Miles of Moments
A few weeks ago, I posted an Instagram picture for one of my friend's birthdays. We studied abroad in Edinburgh together, so I wanted to put the location of the picture for the post. When I selected the location, the distance was almost 4,000 miles away. This year, I've lived four months 4,000 miles away and two months back at home.
The transition from Edinburgh to Greenville was startling and smooth at the same time. One morning, I was on a plane in Edinburgh, and the same night, I was back at Cracker Barrel at home. It seemed normal and strange simultaneously. The next day, I attended graduation at Furman and slid right back into the experience of my people and my place. The jet lag hit a few days later because I was essentially running on adrenaline from May 6-May 8.
Today is now July 7, and yesterday marked the two months since my return from Edinburgh. It is as surreal as the first day, but I've slowly acclimated back to life in Greenville. My sense of adventure came back with me. While I have not been able to travel out of Greenville since arriving back home, I've been much more proactive about visiting new places, seeing a variety of people, and hopefully incorporating my Edinburgh knowledge into my everyday life.
My biggest takeaways from Edinburgh would have to be a renewed sense of independence, a continued focus on personal relationships, and a new acceptance of my own time. I feel more independent because I had the opportunity to live, work, and learn in another country and learn about the Scottish culture. I want to always make relationships my priority by fostering new ones and reinforcing the older ones. Before going abroad, I was not comfortable being by myself for long periods of time, but I learned while I was there that alone time is necessary for recharging.
Going abroad was my own personal recharge. Life in another country is not all sunshine and rainbows, and there are difficult times to work through. The difference between my semester abroad and my other semesters so far is that I explored and grew into myself more confidently. I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, and that is endlessly confusing and frustrating.
Regardless of the uncertainty that life brings me at this point, I know that I am a more developed person from my time in Edinburgh. Study abroad clichés about "the best four months of my life" and "how I've changed so drastically" can apply, but the real words are these: I am still me. I might have encouraged different aspects of my personality, I might have traveled to a few different places, and I might have gotten to experience different people. I am still me.
Still loving my coffee shops and reading adventures.
Lucky Strike of the Day: I reconnected with a friend from my trip abroad about our time in Germany, and these are the times when I love modern technology.
