Transitions

Today's the day when most of the Silver Lake 2012 Summer Staff heads home.  It's been a wild ride, and the past couple of days have got me thinking a lot about transitions.  My friends who are leaving camp right now are all going through their own transitions-- getting ready to start the school year, starting a brand new teaching job (yay Megan!), or just going back to their outside-of-camp lives.  No matter how many times you go through transitions in your life, they are never easy.  They're always accompanied by anxiety, anticipation, and uncertainty. 

I haven't put too much thought into this next transition that I'm about to embark on.  I've been busy all summer supervising a group of crazy 16 and 17 year olds as they learned to live in community and worked harder than they ever had before.  Now I'm trying to enjoy my last few days here at Silver Lake, a place that has given me more gifts and growth experiences than I can even begin to explain.

This was a difficult time for me before I left for Honduras-- having to say goodbye to everyone.  Last summer I got my James Taylor Tanglewood Concert/Cryfest with all of my close friends.  This year I first have to say goodbye to all of the people I've grown so close to over the past 9 weeks at camp.  Then I have go head home, start thinking about packing (because I haven't been thinking about it at all yet), and say goodbye to everyone else.  Oh, transitions.

Transitions suck.  There we go, I said it.  But without them we'd always be stuck in one place, and what's the fun in that? 

 

Less than a month away.

Yesterday, I was talking about the Peace Corps with a friend of mine who I work with at camp.  I was telling her that I'll be gone for 27 months, at which point she turned to her daughter and said, "That's longer than she's been alive."  Crazy stuff.  27 months is a long time.

It's a crazy mix of emotions this time around.  I'm nervous about embarking on this new experience, yet not as nervous as the first time, because I know that I can handle it.  I'm anxious about the preparations required to pick up and leave for two years, but not as anxious because I know what to pack and what not to pack.  I'm sad about having to say goodbye to my friends and family, but after having to do it once before it (hopefully) should be easier.

I get asked all the time about how I feel about leaving, and I can't really put it into words.  I constantly have to remind myself of why I'm doing this.  The best reminders are when I talk to my H-19 friends, look at pictures of my time in Honduras, or talk to a friend from Sulaco.  My Peace Corps journey is just beginning, and right now I can't wait for the next chapter to begin.

I'll be heading to DC on September 4th (which is also my 24th birthday) for staging, and leaving for Nicaragua on the 5th.  I have to say goodbye to my camp family kids on Sunday, finish out another week and a half of camp, and then begin the whirlwind week and a half of preparations once I get home.  I'm trying to enjoy each moment, but it's going by way too fast!