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Published: October 12th 2010
If I had called up my best friends and family and boldly proclaimed to them back in February that after that semester I’d be taking some time off, heading back to work at my second (actually, more like my first) home in the middle of the woods, fall completely off the face of the facebook world, bum around on the couches of friends homeless and jobless, then come October just jump on a plain to New Zealand to hike, explore, and do god knows what all before actually graduating, jaws would have dropped, marbles would’ve been lost, and I most definitely would have been checked into a residential treatment facility for my mental health.
So I did the responsible thing. I planned a perfectly acceptable and responsible adventure in which I would acquire my last credits needed to graduate whilst engaging in a semester abroad in New Zealand. The plan was to leave for the Southern Hemisphere in early July, finish up in early November, and spend about a month out on the loose in the most exciting country I could imagine! Then due to a series of unfortunate events my plans changed. A lot. Less than two weeks prior to my expected departure I found myself in a puddle on the floor of my friend’s apartment sobbing over my adventure’s misdirection. If I wasn’t going to New Zealand then, what was I going to do? Where was I going to live? What was I going to do for work? I couldn’t bear to think of all people I’d be disappointing by not following through on this tremendous plan. Zip and Twinkle (two of my most wonderful camp friends) wrapped their arms around me and helped be devise a new plan. One that quite possibly might have been even better that the original.
So instead of jetting off for a semester abroad I made my way back to a more familiar destination. Camp Bonnie Brae was just a couple weeks away from starting for the summer and still needed a few positions filled. I just about had my pick of positions and was thrilled to step into the role as Teen Leadership Director. With very little time to prepare I was soon swept up into the frenzy of pre camp planning. Thus commenced the period of time I disappeared from the world of modern communication.
Fast forwarding two months and skipping over quite a few exciting camp stories - now in mid August as camp is wrapping up the plan is still to find a short term job, share an apartment with camp friends and pick up where I left off with the study abroad plans next semester. Well, once again the powers at be decided this wasn’t quite the way things were going to go. The tickets I’d bought needed to be used within a year of their original purchase and the semester wasn’t even going to be over by then. So I did the only thing left there was to do. I tossed aside conventionality, ditched the responsible academic rout, and decided to go to New Zealand just because I wanted to. I will of course re-board the sanity train when I get back and go back to school to finish my education. (Don’t worry, Grandma) I’m just taking a sort of… sabbatical!
Okay, with the obligatory explanation out of the way I can finally get to the part that matters. Tonight is the eve of my arrival to New Zealand! Three airports down, boarding passes obtained, sleep deprivation well in progress, overpriced pizza consumed, security points cleared, and luggage checked, it’s finally starting to sink in. Adventure of a life time here I come!
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Maria
non-member comment
AWESOME!
MARIT! That is soooo cool!! I wish I had the guts to just GO and take care of college later!! And honestly I am SO glad you are returning! As we used to say.. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!!