What I've learned in Edinburgh:

1. I can stand on my own two feet and explore what I want and when I want.

2. I can grow through who I am in a place that doesn't know me yet.

3. I can make myself stronger by developing my current strengths and finding new ones.

I've felt empowered since I've been here. We haven't been on a schedule yet, which is challenging for me. We haven't started the work that the semester holds. We haven't had many tasks to complete or things to do. This week, all of that begins.

As difficult as it has been to not be as scheduled as I'm accustomed to, I've loved the freedom that comes along with that. I never realized how much I needed my own time to work on myself. When I traveled to Ireland last spring break, that was the beginning of my evaluation of my lifestyle and my goals for the future.

Now, in another place yet again, Scotland holds the potential for change more than ever. In the critical time of junior year, where the future looms ever so closely, I've been thinking a lot about who I am, what I want to do, and how I want to live my life. I know now, that when I wrote about creativity, adventures, and connections in my About page and confirmed those as my New Year's resolution, these are really the intangible facets of my personality that I want to investigate.

The water in nearby Musselburgh.  Water has always been a calming force for me. — The water in nearby Musselburgh. Water has always been a calming force for me.

I urge you, dear readers, to find those three purposes in your life. I love words, so I wanted three that would be easy for me to write everywhere to remind myself of what I stand for and who I hope to be. The three could be pictures, they could be people, they could be anything that make you want to be better, to strive for something. In a world filled with happiness and sadness, with comedy and tragedy, we need to find that hope and renewal on a daily basis.

Here's a goal: find one thing every day that makes you happy. It can be anything, but if you can at least do one thing every single day that makes you want to stand up and shout about how awesome it is, than we can all get through. We can all continue to be amazing in our own exceptional ways.

I know that it is difficult to start this self-evaluation process, and believe me, I know. Once you start, though, you will find that even if it makes you more confused about the future, you are really doing the work that matters. Homework and the real world are the works that are necessary for your growth through paperwork, but your purpose in life is the work that will make you stronger and leave you more fulfilled as a person.

Many thanks to the people and places that have made me who I am today. Many thanks to the people and places that I have yet to uncover.

Lucky Strike of the Day: I've been able to talk to some people back at home, and I've realized their importance in my story.