And that's a wrap!

I've been home for about a month now. I've been back in school for a whole week, and have spent some time hanging out, catching up, trying to reestablish myself as a Californian rather than a girl-who-is-abroad. My birthday was a week ago. I turned 21. I went to Sea World. I spend a lot of time reading, working (because, as I'm sure you can figure, I'm broke... a little less than broke now that I've been working, but still not quite to my comfort zone), exercising, and just hanging out. My skin loves the San Diego sun, the San Diego air, and I'm hoping this weekend is nice enough for a trip to the beach.

In short, life here is great.

But there's still that part of me that misses my life in Spain.

In 7 months, I managed to see 7 countries (and many more cities than that). I lived in a world where I spoke Spanish to strangers. I encountered people of all different cultures, countries, religions, and lifestyles. I made some of the best friends I could imagine, and leaving Spain meant saying goodbye to them, some of them forever.

There is definitely an adjustment to coming home. It's not easy to wiggle your way back into everyone's lives. Getting back to work. Getting back to school work. Not traveling. Speaking English to strangers on the street.

But despite all of that, I would say that spending my time abroad was the best thing I could ever have done for myself.

It truly was the best thing I could have done for myself.

My language skills improved. I'm much more outgoing now. I'm smarter. I'm savvier. I generally value people, like my friends, even more than I did before. I pushed my limits. I gave myself a life in a place where I knew no one, the national language was not mine, where even the narrow streets were something I had only experienced in the movies.

I realized a dream.

If there is anyone out there on the fence about studying abroad, or doing anything, really, and your only reason for not doing it is because you're scared or nervous, let me tell you this:

DO IT.

Challenge yourself. Live the life you're dreaming of. Be the person you want to be. No one is stopping you but yourself. Live on the edge. Learn a new language. Be confident even if you feel like you shouldn't be. Even if you have doubts. Even if you are unsure. Pick the road less traveled by. Think for yourself. BE yourself.

JUST DO IT!

It won't always be easy. Life is not a cakewalk. But let me tell you, doing the things that you are challenged by... those are the things that will stick out in your memory. Those are the things that will ultimately shape who you are.

Someday, this could be you, looking back and KNOWING that what you did was the right thing. You did the right thing for yourself, and every time someone asks you "Would you do it all over again, just like that?" you can answer, "I would never do anything differently."

Just go. Just do it. Just be yourself.

It's harder than it sounds.

But it is so, so, so liberating.

And I promise, you will not be sorry you did.