A Decision and a Departure

I can't believe that it took me two months to finally create a blog. First and foremost, my name is Diep Ho. It's a Vietnamese name, but I was born in America. I grew up speaking Vietnamese and English. When I was a sophomore in high school, I figured out that I had a talent. You see, I always thought that I would be doing something in music. I had spent so much of my life in music already, but this new talent had nothing to do with music. I was learning French quickly. I am not saying that it was Einstein level learning, but it was fun for me. I even tried to learn Latin when I was a senior in high school. I had an easy time with that too...and German wasn't so bad in college. I eventually figured out that I was meant to do something with French. I fell in love with French and I figured out that I am meant to be a teacher. I can't wait to meet my future high school students and be the best teacher I can possibly be.

Ah, the days when I was striving to be a musician.

For now, I must tell you about the decision I made. I decided to apply for ISEP's study abroad program. I chose a few locations, but Aix-en-Provence, France was my first decision. I had all of the luck in the world. One day, a funky brown envelope came in the mail for me. I had been losing hope that it would ever arrive. I was afraid that I might have not been good enough to get into the study abroad program of my dreams. I was doubting myself...but I ripped open that envelope so quickly! Haha. I don't think I had ever been that happy before. Except for when I eat ice cream cake...anyways, I was ecstatic. I told everyone who would care to listen and I immediately made preparations for my departure in September of 2013. It's actually a very complicated procedure with a lot of paperwork. That's really the hard part. To anyone who has chosen ISEP, I actually think it made everything a lot easier. I have an ISEP coordinator at my home university and one in Aix. They help me with whatever I need help on. After I took care of all of the terrible paperwork and VISA business...blah blah...the day came when I was able to board the plane. I remember it rather clearly. It was only two months ago. I've never been on my own before. I attend Kennesaw State University as a commuter student, work on the weekends for my mother, and enjoy living at home with my family. We're awfully close and I was terrified of leaving. What was I supposed to do without my sister? My brothers? My parents? I had to believe in myself. I had to believe that I could do this on my own.

My beloved family at my sister's graduation.

Once the fateful day of August 31st, 2013 rolled around...I was kind of sure that I was ready. I spent my last day in America being with the ones I love the most. I was with my siblings, my parents, my best friends, and my boyfriend. My flight was rather late...around 11:00 PM. Now that I read in twenty-four hour permanently, 23:00. I read in twenty-four hour for months before my departure. I think it's a lot easier than that AM and PM nonsense. Anyways, my dad was coming with me to help me move in and then heading back after a few days. My stomach was doing back flips in the van. My sister asked me, "are you nervous?" I could only say "yeah" and nod my head. When we were all waiting for my last friend to arrive, I was getting rather anxious, but my siblings helped ease my worries by joking around with me. When my friend arrived, she gave me such a lovely gift. It's a stationary box with all four of us friends on the front. We all have been friends for so long...and it was such a lovely gift.

I said goodbye to my friends first. I turned to Trizzie, who gave me the box and gave her a hug. She is always cheerful. I turned to Chris and shook his hand, since I had only awkwardly meant him at that very moment in the airport. HAHA. I turned to Savannah, the friend I obnoxiously laugh with the most. I said goodbye to Cam, her boyfriend. I would miss the times we discussed video games. Then, I turned to Phung. Phung and I have been friends for about seven years now. Our parents are friends and we live about two minutes from each other when she's not at UGA. She was getting teary-eyed...and I didn't want to see that. I hugged her as she was turning her head away so that no one could see her crying. After her, I said goodbye to my boyfriend at the time, Alex. Now that I think about it, I should have taken a longer time saying goodbye to him. It's funny how I can still remember the smell of his cologne. After him, I had to say goodbye to my family. My brother Qui, the least emotional, looked a little red in the eyes. Of course, he told me that he wished me lucked and to take pictures. He and I are very fond of Instagram haha. After him, I said goodbye to my brother Luong. He's a teddy bear, truly. He looks scary to other people, but I just see a teddy bear. Still, I don't recommend making him mad. He gave me a bear hug and tries to be cheerful for me. After Luong, my little sister Lam...with teary eyes...she said goodbye to me. There is no bond like a bond between sisters. She is going through a metamorphosis phase like me. She goes to Sewanee and is living the college life. After my sister, I said goodbye to my dear mother. My mother was teary as well. She and my sister know me better than anyone, so it was hard for me to see them like this. I didn't cry, but I was sooooo close to it when my mom was crying. I hate seeing my mom cry. After all of those goodbyes, I entered the terrible security line and saw the hands of my loved ones waving to me and sending me good luck wishes.