So here we are at nearly the end of May, and I'm not sure how that happened! This whole year has been a whirlwind of craziness...some good, some bad. In the end though, I think I've come out on top. The school year is winding down, but I'm already looking forward to starting the new year. New faces. Familiar faces. The wicked witch will be gone, of course. Should be great. I've gotten a bit of traveling in since I've been here, and a little more is on the way. I owe my new-found fearlessness of traveling alone thanks to Ireland. This will surely make next year even more spectacular. I also owe Ireland my new sense of self. I'm finally at peace with the fact that I don't know too many people here. And yet, slowly but surely, I've made a few new friends. Good friends. Spanish friends. Which, frankly, was a big reason for me coming here. Connections.

I'm not sure why, but I've begun to relax a bit. I now really enjoy my free time. I've found productive ways of filling it. I've even been making plans for the past few weekends. Life has started coming together here. I haven't felt that in a long time. The second I had returned home from studying in Madrid I knew I wanted to come back. And I never felt quite right in St. Louis. Like another part of my life was going on without me.Then I finally got here and it was not the Madrid I remembered. Again, I started feeling like I was missing out on an important part of my life...the part in St. Louis! Sheesh!

You just can't win, right?

 I was at a loss. To top it off, the one person I confided in about my loneliness decided at this moment to slam the door in my face and cut me off. So, um...wow.

But you know what? That was the best thing to ever happen to me. It gave me the chance to start over. And here I am. I'm back. I have 2 more great months to look forward to before I head home for a bit. But wait!

There's more!?!?

Yes, that's right. I'll be back for round two. I had one year to settle in and another year to go nuts! Maybe even add a third or fourth year. Anything's possible now. I've been here long enough to get comfortable...and I'll be coming back for more.

That, my friends, was the whole point.

~Caralyn
(you can't see it right now, but I'm giving myself a huge pat on the back)