leaving on a jet plane...

After about two years of planning to study abroad, it's finally happening, not in a few months, no now, as in...17 HOURS! I am every emotion about this huge experience, I get so excited to go experience European culture, nostalgic knowing my father and grandmother lived there, scared because I don't know the language or how to get anywhere, sad that I'm leaving friends and family behind, surprised that it's actually here, frustrated that I'm not packed, and on and on. I once learned that during the renaissance times, young men would travel through Europe (called a tour) as a means of A. finding their career and B. as a right of passage. This is my 21st century Tour. I honestly feel that after this trip I'll A. gain knowledge for my career and B. truly become a woman with understanding and independence.
I feel so blessed to be able to have this experience. My parents are the greatest at supporting me and helping me to achieve my dreams. It's almost unreal to think that a year ago I took an entire year to study the architecture and design of Europe in a book; now I get to live those pictures. This blog will now become my journal away from my journal. I invite all of you to partake of these experiences with me, in the hopes that you can see these pictures, not in a book or tested on facts, but to inspire you to one day take the opportunity to go there and experience it for yourself.