Less than a week...

I leave for my exchange year in Germany in less than a week. Today, while working my twelfth session in a row, the day at Camp Sunshine felt fairly normal, with just a bit of extra Spanish. I took elements out and set ropes up. I mingled with amazing adults, teenagers, children, and volunteers who inspire me to help people for the rest of my life, and who I inspire to climb high and work together in teams. And, at the end of the day, I put everything away for another night. While doing everything included in the average day of a Challenge Course Facilitator, thoughts were bouncing around in the back of my mind that made my day a little bit different...
I was being sure to clean out sheds and wipe down equipment so that everything would be neat for the off-season, and ready to use again next summer. I consciously decided to leave directly after I finished work on parents' dinner night, instead of volunteering with the teens, so I could spend a little more time with my family before my sister left for school. I caught myself mentally juggling my possessions and their importance to me, debating whether everything 'important' could fit in a fourty-four pound suitcase. I even wondered if everything I need, but still haven't gotten, is available at the local Walmart.
I put extra thought and preparation into everything I did because my journey is finally becoming real to me. I know I'm leaving Maine in a few days, and not coming back for ten months. I know I won't see my family and friends, or be able to be at the camp I am addicted to. I know that I will miss some things, and be missed by some people, but, most importantly, I know I can do it. I know I am going to learn lessons from every person I come across, and reach my highest of goals. I know I will make friends and connections to last a lifetime. I know my experience will be amazing and will go by too fast. And I am ready for anything.

Making dreams into realities

I have wanted to be an exchange student since my freshman year of high school. Back then, the idea of going abroad was intangible and seemingly impossible. It would cost too much to be hosted by an organization, and competition for a large enough scholarship seemed too fierce for me to come out on top. Even the first steps in such a process seemed "far" into the future, and I was unsure if my patience and interest would last.
Looking back today, it is easy to see that I have had the same dream painted in my mind for over four years. A dream of getting on a plane with other young, global thinkers, in order to live completely imerssed in a place with different culture, food, and people for an entire year. A place with open-minded thinkers, who would become my first global-ties and my best of friends. This dream has always lifted me up from the inside and made me feel whole. It has given me hope that I could escape the place I have always been, and begin exploring a world of endless possibilities...
Since I have always been aware of the fact that I would need to be awarded a very large scholarship in order to make this dream a reality, I began research very early in high school to figure out funding. In the end, I applied for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Scholarship, a full, government scholarship to study abroad in Germany. The application process for CBYX was longer and more extensive than any of the college applications I completed. It involved more steps, with more paperwork, more signatures, examinations, recommendations, writing prompts, and time spent scanning at my school's librarian's assistant's desk than anything else I have attempted to receive. Throughout the entire ordeal, as well as through the interview that I never imagined being selected for, I responded to people asking about my future with my college options, wrapped up with a quick "I also applied for a scholarship to go to Germany, so we'll see..." All aspects of going abroad have been floating free in my dreams for such a long time. Nothing has been real, substantial, or solid.
Now, I have planned my trip to D.C., know the exact schedule for my three day orientation, have been told the details of my flight from D.C. to Germany, and know which family I will be staying with for my ten months away. Every specific detail makes me proud of all the work I have done to gain this opportunity. I know where I am headed, and nothing can stop me. The experience has not quite begun yet, but twenty-nine days isn't that substantial in the grand scheme of things. I can't wait to live my dream, and continue achieving my crazy-large goals for the entirety of my life.