Jittery, nervous, yet excited,

with giddy anticipation coursing through my veins;

 

Scared, uncertain, yet determined,

with the memory of my home as my unwavering rock;

 

Worried, anxious, yet sensible,

with my goals and desires clearly on the path ahead;

 

Mournful, regretful, yet stoic,

with the assuring knowledge that I was doing what was best;

 

Bitter, resentful, yet composed,

with a resigned calm from accepting one’s circumstances;

 

Hesitant, doubtful, yet curious,

with a childlike wonder in my eyes as they fill with unfathomable sights;

 

Guarded, reserved, yet open-minded,

with a new chapter in the story of my life beginning

 

 

as I step away from the ship—

and, with it, everything I had known—

 

 

and onto the dock,

 

 

the gateway into a realm of dangers and promises,

risks and opportunities,

obscurities and differences;

 

 

the threshold into my new home.