All Good Things Must Come to an End

I’ve never cared for the saying “All good things must come to an end”. While it may be entirely true, I have always had difficulty accepting that amazing experiences must end. This is exactly how I feel now that my semester abroad has been officially over for an entire month.

When finals were complete, saying goodbye to all the friends I had made was extremely difficult. I will never forget how it felt to hug them goodbye as we went our separate ways, not knowing when we might see each other again. In my case, I was one of the few students who came from the Northeast, whereas most of the other students were from the Midwest. Knowing that I may never see some of them again was a crushing reality that hit me exactly as we were saying our goodbyes.

When I left campus, instead of flying home I would be flying to the United Kingdom to meet up with my parents. I was relieved I still had one extra week to delay the rapidly approaching reality of real life, but getting there was quite difficult. Once the school-provided shuttle dropped us off at the train station, I had to board a train by myself and begin my lengthy trek. I wound up taking two trains (which were packed so I had to stand for over an hour with all my luggage in hand) and a FlixBus. Unfortunately, my bus was delayed, which resulted in me sitting on a curb on a random Verona side street for over an hour and a half. When I finally got on the bus, it took me to the Bergamo Airport, where I had to find a taxi to take me to my hotel since my flight was not until the next morning.

Between the devastating emotion of saying goodbye to my friends, and the taxing trip to get to my final destination, I was extremely grateful to have made it to my hotel and gotten a long night's sleep. One thing I have learned from traveling through Europe is that the journey can be quite difficult, but it is always worth it. I flew to Scotland the next morning where I was reunited with my parents and had another incredible week. I saw some amazing sights, tried some delicious food, and didn't have to spend any money (thank you, Mom and Dad).  

Still, even that had to end eventually. Leaving Scotland was almost as difficult as leaving Italy. It felt extremely surreal to know that in just a short amount of time, I would be back in the United States. I was ready, yet I wasn’t. I was excited, yet I wasn’t. I knew that one of the most incredible chapters of my life was coming to a close, but I still couldn’t comprehend that it was finished.  

I have been back in the United States for a little over three weeks now, and I can safely say that I continue to think about my time abroad every single day. Being able to see my friends and family again was wonderful, but coming home is very strange because so much has happened in the past three months of my life, but nothing has changed here. Somehow, it feels like the entire thing never even happened, and it was all just one very elaborate dream.

To the people who will be studying abroad this summer at CIMBA, and for all future semesters, my advice to you would be to soak up every second you are away. Appreciate every opportunity you have, and do and see as much as you possibly can. Even if things get difficult, know that you are in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and even the tough times can be good. Before you know it, the semester will end, and you will be just like me wishing for the chance to do it all again.