Hello Kitty and Belle Band-Aids for a 22 year old

Four shots and a doctor's note later, I have very sore arms.

As I sit here thinking about what the future holds for me, I can’t help but to get swept up in the whirlwind of emotions that have taken over my mind and body. I have had a constant stomachache since receiving the letter from the consulate stating my city. Not that I am upset with the way that my year is unfolding, on the contrary, I am so excited for what I am about to experience and learn. However, the anxiety and anticipation, paired with the fear I have of the unknown, is starting to creep into my thoughts on a more constant and noticeable basis. Even just in the slight preparation I have done for this trip, I have had to make decisions and take actions that will carry into the future… and then when I finally get there, staying in the city in a hostel for a few days before making my way to Sevilla. I am not sure I will know what to do with myself. Luckily, I will be a tourist and there are plenty of touristy things to do, museums to see, parks to visit… I foresee it going well. Who knows, I may even love being solo… but initially, it’s really scary. Maybe if I quit giving into the thought of it being scary, it will seem more normal and completely achievable?
If my parents are afraid of my traveling to a city in the US how in the world are they going to handle my living in a foreign country? We all will grow a bit more accustomed to this idea, for sure. I think it makes it easier for them, knowing I will be back home in a mere 9 months. Sometimes, that amount of time seems like an eternity, but I know in my case it is going to fly in the blink of an eye. Tigre will have been born and already crawling (maybe standing if he is ahead of the crowd), Leslie and Tiffany will be graduating… Life as I currently know it will be so different!
I remember these same feelings of anticipation and anxiety before I left for college. Going from a graduating class of 200-something to the largest university in the nation, leaving my family and friends to live with a random roommate who had the potential of being a psycho, navigating the campus to get to my classes on time without ever walking the route before or knowing the buildings, and adjusting to life on my schedule and desires. I had some ups and downs, mostly ups (I am a rule follower) with responsibility and adjustments. I had the same anxiety of the unknown, but as I began to figure things out, that feeling went away and in a sense I craved it again. I will never forget the smell of the dorms when I first walked in, or the crystal clear image of walking to the RPAC with my new friends, or running in the rain to make it home after a “quiet” evening out where Allison and I transitioned from strangers to best friends and met Larry, who along with Kanye, will always be associated with freshman year of college. By the end of the year, I had successfully evolved from “newbie” to “pro” and on the drive home for the summer, I knew the next few years wouldn’t be the same. So I suppose these feelings are all a part of being inducted into a routine with new friends, new cities, new jobs, new experiences… and they will come and go throughout my life so I better get used to them and quit my stomachaches, so as to not give myself an ulcer.