Let’s be real for a moment, I am the type of person who will hold in all of my emotions and not let other people see that side of me. The main reason for this is because I don’t want to be seen as “weak” I have always been like this, so coming to launch was hard! Friday was probably the hardest day for me. I said goodbye to all the animals at home and then at the airport I said goodbye to my mom.
I made sure to not cry in front of anyone on the way down to Atlanta except I did shed a few tears on the plane just looking back on all of the memories I have with my mom and everything that I am leaving behind in Michigan. Although I know I am not alone in this new season of life. It sometimes still feels like I am alone, the reason for that is because when people ask me if my parents are here and I tell them my mom isn’t here they ask about my dad which then to me having to explain that I don’t have a dad which is something I have done my entire life it’s just hard not having my mom here when a lot of other people have their parents here. I totally understand why she didn’t come and I’m not mad she didn’t, I guess not having her here has made me a lot more emotional than I usually am.
The thing that I keep on remembering is that I am only going to be gone for 9 months. I won’t be gone forever! Plus as I count down the days till my birthday which is something I love doing. I am pretty much also counting down the days until I come home since I will be coming home around that time of year!
Although I am sad about leaving behind so many of the things that I love in Michigan I am SUPER excited for the new things I am going to get to experience! For me personally I am the most scared for trying new foods. I am such a picky eater that when I am home I literally eat pretty much the same things all the time and they have to be certain brands, but I know that is the time for me to try new things and step out of my comfort zone. The hardest country for me is going to Ethiopia since I don’t know much about their food and we all know Guatemala will be the easiest country for me since I love Central American food!
I officially leave for Guatemala on Monday at about 6am. Which means that for the first time in about 19 years I am going back to my home country which is so surreal for me. It is so crazy to think about because back in middle school I was talking to one of my teachers about wanting to go back since I have never been and he was like pray about and I did and I was like okay now isn’t the time but I know that one day in my life time I will go back. I honestly kinda forgot about that conversation until a couple months ago. It all came full circle for me. This is a dream come true for me to go back and see what people in Guatemala and to be able to remember it since I have no memory of living there when I was a baby.
Michigan I will be back when it’s warm again and there is no snow!
P.S. It hasn’t started snowing yet but rumor on the street is that this winter is gonna be worse than last year!
Goodbye United States
Next Stop:Guatemala
Chelsey
