I'll see y'all later

Today we had a going away brunch at my house. My brother Eric and his girlfriend Christina, my girlfriend Courtney, and several of our good friends came over today to enjoy a meal that mom and I (well, mostly mom) spent all day yesterday preparing. It was a great time, we spent hours sitting around the table laughing. After most of our friends left Eric, mom, Courtney, Christina, and I spent the afternoon playing games (Christina managed one of the best Scrabble plays I've ever seen, 70 something points due to a Q being counted for triple letter and double word) and just hanging out. It was exactly what I was hoping for as a last hurrah before I leave, thanks to everyone that came. It was sad to realize I'm leaving everyone behind, but I know I'll only be gone for a while. The hardest part was saying goodbye to Eric and Courtney, I really love both of them and I'm going to miss having them less than an hour away.

Tomorrow I'm planning on packing, seeing my best friend Chris, and making dinner for my parents one last time. It's odd looking at the packing list, I know I should probably be a little more worried than I am, but it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to shove a few pairs of clothing and miscellaneous extras I need into a suitcase and get ready to go. I think I've got everything in order, and don't feel like I really have much left to do before I head off. I'm actually anxious to get out there and get started, I can't wait to meet everyone and start building a new set of friends and allies.

It hit me today today while talking to everyone about it what a large undertaking this is going to be. I've always tried to help people and improve the way things are around me, although nothing really, even working in Residence Life at RIT, ever gave me the chance to wholly devote myself to that goal. With Americorps I'll be able to focus and push myself to new limits, learning what I can and attempting to broaden that category every day. I've had this vision of who I want to be for a while now, this person worthy of enough trust and respect to be capable of empowering those around me and giving them the hope and energy to make things better. I think being able to treat that goal as a full time job and continually working toward it will allow me to fully realize it. It's a very large idea, and one that I'm still struggling to fully comprehend, but I'm confident I can get there.

Only two full days left before my flight out there. I can't wait to meet my fellow volunteers!