Well, I’ve officially left the United Kingdom. Around this time last year, I was in a similar place to the one I’m in now, at an airport, alone and scribbling in my journal. But that’s where the similarities end. I was scared then, afraid of the unknown. I thought that I was happy where I was and didn’t know why I had chosen to do something as foolhardy as studying abroad for a year. I couldn’t know then what I know now, I couldn’t know that I would have the best year of my life (thus far) ahead of me. That I would meet all sorts of people, each one of them special in their own way. That I would learn to love a city besides the one that I had spent my whole life in and be able to call it home after a few months.

I was apprehensive about writing all of this because I thought that it would either seem embellished or sappy, maybe both, but then I realized I really didn’t care. The only way to describe this year is by using words like “special,” “amazing” and “unforgettable.” This year has done so much for me in that it gave me the chance to see more of the world, to grow as a person and, most importantly, to meet some extremely special and wonderful people. To everyone who had a hand in making this year special, whether in the U.K. or the U.S., you have my sincere thanks. To Manchester and the U.K., I say goodbye (for now). To Columbia, I say let’s get to work.