When Pre-departure Anxiety Brings Out Your Inner Will Ferrell
Hey Kayla, how do you feel about going abroad?
Hello, voice inside my head who thought this would make a good blog post, I’ve been meaning to share just how strange my coping mechanisms are, thanks for asking. For me, somewhere between picking up my visa and watching my countdown calendar hit the 14 day mark, things got… weird.
1) I picked up my student visa! I was excited! My inner monologue sounded a little like this:
“Aw yeah my visa! This is the best!! Wow, I look more like a serial killer in this picture than I originally thought. Somebody remind me to never tuck my hair behind both of my ears at the same time ever again. Who knew my ears were the intimidating part of me? I could have sworn it was my massive biceps and near-constant stank face.
Okay, focus. My Italian student visa is here! My vague, maybe someday I’ll study abroad idea of a trip is real! Wait. My vague, maybe someday I’ll study abroad idea of a trip is real. THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING.”
Suddenly, I was throwing all of the things I could get my hands on in a panicked frenzy into my very fancy, very purple backpacking backpack. I then paced several laps around my house wearing said backpack, which contained a beach towel, a bottle of shampoo, a set of twin sized sheets, and paperback copy of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road.
I cried.
2) Then, around the two week mark until my departure, I had a dream that a yeti version of Will Ferrell was chasing me through the Swiss Alps.
Let me say that again. I had a dream… that a yeti version of Will Ferrell… was chasing me through the Swiss Alps.
I would have gotten away had I not stopped to buy a funfetti cake batter flavored milkshake. Oddly enough, this was the scariest dream I’ve had in a very long time.
You have no idea how much I wish I was making this up.
Why Will Ferrell? What was he going to do, tell me jokes until I laughed so hard I cried? And really, subconscious? I’m not impressed. We both know the only milkshake worth risking an attack by an even taller, hairier version of Will Ferrell is something triple chocolate. Preferably with brownie and hot fudge blended in.
3) TL;DR, I’m incredibly excited to go abroad, but anxiety keeps sneaking up to give me a swift sucker punch to the gut of my idealistic enthusiasm. Basically:
