graduation!!! and all that comes with it.

so yesterday i did something that many people say is one of the most important things of your life...i graduated from college. granted, mine was unlike most because i will be returning to graduate school for the next year, but it's still a milestone. an education opens so many doors, and i'm so lucky to have had the chance to get one as i did. i moved out of the fraternity house that i've lived in for the past 2 years into a real apartment off campus on friday, spent the night celebrating the end of my undergrad experience, then woke up after 3 hours of sleep to sit through my 3.5 hr graduation ceremony the next morning. it was long but good, and it felt nice to walk across the stage in recognition of the past 4 years :) i still can't believe it happened at all, really. it was so stressful figuring things out with finals, moving, and graduation, especially since i had some family in town from ny...i never had time to think much about brazil.

i'm leaving for brazil in less than a week to embark on probably one of the most challenging, adventurous, and amazing experiences of my life, and i am not prepared at all. today i went clothes-shopping with my mom for the first time in forever, just to get clothes to wear to work (i'm such a bum, ha ha). my visa still hasn't arrived, which i'm freaking out about a little, and now that all of my things from school are finally home in fayetteville, i have to unpack them only to pack them again. i feel like i have so much to do and so many people to spend time with before i leave...i hope it all works out. i guess the magnitude of the trip didn't hit me until i had nothing else to stand in front of it, and now it has, and i am more excited and nervous than ever! i can't wait to meet everyone in salvador and find out what brazil has in store for me. it's going to be a wild ride :)

5 days.