1 year

One year from now I will be finished with my Fulbright experience.  Well, I will be finished with actually living in ,because from what I understand you can stay involved with Fulbright stuff for many years to come.  Anyway, that is not the point.  My Fulbright Program ends on June 30, 2013.  I know that this is a weird thing to think about, but I think of these things; those that know me well, know that dates stick in my mind (sometimes not a good thing...).  So this leaves me wondering a few things:

1. Who will I be one year from now? 
2. How will I have changed (hopefully all for the better)?
3. Will I walk away feeling as though this was the most amazing experience ever?
4. How will God have worked in my life? 
5. How will He have worked in the lives of the people I met/interacted with?
6. How will He have worked in the lives of my friends and family and others who read my blog?
7. What will I do next (not thinking about this one too much because I am trying to just live in the moment and cherish the direction/gift God has given me)?
8. Will I return to the U.S. and move to NYC?
9. Will I get one of the things my heart most desires...to live in the same city/veeeeerrry close to my best friend, Erin???
10. Will my friends have forgotten me?
11. Who will be here waiting on my when I return? 
12. Will all of the people I love and cherish still be a part of my life the way I long for them to be (i.e. my Tuscaloosa loves, my NYC loves, etc)???
13. Will Alabama have another National Championship by the time I return?  (admit it, you are wondering too!!!)
14. Will I have a clearer sense of what it is I am doing with my education/passions/desires/dreams?
15. Will my friends still love and miss me, or will they have grown so accustomed to me being away that it will not matter?
16. Will I have gotten to visit/experience Reggio Emilia or an Italian Montessori school?
17. Will I be longing for more adventure or will I want to stay closer to home?
18. How will it feel to return home/to the U.S.??
19. How will the people I left here in the U.S. have changed??
20. Will all of my friends still love me and accept whoever I have become/how I may have changed, and will they recognize that I love them more than anything, no matter how long I have been gone?

Now, I just played an emotional game of 20 questions.  The good news is that God has gone before me and He will go with me.  These are not things I am getting all worked up about; just things I have thought about.  I do know that things change, people change, and inevitably, change is part of life.  Thankfully, I have a faithful and loving Father who gives me hope and peace. 

The other good news is that when I love, I love deeply and I do not let go easily!  So, while others may struggle with maintaining contact, I am NOT letting go until it has been proven to me that I must.  Thanks to the truest friend I have ever had, I have learned a lot about what it means to love another person (in the ways that the Bible says we should love...1 Corin, etc) and what true friendship looks and feels like.  Therefore, I have confidence that I can maintain relationships with those that are closest to my heart. 

God has a plan, and I do not always know what it is (okay, I dont know most of the time).  What I do know is that He has revealed to me that the next step in this plan is 9 months in Italy.  So, whatever happens and whoever I become, I pray that I have followed His will the entire time, and that I have become who He wants me to be and have done the things He wants me to have done.

**Disclaimer:  I have no questions about whether my parents will love me during this time and upon my return! I am also 1000000% confident that I will maintain contact with them.  I just did not want anyone to think that I am not thinking of them!!**