When I started this process I told my parents I would never be able to pack all my belongings into a bag. I told them it was impossible to pack my life into one single duffel bag.
This is all while my siblings were sitting at the dining room table giggling. Having been previous fellows they knew I would find a way.
I now realize however, my first thought was very wrong. Their snickering was because they knew this was where my year of realizations would begin.
As I lay there next to my bag clothes strewn throughout the room, I realized I did not care about what I was packing. I did not care that my blue sweatshirt would not fit into my bag. I did not care that I my favorite pair of jeans wouldn't be coming with me.
In that moment I realized that its not the clothes I wish I could bring with me. It is however, the people around me.
I look at my parents as they send there last child off into this world. I look at my sibling as they know what I am about to experience. I want to come back with stories. I want to come back with stories to tell and memories to keep forever.
I leave on Sunday and I don't come back for months. I am ready for the happiness and laughter as well as the disappointment and sadness. Most of all however, I am ready to feel. I am ready to make stories and memories.
