After being home for around two months now, I still look on my experience abroad fondly and sincerely. I think of it as truly one of, if not the most gratifying, challenging, enlightening, and exciting times of my life. I always wanted to be someone that traveled and that had seen the world. I thought it would expand my mind, make me better, make me more empathetic and understanding. I wanted to look on the world with fresh eyes and see it for the first time in wonder and with the lenses of someone who wanted to be a part of it.
Being in London was thrilling and vibrant, but it also brought about hard times. The weather was gloomy, which took a definite toll on me. I missed the sunshine, but I was able to see the light in the people there, in the way that everyone was always on the move. Everyone seemed to be on there own but no one seemed very lonely. Everyone seemed to have a purpose, everyone was moving. And that was fascinating to me.
But above all, by seeing what I have seen of the world, what I have realized is that no matter how far you travel, no matter where you go, you are always going to find yourself in a place, just a place. In order for it to have meaning you have to step outside of what it is, and see the story, see the relationships that were built there, the songs that were sung, the laughter that was had. That perception is what changed my outlook, and it is that point of you that I carried home with me back to America. I think that no matter what, no matter where you are, it is the people that make the place. A place can be stormy and still hold sunshine.
I will always be thankful for my time abroad, it changed me, it helped shape me, and it has sparked a desire in me to see even more of the beauty of this world and the beautiful people and the beautiful stories that it holds.