Time's a Tickin!

As of today, I am one week away from the start of my abroad program at the University of Sydney. A week from this very moment, I will be en route to Australia, on a near 24 hour plane ride across the globe.  It’s pretty crazy to think about. Thinking about time and stuff like this really rattles my mind.

It’s funny, I feel like I am never actually going to leave home and live in Australia for an entire semester. It just seems like one of those things that’s never going to actually happen, kinda like how I thought I was never going to graduate high school or move out when I went to college. Sure enough they did. Despite my obsession with the song “Melt with you” by Modern English, I couldn’t actually stop the world and freeze time at my own convenience. Instead, all these big life changes just happened without me being fully able to process the start of them. Time has just always been something I personally struggle to wrap my head around.

I’m excited to go abroad, don’t get me wrong. Everyone is telling me that I’m going to have the time of my life and I’m never going to want to come home, and trust me I believe them. I have no doubt that I am going to have an amazing time in Australia. It’s always seemed like the perfect place for me to explore and go on all the adventures I’ve dreamt of doing-- hike the Blue Mountains, dive in the Great Barrier Reef, surf the Gold Coast, and much much more. After all, I chose to study abroad in Australia because I truly believe it is the perfect spot for me to thrive and meet new people that share similar passions. Even though I know all of these amazing things lie ahead in my very near future, I still can’t help but to struggle with the idea of time moving forward. Here I am taking another big step in my life, going across the globe and away from everyone I know for the first time in my life.  

This struggle of mine can be a good and a bad thing. On one hand I am enjoying every last second with my friends and family before I leave, pretending as if there isn’t a deadline lying ahead. On the other hand, I am pushing away my thoughts and feelings until I am hit by a whirlwind of emotions. Knowing myself, this is probably going to happen the second I am alone on the plane and I am apologizing in advance to the person sitting next to me during this crying hysterical episode of myself. Even though though I’ll be traveling to Australia to have the time of my life, I’ll still somehow manage to be getting way too sentimental about missing everyone and everything I love back at home.

Alas, time goes on and everything gets better with time. At least that’s what the saying is. Soon enough my plane ride will be over and I’ll be in Australia, embracing it with open arms, and before I know it I’ll probably be crying about leaving too.