My Last Day in America

What a totally insane stretch of 32 hours!! My math might be a little because I don't really understand how to add up the time.  Anyway, my last day in America and flight over were taxing (to say the least).  I started my final day the way I started the previous month in the US: waking up past 10:00am.  It's always nice to get nine hours of sleep per night for a month (ah, the joys of being a college student on break).  After my wake up, I showered and went shopping with my mom for some last minute items.  Most of the day was filled with regret (wish I started packing earlier), sadness (leaving my family and friends for a long time), fear (unknown challenges ahead) and of course, excitement (I'm going to friggin' Europe for a couple of months). After finishing up shopping and eating lunch, I said my final goodbyes to my grandparents and picked up my six month supply of contacts.  Once I got home, I did some last minute packing and rearranging.  Then, I sat down and ate my last meal in America: my mom's chicken noodle soup.  "Entertainment Tonight" was on TV, and it just made me think of how little television I'll be able to watch in Europe.  By no means would I say I watch tons of TV, but I always have a show or two that I like to watch online.  This was just one of the many reminders that my life will be extremely different over the coming months.

After eating, my parents and little brother helped me carry my over-stuffed suitcase and backpack out to the car. As we drove to the airport, silent tears streamed down my face.  I really have no idea why, especially since I'm usually much of a "crier".  I think it was a culmination of everything I've done to make sure I could study abroad, and the realization that that was the easiest part of the whole study abroad experience.  Once we got to the airport, I said my final goodbye to my dad first.  My mom and little bro-sef dragged my things to the United check-in counter.  (Side-note: my bag weighed 50.5 pounds the night before when I weighed).  They weighed my suitcase, and it weighed 56 pounds... I have no idea how i managed to squeeze six more pounds in! The scale at home must be broken because that's ridiculous! I added like slippers and contact lenses... Anyway, the man behind the counter was nice enough to waive the 200 dollar over 50 pound fee. I was more than relieved.

Now came the hardest part: saying goodbye to my mom.  I would like to think I'm a pretty independent person, but I would describe it as "bounded independence".  In America, I'm rarely more than a 2.5 hour car ride from my parents.  If I ever need anything, I can easily go home or they can easily drive up to school. Now I'll be at least an expensive eight hour plane ride away! One last time, my mom reassured me that everything will be fine, and it will be an amazing trip.  It took a long sip of water to hold back all the different emotions I was feeling. With one final squeeze, my mom and little brother headed out of O'Hare.

Going through security was a complete breeze, and I made it to my gate with plenty of time to spare.  I got to catch some of Obama's State of the Union Address.  It was so nice of him to give me a final sending off before leaving America.  Such a nice guy.  Then, my uncle met me at my gate and was able to change my seat so I'd have my own row.  It was nice to be able to stretch out (thanks again Uncle D)! As we prepared for final flight preparations, I texted my family goodbye, and Kev told me mom was on the verge tears.  He also said he hoped I was holding it together better than she was... It was a nice chuckle before I buckled my seat, turned off my phone for good, and prepared for take-off.  My last and very cliched thought as we picked up speed for takeoff was this: HERE WE GO!!