How Did Tomorrow Come So Quickly?

I keep asking myself:  How did tomorrow come so quickly?

It feels like only yesterday that I went to Uganda, graduated from college... received and accepted my invitation to go to Ethiopia as a Peace Corps volunteer.  Really, I had gone to Uganda a little over a year now, graduated from college about nine months ago, and accepted my invitation about five months ago.

It's amazing how fast this past year has gone by and how many major things have happened in my life.  And tomorrow I will be leaving on what will most likely be one of the most major and important events of my life thus far.

Over the past week, I have felt a mixture of feelings ranging from nerves and sadness to happiness and excitement.  Now that I am just about completely packed and less than 24 hours away from getting onto that plane that will take me to Philadelphia and have had time to reflect, I think I have come to a point where I am content.  I have come to a point where I have processed the change I will be going through and I think I am just happy to be able to go.  I am sure though that I will be going through a mixture of emotions again once I am out of the states.

With how quickly time has gone by this past year, I question how quickly the next two years will go by.  Will it go by just as quickly as this past year?  Or will the experience be hard and make the next two years go by slowly?  How fast or slow these two years will go by I am sure will be largely based on how I spend them.  I hope to fill my time with good memories and life-changing experiences.  I hope to grow and learn.  And I hope to make a change wherever it is I will be, even if it is a small change.

One thing I know is this:  no matter what I make of my time as a Peace Corps experience, the first three months will be crazy busy with all the pre-training I go through and the next few months will be challenging as I make the transition to my permanent site of service.

Especially during these first six months, all I can ask is that everyone does what they can to stay in touch with me.  Whether that be letters and packages in the mail, emails, messages via Facebook, or even just comments left on my posts, hearing from you all will mean the world to me.  I will do all that I can to stay in contact with everyone and keep you all updated, but it may be hard at times to keep track of things on my end.  So feel free to send me a quick message if you have a spare moment, and even the simplest thought will make my time easier and will help me to know that what I am doing is totally worth it!

I have no idea how tomorrow has come so quickly, but I am so excited to get started!

*Please note that my personal opinions and experiences do not necessarily reflect those opinions of Peace Corps as a whole or reflect the experiences of other volunteers.