“Bon voyage, ma meilleure amie!”

My best friend is leaving in a week to study abroad. This will be her first time truly traveling alone, leaving home to live somewhere totally different. I studied abroad in Ireland a year ago and I remember how it felt--I was terrified and unbelievably excited at the same time. I know that she's in the same position. For the first time in her life, she won't know anyone nearby. She'll have a complete fresh start. She has no idea how much she is about to learn about herself, other people, and what it means to live in another culture. She is about to come up against obstacles she's never faced and then realize that when she succeeds on her own in that way, that it is perhaps one of the most empowering feelings one can possess.

So I wrote her a note reminding her of how much faith I have in her, that I love her and am so excited for her, and that I'm only a skype-call away. I am going to slip it into her purse or put it in her car before she leaves so that she knows that even though she may feel alone at times, that I am always with her in spirit.