The night before.
After 4 years of trying to secure a place on Lucy Calkins 'Reading and Writing Project' I'm finally successful and boarding a plane for New York tomorrow.
First time travelling alone, first time in New York, first time in the States.
First time blogging.

Despite cliched fears of being mugged on the way from JFK to my hotel at 11 o'clock at night, and pathetic fears of not being able to check in at midnight,  (is it really the city that never sleeps?), or finding my way to Columbia University at 7:30 the next morning, I am actually quietly confident that I can cope with all of these moments and find myself sitting in the Levien Gymnasium at Columbia listening to keynote speech by Ms Calkins herself.

Actually my honest and real greatest fear is that with only five short days in this city, whose image is so bloated in hype, media coverage and expectation, I am not going to be able to do, see, experience  enough of the essential New York to realise it's infamous essence.