Well, here I am. Finally taking a deep breath after months of preparation and anticipation. Tomorrow I take the MCAT, a test that will make or break my chances of getting into medical school, then I ship off to Portland, Oregon on monday to meet my six new roommates from all over the country and learn how to live a year of service, simplicity and environmental sustainability. Needless to say it's a little much to wrap my head around. I can't even think about packing up my life until this beast of a test is out of the way, but that will leave me a day and a half to prepare for my year in Oregon. And who wants to think about holding up in an air condition-less house packing in this unbearable heat! But it has to be done. 

My Fears:

•  Not doing well in the MCAT. My practice tests have been all over the board.

•  Forgetting how to speak spanish. I'm about to jump into a spanish-intensive position at the clinic and haven't spokane spanish in 2 months even after being asked to keep it up and refine my language skills by my clinic supervisor. But at least 4 of my housemates have spanish-speaking positions too, so we can practice together.

• The incredible amount of stuff I will be learning in the next month. I have to learn how to run a free medical clinic! And quick! They're giving me a lot of responsibility.

What I'm looking forward to:

• New People: My roommates sound super awesome and super diverse. I'm so excited to share this experience with them and to grow in an intentional community that will help me figure out how I want to live my life in the future.

• New City: Who doesn't love Portland? I'm excited to live somewhere than Washington State, though Portland is not too far and fairly familiar. Though I won't be right in the city, living in a city bigger than Spokane will be a breath of fresh air. 

• New Experiences: Being poor, working with a demographic that I haven't really interacted with much, not having easy access to Internet, and trying to establish environmentally sustainable living habits. 

The Adventure begins!