With less than a day left to go till I jet off to Taiwan, I have a lot on my mind. Packing up my life in two suitcases and two carry ons was one of the more stressful activities lately, but nonetheless it was accomplished. The stress of packing is over, but bring on the stress of thinking about what I am going to miss for an entire year. I cannot wait to start my adventure, but regardless I’ll miss so many things:
- Waking up to the smell of fresh coffee and chatter in the living room
- My cat cuddling in the blankets looking oh-so-cute all the time
- Coming home to family, even if not everyone is home
- The view of the skyline downtown Chicago at just the right moment before the sunset
- Being able to walk to the beach within 20 minutes
- The ability to drive a car, usually with no hassle in asking to take it
- The few but freaky thunderstorms that frequent Chicago from time to time
- The ridiculously stupid humidity Chicago experiences every summer
- Dancing in the rain to a concert and nearly dying from the thunderstorms
- Watching cities pass by on the train to the city
- Hockey. Ice rinks, in general
- Some parts of college. Maybe not the class part
- My old work, this summer and from school
- Pittsburgh, so many little things about that city
- Fireworks on the fourth of the July
- White Christmases spent at home
- Thanksgiving dinner spent with family
- Bickering in the car, no matter who was actually right it still continued on
- Adventures with my little sister/twin, Annie
- Girl pampering with my sisters
- Random night conversations with my brother
- The usual discussion about politics, which is really a toss up and overrated
- Chicago style deep dish pizza
- Getting illustrious farmer’s tans from the summer heat
- Walking into a room to discover Crosby peed on something of mine. Again.
- My best friends (I love you guys to bits and pieces and wish I could take you with me)
- My family (I am going to miss you guys and I love you to the moon and back)
- Not having to fully adult
- All those family dinners at Texas Roadhouse, the Outback, Bob Chinn’s, and everything else in between
- and nice discussions with my mom about anything and everything, usually conducted on walks late in the evening
So many things are about to change, but I know that if I don’t go, I will have so many questions: who would I become if I stayed at home? What job would I take? Would I still want to travel after taking a full time job? Would I love what I was doing? Or would I hate it?
Living with unanswered questions is certainly not something I want to do; it’s far too fun to figure out all the “what ifs”. Thank you to my friends, my family, and all the wonderful people in my life. Your support has been so important and I can’t wait to share my adventures with you.
