“Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?”
-Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
How much can you lose? How much can you win?”
-Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Bear with me.
This is my very first time at blogging. I have never been advanced in the technological world. I just recently (as in a month ago) moved to the iPhone world and a sister of mine had to teach me how to use iTunes. Keeping my thoughts in one place, online, may be a struggle but it's one that I hope to continue in these coming months.
So I chose to take this crazy, daring, and unrealistic chance and apply to study abroad in England for 16 weeks about three months ago. Honestly, I thought I had zero chance. I had missed every spring deadline and was banking on sheer luck for my application to even be considered. But, you see, I have always been one to do things on the whim. If I plan ahead then more than likely it will fall through. I finish tasks and perform my best under pressure (although I tend to complain a lot). Take finals for example, I am that student who is calculating what the lowest grade I can make on the final test to get an A in the class. Most of the time (literally the past three semesters) in at least half of my classes I must make an 90 or above. Talk about stress. But I always seem to pull through, must have some pretty dang good luck! That brings me back to my study abroad application. Luck must have been on my side because four days after I turned in my Harlaxton application I received this...
"Hi, Abby –
Breaking the news to my Mom and Dad was pretty hard. I called both of them crying, which made them cry and me cry even more. By now if you have not figured it out I tend to cry, a lot. It is a natural thing for me to do. I was crying out of joy and shock, and I am pretty sure they were crying out of joy and sadness. The longest that I have ever been away from home was 5 weeks and at the time that felt like eternity. Obviously choosing to study abroad was/is a MAJOR step for me.
I am a proud member of Kappa Delta sorority. The young women that I call my sisters have shaped me into the person that I am today and are transforming me into be the woman that I will be tomorrow. I have 120 sisters that I can call upon at any time of the day: to offer a shoulder to cry on, a smile to brighten any dark day, a pep talk to bring me back to reality or a hug to prove that it really will be okay. My sisters mean the absolute world to me and when I called some of my closest sister (we call each other "Gens") to share this big news, I was given the best congratulations. My pledge sister/Gen/Twig/best friend has offered me words of encouragement since day one. Every time I get nervous or upset about leaving she is always there to remind me that I am going to do amazing things. Without Whitney, I would have probably chickened out of this once in a lifetime opportunity and I can not thank her enough. I have a wonderful Greek family as well. My big sister and my little bit (who I share with Whitney - let's just say Jordan is spoiled) are my role models. They have told me countless times how excited they are for me. I will definitely miss them, and the rest of my sisters while I am away.
And this is where the quote from the beginning comes into play.
"How much can you lose? How much can you win?”
The possibilities are ENDLESS. My pro/con list goes on for days.
Just how much am I going to lose? Life will go on here while I am gone. My Mom will still stay at school for hours on end and Dad will still bring animals home to our little zoo. My sisters will still have mixers and dances and I will miss Greek Week (a whole topic that I am sure I will cover at a later date). My brothers will more than likely still be the protective big brothers (even from across the pond) and when I come back I will still be referred to as "Little Potter". This is what makes this decision hard.
But then I remind myself of how much I will really "win." I am the only one in my family that can say I have traveled abroad. The possibilities of the people, culture and adventures that I will encounter can not even be put into words because I have no idea. I just know that if I did not take this opportunity, in 20 years I would be kicking myself in the tush and really regretting something that I know will be amazing.
In reality the opportunities that I am thinking I will be loosing are getting replaced with the winnings that i will encounter. It may seem like a zero sum game (like the dreaded Econ that I threw in there?) but I know and I hope that this experience will a positive one. One that I really am getting excited for to begin.
There you have it. My first blog post. That "clusterness" of blabber that you (or I in the future) just read really is what is going through my mind. I have less than two weeks to prepare myself for one INCREDIBLE journey.
12/21/12 - Janie's Desk at work.
Just wanted to let you know that you have been admitted to Harlaxton for the Spring 2013 program."
I was at work and I started crying.
I had no other reaction.
Lindsey, my sorority sister and bearer of the amazing news, had previously been my student teacher during my senior year of high school and she is definitely a woman to look up to. For her to be the one tell me made the announcement even more special.
I had no other reaction.
Lindsey, my sorority sister and bearer of the amazing news, had previously been my student teacher during my senior year of high school and she is definitely a woman to look up to. For her to be the one tell me made the announcement even more special.
Breaking the news to my Mom and Dad was pretty hard. I called both of them crying, which made them cry and me cry even more. By now if you have not figured it out I tend to cry, a lot. It is a natural thing for me to do. I was crying out of joy and shock, and I am pretty sure they were crying out of joy and sadness. The longest that I have ever been away from home was 5 weeks and at the time that felt like eternity. Obviously choosing to study abroad was/is a MAJOR step for me.
I am a proud member of Kappa Delta sorority. The young women that I call my sisters have shaped me into the person that I am today and are transforming me into be the woman that I will be tomorrow. I have 120 sisters that I can call upon at any time of the day: to offer a shoulder to cry on, a smile to brighten any dark day, a pep talk to bring me back to reality or a hug to prove that it really will be okay. My sisters mean the absolute world to me and when I called some of my closest sister (we call each other "Gens") to share this big news, I was given the best congratulations. My pledge sister/Gen/Twig/best friend has offered me words of encouragement since day one. Every time I get nervous or upset about leaving she is always there to remind me that I am going to do amazing things. Without Whitney, I would have probably chickened out of this once in a lifetime opportunity and I can not thank her enough. I have a wonderful Greek family as well. My big sister and my little bit (who I share with Whitney - let's just say Jordan is spoiled) are my role models. They have told me countless times how excited they are for me. I will definitely miss them, and the rest of my sisters while I am away.
And this is where the quote from the beginning comes into play.
"How much can you lose? How much can you win?”
The possibilities are ENDLESS. My pro/con list goes on for days.
Just how much am I going to lose? Life will go on here while I am gone. My Mom will still stay at school for hours on end and Dad will still bring animals home to our little zoo. My sisters will still have mixers and dances and I will miss Greek Week (a whole topic that I am sure I will cover at a later date). My brothers will more than likely still be the protective big brothers (even from across the pond) and when I come back I will still be referred to as "Little Potter". This is what makes this decision hard.
But then I remind myself of how much I will really "win." I am the only one in my family that can say I have traveled abroad. The possibilities of the people, culture and adventures that I will encounter can not even be put into words because I have no idea. I just know that if I did not take this opportunity, in 20 years I would be kicking myself in the tush and really regretting something that I know will be amazing.
In reality the opportunities that I am thinking I will be loosing are getting replaced with the winnings that i will encounter. It may seem like a zero sum game (like the dreaded Econ that I threw in there?) but I know and I hope that this experience will a positive one. One that I really am getting excited for to begin.
There you have it. My first blog post. That "clusterness" of blabber that you (or I in the future) just read really is what is going through my mind. I have less than two weeks to prepare myself for one INCREDIBLE journey.
12/21/12 - Janie's Desk at work.
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