it's not that i hate this city and want to divorce myself from everyone i know here. it's not that i won't miss the little things about being here that make it too easy to stay, it's just that i think it's wrong for someone to never leave the place they were born for more than a week it's just that i don't want to die anymore and i'm learning how to be more adventurous it's about taking risks, and not letting the potential for failure prevent me from making my dreams come true. it's about believing in the crazy things that seem impossible and ridiculous to other people when you tell them about your plans it's about being simultaneously terrified and relieved that you get a second chance at life it's about giving everything up for four months to be immersed in a completely different world it's about knowing that it's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows, but not letting that stop you. it's about not being able to take another long cold winter here because being numb has gotten old and too-familiar. it's about missing someone more than you can ever explain. it's about having a long-distance friendship but not letting that keep you apart. it's about choosing life, it's about getting out of my comfort zone it's about being undefinable it's about having people say, "well what about after? what are you going to do after this?" and being okay with not knowing.