6 more weeks...

To start off my blog, I will begin to tell you all that I am a horrible writer. I love run on sentences and punctuation is not my thing.  So bare with me as I describe my experiences in Italy! There, Their, and They're are pretty much the same thing to me so I'm sorry if I do something wrong, or something that gets on your nerves.  I am apologizing now. 

I have been holding back to start my blog when I started my packing process BUT I couldn't wait any longer! So here goes nothing....

6 weeks from now I will embark on the biggest journey of my life and I want to thank my dad for that! My dad is the reason for all of this!  I never thought I would travel on my own, nonetheless, study abroad!  When I changed my major to Interior Design my junior year of college I remember sitting in my freshman level studio and talking to my teacher about studying abroad in either Rome, Italy or Edinburgh, Scotland, I have no idea what even brought that up.  Coming to college I didn't even know there were other majors besides "Business" (I'll thank my small town for that one).  Anyways, what I'm getting at is I've always had the idea that I wanted to study abroad but never really thought it would happen! My dad has been a major impact on this decision because he studied abroad while he was in college and I always thought "well he studied in Italy when he was in college, so why can't I?". 

As it comes closer and closer to my departure date, I am getting terrified.  I know I'll have the "time of my life" and it will be "a life changing experience" as everyone says,  but I realized the other day I have never really lived away from home.  While I was sitting in my pre-departure meeting last week the topic was "culture shock" and the speaker asked, "How many of you have ever been home sick?" I obviously didn't raise my hand because I have never been homesick because Fayetteville has always been my second home.  My lovely mother and sister have always lived around this area while I was growing up.  So living in another country for 5 months is going to be HUGE but I'm ready to embark on my journey!

Trying to finish up this semester of construction drawings, while working on my portfolio and applying for internships and handling a part-time job has got the best of me while ALL I can think about is next semester! Dec. 14 will be the happiest day of my life when I walk out of my last final for History of Architecture hoping that I passed! After that I can prepare for ROME, ITALY!!! oh ya and buying Christmas presents for everyone!

As for now, my motivation to get me through the next few weeks is Dr. Seuss...

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
by the incomparable Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. 

And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care.

 About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” 

With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,

 you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. 

In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. 

It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. 

You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. 

And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump.

 And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!

 Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind?

 Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow.

 Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night 

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil,

 or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. 

Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!

Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky.

 Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!

Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, 

that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl.

 On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl.

 Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. 

On and on you will hike.

 And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or 

Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, 

you’re off to Great Places!

Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!