Quick info: I’ll be traveling to South Africa from July 30 to August 21. With my group, I will travel to various rural areas on a mixed curriculum of wildlife, large animal, and small animal lessons. The majority of the trip will be spent sleeping in tents and waking up to the African sunrise, then spending the day at a variety of exciting destinations. We will visit a cheetah/lion breeding facility, North West University, Kruger National Park, veterinary camps, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and many rural towns, learning about conserving wildlife and about caring for local small and large animals. That being said…

Three weeks prior to departure, my mind is a tornado of emotions. A major part of me is surprised that this day has come so quickly, and that the summer days prior to now have come and gone faster than I expected. But then again, I am no stranger to time passing quickly during Freshman year. And what a year. I’ve made so many friends, had so many great experiences, and studied just a fraction of what I’ll learn throughout my school career. While there were many, many downs, it’ll be the happy laughs and not the stressful nights that I’ll remember down the road. And while that first year is over, and with the summer slowly crawling to an end, I’m one of the lucky few able to sneak in one last adventure before a new school year starts. A few days ago, as I sat with my sisters on a lake beach nearing the end of the day, the speakers announcing closing time told us, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”

And so I await the beginning of my trip to Africa. In reality, it has already started. Today I eagerly shopped online for a travel backpack, searching for a bag that’ll mark not only my first trip to Africa but the beginning of many, many adventures to foreign lands and unfamiliar terrains. I listed off all the items I’d put into my bag, imagining traveling with it in three weeks, in three years, and in the many more to come. This is an experience that I feel heavily grateful for, and one that I will never forget.