Graduation and June in General

I did it, I graduated high school! In three years too! I'm so happy to be done with high school and now am able to move on to the next chapter of my life. But first I have to get through summer. My summer has been eventful but not really. It started off with the all night Grad party at Bullwinkles which was okay. I would have had more fun if I hadn't of been having a major allergy attack all night long. About a week later I had to get my wisdom teeth out (which really sucked but wasn't as painful as I thought it would be at all) and then a week after that I had my 17th birthday! Now I'm just hanging out with my friends and helping harvest garlic. So June has actually been a pretty good month for me! What was also nice about this month was that I started to hear from ExCEL about details on my travel.

  I will be leaving on August 24th at about 8 am to catch a plane to Washington DC where I will meet with Emma, the other ExCEL Abroader, and we will then catch a plane to Austria. After Austria we will arrive in Vilnius, Lithuania on August  25th at some time in the afternoon. I'm getting excited but I'm also starting to get a little scared too. It'll come so quickly and I'm not freaking out yet over the fact that I only have about 55 days left in the States! For now I will have to start studying Lithuanian, get ready for my last county fair, and of course start the dreadful thing called packing. But everything will be fine.
 

  A couple of my friends who've received scholarships through other programs have already left for their year abroad. I'm excited for them and can't wait to hear more about their countries! And my other friends come home in a couple days from Thailand and Italy. That is both exciting (I've missed them and can't to see them) but I know how bittersweet it is for them and I wish them luck and hope they adjust quickly and nicely to life back here at their old homes. (Shoutout to Evan and Laney as I wish them luck in Thailand and another shoutout to Elena as she comes home from Italy and Erin as she comes home from Thailand). Both of these are the beginning and the end. The beginning of their new life both either in their host country or back home but it also either pauses or ends their life in their home or host country. It's bittersweet for everyone because in either place they are leaving loved ones but will be returning to old ones or making new ones. It's just a reminder of the never-ending exchange process and I'm so proud to of been a part of and am so blessed to be a part of it again. Here's to 55 days left! 

Ps: sorry for the scatter-minded blog, that's exactly how I feel right now!