Swan Song

Dear Family & Friends,

I can't believe it -- the past few weeks have really flown, and I am just three days away from flying myself... to London, for starters, and Marrakech, Morocco a mere 6 days later. It's time for my adventure-of-a-lifetime to begin, and I am still partly in disbelief that this is really happening! It has been seven years in the making, and as of Monday, March 20th, at 9:25 PM, I can say that I officially believe in second chances and miracles in the making. (Actually, no need to wait for Monday -- I can say it now!)

This dream of mine to travel the world would still be only a dream, if not for the support and encouragement of those family and friends who have enabled me, with their thoughts, words, and even (Mom and Dad, I owe you for this!!) a place to stay for the past year and 9 months so that I would have the ability to save for this journey. It means everything in the world to me that I am lucky enough to be surrounded by people who care about me so much.

To all my friends, both near and far, you have brightened my days with unexpected e-mails and phonecalls, heart-to-heart talks, good cries (yes, there is definitely such a thing), hugs, and even just your smiles. It's hard to think about being so far away from everyone in my life that I care about, and I'm not quite sure yet how to handle the loneliness factor -- because I'm sure it will spring up from time to time. Knowing that any of you are only a phonecall away from anywhere in the world definitely helps! I look forward to hearing about the adventures going on in your lives -- some of you just recently experiencing parenthood for the first time, others of you getting ready to try on those shoes. Some of you preparing for other adventures -- missions, college, finding the right career, moving to new places, embarking on a new relationship, preparing to tie the knot, adjusting to married life, and dreaming and planning for your own future journeys. Please let me in on the exciting things that are happening for you, so I can share them with you!

To my brothers and sisters -- Michael, Lorelie, Natalie, Matt (my brother-in-law), Danny, and Emily -- I love you all SO much and am grateful every day to have you as my family. I hope I do you proud these next many months as I explore this amazing world. Michael, I'm sure I'll be thanking you many times over for tipping me off on the waterproof liner that we picked up at the military surplus store. Knowing that you've been on some pretty incredible foreign adventures of your own has inspired me, and I look forward to swapping stories with you when the time comes. Lorelie, I can't see a European street scene -- with all the colorful little rowhouses and canals -- without thinking about you and the year and a half you spent serving the people of the Netherlands. I am crossing my fingers big-time that you and I and the parents :) will have a chance to all be there together later this spring/summer. Natalie, you are the giver of so much laughter and smiles. You say it like it is -- which isn't always fun on the receiving end -- but it always comes from your heart, and for that reason alone, it means the world. Thank you for always believing in me. I promise I will come back with some photo art for you and Matt to hang on your walls :) Matt, I am so glad you found my sister, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of the words of encouragement you've given me about taking this round-the-world journey. The time has come for me to finally walk my talk! Danny, I miss you, little bro! But somehow I am comforted by the fact that for many months to come, you and I will share a somewhat unusual bond -- we'll both be living in foreign countries :) I think of you every day, and again look forward to when we're all back from our travels and we can swap stories with one another. And my little sister, Emily -- where do I start... Living at home again has had its share of challenges. But among many reasons I am grateful to have been home, one of the most important to me is that I had a chance to "grow up" with you a little, because we missed that the first time around -- you were a mere 4 years old when I went away to college. But in the past nearly 2 years, you have become more than a cherished sister, you have also become one of my dearest friends. I will miss you so much, but I promise -- I will take lots of food pictures for you! And when I get to Egypt, I promise, I will be wishing your eyes could be my eyes, and taking hundreds of photos in hopes that they can hold you over until you're able to make the trip yourself. Just do me a favor -- just remember something for me, anytime you miss me -- close your eyes, little sis, and I'll be there.

Mom and Dad, you have literally been the wind in my sails so many times throughout my life, but especially in the past few years, when the storms of life have, for me, been the strongest. I will every day be grateful for your love, your support, your encouragement of me and my dreams, your interest in my happiness, and your hands and hearts which you continually extend to me. Especially in my adult years when most people my age are living far from home, you opened your doors to me and blessed me with the opportunity be near you again. This was an experience that I did not expect, but especially at this very moment, can say that I fully appreciate. Living at home has had its challenges, and I'm sure I brought more than a few to your front door. But I can't think of any place I would have rather spent the past nearly two years than here. There have been a lot of life changes in that time. You've seen me go through a lot of adjusting, exploring, seeking new challenges, new opportunities, and finding that some of them in the end just weren't the right thing for me. You've seen my excitement at new beginnings and my sadness as life has brought unexpected endings. But through everything, you have stood by me. And now, despite your own discomfort with watching me go away to strange, unfamiliar places where I'll be far from your protection, you rejoice with me in the coming of this chapter of my life, and send with me your pride in the person that I have become, and your prayers that I will find the happiness I seek. From two people I love as parents and dear friends, I truly couldn't ask for more.

I guess this has become some kind of a swan song. I hope you'll forgive any tears this evokes -- I shed some of my own while writing this, as reality started to seep in. I'm going to try to turn around this somber tone and leave you with some of my favorite quotes that relate to travel, to taking journeys, and to living life to the fullest, because THIS is what I want you to think of when you ask yourself why I would ever choose to spend my own money and my own time (two things I most assuredly will NOT get back) and wander all over the world. These are my reasons. And for the dreams in your heart that you choose to pursue, they will be yours.

Pleasant journeys to you all.

~Melanie

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." -Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

"Every exit is an entry somewhere else." -Tom Stoppard

"We should consider every day lost in which we do not Dance at least once" -Nietzsche