Packing

I'm a chronic overpacker.  I pack too much of everything everywhere I go.  Even for the grocery store, I bring extra bottles of water, too many bags, gum, sunscreen, umbrella, you name it, I bring it.  This is why I have a 'purse' larger than most carry on luggage.  I know it's a problem, so why do I do it?  Well, it goes without fail that I always end up forgetting something.  I may have Band-Aids, granola bars, and an extra pair of shoes, but I've probably forgotten my cell phone or my wallet.

So, imagine the challenge I find in packing a single backpack for a trip that will take me an undetermined amount of months, through multiple countries and varying climates.  Have I met my maker?  

It turns out, I haven't!  In fact, I have a lot of room.  Too much room. More room then I should have...

What am I forgetting?  

Perhaps nothing.  The knowledge that I'm going to have to carry all of this wonderful and necessary, "I simply can not live without it" stuff on my back, across an entire continent has a very sobering effect on a girl.  

That being said, I have yet to pack my wallet or my cell phone, or my running shoes, or my camera, or my towel, or an extra pack of gum, or sunscreen, or the kitchen sink....