this place.

Today is my last day in Gothenburg and as much as I don't want to leave this place, I know that it is time to leave. How do I know? The plant that I bought when I first came here has died and the bag of coffee that I've been using all semester has finally come to an end. I know these are sort of superficial indications, but they're real and I'm leaving in any case.

Really though, it has been so nice and I can say without a doubt that this has been the most valuable experience of my life so far and I wouldn't change anything about how my time here in Europe has played out. I've learned so many valuable lessons about life, learned so many new skills, and learned much more about who I really am and what I'm really made of. Hopefully all of my new life and energy is not suppressed when I get home, but instead I hope it grows and blossoms and I hope to share with my community, the people around me, everything I've learned and everything I am.

Further, I hope that I will be energized through the time I've spent here... enough to push through my last year at the University of Washington. I hope that I haven't become mentally lazy and I hope that there won't be too severe of a reverse-culture shock. Lastly, I hope to come back to a new-and-improved or at least a new-and-improving America. I want to be able to be proud of my country again... or well, maybe for the first time.