The day that I came in a blink of an eye. My final farewell to the land of Oz. Blogging while I was here didn’t happen as often as I had expected it too, but I honestly never wanted to spend time blogging because it just meant I had to take time out of my day to disconnect from Australia. Even staying in touch with my family and friends back in the states was difficult because things stopped directly impacting me the moment I began to live a completely new life here. It really was a blessing being so disconnected though because it allowed me to experience what every person and every moment had to offer me in these past 4 months. And wow is it going to be hard to say goodbye. I thought leaving Australia would be so difficult, but in actuality its not Oz that I’m having such a hard time saying goodbye to, I have no idea how to say goodbye to my friends. I have no idea how I’m going to leave all the friendships I have made here. As much as I could go on and on about the places and sites I saw while traveling through Australia, Asia and New Zealand, none of the stories would be the same without the people who I experienced them with. I knew I would love to study abroad, but never did I expect to meet and form some of the closest friendships I have ever made while I was here. I also didn’t expect for so many of them to be Americans! Did I mention out of the 3,000 undergraduates and Bond University there were over 800 Americans here this semester? I came here to experience life as a short term Australian, but found myself attending events that involved 99% of Americans. The best part is that it really turned out to be more amazing of an experience than I had ever expected upon arriving here. Lesson number one "If you always have expectations then you'll never be satisfied, because 9 times out of 10 you’ll be let down." This goes for everything about studying abroad. The moment I made that switch in my mind, my trip was enhanced unbelievably. I began to meet more and more people and have the opportunity to get to know them for who they truly were. It was like being apart of a ripple affect every time I had the opportunity to open up and share my story. If you take the time you’d be surprised by how similar you are to people, even when your lives are completely different. Have you ever thought about the first time you met someone that you are close to now? It’s actually pretty funny looking back on my first impressions of some of my closest friends here...
Cory was that dude with the board and blue eyes
Luke as the harvard boy
^^ team ReRe
Matt was drunk and so was dad
Julia... the Bra
Christi and no carbs left behind
Lord Disick
Meeting minnesota boys half way across the world that that live literally 3 blocks from me in St. Paul
Jack mac getting his tv show marathon in in Fiji
Charming Ally Mills
Brendan my twin
Kyle and his mob accent plus his 11 out of 10 smile
German Max and Ben somehow managing to drive and get lost in the jungle with us
Tim tam the candy man
british bunny Zoey
backpackin Jason and Aidan
Carson’s sock swag
and thats not even scratching the surface of the amazing people that I met along this journey abroad. It would be impossible to truly tell someone exactly what living here was like because the only people that really know are the ones who faced it all with me in Oz. A quote I saw today that really describes my final thoughts of leaving is, “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” So thank you everyone, for expanding my heart and love for life greater than I ever thought was possible. Back to the real world, it’s been good Oz. Cheers!
Keep it simple and keep smiling
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