GAME TIME.

In The Hobbit, Gandalf says to Bilbo, "Home is now behind you. The world is ahead." Those words acknowledge that Bilbo is leaving something comforting and safe behind (admittedly challenging), yet at the same time still has so much to look forward to! Although it might not always be easy or pleasant, there is no doubt in my mind that encountering "the world" in various ways always helps a person grow for the better. I loved that quote as soon as I heard it. I was like, "YES. I want that! Sign me up." Lucky for me, I have the huge blessing of being about to embark on a twelve and a half month journey with NPH that will let me meet the world ahead of me in a very real way, and I could not be more grateful.

In the lag time I've had between graduation and my departure for Guatemala, I've done my best to act at least a little bit like the "responsible young adult" I'm now supposed to be. For example, I actually read the fine print of the emergency evacuation insurance I purchased! One gem in size 10 font I found told me all the activities that would disqualify me from coverage if I hurt myself doing them. Basically, anything that would fall under the category of "YOLO" (You Only Live Once) was not gonna be cool, bro. My favorites from the "NOLO" list include: bobsledding, canyoning, heli-skiing, hot air ballooning, luge, parascending, trekking, rodeo, kiteboarding, racing of any kind including by horse, wildlife safari, spelunking, and subaqua pursuits involving underwater breathing apparatus. You have to applaud the insurance company's thoroughness and creativity at least, right?

In all seriousness though... When I decided to do a year of service last August, the actual "service" part of that decision was a distant reality too far away to really be present on my radar. One spectacular senior year later followed by a wonderful 6 weeks of summer though, it's suddenly time to go. Like, really go. Like a "get-on-a-plane-and-go-to-a-foreign-country" kind of go. Over the last few weeks, I've experienced a pretty full range of emotions. In fact, about 4 days ago, I was like this boy:

I knew that as soon as I "jumped", it would totally not even be that bad and, dare I say it, I would probably even have fun and want to do it again. (Can I just travel and volunteer forever?) However, poised on the edge of the board, I felt rather nervous and scared. Fortunately, that phase started to pass once I began to see the floor of my bedroom again, which signaled the end of packing was finally approaching! Although I'm still a teensy bit apprehensive, it's now mostly over irrational things. (What if I just FORGET how to speak Spanish?! Silly, I know.) While I'm doing my best to go in with relatively few expectations, overall I am feeling pretty dang excited about everything that is to come.

I went to Mass yesterday morning and the homily was all about "walking the talk" instead of just "talking the talk". I really think this year with NPH is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life right now, and that feels great. I think I'm finally ready to take the dive, especially considering it's 116 degrees in Las Vegas today. Even if I belly flop, at least I'll be off the board, right? I can't wait to come back after this year with NPH as Jess 2.0: kinder, smarter, blonder ;) With a big thank you to all the friends and family who have supported and helped me get to this point over the years, I think it's time to say deuces America and hola Guatemala!