The last few months have been quite the adventure themselves leading up to my Thailand adventure. I have been busy traveling visiting family, friends, and beautiful places all across the country. It is so amazing how many beautiful places are on the East Coast. These photos give you a taste of what I saw including Southern West Virginia, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Pittsburgh, Boston, NYC, Long Island, West Virginia, and Syracuse, NY. The fact that I am traveling into such an unfamiliar world has given me a fresh set of eyes for the world that surrounds me; especially the people. I know I will not be able to see them, drink a glass of wine with them, laugh with them or hug them for a whole year. It is honestly scary but I thank my lucky stars for Skype and all of the technology we have in society today to make things easier. I also appreciate the opportunity to go away because it reminds me how much I value these special people in my life and how lucky I am to be surrounded by such supportive, intelligent, loving, funny individuals. The joy that my family and friends get from watching me succeed makes my success and desire to conquer new continents vastly larger. I am so happy to have this outlet to stay connected to the people who matter the most to me because I presume the time difference and busy  life schedules will make communication challenging.

I leave for NYC this Friday for one final reunion with family, friends and my boyfriend. I am so excited but so overwhelmed to have to say goodbye to so many people I care about all at once. Then I am flying out to LA with Jackie to visit our friend from WVU and break up the long journey to Thailand. In TEN short days, I will be hopping aboard the 19 hour flight to Thailand! I have been looking forward to this trip since February! Now the nerves and an anxious giddy feeling is building up inside of me! I know how amazing this adventure is going to be; but truly as much as I can talk about how much it will change my life and how incredible it will be; I don’t know how it will change me as a person, what I will learn, who I will meet, what I will see or what I will feel. I sit here in the home I grew up in as I write this, safe and comfortable but yearning for more. Yearning to touch, to see, to feel, to dance, to shout, to climb mountains and ride elephants, teach children and let them teach me. I would start running to Thailand this very instant if I could, but for now I am soaking up the precious moments with those I love the most and will miss very much over the next year. The greatest gift these people have given me is the confidence in my self to embark on this journey, the love and support. I feel you cheering me on from all over and that is the only reason I am able to go confidently in the direction of my dreams.  Thank you so much. I will leave you with a quote about adventure that sums up my feelings at the moment,

” Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to,perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground”- Judith Thurman

Catch me if you can! CHEERS ❤ xoxo