full circle.

i was thinking the other day, as i jogged around the peaceful lake behind my apartment, that despite all that has happened in the past year (ie graduation, my traineeship in brazil, making new friends, getting involved in new activities, learning new things, being a grad student, etc.), i've come full circle. granted, i'm not the same person completely that i was a year ago, but i'm sure that if you looked at blog posts from when i started this thing in april 2008, you'd see similar events going on as now. for instance, i graduated last may with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering; i will graduate this may with a master's degree in environmental engineering. i had just found out that i was going to spend 3 months of my life living and working in brazil and was suuuper excited; i just found out i'm going to spend 1 year of my life living in working somewhere in southern cone (argentina, uruguay, chile) and am really really really super excited :) there are other things, of course, but these are the main ones.

and i can't help but think that though i came full circle in some ways, how have things changed this time around? well, for one, there's not much fear. this time last year, though i was soooo excited about going to brazil and already knew i'd be starting graduate school when i returned in the fall, i was still afraid a little: afraid of being alone, afraid of not knowing anyone or the language or the customs or the people, afraid of just being in a new place like that. i realize that 3 months and 1 year aren't the same, but this is something that i've always wanted, and this time around, i don't feel afraid, though from the reactions of some people when i tell them i'm going, maybe i should, ha ha :) brazil changed me. my experience there changed me, and the people i met. a year later, i still talk to most of them and it feels so normal. i still don't have a clear idea of what i want to do with my life overall, but i feel like my experience in brazil pushed me in the right direction, and here i am :)

in a way, this should be scarier since when i come back, there won't be a university waiting for me as it has for the past 5 years. there will, however, be a family, a great group of friends, and an amazing boyfriend (who might actually get to have an amazing international experience of his own :D) - and maybe this is what keeps me from being scared. comfort isn't so much about a place - you can always adapt; it's people. georgia tech has been good to me, but i feel like it's time for me to move on, finally :) i think it's good that i stayed for an extra year to do the master's thing and finally feel ready. well, now i do, and i think i'll be much better off for it.

i'm nervous, but not afraid of what lies ahead. and that, i think, is growing up :)