15 days.

I have spent months preparing. Years if you count my Intercultural Studies degree as preparation. I never would have imagined that my ringing in the New Year in Shanghai while visiting my friend would lead to this. 15 days until I board a plane to leave America for an undetermined length of time. It could be a year until I see my family again. It could even be two when my teaching contract is up. 

I will be moving to Guangzhou, China to be an English teacher. In high school, my favorite subject was science, from chemistry to anatomy to physics. I liked it so much that I went into college with my major as Biology with a minor in Chemistry. I was so proud of myself for not needing to take any more English classes ever because of taking dual credit English classes in high school. I did end up taking English classes again but filling your schedule with English courses senior year of college after nothing is tough. However, I guess that's what happens when you add an English as a Second Language minor right before senior year. 

Whenever I talk about my plans for the future with my new job, there are a couple of questions that I hear almost every time. So do you speak any Chinese?  Nope. I took a semester of Chinese, but I spent almost every class period scrolling through Facebook or working on my other homework. Kinda wish I hadn't done that, but can't change it. So how does your family feel about this? So the funny thing is that when you keep telling your family for a year and a half that you're going to move to the Middle East to volunteer and raise support for your career, they get really excited about you moving somewhere "safer" where you are making a salary. I have a really supportive family who understands how s̶t̶u̶b̶b̶o̶r̶n̶ determined I am when I find something I'm passionate about. Aren't you nervous about moving halfway around the world? Heck yeah, I am! If I wasn't a bit nervous about it, I'd be stupid. This is something I've never done before. I'm more excited than I am nervous, but that doesn't mean that I'm not scared. The week I graduated college I found out I was going to be working at a different campus than I thought I was going to be. My roommates and close friends can attest to how freaked out I was. I was kinda like a zombie for a few days. I also spent a couple of late nights scrolling through Pinterest looking at packing and moving tips that made me so nervous that I started crying and couldn't sleep at all that night. (FYI- I don't really cry that often.) The unknown is always scary, but I've done almost everything I can think of to be prepared.

15 days until I leave for an adventure of a lifetime. Hopefully, it's not the biggest adventure but it's a great first step. I may have the next 30 years with a loose plan in my head, but I'm always ready to dream BIG and explore all the random rabbit trails to come.