Friday, March 20, 2009

The Beginning of the Beginning

I quit my job today.

I don't think I have much more to say about that, because besides having to part from the people who have been a part of my life everyday for the past 2.5 years, I don't have much more to look back on. Instead, I am only looking ahead. In 5 days I leave for Israel. I haven't been there in nearly 2 years, and seeing all my friends and family, as well as just being in Israel, has caused much excitement for me. And a few weeks after that, my true adventure begins.

All feelings of nervousness and hesitation have dissipated over the past few weeks, as the excitement and anticipation have been building up quickly. And telling the story of my travel plans (or lack thereof) countless times, to every person I see, has even made me start to think of this trip as no big deal, despite the shocking reactions everybody has had, and continue to have.

The next few days will consist of saying goodbye to all those closest to me (both figuratively and geographically). It will be quite the emotional rollercoaster, though I'll spare you all from having to read about it. A few weeks of short posts about the build-up to my trip, with interspersed anecdotes from my encounters in Israel (and believe me, there are always some tales for the books that come from Israel, though they may not all be appropriate for communicating on here), and then this blog should really begin to take form as the travel blog it's intended to be. But until then, I'm going to keep living my life 1-week-ahead at a time. Baby steps, right?