A lot of time was spent traveling during my last two weeks
in Europe. Lily, Aubrey, Jessica, Lydia, and myself traveled to Dublin, Ireland
once our program was over where we visited the Cliff’s of Moher as well as the
Guinness Storehouse and Jameson Distillery! After Ireland we we’re off to
Greece where we spent our time on two separate islands of Greece, Mykonos and
Crete. We explored the islands with four wheelers and cars, jumped off cliffs,
and made some of the best memories.
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| Cliff's of Moher |
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| Four wheeling through Mykonos |
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| The hidden spot where we cliff jumped |
It’s crazy
to me that my time in Europe has come to an end. I knew that it would go by
quickly but I didn’t expect to be sitting at home on my couch looking through
all my pictures and missing it so much. I am so grateful for the experiences
that I had during my time abroad, I can honestly say these past three months
have been the some of the greatest times of my life. I have definitely grown as
a person since I left home in March; I’ve become a lot more self reliant and
independent. I no longer base my happiness on others, I have found so much joy
in the experiences that I’ve had while studying abroad that could last me a
lifetime. My time in Europe has taught me to not rush things; it seemed as
though everything was always so laid back no matter what country or city I
traveled to, there was never a reason to stress or worry. I’ve learned to
really take in the moment that I’m living in and to quit wishing time would go
by quicker (which I am guilty of). It’s hard to put into words exactly how
great this trip has been for me, I’ve been asked multiple times “how was it?” “What
was your favorite part?” and I find it difficult trying to explain it to people
when I know they don’t want to listen to me ramble on forever, I simply cannot
explain in a sentence or two.
Although I
constantly find myself reminiscing on these last three months and all of the
adventures that I had, it feels so good to be home. Papillion will always be
home to me, no matter how long I’m gone for it feels like I never left. I
missed my family and friends, I missed my house and my bed, and I missed the
convenience of going wherever I wanted whenever I wanted with my car. I missed
getting a paycheck every two weeks and having an actual income instead of just
spending all the time, I missed hearing English everywhere and having people
understand me instead of looking at me weird with confusion. Now it’s back to
the reality of working three jobs, starting the process of transferring
schools, and this whole “getting my life together” thing.
Now I could
sit here and type out all the things that I miss about Europe but it would be a
pretty long list, but most of all I miss the freedom. I miss waking up in a new
country or a new city every few days and being able to explore a new area. I
miss how cheap it is to travel and get around. I can’t express how grateful I
am to be given the opportunity that I did, visiting 11 countries in the three
months that I was gone when most people will not see that many countries in
their lifetime. I have truly been blessed with one amazing life.
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| This trip wouldn't have been the same without these four <3 |
