Farewell

It's incredibly hard to believe, but the time has come.
I will be blogging throughout the summer, but this will be my last post from Scotland.
The rate at which this year has flown by has been unbelievable. It's nearly 1am on Friday morning here, and I expect to be picked up to head to the airport in about three hours. From there, I have two flights and about eighteen hours until I'll arrive home in New Hampshire.
My exam earlier went well. Earlier this morning, I met up with Miriam at a favorite café of ours and we had so much fun laughing and talking. She brought me the sweetest gifts (a coffee scented candle in a teacup and a saucer in addition to a wonderful compilation of our best and funniest memories). Sheen and Lewis also came along and it was so fun, yet just as it's been all week, it was very hard to say goodbye.
After my exam, I met up with Sheen who also surprised me with a nice gift - a book of hilarious English puns and funny test answers - and my friend Jia. Jia is a fourth-year and also finished her final exam today, it was so fun to celebrate together. Her and I had planned to tour the residence halls before both of our departures, and it was so fun meeting up with our friend Becky in her residence of St. Salvator's and later exploring a few of the beautiful residences we had never been in before.
For dinner, the kitchenmates and a few friends of ours went out for a birthday dinner and a farewell dinner for me. It was so nice. Conor is a member of a local golf club, so we had the dinner there and it all was so delicious. So many photos were taken (they'll be up soon!), and so many hugs exchanged. I also received a really sweet card from Lydia and a box of chocolates from Samuel and Yi Rong. Most were later given away as my luggage simply has no room or weight allowance left. I also fully envision that I'll be at the Edinburgh airport in a few hours still trying to sort through my suitcase to reduce its weight. I've gotten rid of so much already, I think eight months in 51 pounds will never be easy. The night ended with a final visit from Julie, the first St. Andrews friend I met...at our departure gate in Boston on September 4th.

Well, rather than fill the rest of this post (and the coming hours) with ten thousand memories, they've been covered here already. I cannot recommend enough to college students to spend a year abroad. Leave your comfort zone. Do something completely different. Experience it and love it. It's so challenging to say goodbye, and I know the days and months ahead will be challenging at times as I adjust to the life and people I left and the experience I will attempt to pick up again yet I cannot imagine who I would be today without experiencing it.