Today marks somewhat of an important date for me...one year ago today I returned from my 4 months abroad. Looking back on time, I have always viewed it in two ways, if I think all my wonderful time in Spain, it feels as though it is impossible that it has been a year since I left. I am still able to close my eyes and see everything so perfectly. I can still imagine the smell of the air, the taste of the food. I can even still hear the bustle of the people and the calm night air. But then again if I think what this last year as brought, it feels as though Spain happened many years ago. So much has happened in the last year, starting with an engagement, a wonderful but busy summer bouncing back and forth between Dayton, Mansfield and Bowling Green, methods and now student teaching has even passed and in less than a week, I will graduate from college. Something that seems so bizarre to me. I don't think it has fully hit me yet. I have spent the last four years, some of the best of my entire life here in this town and school and in a short 5 days, I will leave. It is so final. I was always the person who was not overly fond of high school. I had some wonderful times and completely dedicated myself to Spanish but in terms of social growth, it was somewhat of a stale period for me. College however was my true self-discovery. Starting with my jolt into reality on the first dance, I will never forget the feeling sitting in my dorm room on Move-in day. It was so liberating and then after that feeling came the unbelievable overwhelming feeling of absolute fear. I don't think I had ever felt so truly alone, and while I knew I wasn't, it was the perfect jolt to reality. Time passed and I met some wonderful people and over the course of freshman year I had some of the best times. The next three years brought more of the same, I continued to learn more about more than just school and classes, but about what I wanted in life, what I wanted to do, my goals, who I was. There have been hard times here in BG, but overall BG and Spain have been the most wonderful times in my life. I have met some truly amazing people and am taking one in particular with me ;). What they say is true, Commencement, is in a way the end of one thing, but in truth it is the beginning of another. There are many different possibilities for what may come in these next few months, graduation, turning 22, marriage, moving to a new town, new job, new home. It will be another path of self-discovery. But my time here has taught me to be ready, to embrace what life brings and it has shown me what I can handle and just how much I am able to do. While it scares the crap out of me to not know exactly what the future will bring, I know in my heart that I am ready for whatever is coming next and I thank everyone that has helped me along the way and been there for me and will continue to be there for me. It could be a bumpy ride, but hey if it wasn't, we wouldn't be having any fun...
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