all my bags are packed, i'm ready to go

after one intense week, my room is the cleanest it's ever been, since i cleared out 21 years' worth of crap. i can't believe that after a lifetime of living in great falls (in two different houses), i'm leaving tomorrow for the west coast. mv and i are taking a week to drive out to LA, doing our first real road trip. we're stopping in several places, including nashville, santa fe (are you there? do you swear you won't forget me?), and VEGAS! so excited.

we had a grad/going-away party here last night, with lots of family and friends coming to wish me good luck as i make a new start in california. there was a lot of picture-taking, with constant joking that "these photos will be worth a lot someday." yeah, i wish. anyway, as i was sitting there with our friends, it was sad to think about how i'll be leaving this giant support network for a strange new place. in LA, i'll be farther from my family than i've ever been. i'll be sure to miss my high school friends who tease me mercilessly about nicknames like "chesty" and "thuy-hot." and i won't constantly see our family friends who are so close to mv and me that we call them our cousins. but at least i'll have my dad's side of the family out there, and i'll reunite with mer and rachel (new roomies!), plus meryl, brent, ross, chris, and other rtvf/nstv alums. we're going to have so much fun. we'll be poor, but happy :)

of course i'll miss virginia terribly (how could you not enjoy a state that has proclaimed itself "for lovers"?), but it's time to start a thrilling new chapter in my life. californiaaa, here we cooome...