The Week Before Departure

The Week Before



In one weeks’ time I will begin my journey abroad studying in London, England. I have spent every possible moment since the New Year working towards this goal and it is finally here. Dreaming of Yorkshire pudding, views from the London eye, and afternoon tea are common pastimes of mine. I'm an avid fan of vloggers with a special place in my heart for those British vloggers most seem to know and love.



I have to admit that I am almost sick with nerves as the departure date approaches. I am not even sure exactly which aspect scares me so much. Perhaps it is just the entire trip itself and therefore difficult to pinpoint.



I did everything I was supposed to, I have lists, and everything has been packed and weighed. I feel more ready than I could ever be. I have one empty full size luggage to check, a carryon luggage to put above my seat, and a backpack as my seat bag. All my electronics (laptop and camera) are in the carry on. I have nothing but paperwork, bottle of water, and travel items (like ibuprofen, pillow, ear plugs, journal and headphones).



Hello from the future! I am updating this with a comment on what I said in this post. I said that I had a journal with me on the plane. I feel as though that bullet journal (an emerald Leuchtturm 1917 bulleted journal) was the single best item I took on the trip with me. I realized when I returned from this trip that the most valuable thing I did while away was write down what I was doing each week and a sentence (or ten depending on the day and events) about what happened. I couldn’t take pictures inside everywhere, every second of every day I was there. A photo may be worth a thousand words but a sentence is the key to a trillion memories.



It’s the small things. I remember all the big events…. I didn’t need to capture every second of that. Even with my terrible memory all it takes is a sentence with keywords to job my memory. With very little effort I remember scents, feelings, actions… a million little things that photos skip over.



Remember to document more than just the fantastical things. Write down the color of your keychain, the angel scratched into the elevator door, and that weird dip in the sidewalk on the way to your classes. THOSE things are the things I wrote down and never would have considered taking a photo of.



So make sure you take just a few seconds each day to write down some key words and it will serve you well. Songs you heard, phrases you learned, names and features, smells, and random feelings.