5 days left! No worries? Oh I have some...

I'm currently in Florida for the Monster DLP Conference at Stetson University. I've been meeting a lot of cool student leaders. I've also been networking with some of the many sponsors here, like Target, Citrix, etc. However I can not keep the stresses from back home out of my head. I've been having so much fun here, but there are times when I completely zone out during a workshop. I start thinking about other things such as the $1340 I need to pay by 2moro, before I get my plane tickets. I don't have the money and I don't know what I'm going to do. I've also thinking about my personal relationships with people and what will happen to them while I am away......

But on the other hand, I am here having fun, meeting new people and learning a lot about leadership. I am very happy I decided to come to this conference, because I almost gave up and jumped right back on the train to go back to NC. I have always told myself to never give up on anything. There were plenty of situations where I want to give up, but I didn't and the end reward was great. I do not like to give up and I'm glad I didnt give up on Monster DLP.

I am short on time now, I'm actaully supposed to eating lunch and eating with my group.....~TIP~

10 days left!!!!

Wow.....time is moving extremely fast!!! It is definitely crunch time. I'm really stressed trying to get everything together for my conference this weekend. I need new luggage and I have no idea what to pack. I'm scared of what I'm leaving behind. I'm going to miss my friends...I still have to fax my medical form and my housing agreement. I also have to get my visa, and pay my AIFS balance before the end of the week. Hopefully I will get everything straightened out so next week I can focus on my departure. This is a real stressful process! I can't wait until I'm on that plane flying to the other side of the world.

My flight itinerary is as follows:

Depart RDU (Raleigh-Durham): 1:50 pm - Arrive DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth): 3:35 pm
Depart DFW : 5:30 pm - Arrive LAX (Los Angeles): 6:40 pm
Depart LAX : 11:30 pm - Arrive NAN ( Nadi, Fiji): 5:10 am
Then ten days later.......
Depart NAN : 9:00 am - Arrive SYD (Sydney, Australia): 11:40 am

I'm so excited......~TIP~

15 days left!

I really have 16 days left, but it's almost twelve so I'm just going to say 15. I received my passport last week. I want to say it took about a week for everything to process. I'm very nervous and excited. As the time counts down I get more and more nervous. It's going to be crazy to see how I act when I have 5 days left......

I've been meeting so many people going to Australia. AIFS sent out pre-departure packets with a list of everyone going included. So now everyone is on facebook finding each other before we all meet up in L.A. for the flight to Fiji. Just talking about all of this makes me anxious......

I mailed everything for my scholarship, so now I'm just waiting for the check. A couple more loose ends to tie up and I'll be ready to go. I just think I should get some bigger suitcases and do a little bit more shopping. I made a list of things to bring and I was shocked at how long it was. I realized there is no way I will be able to bring all of the things on my list and still try to make room for stuff I will bring back. But I will try very hard to pack as much as I can. lol... I can see me in the airport struggling with all my bags!

My AIFS advisor sent me the notes for the five lectures we will have in sydney. Please tell me why there are 150+ pages total. One set of notes was 49 pages long! I was in the computer lab trying to be discreet at the printer. It was all good, until someone else had to print something....LOL! It's crazy, because I know we have to read those before we get to Fiji......but everytime I pick them up I just look at it and put it right back down. I'm going to try and read them all this weekend and then a couple of days before I go.....

Well.....this is all the news for now.....Plus I'm tired now.....~TIP~

28 DAYS LEFT!!!!!

28 days means 4 weeks!!! I am so excited! A couple of weeks ago I was worried about my passport, my CoE, my housing, and getting everything paid for. Now my only worries are finishing summer school with good grades, getting my visa, and getting more scholarships. I need to meet with A&T's Financial Aid Department, because they are giving me the run-around (as usual). Hoepfully all that will be straightened out next week and my financial aid for the fall will be applied to my account.

I have good news though........I WAS AWARDED THE GILMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP in the amount of $4,000! I am so happy!!! I received the email around 9pm last night and I was so shocked, because I was just talking to my cousin about it earlier. Now I will receive a $500 bonus from AIFS for being awarded this scholarship. All I have to do is turn in the required documents by the deadline July 7th and they will send me the check.

Today is the day for the drawing I entered a week ago. Two friends of mine are masons and I bought 12 raffle tickets from them to enter the raffle. The first prize is a 2008 Honda Accord, the second prize is $6,000 and the 3rd prize is $4,000. I would be happy with any of these three, so I am just going to pray on it.

I appplied for my passport and I should be receiving it within two weeks and I received my CoE and approved courses through email. I also received my housing agreement and the housing rules. Each day I receive an email, I get excited! The emails let me know that this is really happening. I am really going to Fiji and Australia. I am really about to live a dream! I am really about to make a lot of people very proud.

As soon as I receive my passport, I am going to apply for my visa. The visa process is a 24-hr process and I was told it is just a number. Now all I need to do is worry about what I'm going to pack. I need to make a checklist and hopefully I won't leave anything off.

Next thing up is my trip to Deland, Florida for my Diversity Leadership Conference. ~TIP~

33 Days Left!!!

It's 1:20 am, but I can't sleep so I decided to update the blog. I am still extremely excited and nervous about Australia. It seems as the days count down, the more my excitement and nervousness increases. I finally received my flight itinerary and its super long as I expected. I have an appointment for my passport tomorrow, so I hurry up and get it expedited. I still have to get my visa, but I'm glad it's a 24 hr process.

This week is the last week of summer school and I can not wait till its over. I don't think I will do this again, because this is just a lot of work. I am excited for my trip in July to Orlando for the Monster Diversity Leadership Program. I want to get some scholarships!!!! I also need to network and the DLP is a great place to network.

I'm still trying to find some books on Australia. I found a few at Barnes and Nobles, but I need to make sure I compare them so I get the "best" one. I also plan on buying a book about Sydney too. Well I'm not tired yet, but I don't have much more to say......So I guess I'll update in July or something. ~TIP~

54 Days Left!!!!

54 days......Thats how many days I have left before I leave the country. I am so excited!!! I leave July 19th to go to Fiji for ten days. I leave Fiji on July 30th to go to Sydney, Australia. I will return to the US on December 6th. I cant believe I will be gone for 5 months!!!

There is soooo much paperwork to complete and it gets so stressful at times. Everything is soooo expensive. There is a deposit for everything and I still have to get my passport and visa. I can not wait until everything is paid for and I'm waiting to receive my passport and visa. I am trying to get a last minute job to give me money to take with me and to buy stuff before I leave.

I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with my closest friends and that special person in my life. I had a going-away dinner on April 29th, 2008, because I wanted to make sure everyone I wanted to come, was able to come.Here are some pictures from the dinner....lol....