Ciao Lugano! - The lost blog post

**Note: This post was written on May 13, 2014. It was never published. While preparing to publish a new blog post, I found my final post, "Ciao Lugano!" a few weeks ago. It doesn't share any new stories, however it provides a bit of reflection on my time abroad. I found it appropriate to share today, as I left for Lugano exactly one year ago. Enjoy!**

This is a blog post I don't want to write. When I click 'publish' it all becomes real. My semester abroad is over. 

It has been 17 days since I returned from the adventure of a lifetime. It's hard to fully explain the thoughts and feelings that come with returning from such an incredible journey. It's strange not seeing the Swiss Alps when I wake up every morning. Dinner is a bit quieter in my house than it was with 47 students in the Montarina. It's taking time to recognize that everyone here speaks English, and that I don't have to translate my thoughts. Everything is different, and yet nothing has changed.

Kaitlyn Malcolm found this quote, and it sums my thoughts up perfectly:

"It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what's changed is you." 
- Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Screenplay

I have changed. There's no doubt about it. My point of view on the world is very different now than it was when I left the United States in January. I have realized how big the world is while at the same time confirming that it is indeed a small world after all. 

Over the last four months, I have logged my adventures across Europe in words, pictures, and video. However, no photographs can capture the beauty of the Cliffs of Moher. No words can describe the excitement of eating eight waffles in 27 hours in Belgium, although this video got pretty close. If I could, I would do it all again, and I would not change a thing.

I could go spend another four months in Europe and visit all the same places, but it wouldn't be the same without my Lugano Family. They are the people who made it all so memorable. While I witnessed some amazing things, it's clear that it's the people I was with that made the trip special. If you are reading this, and ever have the opportunity to study abroad, do it. Do not hesitate. It will be the best decision of your life.

Whether this is the first post you've read or the twenty-fifth, thank you for reading. Ciao, Lugano!