As I sat at the gate, waiting to board a plane that would return to a place I once knew, I couldn't help but think about how much my life has changed in just one year.
Since my first post on this very blog, I had a too-awesome-to-describe-experience while studying abroad in Seville, Spain. I (reluctantly) returned home (after much trouble, I might add) to warm hugs from my family and friends. I savored my last semester at UW-Madison, and even graduated after that. I enjoyed another whimsical summer in Madison. I relaxed during two months of unemployment. And returned once again to foolishly informing people, "Oh yes, I am going to Spain on Friday" and being forced to say awfully sad farewells.
Since that first post, I have traveled, learned and grown more than ever before. And that is why this time it's different.
This time I am not going to Spain to study abroad (or as my Dad calls it: "excuse to get your parents to pay for you to travel around Europe"). This time I do not have a set plan or round-trip ticket. This time there are no guarantees.
Yes, I have traveled to Barcelona before. Yes, I still know the language quite well. Yes, I still have my sense of adventure. But this time I will not be surrounded by the bubble in which the study abroad program inherently places you. I will not have my trusty travel companion (and dear friend) Amber. I will not have my Spanish mom-away-from-home Gloria. And I will not have the time (nor the money) to return to the whirlwind state of traveling, dining, and doing just plain foolish things that I so enjoyed for four short months last fall.
No doubt about it, this will be a new kind of adventure.
Wow, I was super behind on these blog posts. But now I will comment on every single one :) Because yes, I am living vicariously through you.
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