And just like that, study abroad is over halfway through. I started writing this post a couple days ago, but I’ve been traveling and moving around quite a bit lately, and so it is only now as I lie on my big bed in a very cute Madrid Airbnb that I am finally getting to it.

I have been thinking a lot about how quickly this time has been passing, but also how surreal this whole experience has been. In many ways, it feels like I’ve been in a separate dimension these past few months, and upon coming home, it’ll be January again. Sometimes I forget I’m a junior at Georgetown because all of that seems so far away. Does that make any sense?

This time is full of contradictions. I’m starting to really miss home, but I’m also holding onto Edinburgh tighter than ever. Each day I think I fall in love with it a little more and it becomes absolutely inconceivable that in just a few months it will no longer be home.

Because that’s what it’s become. I love that familiarity when I’m riding in an Uber through town and I look at all the sights that just a few short months ago were so new and foreign.

Yet now they feel like a hug from an old friend, safe and comfortable.

Given the option I would not hesitate to have six more months here, to have another year, or five. Because one of the most important things for me in a city for it to feel like home is for me to feel like myself there and for it to have character.

Well Edinburgh has character in spades, and I feel more connected to myself than ever before.

Yet at the same time if someone bought me a plane ticket to New York for next week, I’d be ready. Sure there’s things I haven’t yet explored here, but that’s all the more reason to come back. And I miss my New York. Not in any kind of intense aching way but just as a simple fact, like being away from a loved one that you know will always be there, and this separation is only temporary so there’s no point in becoming upset.

I have this itch, stronger than ever, to really make New York mine this summer. To explore all the hidden gems, find some new favorite spots, and just take advantage of everything my beautiful city has to offer.

I’m setting down roots here, and though I know this isn’t a forever home and there’s an expiration date on all this, I’m not letting that stop me. I’m not letting that stop me from stripping down my layers and being my full vulnerable real self both with this city and the people I meet here. I’m so done holding back.

Though I’m only coming back to NYC at the end of May, I actually have mere days in Edinburgh because I have so much Europe travel on the agenda. And I’m so so excited for that, but once I embark on that journey I feel as though I’m closing this chapter of calling this beautiful moody magical city my home.

And yet nothing lasts forever. And I couldn’t be more overjoyed to be a nomad for the next couple months and see everything the world has to offer because pretty soon that period will end too, and then it will be summer, and then senior year. Crazy.

But that’s enough rambles for now. I thought it would be fun to make a little list of the things I will miss in Edinburgh and the things I am looking forward to in NYC.

 

Things I will miss in Edinburgh

• Amazing coffee everywhere
• Ample free time
• The relaxed atmosphere
• The architecture and whole magical vibe of the city
• The Harry Potter EVERYWHERE
• Having access to so much travel at my fingertips
• Minimal responsibilities and worries (hakuna matata)
• The amazing friends I’ve made here, who I hope to stay friends with for years and years to come

 

What I’m looking forward to / missing

• Sweetgreen salads, a New York slice of pizza, New York bagels
• The weather not being super windy and/or rainy all the time
• Exploring the various neighborhoods of NYC
• My family, friends, and doggy
• Experiencing NYC as a 21-year-old with a job in the city (!)
• Being a SENIOR! (Still pretty crazy to me; I sometimes feel like I just arrived at Gtown haha).

And now here is a little photobomb of my Spain travels so far!

And that’ll do it! Like I said, I’m in Madrid right now, and the other trips I have on the agenda this month are to Portugal and Vienna! I’ll try to hop back in here periodically as I travel because I have several posts in the pipeline. Love you all, and wishing you lots and lots of magic <3