These things I will miss

I am at a stage in my life in which I am preparing to make many transitions: the transition from high school to college, the transition from childhood to (legal) adulthood, and many more. At this point, I am feeling a bit confused as to which direction I want my life to take as I move through these transitions. I see an endpoint that I want myself to reach, but I don’t yet know the steps I need to take to get there. I hope my experiences during these next three weeks will provide some guidance to which paths I should choose to take as I make these important transitions.

As the distance increases between myself and my home, I am struck with the feeling that I’m leaving behind many things; some I will miss, others I will not. I am leaving behind my concerned mother, my dog Sadie, my younger sister, and my dad. I am leaving behind my home in Collierville, TN, my Netflix queue, and my cell-phone service. These things I will miss.

However, I am also leaving behind the stresses of my everyday, mundane life. For the next three weeks, I will not be thinking about SATs, college, or trying to solidify a summer job for when I get home. I really want to embrace this opportunity to escape from my repetitive daily routine and just reflect. I hope that, without these worries constantly buzzing around in my head, I can learn to be a better observer as I soak in the new culture that will be surrounding us in India.

--Caroline