Final Thoughts

Well here I am, down to my final night of exchange. I can't believe that a whole year has passed. It feels like just yesterday, that July night when I was sitting in my bed back home thinking about how crazy it was that I only had one more night before my year long adventure in Peru began. I remember clear as day every feeling and every thought that passed through my mind that night. I was so excited, nervous, happy, sad, scared, intrigued. I wondered if I would make friends, how my host families would be, if I would be happy. I remember thinking, "What I will feel like on my last night there. Will I be happy? Sad? Will I regret it? Or will I only regret that it has to end?" It has been 11 months since that night. And now here I am, sitting in my new house, surrounded by my new best friends, thinking back to every laugh, every cry, every inside joke, every meal, every sleepover, every movie night, every holiday and everything in between.

I almost can't process it all. Eleven months ago, this was all a concept. An idea. Now it is about to become a memory.

I have made the most incredible friends in the world. I've made relationships that will last my entire life. I look at their faces and I am amazed. I never imagined that I would find a group that brought me as much joy as these people do. They're my teammates, my amigos, my family. It's hard for me to grasp the concept that starting tomorrow evening, I'll have to live without seeing their smiling faces every day. To be perfectly honest, I forget what it was like to not know them. They have helped me become the person that I have always wanted to be.

As hard as it will be to say goodbye to my new life, I am very excited to return to my old one. I can't wait to be home with my family, to see everyone again, to be back in my home town. I feel all of the emotions that I felt on that night last July before coming here. I'm happy, sad, nervous, excited- it's all there. But above all, I feel determined. I have learned so many valuable lessons throughout this year, and I am determined to use what I have learned and apply it to my life back home. I never want to lose this feeling of happiness and peace. My goal for this upcoming year is to treat it as another exchange. I want to behave as though I am an exchange student in Columbus, Ohio. I want to learn the culture, learn the ways of the people there, as an outsider. I want to explore the city and see new things. I want to have an open mind. I want to go to every festival and take advantage of each and every opportunity that presents itself. I want to retain the exchange student mentality. I want to feel free and happy, just as I have this year. I never want this feeling to go away. I want to feel like this forever. And I'm determined to make it happen.

Exchange has been the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me. This year has taught me endless lessons, but most importantly, it has taught me how to love life. I now have a much greater appreciation for the world around me. I am the happiest that I have ever been, and I have Rotary to thank for it. I have no idea how to even begin to go about thanking everyone who made this possible for me. Rotary, my families, my friends. Thank you for this incredible year. It was a life-altering experience that I will never ever forget.