Just a quick update here as I prepare for my final final tomorrow. I hate to admit it, but I’m actually having sort of a hard time with exams this week. Apparently, no matter where you are, the end of the semester is always stressful. There are always final exams and final papers and final projects to finish before it all ends. So much finality.
It doesn’t help, of course, that everyone, including myself, is also emotionally vulnerable since tomorrow is our last full day here in Rome. People are taking pictures with countdowns, making sappy videos, and preparing for their final goodbyes. The reality of it didn’t really hit me until this week, and it’s not a great feeling. Yes, I’m excited to get home to my family and friends and everything that’s familiar and comfortable, but at the same time, I can’t even put into words what I’ll be closing inside the door behind me when I board that plane home on Friday morning. And really, at this point, it’s not so much the places and the things and the experiences. It’s the people that have made this semester abroad so great. It’s a weird unity that people traveling abroad together share. So much newness comes into their lives at the same time, and they have to cope with it together. Maybe that’s why leaving everyone here will be such a challenge. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve made some really good friends.
Sorry to get all sappy on you, but that’s just how it is here right now. I’m not even the worst, trust me. In just a day and a half, I’ll be headed home. Time to get off of the computer and into my last moments of this three and a half month adventure.