In twelve hours I'll be boarding the plane that will take me to DC for the very first time. I haven't been to the United States since before 9/11, and, in a weird way, I really miss it. I don't know if it's some form of escapism, but I can't help feeling the United States will be the place where Important and Defining Things will happen in my life.

Obviously, the first of these will be the Moot Court competition that starts tomorrow. I have been incessantly training and studying for it for six months now, and it's naturally become a huge part of my life, not only academically, but also socially; the people I've met because of the competition have become the friends I've always lacked in college.

During the next week I'll have the responsibility to stand in front of the judges of our make-believe Inter-American Human Rights Court and defend a State that allegedly violated the rights of a woman and her son. My main responsibility, however, is to not disappoint my professors, my team, my friends, and myself. I'll probably be the hardest to please, but I'll be happy if I look back on this experience and believe I did my best.

Wish me luck.