So the time has come again... here I am, terrified as if I was that scared lil boy again on the first day of school. At least I don't throw up like I use to. That was always one of the worst parts. But even though the vomit is gone, the fear has always been there. To leave and know that you won't be seeing home again for the next 13 months really does take a mental toll on one's mind. And what makes it worse is knowing that your precious love is left behind. To have my inner strength half a world away for so long makes me want to run and hide. But like all challenges I've encountered in life, I'll put such thoughts out of my mind and do what I must because in the end, "Courage isn't the absence of fear, but acting in spite of it".