The Week Leading to San Francisco
San Francisco is only one week away!! There is so much to do before departure, and I saved it all till the week before. So, what follows will be a chronological blog narrating my adventures and struggles before we meet at Davies on June 14th.
Tuesday:
By this time next week, I will be in San Francisco! That is wild to think about. It simultaneously feels as if we have been waiting forever, but also like we just got our acceptance emails yesterday. Despite leaving in a week, I started the day just like I started the day before:, with work. As an Orientation Assistant for the summer, I have to be available from 8:45am to 12:45pm on Zoom for incoming freshmen to ask any questions they may have. However, usually we don’t get a lot of visitors. Over the weekend I went back to my hometown of Hudson to find some luggage to take with me. However, it has not made it into my apartment yet- it’s still in my car…
Wednesday:
I woke up bright and early again to sit on Zoom for four hours. Since we don’t have a lot of visitors it allows me to get a lot of personal goals done. I have decided today that I will start prepping for the trip by making a list. You would think that the excitement of this trip would urge me to want to pack. But packing (especially for a two-week trip) tends to overwhelm me. However, since I don’t want to procrastinate packing and accidentally forget something, I am going to take the time today to write up a list of what I need, and to actually bring my suitcase in from my car. I think those are good first steps.
Thursday:
T-minus 4 days till departure!! Not a lot that happened today. Kallie sent a “Checking in” email and it made me overly excited. It still does not feel like I am going to San Francisco in less than a week. Yesterday, I was able to complete the small task of bringing my suitcases inside and I started the actual packing processes today. I am not sure if it’s too early to start packing but I figured it was better than waiting till the night before like I have done in the past.
Friday:
Today I was able to get a lot of packing done. I am actually enjoying packing, but I am also stressed because I have never had to pack for a 2-week long trip and also because I just haven’t traveled in so long. But I did learn some new packing tips which was fun. Everything is reminding me and making me excited for this trip. For example, today I watched Jurassic World Dominion and it just re-sparked my excitement. I also keep seeing ads as I scroll through social media for movies I chose to see while in San Francisco and they all look SO GOOD!
Saturday:
Today was a pretty fun day. I went to a Pride event in Phoenix Park with fellow cohort member, Emily Luebke. After we walked around Phoenix Park and watched the drag show we went to my apartment and watched the documentary We Were Here. The documentary was about the AIDS epidemic and the impact it had and continuous to have on the queer community in San Francisco. Even though it was a very sad documentary, I felt it was important to watch because the epidemic played such a monumental role inof queer history in San Francisco.
Sunday:
Today was when the nerves really started to hit me. I have traveled a lot but I have never been on a trip for 2 -weeks. I am stressed that I am over packing or that I didn’t pack enough or that there is going to be an issue with security, or my bag will get lost. There is so much to be nervous about but in general I am just so freaking excited!!!
Monday:
Despite my excitement and my nerves, I don’t really know what to expect. Even though we learned so much about what to expect and how to be prepared, I don’t think this trip will feel real until I get to San Francisco and experience it myself. I am excited to get to know my fellow cohort members better. I also hope to learn a lot about myself, and my community and I know I will have a lot of fun. I can’t believe we leave tomorrow!!
Tuesday:
Today is the day!!! San Francisco here we come!
