A Bumpy Start

Tuesday January 27th

Arrived at the airport with mom and Bradey.  Seemed to be one of the longest drives to Indy in my life.  Airport is pretty small so its not that intimidating but still foreign to me.  We get coffee and wait because we have arrived so early.  Its a struggle to keep things down.  Not that I'm not excited and grateful and even proud that I was able to pay for this trip largely without assistance but it seems like things are happening so fast and I don't know if I am ready.  My mom and Bradey leave me at security.  I keep walking silently and in tears.  Even the shortest goodbyes are hard.  Small world, a young man that graduated from South the same year as my brother helps me through security and then I am just waiting at my age.  There is no viability through the snow and I am terrified.  Waiting, waiting, waiting.  Finally twenty minutes before my flight its announced that the plane cannot land and our flight is cancelled.  I listen to the instructions and make my way back to the American Airlines counter.  My first instance is to panic but I keep as calm as I can.  I receive my new flight arrangements and call my mom and dad.  Mom makes her way back already haven driven back home and we make our way back to try again tomorrow.  Six hours and 300 total miles driven later.  I just take a nap and see Bradey later in the evening.   When I see him we talk about leaving for Italy later.  I tell him waiting to leave is like having a bad dream every night and its hard to not be a mess.  Not for Paris but for my study abroad.  I have never been away from home for more than a week.  These last weeks are the hardest.  A limbo between spending enjoyable time with the people I will miss and transitioning to being away from everyone.  I know it will be worth it but it is hard at the end of each day knowing there are only 15 more days, 14 more days, 13 more days....