One quote that really speaks to me is from the unlikely source of a children's movie; We Bought A Zoo and it is,
"You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it."
Now let me tell you about how I came to be an exchange student. I know my outbound coordinator through my church and one day she came up to me and asked if I wanted to be an exchange student, I laughed in her face. Another Sunday about two years later she asked again if I would like to be an exchange student, this time I said yes and never gave it a second thought. I quickly started filling out the paperwork and emailed my parents a copy of a powerpoint of the program; at which point my mom just kept telling me what a "interesting idea" it was until she realized I was sure this is what I wanted. Then a few months later I went to the interviews. A few days later I got a call saying I had been accepted into the program. A few months after that I received news that I would be going to Austria. Another few months later I told my parents I didn't want to hang out in the airport and got in the security line to get on the plane to my new life.
Now its 10 months after I got on the plane and I have barely ever regretted the decision for more than 5 minutes at a time. 20 seconds of insane courage has led to on of the best experiences of my lifetime (so far) and I cannot wait to see what other kinds of crazy opportunities I can take advantage of if I lose my fear for a meager 20 seconds.
