"The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences."
Christopher McCandless
It is the start of a new year, a new period of my life. This is the year of decisions, of independence, of moving away, and of new experiences. In three short months, I will be making the decision as to where I will live for the next four years of my life, and in less than seven months, I will be embarking on my greatest adventure yet.
It still hasn't hit me. I can't wait to get away, to be free, to learn new things and meet new people, but as I try to decide if I want to stay three hours away from home or live half a day's worth of driving away, I can't seem to make myself think of how hard it might be to actually live that far away. I have always been independent, but I also have always been very attached to my family and my home. I know I will miss the trees, the mountains, the clear skies, and the local ice cream. I know I will miss being able to see my cousins on the weekends and having the ability to go shopping with my sister anytime I want. I will miss the after school talks with my parents. I know I will. But try as I might to remind myself of these things, my yearning to go far away isn't muted one bit.
I'm excited to go to a brand new place with brand new people. I'm excited to go to a place where the accents are different and the styles aren't the same. A place where not everyone looks the same, or acts the same, or has known each other since they were five-years-old. I'm excited. I know that although I will get the same experiences going only three hours away as I would moving twelve hours away, there is something different. The fact that it's farther makes it more of an adventure, creating a newer perspective. An exposure to a different type of culture, creating new experiences for me to hold onto forever.
