My Semester In Scotland

In a mere seven days, my four months spent in Edinburgh Scotland and around europe will officially come to an end. A few of my friends have asked me what I want to do with my last week here and the simple reply was, to¬†reminisce about all the good times and to make¬†permanent¬†the memories I have had here. In the next seven days, I will hit my last few pubs, take one last stroll around the different campuses, walk through downtown one last time and say goodbye to everyone from the owner of my favorite bakery, to the barmaids at the golf tavern, my flat-mates and to all of the great people I have made friends with. Right about this time in a week, I will already be sitting in a plane somewhere over the atlantic, thinking about the wonderful moments I had laughing with friends, going for quiet walks around town at sunset, climbing Arthur’s Seat, playing golf in the meadows park, playing pick up soccer games, the pub crawls, sunday night roasts, traveling with friends, ¬†visiting the jazz clubs and never missing a moment. This trip was a growing up time for me. So many people said before I left, that going abroad changes you and you don’t always realize it. Well, in all my trials and errors, I can tell that it has helped me move on to that next step into maturing. Learning to deal with things as they come and working through problems you could never have foreseen, working through language¬†barriers, living with people from all over the world, moving on from failed friendships, understanding that others are going through their own growing up experiences and helping them through it and so many situations I can’t even put into words. At the end of all of this, I know I have definitely changed for the better and gotten to know myself in both weaknesses and strengths. The great test will be when I am able to put these changes into action when Im back in familiar surroundings. Already Im starting to clean out my room and pack a few things here and there in preparation for my departure. For weeks I told myself that leaving here would be easy. I think I was trying to convince myself of that to make it easier. Im looking forward to home but I sure will miss the great memories I have made here in Scotland.