How do I pack my life into a suitcase, a carry on, and a backpack?

Hello world. My name is Caroline Gressett, and in a little less than seven short weeks, I will be on a plane traveling to Spain to study abroad! For the Texas Tech Honors College, I have to write a blog which is fine by me considering I wanted to keep a blog anyway. I will be studying Spanish (duh but you would be surprised by how many people ask me what I'm studying), and although that is my major, I am keeping my blog English because the majority of people reading this will only know English.
I don't have to start my entries until I get there, but I am doing it early because a lot of study abroad is preparation.

Not only do I have to conjure up some money and buy a plane ticket but also get my life together which is intimating as a 20 year old. The longest I have ever been away from home is *maybe* five consecutive weeks, but I think it is really four in all honesty. A lot of my prep is stuff I have to do alone. I had to fill out the application and scholarships. I had to apply for a Spanish visa to study and live there. I had to attend multiple meetings where they force fed us so much information that I cannot even tell you the half of it off the top of my head (thank God for notebooks). I had to receive physical and mental clearance to deem myself able to study abroad.
I also have to buy this card for two extremely morbid reasons:
1) To have my body medically evacuated in the case that I am severely injured
2) To have my body shipped back to the states in the case that I die while abroad

Isn't that really creepy? No one my age wants to think about either of those possibilities, but here I am worrying about that and how I will pack my life in a suitcase, a carry on, and a backpack. It is sobering to have to promise your mother and brother that you will not travel in France for more than a day because of possible terrorist attacks. Also, I am getting emails for the Spanish embassy warning me that it may not be safe to travel to Europe until February 20th.

Nevertheless, I am extremely excited to go abroad. It really is the opportunity of a lifetime, and I am very thankful to have so many supportive people in my life. It is also humbling because I am paying for it myself, so the whole experience is even more special because I know that my hard work and stress that got me to the position I am in. I am here for a reason, and I will be there for a reason too. I hope this blog will teach me what that reason is and give me something to look back on one day.

xoxo,
Caroline

P.S. - Reading this back, I feel the need to give a shout out to my parents. They do help me out a lot in every way they can. Without their never-ending love for me, none of this would be possible at all.