Intro: It's something unpredictable...but in the end it's right.

I’m not sure if it’s the four hours of sleep I got last night or the two cups of coffee I had this morning but I’m jittery and have an empty feeling in my stomach, even though I just had a short stack of pancakes at Coogie’s. Last night was definitely a night that I didn’t really want to end, even though I was exhausted and had a headache.

It started out at a restaurant that definitely ranks among my favorites—C & O’s Trattoria in Venice Beach, California—slightly ironic that it is an open-air café that makes one feel as though he is literally on the sidewalks of an Italian city—ironic because soon I will see the real thing.

Some of my favorite people in the world were there—it was a birthday/ going away party—so that’s one of the reasons it was so special. I’m sure the flashes of our cameras were getting on the other diners’ nerves, but we didn’t care—we were living in the moment and it felt so good. Why? We were like members of a high school football team or a couple of army buddies getting together over a few drinks—minus the alcohol—we were reliving the good times and glory days of our past year together.

Wow has it really been a year since I first came to Pepperdine?…It is times like this—in the company of so many amazing people—each special to me in their own ways--that I know that coming to Pepperdine and California was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Omid, Laura, Rachel, Emily, Josh, Daniela, Matthew, Gio, Michael, Tory, and Alex—not to mention a couple of others who couldn’t be there—are literally what makes Pepperdine my home away from home.

I’m certain this sinking feeling is there because of all the uncertainty about tomorrow and the coming months—is that contradictory? Oh, By the way, I leave to go to Italy for eight months tomorrow...and I still have a to-do list that’s way to long to fit on a post-it note…and I’m not sure how it’s going to get done…or even sure if it matters. I know the minute I get through airport security tomorrow—to me the most stressful part of traveling—I will be fine and shifting from the “freaking out” stage to the “super excited I’m going to Italy” stage.

I hope to write about the good times and the bad...the countries I vist and the people I meet...but most of all--I hope to write about the journey that this next year will be...one of self-discovery and self-reliance...one of growing and learning...one of life-changing proportions. Stay tuned if you want to go on that journey with me...it should be fun.

I'll miss y'all,
Blake