The First of the Last Hurrahs

I think the next three months will be a strange mix of anticipation and wishing things never change.

I have been offered (!) and have accepted (!) a teaching position at Luther Theological University in Yongin, South Korea, about 25 miles outside of Seoul. The official start date hasn't been given to me yet, but I'll be going in "early summer," which I'm taking to mean any time in June. So I have two to three months to get ready to leave!

In me time, three months is a long ways away, and most of the time, I don't feel the butterflies in my stomach about moving away from my family and friends and home. When I really think about it, though, I'm overwhelmed with pride, excitement, and hysteria.

I truly am proud and excited that I am going to follow through with a dream I have had for years. Truthfully, and sadly, I can't think of many far-reaching goals that I have made and worked to achieve. So having real plans feels really, really good.

Probably the biggest drawback to leaving, though, is that I love and feel very attached to my family and friends here. My "year off" since graduating has probably strengthened that attachment, for better and for worse. For worse being that I have probably fallen into a state of prolonged nostalgia. Sometimes, I wish all my friends and family could stay together forever! :) But all of us are changing and maturing, and many of the people I am closest to have their own plans to take off on their own for a while. And even though I just said I wish things could stay the same, knowing that we're all pursuing our own interests and goals makes me really happy for everyone.

Before we all do that, though, I'm continuing my pattern of living out my nostalgic wishes by accompanying Christus on tour. I'm really excited. Choir tours have been a big part of my whole life, and I was for sure going to get one last one in if I could. Good friends, good music, host stays (!), quality bus time, the fabulous Midwest . . .

Better pack.