Ready, Set... Go live your dream

I am gonna get super nostalgic for a second, but hang with me, okay?

So there is this fabulous Disney Princess Movie you may have heard of called Tangled. And in it, Rapunzel, (hint, my favorite princess) has this lifelong dream of going to see the floating lights that she has been watching out her window since she was a child. So long story short, Flynn shows up, takes her on this grand adventure, and they get to the castle the day before the lights are gonna go up.

As Rapunzel nervously waits in the boat, she asks Flynn a question. She says, "What if this isn't everything I dreamed it will be?"

And Flynn, having seen the floating lights, confidently answers, "It will be."

But Rapunzel, still crazy nervous because her lifelong obsession is moments away from being fulfilled, asks, "And what if it is? What then?"

And this I think, is a question we have all asked ourselves at one point or another. What if our dream, our great, lifelong goal, is achieved... what then? It is hard to see past our next goal or challenge in life. As a child, I really wanted to grow up so I could be an adult but I was also way nervous about what happened after that. How was I supposed to adult? (And if you are wondering, I am still trying to figure that one out.)  And as a teen I kept thinking, I really wanna finish high school but what after that? And then I started college and I really wanted to finish college, but I kept thinking, what then? What do I do next?

And then I got sick. Cancer hit me out of nowhere. But even on my sickest days, I had a dream: finish college. And I held on to that dream in the way Rapunzel did in her tower. Dreams are great: they keep us going on the hard days. They remind us why we don't quit when the going gets tough. But dreams? They don't mean a whole lot unless you turn those dreams into plans.

Some of us, including me, are a little afraid of going after our dreams because completing them will mean asking, "What now? Where do I go after now?" just as Rapunzel did.

College was some of the best years of my life. I met amazing people (including my best friend), found my dream profession, fell in love with learning, and discovered strength I didn't know I had. But as graduation approached, I kept asking myself, "What now? I have my dream, now what?"

And Flynn? Well, this guy had a crazy good answer for Rapunzel. He said, "That's the best part: you get to go find a new dream."

So this is it: my new dream. I am going on an adventure I have always longed for, but been afraid to hope for, to spread learning in the subject I love. (Just 20 days from the date on the blog until I leave!)

Even now I find myself asking, "What next? What happens when my two-year contract is up?"

Well, that's the best part: I get to go find a new dream.

Okay, all the reliving my childhood is over now. Just in case you missed it, I am super excited to be moving on to my new dream. On to more practical things you may want to know about my trip.

I am trying to find ways to fit all the novels I am taking for my classroom into the three bags that I am allowed to bring. It isn't so much a space issue as a weight issue: books weigh a lot. But if anyone has tips for packing, of any kind I would love to hear them. The one nice thing is that I only have to pack for one season because it is summer all the time in Jakarta.

As I packed away all of my winter clothes into tubs to be stored until I got back the reality struck me that I wouldn't wear them again for two years (also that we have a lot of winter in Northern Illinois because wow do I have a lot of sweaters, and I wore them all in the past 8 months).  How did people function in Illinois before the weather channel? I have personally experienced snow in the morning and 60s by the afternoon. Life will be simpler when I will always know what temperature it is outside because it will always be the same in Jakarta. But I am gonna miss the snow.

One thing I am not looking forward to is the 28-hour plane ride. I have two layovers: one in Los Angeles and one in Hong Kong, but they are only for an hour each so I can't leave the airport and I will be lucky if I get to sit down in between flights. I welcome any travel tips as I have never been on a plane for more than 9 hours! Especially sleep-related tips as I want to get as much as I can.

I leave at 10:30 on July 14th from the airport. I will arrive local time at 1:30 p.m. on Monday in Jakarta which is 1:30 a.m. Monday here. So expect an update (hopefully) sometime Monday.

-Rachael