Before the Journey of a Lifetime (Incase There Aren't Any Others)

Howdy! I'm Ysabella, and I'm from the very small city of La Feria, Texas (it's basically a town but it's officially called the City of La Feria). My hometown has a population of around 7,500 and is located in the Rio Grande Valley not far from the border. I have not had much travel experience, so yes I am a little anxious about this trip. My mother and I would venture across the border to the Mexican city of Nuevo Progreso. When I was nine, my mother and I flew to Washington to visit my aunt in Seattle. In my early teen years we road-tripped to Illinois to visit the in-laws. The summer after my high school graduation I went on a cruise to Cozumel and Yucatán with my family. So far, that has been the extent of my travels. For the past couple of years I have greatly anticipated this opportunity to study abroad, to be abroad in a whole other part of this planet. Now that I am two days away from lift-off, a small sense of disbelief has developed in me along with a growing sense of anxiety. I will be in uncharted, unfamiliar territory for five whole weeks. I will be away from my family and all that is familiar for five whole weeks. I will have to figure things out for myself for five whole weeks. It's both exhilarating and stressful. I am excited to gain priceless knowledge from the education I will be receiving and the experiences that I will be living. I will undoubtedly gain insight into the development, history, and current states of Europe's medical and public health sectors. I imagine experiencing this other part of the world will feel like it is its own world entirely, part of a different world when it's only across a big, blue body of water. I imagine I might become a slightly different person or a better version of the same person.