Right now I’m sitting in the airport about an hour early for my flight ready for my adventure to begin. Not surprisingly I didn’t get too much sleep and that of which I got was not of great quality.

My emotions and heartbeat are a little off today, as I usually prefer to be Calm. Cool. Have my emotions in check. Instead I’m really…anxious, and a whole mix of other feelings, but anxious describes it best. I’m excited for the new experiences I’ll have, for the people I’ll meet, for the challenges I’ll face, and especially for the impact I will have. However, at the same time I’m pretty nervous to be leaving a state in which I’ve lived my whole life. I could use a couple more days to chill, relax, see some friends,  and maybe even finish up some leftover school work I haven’t taken care of.

Although, now that I think about it, a couple more days probably won’t make a difference. There’s anxiety in the unknown too. Where am I going to live? Where am I going to teach? What am I going to teach? What about the people I will meet? What will I meet the expectations the program and people have of me? Will be Teaching Credential ever get processed? DANG… TFA leaves a lot of major questions unanswered don’t they?

Regardless of my anxiety I think there is a lot of value in all these questions though. There’s value in taking a risk. There’s value in having a new adventure and being able to be flexible. And there’s value in challenge and adversity. So, I really do thank TFA for this amazing opportunity to not only do the work that I will do and make the impact I will make, but also to completely move and change my life. To be provided something so new, so disrupting in life is not something everyone has the opportunity to have. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and moments I will cherish.

Phillip Hon