I return home to the states in just under one month and I feel as though I have just arrived. I have come to learn that this feeling comes routinely during parts of life. Time—we never seem to have enough of it.

Looking back, I did not do half of what I wanted to do. I did not travel outrageously; I had conflicting schedules with friends I wanted to connect with; I did not visit Stonehenge (the pile of rocks sitting in the middle of a barren field) but I honestly do not think I missed much there.

But that’s the thing, you cannot expect to visit a foreign country and do everything on your bucket list. So I never made one.

Instead, I just accepted the opportunities that came my way.

I went on a trip to Prague with two friends from SNHU and my new friend (also named Gabrielle) from Australia, and a spontaneous trip back to Florence, which was the first country I studied abroad in.

While I’m not itching to go home, I’m ready to get back to a few things. I’d be lying if I said I did not miss my own bed and told my mom the minute she picks me up from the airport we are driving to the greasiest American diner for breakfast. The food here is just so bland.

Being the holiday season, it does make me anxious to get home. We made up for missing Thanksgiving by cooking our own traditional meal and invited our British friends over for dinner. But I will be happy to spend Christmas with my family.

Above all, I will miss the friends I have made here. The late-night conversations in our kitchen that stem from one crazy topic to another and seem to never end. No one wants to be the one to break things up, even as the clock strikes 3 a.m.

As another adventure begins to die down, I anticipate my arrival back to SNHU, excited for what comes next.

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