Unfortunately, I think I'm now an adult

It's that time of year again: when my least favorite season in Florida has ended.  For anyone living outside the south Florida region, you're probably under the misguided assumption that we have no seasons here, and that is only part true. We don't have YOUR seasons here. Florida seasons, while annually reoccurring, are quite different to those further north (though it seems all bets are off nationwide this year, so maybe no one has actual seasons anymore).  Florida seasons are as follows: Summer Lovebug season (mainly a pain for keeping your windshield clean of bug goop) Why is it STILL summer--it's October!?!?!! Snowbird season (like many other animals, this species is migratory and clogs up our traffic and early dinner specials) Winter (this can last anywhere from 1-3 days, and will be known by the sight of people in parkas, long pants, and socks under their sandals. Also, social media posts will be all about the fact that it's too cold to go swimming outd...

**WARNING** long distance communication of emotion and meaning is tricky, so I've added animated pictures (.gif files) to this post.  If you are on mobile or subscribed via email, you may have some trouble seeing these important components of this post. So for starters, I now have both a ticket AND a visa (I hear that's the winning combo)! No better way to celebrate than with PENGUIN GIFS! For seconders, I'm not only getting more excited, but massive amounts of panic are setting in, too. This is in large part due to having become much more type A than I realized over the past few years (sorry, it was the one thing I didn't keep track of; it sneaked up on me), and in slightly smaller part due to me taking on what looks to now be an excessive amount of belongings throughout my lifetime for someone who has never actually lived on her own (again, how did that happen?--not the living situation, the stuff).  Much like loading the dishwasher, I expect my suitc...

So at this point, the blog has still not gone public, so I feel like I'm lecturing to an empty room as it were, but I know it's just a matter of time before others will be reading some of my ramblings.  With that in mind, I wanted to dedicate a post to this questions I've been getting a lot since telling people of my acceptance to the Young Adult Service Corp (YASC). Why? Such a simple question, such an extraordinarily complicated answer. I suppose the easiest answer for me to give is that I can't not  go.  When I look back on all the lovely blessings I've been given by God, and all the terrifying struggles He's helped me through, I can clearly see that the path I've been walking, although it seemed aimless and wandering before, was a bee-line for mission such as this.  When you first tell your family that you want to move to who-knows-where for a year serving the church and the response is, "I figured you were gonna do this years ago.  It's a...