Seven a.m., the usual morning lineup
Start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean
Polish and wax, do laundry, and mop and shine up
Sweep again, and by then it's like 7:15

And so I'll read a book
Or maybe two or three
I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery
I'll play guitar and knit
And cook and basically
Just wonder when will my life begin?

No one can quite sum up my 2018 summer mood like Rapunzel from Disney's 2010 hit, Tangled. Maybe my summer didn't include quite so much waxing and laundry as hers (much to my mother's disappointment),  but I did often feel as if I was wasting away the hours until I could finally get started on "my life." Sure I've been living for 18 years and I've been doing just fine but it's been different since I came home from exchange. My life has had a new sense of urgency since then. It's all about when the next adventure will begin. The next adventure I've been so impatiently awaiting is duh duh duh dahhhhh...college.

Now the time has come.

As I sit here typing, my first ever college class awaits me in 10 hours. My pencil pouch is packed, my binder stuffed with empty notebook paper ready to be filled with endless notes, and after hours of thoughtful consideration and work, my bullet journal is ready to be filled with my many plans to come this first term of my college experience. Now I know what you're thinking, classic freshie beyond prepped for her first day of school as if this is kindergarten. Yup. And proud of it. This is what happens when you give me over three months to prepare for this day.

To say I'm ready is a major understatement. It's not that I haven't enjoyed my summer or even my senior year it's just that I'm so ready for a change. I'm ready for every day to be new again just like my year abroad. I had the introvert whipped out of me in Germany and I haven't stopped going since. The thought of learning new things and meeting new people in a foreign setting is exhilarating for me, wheres for most it's terrifying. I know what it's like and I yearn to have it again.

Tomorrow my life doesn't "begin" necessarily, just a new chapter in it does. To keep the Rapunzel connection going, my life will "begin again" when my next big life change occurs. A new job, moving, studying abroad again, you name it.

Where others fear the unknown, I seek it out and thrive. I'm ready to thrive again somewhere new. College, here I come.