The time has finally come.

I didn't believe this day would ever actually arrive. Currently I am sitting in the Incheon Airport awaiting to board my first flight in my epic journey back to Bathurst, NB. Seoul-Tokyo-Toronto-Montreal-Bathurst. As I sit here, I look back on the last few months and am astonished at how quickly the time has gone by, it seems like it was just yesterday that I started applying to schools and deciding that this would be the year I leave Korea for good. This past week has been one of the hardest and longest I've had yet, the goodbyes seem to be never ending. It's hard to hold back tears while reminiscing about all the amazing adventures I've had here and the wonderful people I've shared them with. Coming to Korea was difficult and saying goodbye to home was hard, but knowing I would always go back "home" was comforting. Leaving Korea and my hash family isn't so easy, I don't know when I'll see them again or if I'll ever come back to this home. It's the end of an era, another chapter closed.

I've always been a little nervous about flying, but today the fear is not of the flight, but of leaving this place I have loved for the past three and a half years. It's a fear of the unknown, a fear of making a mistake, a fear of being alone. What if this is where I belong? Everyone keeps telling me this change will be good for me, it will be a new beginning, but right now it seems like an ending. I feel loved by so many, yet all alone.

I spent my last night in Korea amongst friends. My very good friend, Nathan, was kind enough to invite a few of us to a home cooked Mexican dinner by his visiting mother. It was a night filled with some of my dearest friends and the most delicious food. It was all a girl could ask for as a send off. Leaving was tough. Saying those last goodbyes, giving my favourite pup, Bruiser, one last snuggle, going back for one last hug from Nathan, a friend who has seen me at my worst and still loves me dearly. I never had friendships like this back home. The bond of living abroad and travelling together is stronger than any I have experienced yet. Shared goals and experiences brings us together.

Korea has been a roller coaster ride for sure. I have changed and become a totally different person from everything I have experienced here. I am so happy I took the leap to move here alone and I will always look back on this as one of the best times of my life. Things in Korea aren't quite right, and I like them that way. Maybe I fit in because I am a bit (NQR) not quite right myself!

A new adventure looms around the corner, I know it, but the older I get, the scarier the adventures become. Will I always be adventuring alone? When will I figure out what it is I want from this life? Or will I ever? For now I look forward to seeing my family and a few weeks spent reuniting with friends in the US, not to mention a hashy wedding at the end of March! And finally, after a nice month off, back to school, back to school. The world is mine for the taking!

Breathe in, breathe out, move on.