The Final Days

I haven't been posting much lately. I've been busy packing, getting my mind in gear and saying my farewells to the people and places I love here in Chicago. I'm not too worried about the time I'll be gone, however. When I think about how much my life has changed over the past two years and how fast it has gone, I know the next two years will also move quickly.

My suitcases are packed and my apartment is almost empty. I'm going tomorrow to take one final load of things to store to my mother's house, then all I have left are the things I'm taking with me and a few last things to throw away.

As frustrating as it has been to try to figure out what I might need over the next couple of years, it has been a great process to go through everything I own and decide how important it is. I have acquired a lot of things purely for the sake of having things, and eliminating a lot of them has been very liberating. I think two years away from the things I'm storing will do a lot to break my ties with more things and help lead to an even more simple lifestyle, I hope!

Beyond that, it's a bittersweet time. I'm sad to be leaving the people I care about, but I know it will be easier to keep in touch than it was the last time I lived abroad. And I'm very excited to finally be entering the next stage of my life.

Next update, from Ukraine! I probably won't have much time or opportunity to update for my first few days, so don't expect to hear much from me for a little while.