Times Like These...

So at this point, I suppose I should be counting down the days until my departure, packing, and making sure my paperwork is set and ready to go. But I never realized how much added work that is for a college student around finals time! My time is being eaten up with school work, finals preparation, and final projects, leaving little time for me to wrap my head around New Zealand.

But even if it takes me till 12:30 am studying or working on projects, New Zealand is still coming and quicker than ever. It's funny, I have yet to really take in the fact that I will be making my first real trip away and will be gone for over a month! It's unreal! My first time flying alone. My first time overseas. My first time being away from home, besides college of course. This is going to be the experience of a lifetime.

So during this week, my few spare moments will be spent researching all that this beautiful country has to offer. Its unique culture. Its traditions. Its natural habitat for a vast amount of wildlife. And how about its strange flightless bird with an amazing story to accompany it? I have a lot to learn in the next few weeks, but, hey, I'm a college student, I learn quick. And I am a writer. And if there is one thing that every writer, or journalist, should have skills in is research. Never go into an interview without preparing ahead of time and never dive into a story without researching the topic. It is all about preparation.

My majors, Environmental Studies and Journalism included, are preparing me for the field of Environmental Communication, but they are also indirectly preparing me for other aspects of my life. This adventure is showing me that.

So, the week starts. Exactly 2.5 weeks until departure. Research. Preparation. O and there was one other thing...o yes, PACKING! The wonders of travel.

The Opportunity That Started It All

I came to Ithaca College, two years ago, as a Journalism major, with the sole desire to write about what I love. All it took was an Environmental Biology class to declare a new love in my life: the environment. And so came the declaration of Environmental Studies as my second major. I had found my niche for writing and could not be happier.

It was around that time that a group called International Student Volunteers came to campus to recruit students for summer volunteer trips, scattered throughout the globe.

"This is it," I thought to myself. "This is the start of a whole new chapter for me."

And so it was. I filled out an application for the program. Sure enough, a few weeks later I was accepted to their New Zealand program. I would travel in May to this beautiful environment and I would be apart of an amazing conservation volunteer project.

Unfortunately, conflicts arose and my NZ trip [as I later called it] was canceled. The trip had already meant a lot to me, and I had not even gone! But boy was I determined. I applied again the next year and was accepted, same time, same place. Nothing could please me more.

This year has been filled with nothing but preparation, from obtaining sponsors, to writing grant proposals [that turned out successful], to preparing myself for the adventure of a lifetime, and now, here I sit, a mere three weeks from my departure date of May 13th.

It is going to be something completely different from what I am used to, but exactly what I have hoped for.

Now all I need to do is pack!

It Starts.

College is all about the experience. It is about learning what you love, loving what you learn, and taking every opportunity to make the best of it. This is how I look at life. A double major in Journalism and Environmental Studies, I yearn to travel, become apart of environmental initiatives wherever I may be, and write about them. So, that's just what I'm going to do.

Let us all find ways to share the Earth experience.