The Countdown

Happy New Year Everyone! T-minus 5 days until I leave for Florence and it still doesn't seem real. We'll see how this whole blog thing goes. I'm always nervous when I write things that I know will be on the internet for everyone to see. I second guess almost every sentence thinking it's never clever enough, never "witty" enough. I'll try to let loose and just write this time though since I'm going to try and update this as often as possible. Hopefully I'll be able to conquer the intimidation factor.
So I've packed all of my clothes, but in true form I still have lots of last minute things to do before I leave. How does one really prepare for 4 months in a foreign country? I've almost given up trying to attain the "perfectly-prepared" feeling before I leave. To a certain extent this is just one big current I'm caught up in; I just have to ride the wave and deal with the obstacles when they pop up.
As I said before, this really doesn't seem real yet. People keep asking me if I'm excited and I really am, but I'm excited about what seems to be an intangible thing. There are so many ways this trip could go - depending on the people I surround myself with I could get a lot out of this, or exponentially more out of it - there's no way it's not going to impact my life in some way shape or form.
Basically, I promise to write a lot. I'll try to post pictures and songs that I've been listening to. I really want to keep in touch with all of you and have some connection to home when I get homesick. I hope I write things worth reading, post things worth listening to, and maybe, just maybe I'll hold your attention for 4 months. Here's to optimism, and to hoping you come visit me here pretty often.

Van She - Kelly