am confident in that it will happen in one way or another. I am confident in this.
8:55am
I left the arms of my Kleyn and Bethany at the airport and felt like a lonely, lost soul. I tried to keep my composure, as I did not even know where the terminal was. I played it cool anyway. Oklahoma City to Atlanta; I watched the many people running around almost missing their flights. These same people trying to get to one place maybe to see family, friends, lovers, a new place, or maybe just their homes. Me… I had a place to be, but, in all reality, I did not know where I was going. I was nervous and excited in a simultaneous way, as I sit biting my nails and looking in all directions. I am unsure of what I will see when I walk off the plane, but I imagine it will be magical.
6:46pm
Somehow, my seat was next to, well, no one. The three seats to my left are completely empty. Of course, I feel lucky to have the extra legroom, as I have always had these long legs with nowhere to put them. I wish someone was next to me, though. I wish I could share my excitement with another soul, even if it were a complete stranger. I am sitting on the aisle seat, with my back facing the aisle because it is the most comfortable position. I have been poked and shoved by the various people walking by. I think it might be my large girl shoulders protruding from the seat (haha), but I’m not even mad about it. I honestly think it’s funny and a little wonderful. I mean.. just to think that I am a part of a group of people on a plane to Rome is the most wonderful feeling in the world. It is quite breathtaking and just plain scary too. I cannot count the amount of candy bars I gorged down before I got on this plane, and that’s okay with me. 5 more hours until I land in Rome and begin my journey!