If I were to walk into a room full of people and ask those who enjoy saying “goodbye” to those close to them to raise their hands, I doubt I would have many hands shoot up into the air.

It has been a good 7 years since I last went away on a long trip of any sorts; ironically, this was the first big trip out West that I enjoyed, along with my best friend. I remember that it really wasn’t until a couple of nights before we left that the reality of it set in. However, back then it was merely a long vacation, to be spent with someone close the entire time. Reality is setting in much earlier this time, with a much different air about it too.

The past week has been great in the sense that I’ve been able to spend some quality time with friends and family. It also brought on the first round of “goodbyes” that I have had thus far.

Yesterday marked the last time I will enjoy leading worship with the team that I helped form 3 years ago, and the last time that I will be able to be at my church until I am back home. My pastor and close friend formally announced my imminent departure, and the church voiced their support for me. I had to take a deep breath to keep myself composed; I have known a good portion of the congregation for a long time now, and they have been so supportive over the years, and continued to show that support by offering words of thanks and prayers.

The day also marked the last time that I will see my younger sister until I have home for her wedding at the end of September. I don’t think this realization will really hit until I leave again after her wedding, as that will present a great time-frame of being away (though, hopefully I will get to see here when I am back for Fall wedding #2 in October).

I think when the reality really hit, though, was after I left Grand Bend visiting my parents and older sister on Saturday at a cottage they had rented for the week. Though I still have some more time left to spend with them, it was a reminder that there isn’t a whole lot of it left.

The upcoming week is set to bring even more goodbyes, particularly on Wednesday when I have a mass party with a lot of close friends and relatives (all of which my parents have set up for me). I have come to realize that this will be a recurring event over the years, and that I just need to remember what lies ahead and take a deep breath. Having said that, it would not surprise me if I have some moment of breaking down before I leave. Only time will tell.

[photopress:sfu_indian_arm.jpg,thumb,alignright]It’s night, I’m feeling pretty contemplative, so I think it’s time to answer the most asked question that I’ve had since making known my plans to head out West…..the question ‘why?’ Why BC, why so far, why back to school, and why not a school that is closer.

It’s not a simple question, and fittingly neither is the answer. I live at home with my parents, who are fantastic. I have an amazing family nearby, run for a track club with a great coach and great people in it, go to a church with a super community where I am heavily involved; I have many amazing friends here, my best of who’ve I’ve known for 22 years. Life is comfortable here, it is familiar here, and I really do like so many things about being here.

I am not one who really likes change. I used to really dislike it, but as I’ve mentioned before, the last two years my life has been in a great upheaval. I believe this has been God’s way of helping me to learn to accept change, to appreciate it what it brings in the long run. In the past few years I have seen many close friends experience the exciting change that marriage brings, with more friends quickly approaching that change. Being a single guy at 26, life has just seemed to be fairly constant. With all that happened in this two year period, I came to realize that for me, change was in order. I have felt a need for an adventure of my own, before I am ready to really settle down with my life.

Going to school was an easy choice (which seems amusing to me, as I was never one to really enjoy school)…I hope to run a business when I’m finished, but don’t feel quite ready yet, and hope to gain some better business sense. As well, I hope to one day teach at college, which will at minimum require me to have a degree.

That still leaves the issue of why so far away. One look in my room, filled with pictures and posters of Western Canada, will give a bit of an idea. The climate for running is great in BC, and the teams at Simon Fraser are really competitive. In 7-week trip, which my best friend and I titled “Go West 2000″, I learned to love the West (and this grew after returning 2 years later on a another great trip). But there’s more to it than that.

With the upheaval, and all of the tough situations that occurred over the last while, I have really felt the need to have a fresh start in some areas of my life. I have had a bumpy ride with regards to romantic relationships and just learning to find myself in that respect. Now, I don’t believe that I can run away from my past; I do, however, think that stepping out of my bubble will really challenge me and help me to dig down and come to know myself better, and to rely on God more than I would here. It’s a new environment, with new faces and opportunities. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have hopes of meeting that ’special someone’ out there. Whether or not that does happen is not up to me, but there is a spark of hope, and I’m ready to see where God leads me.

In one of my favourite books, Wild at Heart, John Eldredge says that “in the heart of every man is a desperate desire for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.” This is my battle, to find myself and grow to be the man God has called me to be, and to live my adventure. At times, when I think of it, it is scary; I am leaving so much behind. But, I know that this is exciting change; change that will pave the way for what is meant to be.

Today I purchased 3 plane tickets. Why 3? 1 to get out to my new “home”, and 2 to return for weddings. With the tickets now purchased, and my time until departure now winding down quickly (23 days until I leave), the upcoming change seems more real than ever.

The last few weeks have included numerous hours spent on organizing countless items for school, including setting up my classes twice. Accidentally signing up for classes at the wrong campuses is not a good idea. In my 4 years of College, I believe I chose one elective…I didn’t even choose the class time. This new process is one that I came to detest quickly, especially trying to carefully craft my schedule around cross-country times. Luckily, this process is done and has made way for others, such as figuring out how I will pay for all of this (OSAP actually is as painful a process as I was led to believe). Life has seemed like quite the whirlwind, and keeping track of everything has been a lesson in itself.

One of the questions I have been asked quite frequently is “are you getting excited?” It is a tough one for me to answer. On the one hand, I have a new adventure ahead of me; a new place to live, new people to meet and experiences to carve. However, there is also the other side of the equation: I leave behind so many amazing and close friends, family and everything else my life has become familiar with in 26 years. For the greater part of my life, I never figured I would be able to move away like this. Only with the rapid change of my life over the last couple of years and conversations with those who have experienced similar have I been able to really believe that I’d survive just fine (of course, time will tell). So to really the answer of being “excited”, I have concluded that it’s more of a being at peace. I have found a deeper appreciation for that which has brought me to this point, and I look forward to the unwritten stories of my life.

So with my upcoming life upheaval, which will find me at Simon Fraser in lovely Burnaby, BC for a number of years, I have decided that it’s time to foray into this whole blogging craze.  I can’t say I’ll be particularly good at it, but this is where I will spew my thoughts as I come across them (and have time to transport them from head to computer). This is the place to be if you care to follow what’s going on my life as I begin this new and exciting (or scary) journey.