One Last Wholesome Moment

As my time abroad has come to a close, it saddens me to leave the new life that I have made and my new friends that I have spent the past 4 months with. As I reminisce on this period of my life, I want to use this, one of my final blogs, to talk about how I spent my last day in Amsterdam.

When I first woke up, it definitely felt like the last day. Something just felt off, especially as I stood before my half packed up room. I started my day by heading to the city center for one last adventure alone. I walked around and just soaked in everything around me, knowing that I don’t know when the next time I’ll be in Amsterdam is. I bought some souvenirs for my friends and family and headed back home. When I got back, I met up with my friends and went to a nearby park called Amstelpark. We wanted to have a wholesome last day and gather everyone together for one last bonding moment. A big group of us sat on a sheet outside and ate snacks and shared memories and laughs one last time. A lot of my friends, to my surprise, can play the guitar, so we spent time listening to them play and singing along. 

After a few hours, we decided to make the 30 minute walk home and we took in all of our beautiful surroundings one more time. When we arrived back home, I had my final bitter ballen, which was definitely my favorite dutch food,  and then we all separated to finish packing. Once we were done packing, we decided to come back together for one last goodbye. It was hard to fathom that in less than 12 hours from that moment, we would be heading home. We talked about our favorite memories one more time, and finally it was time for us to say goodnight.

It was hard for me to fathom that my life would never again be the same as it had been during these past 4 months. Before coming abroad, I was definitely nervous about finding my place and being able to adjust, but I can confidently say that it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made for myself. I forgot at times that the people I had been seeing every day won’t always live just down the hallway from me, and that I don’t know when I would get to see them next. It was certainly a bittersweet goodbye because I will definitely miss my life abroad, but I am also excited to get home and see my friends and family. 

Going abroad has helped me find some of my favorite people ever. These are the people that I’ll tell my kids and grandkids about, and people that I will hopefully stay in touch with forever. I would have never had the opportunity to meet any of these people that I now can call my best friends if I never went abroad, and I will always cherish our time together, especially our final day.