Blog #19: A Year In Review

Hello Readers!

Well it has officially been a year since I began my journey to Scotland. It’s crazy how fast time can fly and even crazier how just four months changed my life in the best way possible. No words can even begin to describe my time abroad or how it feels to be back, but I might as well try a few.

Looking back a year ago I was a completely different person than I am today. The person I used to be was afraid to make conversation in really any setting, didn’t even like going to the store alone, wasn’t confident in who she was and definitely didn’t know how to handle being away from everything she knew for four months. I can honestly say that I am so happy that, that person is not who I am today. While I won’t always know how to handle every situation thrown at me I know for sure that after coming back from Scotland I am a lot more confident in who I am and what I do, I am not afraid to do things on my own and I feel ready to conquer the world even if I don’t know what is ahead of me.

Studying abroad taught me that not knowing everything is a part of life, that expressing my emotions is okay and that courage comes from taking a leap of faith and hoping that I land on your feet, but knowing that even if I do fall all I have to do is get back up and try again, and to show appreciation to everything and everything:

To Scotland – Thank you for showing me a culture, lifestyle and world I never knew existed. Your beautiful landscapes showed me that we need to take care of the earth and everything on it because this is the only one we get and if we destroy it there will be nothing left for us. Thank you for showing me the beauty in the small things and letting me get lost in your beauty.

To the people who shared this experience with me – I want to give a big thank you to everyone who lived in the Dalkeith Palace with me because you all taught me something, from learning to let go of anger, to love God fully, take time for myself, or to just have fun. You all impacted my life greatly and I will be eternally grateful for that.

To Patty and Nat – Thank you for being the best host parents I could have asked for. You two helped me through everything during my time abroad and I don’t think I could have done it without you. Thank you for taking me into your home and showing me the love you have for life, for each other, and for your passions. I learned from you that it is essential to stop for a moment, smell the flowers, take a breath and just love life.

And lastly to my parents – Thank you for supporting me through all my time leading up to and during my time in Scotland. Without your confidence and trust in me I wouldn’t have had the same experience I did. Thank you showing me that I can do anything I set my mine to and pushing me to always be better.

I loved every minute of my time abroad and dream about going back every day and hopefully someday I will, but in the mean time I have a lot to do here.

Until the next adventure