Just Another Awfully Big Adventure

The last few days seem to have gone by in a blur: the flights, a few nights in Boston, then back home to Colby.

I'm not quite sure what to write. I've had a few messages from friends and family reminding me that I need to "finish" my blog cycle from Saint Petersburg. I suppose they're right: I should let everyone know that I'm back and not to expect many posts in the near future. I guess I could write a blog summing up my experience and discussing the many things I've learned. Maybe I could talk about the many things I'll miss from Russia - the people, the Neva, the food, the history - it would be a long list, I'm sure.

But I sit here typing at my keyboard, and I feel that I'm at a beginning, not an ending. I'm not ready to say goodbye to Saint Petersburg, to travel or to adventure, nor am I sad to be back at Colby and "normality." I'm struggling to "finish" my story because I feel that it is only beginning. Saint Petersburg was the first stop of many on the path that I'm walking. My journey has not stopped, only turned a corner, and I'm smiling as I look forward to the adventures to come.

So, for those of you that read this every time I click the publish button: I'm back on US soil and getting ready for classes to begin tomorrow morning. I'm thrilled to be back at a place that feels like home, with friends who have already begun to feel like family. I'm excited for tomorrow, and the day after that; who knows what my plans will be in a few months time. I have so many decisions to make, so many activities to pencil into the calendar, so much uncertainty in what the future will bring. In that uncertainty I see freedom: freedom to make spur-of-the-moment decisions, freedom to meet new people and try new things, freedom to explore new places, freedom to be myself, and freedom to be happy.

Here I go, off on another awfully big adventure.

Love from Colby,
Shonabell