Earlier this week, I received an email from one of the faculty members going with me and seven other students to Nicaragua. The subject in the email was: Welcome to WMNS 422: Women’s Lives and Experiences in Nicaragua.

Meghan Mehlos went on to discuss a few “housekeeping items,” including participating in D2L discussions starting next week.

I’m only five weeks into this semester, and I have to worry about a class I’m taking in the summer? Cue the first freak out epidemic prior to boarding the plane in 14 weeks.

Currently, I’m just trying to get into a routine of classes, homework, training for a half marathon and extra-curricular clubs. How am I going to throw other obligations into the mix?

I’ll admit it, I’m awful at prioritizing my time. Sure, I plan everything out in my planner and write down things I should get done after classes, but sometimes life gets in the way. My run might take longer than expected, or a friend might really need to chat with me.

So sometimes I end up pushing things to the side. I’ve already experienced this with my study abroad questionnaires and other materials. I had to get an extension to get all my questionnaires in because I procrastinated and put other schoolwork first.

What if that happens with my real assignments? The ones that actually count toward my final grade abroad? Will I get them done? This seems like a lot … am I even ready for this?

Okay, I just got a little carried away. But those thoughts raced through my mind for much longer than they should have as I closed the email.

Even though the email gave me much more stress than it should have, I went back and read through it to see if I missed anything, and of course, I did. The other professor going with us, Rose-Marie Avin, went to Nicaragua last month, and her husband shared an album with us via Flickr.

As I flipped through the album and saw the beautiful mountains and cute children, I was reminded of why this trip will be worth it. It was beyond amazing to look at these images and think, ‘Wow, I’m going to be looking right at these mountains in a few months.’ How cool is that?

So while I am nervous about the assignments I have to do before taking off to Central America, I think looking at the photos from time to time will be a great reminder of how unforgettable the trip will be.