Rett fra hjertet

Try sorting out all of your stuff. Put your most important belongings in a suitcase and lock it. How much could you fit in it? Everything you wanted? I bet you couldn't.

Try getting on a plane. As you take off, think of your belongings in your suitcase. That's everything you own in this world. Everything you've got.

People ask me every day, "do you miss home?" and I just say "Of course I do, but I'm fine". Try sitting in a town you don't know in a room that isn't yours and say that. It's pretty hard.

I do it because I'm strong, because I follow my dreams and because I know that I can. I can do whatever I want to, just because I packed that suitcase and took off.

After a while you learn to be grateful: that little thing at the store that reminds you of home or the TV show you used to watch with your friends. That girl that talks to you every day when no one else does. That one person that asks you if you want to hang out. You appreciate the little things.

Try going to a new place. Everyone knows someone, except for you. Everyone got their own friends, their own things they do and they've all got something in common. Except for you.  So you're on your own, trying to make it happen. Especially when it don't.

Try moving away for a year: everything is new, you feel lost, people aren't as welcoming as they should be, you don't know how to behave and you certinately haven't got anything in common with these people. Yet.

The key is: it's hard, it's a challenge, but it's a challenge we accept. It's to keep strong when all you want to do is to go home, and to wipe away those tears and try over. Being an exchange student is hard, but giving up would be harder. We should all get some credit because we are the heroes of 2012/2013.

I <3 Oklahoma