Never thought that this moment would arrive but Father Time will always find a moment to catch up with you.

To catch you up to speed, I graduated high school last year in Zimbabwe and I am starting college at the University of Pennsylvania this fall. The Southern African school calendar is marginally different from the rest of the world: whilst we graduated in November 2016, my American age mates only graduated in April of 2017 which meant a 10 month holiday until the start of college in late August. So what exactly does one do with themselves during this period? If you’re me, then you backpack across Europe, take up cycling on the weekends and read more books than you ever thought possible. What can I say, I’m not your typical party-going 18 year old.

You may have noticed that I have neglected to publish any posts over the last 2 weeks and mind you, it’s not out of laziness. I decided to put the blog work away and postpone any distractions so that I could properly bid adieu to the place I was born, and have spent the past 18 years of my life in. It’s not easy when every landmark reminds you of an event; there’s the insurmountable hill that crushed us when we decided to run a 12km race, now we’re driving past my nursery school and look, that’s the restaurant where we hosted my 5th birthday party!

One thing that several of my parents’ friends have said to me is that when I next return home, I will be looking at it through the eyes of an outsider. Moving away is like uprooting yourself from the comfortable pot you had sprouted in only be transported to an expansive field, where you have more space to grow, flower and really turn yourself into the person you want to be.

Although it is difficult to say goodbye, everything has to come to an end. There is a time for everything, I’ve had my time to relax and bum around for the past 10 months, but now it is time for me to put my head down and get back to work. Obviously in between getting to know my fellow classmates, exploring the city of Philadelphia and just having fun you know? As I close this chapter of my life, I remember to be grateful for all the experiences I have had, I have only fond childhood memories to look back on. Several photos I take with me, including the ones in this post that were all taken by me. I am eager to make new memories in the US of A!

Sending warm hugs to wherever you are in the world, let this be a reminder for you to get out there and try something new!

x Andy