looking back

Today makes it officially 4 weeks until I return to Morgantown. It’s surreal to me. It’s still summer there in my mind. I don’t really know why, but this 4 week mark feels significant.

Looking back, remembering how neurotic I was before I left home, distancing myself from people that I cared about, and going through obsessive preparation behaviors (like searching for the “perfect” suitcase), I still can’t decipher whether or not that was a reasonable reaction to leaving the country for a 7 month block. I remember that I just kept telling myself, "People do this all the time. There are people that spend years at war. You chose this, don't be a baby about it!" I would like to think that I’ve grown a lot through this past year. I know I was a pain to deal with those weeks prior to leaving (sorry, parents!), but I really want to know, if I was going to do this again, would I behave any different about it? If I were to go back to the beginning of May, would I change anything about my attitude or behavior?

Right now I just have to focus on doing my best in my graduate level business school classes that I’m taking (for some odd reason), as well as my other classes. I’ve got one more day trip planned for Paris and a weekend in NL to visit my Dutch family. Otherwise, all of my time will be spent in Strasbourg. I will definitely try to make the most of it. I have many things to look forward to and am extremely grateful for all that I’ve done this year.

-Maria