Ode to Joy

As the departure date looms ever so closely over the horizon, I am constantly bombarded by thoughts of not getting to eat dinner with my parents. I am constantly reminded that I will not get to stay up until 3 in the morning watching movies with some of my ridiculously close friends. And I am ever so aware of the fact that I will not be comforted by the dark, cool recesses of my room at night.

These overwhelmingly intense realizations successfully shrink me to the size of ladybug.

So the question asks me how exactly will I deal with the teeth chattering, sweat inducing, bone crushing anxiety that I am about to encounter.

MUSIC!

......and other familiar things!

I have realized that I tend to be a typically sentimental person. I will hold on to movie tickets, concert stubs, pieces of paper, and honestly just about any other useless item just because I associate it with some sort of strong memory.

And in that realization I developed, what I believe, to be a pretty decent rationale on how to cope with homesickness, anxiety, culture shock, etc.

If I take a few small items of nostalgia, then I think it will be just enough to keep me sane.

I will be absolutely sure to take my iPod filled with the music that evokes such serendipitous and calming states within my brain. I will take pictures of loved ones. I will take tiny, objects that have no sort of explicit usefulness just to keep next to my desk marked "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: Look at me for extended periods of time to keep your sanity in an unfamiliar space!"

I think that this will all work because of these objects' familiarity. These objects, both concrete and abstract, do not simply take up space. They create an atmosphere. And this atmosphere will keep me grounded, no matter how lofty or cloudy my head gets. The importance of a familiar atmosphere to me is indescribably important for my physical and mental well-being.

And so, in this sordid, trivial attempt to plant myself in Thailand with only a few sentimental objects, I think that it will be enough to ease my transition into another world.