I’m starting my studies at the ETH in Zurich today — in about an hour, in fact, I’m sitting in the train as I’m typing this — and I couldn’t be more excited, but I also couldn’t be more terrified.

Today (finally) marks the definite end of the military intermission to my life, but it also marks the beginning of a new era with new chances, new pitfalls and new uncertainties, causing me to ask myself all the same age-old questions.

Will I be good enough?

Am I prepared enough?

Will I find new friends?

Will I be able to maintain old friendships?

Those are all good questions, but none of them are answerable right now. And that’s good. I mean, life would be quite dull if we already knew what the future held, wouldn’t it?

So … All I can say to myself is this:

Let’s go and see.

To quote an old favourite of mine:

So let the engines roar
Push the pedal down
I want the white lines on the highway
To lead me out of town

I’m rolling on and on and on
Who knows where I’m goin'

Life is an open road
It’s the best story never told

– Bryan Adams, Open Road (Room Service, 2004)