A Lesson to Remember

Before I get into feelings and whatnot, I have some big news: I recently bought a plane ticket to London and will be returning to my beloved overseas home during Thanksgiving break. I've alerted my friends from Middlesex as well as my second-cousin Kerry, who will be in the midst of one year of graduate school at Nottingham University.

This trip is serendipitous for so many reasons, namely that the plane tickets weren't too expensive, that I get to visit Kerry at the school we first toured together nearly a year ago, and that I will be back home in time for Thanksgiving dinner with the family. I am absolutely thrilled about the prospect of returning to England. I miss being there so much.

One thing I hope the trip will remind me of is the overwhelming lack of stress that I enjoyed. Since high school, once I gave up being flirty and ditzy with the boys, I have been an extremely motivated person. That motivation has led to many wonderful opportunities -- four summers at The Carter Center, an all-expense-paid trip to Palestine, and solo backpacking across France and Europe, for example -- but it has also left me stressed out, alienated from my peers, and feeling far too old for my age. It's time I found a happy balance.

And thus I've set a goal for myself: To stop worrying about the future and enjoy the present. I spent five months unemployed in London, and don't feel like I wasted a bit of time. I was happy, relaxed, confident, and completely at peace with myself. If anything, the experience prepared me more for the future than any of the classes I've taken or jobs I've stressed over. Money may still worry me, only because I constantly want to travel somewhere new.

I'm back. Ready to embrace the world once again.