I'll come back when you call me, no need to say goodbye.

"Just because everything's changing,
doesn't mean it's never been this way before.
All you can do is try to know who your friends are
as you head off to the war.

"Pick a star on the dark horizon
and follow the light.
You'll come back when it's over,
no need to say goodbye."

I'll be back. :)

Well, if I try to stay in Europe I'll be fined a ridiculous amount of euros and thrown into jail if I get caught anyway.

...but it's also because I love each and every one of you oh so, so, so very much. (Haha.)

All jokes aside though, coming back home is actually on my list of exciting things. Sure, I'm going to see the Holy Father a couple dozen times, visit the archaeological wonder of Pompeii, have a cocktail in a bar made entirely of ice (oh yeah, it's a real thing alright), and eat scoop after scoop of gelato until my thighs explode. But none of that will compare to the moment when I get to come home, sit each one of you down after I've embraced you and kissed you on the cheek, and show you how much I have changed.

Unfortunately, this just happens to be one of the very few things that are hard for me to explain. I cannot say with confidence in which ways and to what degree I will change, all I know is that I will come back a different person. When that plane takes off in less than twelve hours, I am starting a new chapter in my life by following the whisper of an idea that I've heard since I was a child. The world around me is going to drastically change and with it, me. You'll physically see the same Hien in three months, possibly a bit chubbier and more flirtatious than usual, but you will know as well as I will know of the little something that we can't quite put our finger on.

So. I'll be back. New and improved, (hopefully) with greater responsibilities for the next year and a more welcoming outlook for the fantastic future ahead of me.

I hope you are as excited as I am to see what ninety days can do to a soul.

Love,
Hien

P.S. I definitely packed my toothbrush for those of you who are wondering. Actually, I packed two! I think.