sooo, as a lot of you already know, the trip came to an end much sooner and more abruptly than planned, meaning that I've been home since Saturday afternoon. home is both familiar and comforting - basically just the same as how I left it. It's nice having people around that I know, as well as having the option to retreat to my room if I want private space for a while. ALSO a clean bathroom and water from the tap that actually tastes good. So many little things that I won't be taking for granted for the next little bit. I won't say that I'm not a bit disappointed about the trip being cut short. It was a shock to hear Aidan tell me he wanted to go home after london, naturally, but all his reasoning was valid and logical and while it kind of sucked for me to then have to make decisions, I can totally see where he was coming from. I mean, if I had known from the beginning that we only had two months, I would have prioritized places differently, but I am so young. I am only 18. I have years and years and years to go back to europe and explore the places we didn't get to. This being said, the places we DID see were amaaaazing. We managed to get to a few of Europe's biggest and most beautiful cities - Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Venice, Vienna, Budapest, London, just to name a few. It's definitely not a competition, traveling, but I must say I was pleased by how much we were able to see in two months without feeling rushed. We spent a good chunk of time in a lot of places - often 4 or more nights in each city, which was enough time to really get a feel for each place. Also fulfilled my 5 month long dream of getting to primavera sound, which was PHENOMENAL, to say the least, as well as the Harry Potter set in London. On a different note, I think I've learned more about myself and the wider world in the last year, and particularly the last two months, than I ever did in school. Constantly being surrounded by different languages and cultures and personality types is crazy and wonderful and kind of tiring, but it certainly taught me a lot about how I do and do not want to be as a person. And of course, it brought Aidan and I to a whole new level of closeness in our friendship, for which I am grateful. You think you know everything about a person until you are together 24/7, when you realize there's still a ton to learn! Anyway, we shared a lot of laughs and ridiculous inside jokes, and we now have a secret handshake, so I mean, I think we did pretty well. Obviously there were some tense moments and difficult conversations at times, but I am thankful that we have that kind of friendship where we felt we could talk about everything. Do I feel like I got bailed on? Ehh yeah, I guess a little bit, but there was also a lot of good that is coming from deciding to come back early. It means I can make a bit more money for school, I don't have a visa bill to pay off, I am able to be around for a few friends who are going through various things, i have time to do a few things around victoria that I wasn't sure I'd get to in august, etc. As always, I think it was meant to be. Bittersweet, but as I have told a couple people, the moment I thought about how envious I would be if Aidan went home without me was the moment I knew going home was the right decision for me. Speaking of home, I'm actually not really there at the moment - currently in tofino visiting Ben and Kendal, hanging out with my mom, enjoying time off work while I have it. I definitely took the west coast for granted. Coming back to vancouver island after leaving even for as short a time as two months really made me realize how good we've got it. I love it here. E trees, the ocean, the everything...I am infinitely grateful for where I have the privilege of spending my days. And as for the blog? I guess I am signing off for the time being, at least from this particular one. I kinda like blogging though, so maybe I'll continue in some capacity. Next up: universityyep.tumblr.com (hahahaha just kidding. kind of.) No, but actually, thank you for reading this and allowing me to share some of my thoughts in a bizarre, long-winded way. Until the next adventure ~
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