The changes and the changed

That's it, it's done. The book I started almost 11 months ago has long ended, and I can truthfully say that it was probably one of my bests. However, I know that it doesn't end there. What happens now isn't an ending, it's the beginning of the sequel.


My experience in Russia was one that I will never be able to forget. There were times when things were hard, and I got frustrated, of course there were! Though, the good things usually always out shine the bad, and they did. I learned a new language, and understood a completely different culture better. I did things I never imagined myself doing, and I survived it all. I've felt more emotions in the past year than I have felt my entire life, and I've grown from that. I'm not the shy girl I was 11 months ago, and I look at life differently. I've met people that have changed my life, people I will never forget, and some people that, well, weren't exactly the greatest. Good and bad, I would not change a thing about the past year, because it has made me who I am, today.


But, the feeling of being home is different. The people, the places...it's all the same. Looks, smells, feels the same. The past year feels like a dream some days, when I sit and think about everything. Like I fell asleep and had an amazing dream, only to wake and find that only an hour has passed. But the experiences and feelings were real, and I will carry that with me forever. I have found my second home and family, and it is a place that I can't help but miss.


My dream was real, and it won't end there. I have many more places to dream of...