When I was a kid going to camp during the summer, I would ardently demand that my parents not eat spaghetti while I was gone. You see, spaghetti was my favorite meal, and what would I do if my parents ate it without me?! It is as if I thought I’d never get the chance to eat spaghetti again. As soon as I got home, I was so excited to get to eat it again.

(Note: Today, I hope my parents DID eat spaghetti without me, just to spite me.)

In College, when I came back from my year studying in Northern Ireland, I came back to not just one new class of Freshmen, but a class of Sophomores who I had not met. My friends had all had their own adventures together, and in a way, I was an outsider.

I am only two more sleeps until my trip to Iran, and I am fully aware of all of the things I’m going to miss while I am gone. In fact, I’ve been spending some time specifically considering all of these things. I will miss early Spring in Portland, one of the most beautiful and happy of all of the Pacific NW seasons. There will be events, dinner parties, birthdays, and work events, all of which will occur without me. (How dare they…).

Travel is a choice. The experiences that I will have are unique, and I’m so excited to be going. But, I’m also glad that I know there are things I will be missing here. It’ll make coming home so much easier, it sure did make the spaghetti taste all the better as a child.