Fin.

I remember asking a friend of mine who is a year older “How was abroad?!” after she returned from her semester in Spain. She did not immediately answer and said something along the lines of “Well, it’s such a big experience that I can’t really sum it up in any way; it had ups and downs and it was just kind of everything.” I remember being a bit confused, thinking “Couldn’t you at least try? Give me the highlights and low-lights? Rose and thorn?” But these past few days I have been thinking about how true this statement is. A semester abroad is so transformative and versatile in every way that one simply cannot produce some singular statement or phrase about it all. But as I scroll through my pictures from this semester in my library, I find myself choking up a bit (cliché I know, but it’s true). Despite my frustrations and down days, I am overwhelmed by gratefulness and happiness for all I have experienced this semester and devastated that it zoomed by so quickly, now a part of my past, over, gone. Sorry, I know this is dramatic, but let a girl be sentimental, okay? (And yes, yes I am listening to emotional music.) Here is a by-no-means-extensive list of the things that are filling me with all the fuzzy feelings right now and that I will miss the most:

• The freedom of abroad

• The friends I have made

• The incredible food

• The excitement of discovering new things

• The exhilaration of always being on the go

• The independence to go and just do what makes me happy

• The beauty I experienced (in sights, people, architecture, nature, art…)

• The self-development and self-discovery

• The supportive environment provided by my friends, always assuring me that everything will be ok and my ideas are valid

And I am grateful for the opportunity to do this all; I know this is a privileged experience and I could not be more thankful for those who have made it possible, especially my parents. Please don’t mistake my inability to summarize my experience fully and eloquently as a sign that it was anything short of an unbelievable and transformative experience. While the semester had its bumps and upsets, I can say with confidence that I have come away from these past few months with a smile on my face. Despite some of my qualms with certain specific elements of my program or experience, things like a semester abroad really are what you make of them and I am pleased that, with the help of my friends and family, I was able to make it the positive experience it was. A million times over, thank you to everyone who made this semester what it was and the great friendships I forged along the way.