"Goodbye to You"

16 weeks ago I left home feeling excited, nervous, anxious, sad, elated, scared and confused. And tonight, I feel every single bit of these emotions all over again as I watch my room empty out and prepare to leave Florence tomorrow. These past 4 months are unlike anything I have ever imagined I would experience in my lifetime; I am eternally grateful for this opportunity.

7 countries, 13 cities. I feel like I should be telling you all what my favorite place was, or my favorite night in Florence, or what I am going to miss the most. But I really can't. What I can tell you is the cliche thing that I am sure every person (girl) going abroad will say: It showed me so much about myself. I seriously hate that I am writing that because it is so typical but I think I've grown up so much this past semester- more than I ever expected to. I learned that I need to have a plan at all times (sorry roommates), that I can be adventurous (despite all your beliefs), that I appreciate my family more than ever and that I am maybe too obsessed with my friends....So this brings me to my abroad family.

10 girls in one apartment was more than we all bargained for, but given our circumstances, we did a pretty damn good job. I want you all to know that each of you has made this experience for me. Together, we saw the most amazing things and I dont know how many people can say they traveled the world with their best friends. I am going to miss our pre-bed-time chats Em (what would I do with out you), making fun of Jess for her countdown and Sam for her selfie obsession, having Kerry and Marissa as my rocks here, laughing till I cry with Deyon and CeeCee, having heart to hearts with Anna and being absolutely so inappropriate with Maria. There is just way too many of us to mention but I hope that you all know I love you all so much. Thank you for making this that much better. 

This entire experience was a risk-one that I was obviously willing to take, but one that was completely terrifying and absolutely life changing. I want my family to know how incredibly thankful I am for this. Thank you for trusting me, enabling me to do this and being so supportive because I would not even be able to make it a day without you guys.

I'm not quite sure when the next time I will see Buckingham Palace in London, eat the most amazing food in Siena, paraglide off the Swiss alps in Interlaken, tour the colosseum slightly tipsy in Rome, visit Paris for less than 40 hours, ride a gondola in Venice, spend a week with my best friends in Barcelona, walk down cliffs in the Amalfi coast, tour the islands of Croatia on a boat OR camp out during a beer fest in Germany, but I definitely will cherish these past 4 months of my life. What I know I probably won't be able to do again is wake up every morning to be greeted by the Ponte Vecchio. How did I manage to get so lucky?

So now the time has really come. As we all push through the tears and pack up our inappropriate amount of baggage, I am so ready to come home. I miss everyone and cannot wait to see you all. And with about 2,000 views on my blog, thank you to everyone who has traveled with me and read through my experiences- it means more to me than you'll ever know. I have to stop here because if I continue I'll never stop. SEE YOU TOMORROW NEW YORK....CIAO FOR NOW FLORENCE, you have the biggest piece of my heart.

xo Bria