what would you do if you weren't afraid?

And so it begins. In less than 12 hours I will get on a shuttle to Denali National Park where, for better or worse, I will spend the next four months of my life.

Living.

Loving.

...

Learning.

LEARNING.

I am so very excited about this opportunity but it seems that someone has forgotten to tell my anxiety that. I keep getting that feeling where my heart falls into my stomach and my stomach jumps into my throat.

 Which is exactly why I take the next steps. It is uncomfortable to leave behind everything and everyone I know for four months. It is petrifying to travel all this way for a job that I am only partially convinced I can do.

And it is breathtaking to do something that I am scared of anyway.

The past few weeks have been full of adventures, hellos, goodbyes, and a plethora of thoughts about how insane this is.

While I am scared out of my mind, I am even more ecstatic for the learning and possibilities that lie ahead. I am positive that when I come out on the other end of this journey, I will be a different person an a different track than if I had stayed complacently put in my life. Whether that track varies only marginally or is fully divergent from where I sat before, only God knows.

But I, for one, will be grateful that I did not let fear of the unknown keep me rooted comfortably in hectic routine.

Stay tuned for lessons to follow.