By Alexander Taylor

I’m off to war.

My bag is ready.

It is filled with pens. Pencils. Sharpies. Lots of sharpies. I have three types of notebooks: one with ruled lines, one for sketching, and one to keep all my comedy ideas. The third one’s been with me for a while. Ol’ Meg. The first two are brand, spanking new.

Yes, hello Paperchase. The entire shop, please. yes I’ll need a bag.

I’m going to the gym first thing tomorrow. Start the day right with a run. And that’s what I’m looking forward to. Getting into a routine. It’s day one of SCA, and I’ve never felt more excited.

Back to school.

List of things I’m excited for:

1. Meeting wonderful people.
2. Being surprised.
3. Morning coffee.
4. A stretch.
5. Using sharpies (for the first time).
6. Having lunch with new folk.
7. Watching passion projects from talented, talented talent.
8. Breathing
9. Another stretch. Another coffee.
10. Running to be in the moment.
11. Being present.

List of things I’m not excited for:

I think that the best plan for tomorrow is to not anticipate too much. I feel, and I may be wrong, that the best way to go about this is to almost reset. To become a little blank. Get ready to absorb as much as possible. This is such a great opportunity that it would be a shame to taint any of it with pre-held suppositions. In the spirit of lateral thinking, getting ready to approach a-fresh. Getting ready for something new. And that’s exciting.

SCA has always been one day. Now it’s day one.

So it’s time to say goodbye to my friends and family. It’s time, in the spirit of old war films, to hand them red handkerchiefs. To tell them to run down the platform as the train pulls away. To pay an armada of teenagers to vape out the window so they can barely see my waving hand through the steam.

Because I’m off to war.

(ish).