And it’s almost time to head home. As of today, I have thirteen days left in London. I can’t quite wrap my head around it, and when I try, I dance back and forth erratically between excitement and sadness. I can’t wait to see my family, my friends, Rollins, my pets, the beach…but I dread leaving behind the streets of this city that I’ve had the honor to call mine these past months. And what an amazing few months it’s been…
I’ve chronicled a few of my adventures on this blog, but they just keep coming, faster than I could ever hope to write them down–and I’ve tried. I have a journal absolutely stuffed with stories, experiences, thoughts, feelings, tickets from all the shows and museums, drawings of the things I’ve seen and little mementos of the places I’ve been. I’ve taken a million photos (all waiting to be printed and placed in another book to try to capture this amazing experience) and called my friends and family at home a thousand times to tell them all about London and my weekend travels.
My list of places I’ve been has grown so much, it stops me short when I think about it. To have gone from my first experience abroad just last spring to living in London and traveling Europe to Austria, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scotland, France, Greece, and Italy…this semester has given me my dream of travel more than I ever imagined it could.
Every moment has been amazing, and I’ve loved every place I’ve seen (and plan to go back to many of them sometime in the future), but London is the place that has meant the most to me. More than being a place to study, London has been my home this semester. It will always be the place where I settled into myself, learned to trust myself, and took my first steps into the adult world. It will always be the place where I found true friends and learned just how big and amazing the world really is.
I’m so sad to think of leaving so soon, but I know I’ll be back, and I’m eager to return to my old life with the incredible new perspective this semester has given to me.
