When people ask me the obvious, just graduated High School, question “so where are your going to school next year?” I can never help but to laugh and just blurt out “Africa” and watch the looks on people’s faces.
I have gotten so many mixed reviews and mixed faces from my questioners. There are those, of the majority, who tell me how lucky I am to be going on a “once in a lifetime experience.” There are those who look me as if I was clinically insane for wanting to “be so far away from AMERICA” as if this was the only place where people live a normal life. There are those who tell me to “be careful, I don’t think you know what your getting into”, fearful of all the bad things that could possibly go wrong. My favorite are those who look at me as if I have inspired a sort of passion in their lives before I have even left. Talking to all these different people with different reactions about me heading to Senegal is a beautiful thing, and a direct reflection of my own thoughts about leaving.
I am beyond grateful to have the experience and feel so blessed that my life has brought me to this point. Sometimes I look at my Global Citizen Year handbook and think about how crazy I am for wanting to do something like this, even when my whole life I have known this is what I want to do. My biggest fear is not knowing truly what I am getting myself into. Where will I be staying? Who is my new mommy and daddy? So many questions that are still unanswered. For some reason when I look at all the mixed faces and reviews, all I can truly and honestly think about is my excitement for stepping off the plane into Senegal. I am so excited that there are people out there that feel the passion I have and are ready to take on this journey with me whether by my side or on the computer. It is so wonderful that I have people around me that are as excited, curious, scared, passionate, and as ready for Senegal as I am!
