"Let it change you"

As the days count down to my departure for Costa Rica, the excitement and anticipation is getting crowded out by anxiety and nerves. I've been told so much information about this place I'm going, this sustainable center in the Costa Rican Rainforest, and yet, I haven't a clue what to expect.

The topic of all my conversations, be it with family, friends or strangers, is this trip - the coming chapter of my life. My future plans have become right now. There is no second guessing. There is no uncertainty of my destination.

But with this certainty comes a jungle full of unknowns - new people, various climates, different cultures, innovative research. With so many changes in my surroundings, it is most surely going to change me. Before, this thought was frightening. But now, after the numerous well wishes, tales of the natural beauty and the happy people, and of the rewarding experiences of study abroad, I find myself nothing but excited for the change.

Yes I will come back with some obvious changes. For one, I will be tan (this is new for me). Also, I will be far better at speaking Spanish. I'll have made some new friends, had some memorable experiences, lived some unforgettable stories, and learned a great deal.

But the most important changes, the most lasting ones, are not the superficial or the certain ones. It is those changes that I let affect who I am and how I see the world. The changes that will alter the way I live my life. Yesterday, I received the best advice I have gotten in preparation for my travels. A past soccer coach and a good friend of mine left me with just four simple words that I will carry with me every step during the next four months.

"Let it change you."

And I will - knowing that every change will be for the better.