This was it. Finally! I'd been saving up for almost a year for this. Exams were over, we'd had an amazing prom night after months of fundraising, and it was the end of my school life. There'd been a huge party too, my mum turned 50 just before I turned 18, and it was the perfect opportunity to see all my friends, her friends, our friends, before I headed off on my travels and eventually to university.
Was I happy? Yeah. Was I petrified? Definitely.
I hate flying at the best of times, we rarely went abroad on holiday and even with my family it was quite a traumatic experience. I don't think I was made to be a bird. It was a 10-hour flight to the Atlanta airport and I'd never been on a plane on my own before in my life, so naturally I was peeing my pants in the days leading up to my departure.
When the time came to say goodbye it wasn't exactly how I'd imagined.. My family were always late EVERYWHERE and today was no different. I almost missed my flight but at least I didn't have much time waiting around on my own being tempted to duck out of it. They practically threw me and my two bags, a hiking rucksack and a small satchel, out of the car and hastily hugged and kissed before I had to sprint to the call on the speaker of "Miss Bamburgh, please come to Gate 5 IMMEDIATELY, the plane leaves in approximately 13 minutes."
The flight could have been worse. It also could have been a lot better. Luckily my seat was next to the window (unluckily for the people I had to uproot from their seats so I could reach mine) which meant I could look out and watch as Bristol, and then England, and then Great Britain got smaller and smaller until all that was visible were the fluffy marshmallow clouds.
After 10 hours of being kicked in the back by a bratty child (with seemingly oblivious parents), squashed by the largely obese woman next to me and then having my food scoffed by her when I said I wasn't bothered about it, we eventually touched down in Atlanta. I stepped off the plane to that glorious feeling when the heat just hits you and you know you're in a foreign country (one of the best feelings ever if you're from rainy England). The sky was the bluest I have ever seen any sky, not a cloud in sight and the sun beamed down at us as we squinted and shuffled down the steps.
Not too long after (blimey the Americans are efficient!) I had been reunited with my rucksack and was finally free of the airport. Emerging from the hustle and bustle of the building, the sun's rays fell on me and I held out my arms, palms upwards, to just soak in the heat I would be blessed with for the next 8 weeks. I breathed in the smell of the city and breathed a happy sigh of relief.
I was here. I had made it. This was going to be the best 8 weeks ever.