For anyone who knows me well, they know that this year has been tumultuous. It has been the kind of year that would be accompanied by Sufjan Stevens’ Seven Swans and can be perfectly described by the first paragraph of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

So much has happened it is frankly unbelievable, and to tell the full tale, I would need a short novel. But in short, I became a vegetarian, met my wonderful boyfriend Liam, had an abscess tooth, had said tooth pulled with no anesthetic, my parents got divorced, my grandfather died, I lost friends and gained new ones, I spent my first summer away from home in DC, became, as my oral surgeon calls it, the bionic woman, I lost half of my hair due to stress, I traveled Europe, studied abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, voted for the first time, went to one of the best universities in the world, which can probably be equated with an ivy league in the U.S., decided that I am going to add a second major in Computer Science which will extend my college career to five years, I turned 21, went to therapy, and am returning from all of it alive and ready to start a new year. This year was trying. It was the best and worst of my life thus far. But despite all of that, I have never felt more powerful, capable, or in control in my life. I have grown.

In the end, I have so much to be thankful for, so I just want to acknowledge everyone that has been in my life this year and all that everyone has done for me. Your support means the world to me; I can’t emphasize how much I appreciate it.

I was lucky enough to get a few pretty good ones. So enjoy my last walk around the city.

Or at least I’m pretty sure that is what I’ve read. At any rate, it is quite lovely. Due to finals, I haven’t really gotten to spend a lot of time enjoying it. Despite the rain, though, I made the walk down to Princes Street to explore.  There is a carnival, a German market, ice skating, etc. All lit up. So beautiful.

The end of a great adventure that had many ups and downs. The end of a city that I can safely call my home; I know it intimately. I’ve explored the crevasses, the nooks and crannies, the museums, the restaurants, the streets and buildings, the pubs and parks, the university. Even though the past few weeks have been filled with papers, finals, stress, days at a time spent in my room, slight depression, I still find myself a little sad to leave. I’ll miss the people that I have met here, but I am ready to go home. I am ready to see my family, friends, and boyfriend. I am ready to be back at GW where I can walk down the street and be certain that I’ll see a friendly face to say hello to. I miss that. I miss belonging to a community. So, this will be my last post from Edinburgh on my last night confined to a cubicle of a room.