1...18...2...1,000...25.

1 around the world plane ticket. 18 hours 'til departure. 2 suitcases. 1,000 hugs from family and friends...

And 25 years of experience living life. But am I experienced enough for this? I sit here tonight on the verge of the biggest adventure I've been on so far in my life. I find myself wondering when did I grow up? When did that moment take place where I crossed the threshold from childhood to adulthood? Whether I can pinpoint an answer or not, I think it happened somewhere along the way. At some point I stopped asking permission to go to the movies. I eventually got to drive a car without a passenger above the age of 18. Then came a new level of decision-making, paying bills, buying my own clothes and groceries. Yes, adulthood has ushered itself in. Welcome or not.

Now this so-called adulthood is toying with me. Telling me this would be easier with someone else. Maybe even someone more adult than me. I, however, have chosen to go this alone, in the worldly sense. I travel with the greatest companion one could have, my Heavenly Father. So I stand and embrace the journey with eagerness. I will stumble along the way. Probably a lot. As flights are delayed, cities become overwhelming, luggage is lost, people aren't as helpful as I think they should be....but I will grow too, and He will teach me to regain my footing quicker and surer than before.

And I will return, still at the age of 25. Probably still questioning whether or not I'm an adult, even after hiking the Southern Alps and diving out of a plane with a parachute strapped to my back. Which then leads me to conclude, in the last hours before departure, that adulthood is less of a feeling and more of a reality. I will hold to that reality as I step onto the plane. I will slip in my earbuds, take a deep breath, and soak in the reality that my journey has officially begun. I cannot wait!

I am grateful beyond words for the prayers, support, and love of family and friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your encouragement as I say goodbye to the life I know here in the States and begin to take in (as Aladdin once put it...) a whole new world!

Cheers!