Pre-Departure - The Three Big Commitment Steps

1) Buying the Ticket: Dreaming and planning and poring over maps, guidebooks, websites, etc. are all part of the fun. Arranging and re-arranging possible itineraries and must-visit lists really get you amped up to go. And then comes the amazing and expensive moment when you pull out the credit card and $CHA-CHING$! I have never spent so much money for one purchase before in my life (not even my outrageous tuition fees at university). I am very prone to buyer's remorse, which I bring on myself because I'll hoard money for long periods of time and then I'll drop a ton all at once. Buying my RTW ticket was no different. I had a tiny heart attack after I handed over my credit card to my travel agent, which I know was a little to do with the balance owed but mostly because it meant I was really going (which is both terribly exciting and terribly nerve-wracking).

2) Quitting the Job: Cutting yourself off from a steady source of income is not an easy decision. I am sure there are people who can up and leave their work without looking back. I am not one of them. Maybe it would have been easier if I hated my job, but probably not. My fabulous work ethic and sense of responsibility that win me excellent references have a big downside… it makes quitting a very difficult task, even for an amazing opportunity to travel. In fact, I have never quit a job before. And I knew I would have a hard go of it back when I was job hunting after graduation. I was intent on finding a non-career-related job, since I knew I would have to resign from it. As it turned out, I landed a career-related job that I found very fulfilling that paid relatively well. Whoops. It came time to submit my two weeks notice this past week. As I was starting to over-think the whole thing and stress out on the way to talk to my boss, fortune interrupted via my cell phone, specifically in the form of a phone call from Israel. My high school best friend Mira announced she was overhauling her life plans, and had finally resolved a decision she had been struggling over for quite some time. That really gave me some perspective. I handed in my polite and vague letter of resignation and gave sincere thanks for the experience. My various bosses and supervisors were all surprised but fairly understanding. Mission accomplished. I will officially be unemployed on December 20, 2008.

3) Boarding the Plane: The last hurdle. Once you're on that plane, you're really going. Right now, this trip feels like a cool story I made up to tell people to make myself sound more interesting. Being so busy wrapping up my job and sorting out the astonishing number of things to do before I leave (why does the list keep getting longer instead of shorter?!), the fact that I'm going on an amazing trip for a very long time hasn't really hit me yet. I will probably spontaneously combust from anxiety when I get on the plane. Guess we'll have to wait and see…