Friday, July 16, 2010

To all you Rotary kids following in my footsteps.

I guess I have the honor of being the very first Northfield Rotary kid to leave this year. I know that mostly fellow Rotary folks read this, so I want to offer a small tidbit of advice for when you get to this point.
This whole leaving thing - now that I come down to it, it is far more difficult than I could have possibly imagined. I am very close to just breaking down and being reduced to a completely inconsolable state of existence. It's not that I'm worried about India - I'm completely psyched about that part. It's the leaving that is the problem, not the arriving. Saying goodbye to everyone tomorrow is not going to be fun.
I'm telling you this for 2 reasons.
1) So that you might be a little better prepared for it.
2) You should get all of your junk - packing, whatever Powerpoint you may have to put together, shopping, any money or technology stuff you might be using - done quickly. I have put it off, because I'm essentially a very lazy person, and it's going to crimp on my time. Which is awful. When it gets to the end, you won't want to waste a minute of your last days.

Good luck guys! I know my overly emotional ravings probably don't sound very encouraging at all, but very soon I'm going to put up an excited post about how I came out the other side and that India is awesome. It's gonna be ok.
Everyone have a great year!

8 comments:

  1. TEDLY! I can't believe tomorrow is already here for you. Good LUCK, I'm dreading this goodbye so much as well but just think- in 2 days you'll be in INDIA. insane. can't wait to hear how the arrival goes :)

    maria

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  2. Good luck Ted! I am excited to hear about you adventures after you arrive in India.

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  3. Today was my first goodbye, and you're right. Not fun. But I know you're also right about the second part- you are going to have an amazing time, and in a year you'll be back with all kinds of excellent adventures to tell us about. Have a wonderful time, and stay in touch.

    Anya

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  4. TED!

    I seriously cannot believe you are leaving today. I wish you the very best of luck, but I know you don't need it. This experience will be amazing, and will make those hard goodbyes so very worth it in the end.

    You will be the all-knowing-one that the rest of us will turn to as our departure dates come nearer and nearer. Two weeks from now I will completely understand how you are feeling (as long as my Visa arrives.....).

    Alright, HAVE AN AMAZING TIME. Stay in touch.

    Carly

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  5. Dearest Ted,
    I know it's not by choice but you are very brave being the first of us to leave. I'm scared out of my mind and I'm sure you are too but you're going to be brilliant. I'm jealous of all the Indian kids you're going to spend your time with! While I'm sure it seems completely overwhelming right now.. you're ready for this. You are. Lets us know how you're doing and remember how fast years go by so take every terrifying moment of it in!
    You got this.
    Stina :)

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  6. Ted, now that my departure is just 10 days away, I decided to go onto your blog to see if you had any helpful advice. And you did! Yay! I definitely understand where you're coming from, the leaving part sucks already. I hate goodbyes. But lucky you, now you're in INDIA and the fun part starts! I'm excited for your next post, woooo Ted!

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  7. ted, i can't believe you're starting your life in india already! i swear, i can see you there so easily--you're probably loving it :] i hope you're over the jet lag and initial awkwardness, and now you can just plunge into the excellent adventure. good luck! you're gonna be awesome.

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  8. I love you Ted. Teach the men of India how to play Frisbee and the women of India how to love. You're gonna have an amazing year.

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