The Goodbye List

It's finally here. My departure day. Time to pick up and head out...another adventure. This one seems bittersweet. I'm not as excited to leave and am actually more nervous moving to a new city and state than I was when I moved to West Africa. Weird, huh?

So here is my list of things I leave behind and the counter list of things to look forward to:

THINGS I LEAVE BEHIND:
1. My friends - the people I choose to make my family. You guys are weird, wild, crazy, over the top and full of life (you know who you are) and I love having you in my life! Thanks for all the memories and stories that make me eager to return to South Florida every break!

2. Florida - your warm, sometimes extreme, heat and humidity make it wonderfully easy to declare any day a beach day. You give us an excuse to be half naked most of the year and a reason to exercise (or at least eat a little healthier). I will truly miss you when my tushy is freezing and the thrill of snow wears thin.

3. Driving - goodbye traffic, congestion, car accidents, and the fear that I will run out of gas before I get to a station. Car, you are fired!

4. Publix - thanks for all the yummy, fresh produce and excellent song selection. You truly make shopping a pleasure! Who knows what they call produce that far North??!!

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:
1. Everything is new - this is slightly bittersweet since the unknown can at times be scary. But I look forward to new roommates, a newly remodeled house, a new school, a new city to explore, and new friends who will slowly understand and eventually love me.

2. New England weather - I will finally be able to say I have experienced a New England winter. Although I have lived in winter weather before, I know that you are "supposedly" different and I will soon see how.

3. Hello subways, trains, walking, and morning commuters - I shall finally live somewhere where public transportation actually works.

4. Independence! - after surviving 9 months at home with my parents I am finally (FINALLY) on my own again and free to not hear my mom's every "suggestion". Thanks 'rents for taking me in and thanks even more for letting me go!

So goodbye Florida and everything I love. Hello Massachusetts. Another adventure awaits!