One month.
4 weeks.
30 days.
730 hours.
A full free trial for Netflix.
Whatever way you may relate to "one months time" as, that is surprisingly all the time I have left here in this beautiful city, my home away from home since September. I could say it's crazy, absurd or absolutely nuts that it's almost time to get back on that plane to Boston, but none of those expressions truly exemplify how I feel about how fast this experience has gone by. The weird thing about it all is I don't know if I'm ready to leave. Of course I'm missing my family, my dog, my car and some great American food, but there's something about this laid back/carefree lifestyle that I'm just not ready to give up. Coming over here I wasn't expecting anything. I decided for the first time in my life I was going to simply "go with the flow," a concept that was a bit hard for me to grasp. After a few weeks of being here I began realizing certain situations would be thrown my way and my first reaction was not to panic and overthink, but take it as it was and problem solve with a calm mindset. It's a truly satisfying feeling being okay with change and not having the feeling of my brain taking over my body with negative thoughts the minute something doesn't go as planned. It's simple things such as not being scared when being lost in a train station, flight changes, not understanding a certain language if someone is trying to tell me how to get to a bus stop, not worrying every time we might get on the wrong metro cause we can always get off and take another, getting lost trying to find a hostel, but being confident enough to ask someone in another language where the heck I am on a map, going out and not feeling overcome by negative thoughts from body dysmorphia. All of these things I was once so worried about I have worked on during these 2 months without even realizing it.
As much as I would love to stay over here, the true test will be going home and putting all I've learned to use and finding the balance at home that I've found during my days here.
I can honestly say getting this chance to go abroad has done more for me than taking classes in a beautiful city or traveling to new and exciting countries pretty much every weekend, but yet it has given me a sense of peace and confidence within myself, something I had been searching for so long. (That may have been the corniest line I have ever written on here, but I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true.)
So for my last month here all I can do is live a little "crazier" each day, not dread going home, but embrace the great changes and fun that is yet to come for the future, not get down about having only 10 euro to spend a day (your girl is on a serious budget cause Switzerland wiped out my wallet) and going about things with an open mind and an open heart. This once in a life time opportunity is coming to a close, but mark my words I will be back here, someday soon! Sorry Mom, Europe has my heart.
