23 days to go

Not that I'm counting actually - I just counted the days now to put it as the title :)

In 23 days, I'll be leaving here, traveling for 2 days to get home. Then from there, who knows?? It's a little bit sad. Well, actually, it's a lot bit sad. I've really come to love and appreciate Timaru and the people here.
I haven't loved and appreciated the freezing cold winter at all, but everything else has been great!

I have 3 weekends left here and they're all booked up; my weeks are looking a little busy too. The time has gone so fast!!!  There's lots of people I want to make sure I catch up with before I leave, but I also have to pack my whole room/life up here, finish writing reports, marking exams, etc, and planning the last 2-3 weeks of school!! There's so much to do and so little time. And soon I'll be gone. I probably won't be back for a while, unless I get some grabaseat flights for a weekend! :)

I've made some really good friends which I wasn't really expecting, to be honest. I had kinda figured that it would be hard to make friends in the space of a year. But as it turns out, the people I met were awesome and very welcoming, inviting me to hang out with them even though they'd only known me such a short time!
I hope that wherever I may be next year provides me with such good friends. I will be happy! But can I have such luck 2 years in a row in 2 completely different places??!

So as I said, it's a bit sad.
But also, it's possibly exciting. I mean, I don't know where I'll be next year (still applying for jobs and waiting to hear back, etc, etc). I'm hoping to get a job in the North, cos that would be ideal basically. All my family's there. But anywhere in the North is closer than where I currently am :)
I'll have the chance to make new friends, start new hobbies maybe, explore different parts of this amazingly beautiful country!!  It is exciting.

My goal for the next few weeks, as I'm saying goodbye and packing up this short chapter of my life, is to try to fully embrace the changes. Have no fear of anything. No fear of where I'm going. No fear of who I'm leaving behind. No fear of the unknown.  - It doesn't sound all that hard, but it is!!

1 John 4:18 - Perfect love drives out fear.
         (totally abridged and probably taken out of context)- but still true. There is no place for fear in God's perfect love. Yay. :)