It’s amazing how fast two years can go, isn’t it?

Upon embarking on these last two years, it seemed to be an immeasurable length of time.  Something my 23-year-old brain couldn’t even comprehend.

I didn’t even have anything to prepare me for what was to come - four years of college really didn’t do much to ready me for traipsing off to Africa.

And when I look back on the girl who left Sky Harbor that February morning, I don’t know if I even recognize her anymore.

I was so nervous, so scared for something that I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I was fearful of everything that I knew in life changing.

Yet, here we are.  Almost two years to the day.  That endless two years that I was so afraid of, actually turned out to be an infinitesimal amount of time. 

You see, a lot has changed over the last 24 months.  But those have been some amazing changes.  I am so much stronger and more self-assured than I have ever been in my entire life.  I’ve done things here in Madagascar that I would never have thought I’d have the strength to do.  And I’ve learned who I really am, through trial and error, and have come through it all confident & ready to take on the world.

Okay, maybe not the world - but at least ready to take on the next step.  :)

Peace Corps was the right thing for me at exactly the right time.  It came along when I was doubting my path in life, where I would go and what I would do.  I was watching friends get married, classmates venture into the real world, and my little brothers grow up.  But I couldn’t quite place where I was in the midst of all that.  I did know, however, that joining the Peace Corps was something I truly wanted to do and would regret immensely if I let it pass my by.

So with that, I left for Madagascar.

Living my life day to day, it certainly didn’t seem like time was flying.  It also was, without a doubt, the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  If you’ve been following me for the last two years, you know that it’s not been without ups and downs.  It’s been tough.  But now it’s two years later and the difficulty of it all makes the victory that much sweeter, having made it to the end in one piece (for the most part). 

I’m in the home stretch.  Less than three months from now, I’ll be on a plane, leaving Madagascar, though hopefully not for the last time.  I look forward to these next few months, though with a heavy dose of trepidation, for I know that however fast the last two years may have gone, these few months will literally fly by.

I’ll continue to update this blog as often as I can, and I promise to fill it with more laughter & pictures rather than this mushy stuff.  But know that once April rolls around, you’ll probably have to deal with my sappiness one last time. 

Just prepping you guys now.

Until next time,

T