It's truly hard to express

how I feel on this last night in Australia.

I think over the last year or so, I've been doing really well of staying in the moment, and focusing on what is at hand, not getting ahead of myself, or looking back too much.

After an experience like this, it is impossible not to do both.

I have truly experienced two major cities half a world away. I have lived as largely as my means will allow (maybe too much so), and experienced culture quite different from mine. I never believed I would be at a park, feeding wild kangaroos. I never really thought I'd get to see the Sydney Opera House. I never would have guessed I'd be letting the waves of Bondi Beach rush over my feet. I never could have imagined being able to walk in the bowels of Rod Laver Arena.

I am so thankful for the opportunity. I've said it multiple times here, but I really am so happy my mom was able to give me this chance. I hope that I've done enough to live up to it.

At the same time, it is hard for me to think about the fact that this might be the one time I ever get to do this. I do not regret much of anything on this trip, except that I did get tired too early some days from doing too much! That's a good problem. I just wish I could say that I KNOW I'll be back in 10 years. In 15. That's part of the beauty of life, however, that you have to experience and make sure to live each moment, no matter where it may be. Tomorrow, for me, it will be Auckland, Papeete, LA, Dallas, and home. I hope I will be able to focus on what that experience will be like.

I am also so thankful to have friends like Ali and Craig Tiley. Despite tragic and deeply saddening circumstances that shortened our time together, I think we made the best of it, and they provided me with experiences in those 40 hours that I would not have been able to do on my own. And they also trusted me with their house and their wonderful cat for 5 days on my own. I can't express how lucky I am to have friends like that. Ali has been one of the closest friends i've had over the past 13 years or so, and I'm so glad that it has been able to endure the last 4 years that she's been here. Craig has is the person who taught me what it meant to be successful. To be a leader. I don't always succeed the way I'd like to, but there are so many moments when I think of the lessons he's taught me over the past 10 years, and realize how lucky that makes me. So to both of you, and Maks, thank you. Very, very much.

So I will keep my chin up for the next 38 hours, and hopefully get home safely, and remember that I'm lucky to have all of these people in my life, no matter where I may be. And thankful that I have so many other loving, caring people in my life, who I haven't mentioned in this post, including the family and friends that read this blog.

Sorry I'm being so sentimental today. I tend to get quite emotional when I have experiences like this. It's been an amazing one.

I hope that once I get home, where I have real internet, I will post a slew of pictures. There are some great ones.

Til I get to the US.....

m