6:30 AM and Aliza and I are sitting in the airport ready to board the plane.
Looking out at the pitch-black sky, it has finally hit me.
A feeling of sadness has swept through me.
We have been in Madrid for 6 weeks; it is a place that I have begun to call my home and now I’m leaving it… I’m returning back to my real home, where life will continue but the memories of this past summer will never be forgotten.
Bryce once posted on her Facebook wall: “It's sad when people don't broaden their horizons and experience new things. You can't live in your own comfort zone forever. Life is about exploring and learning. What will you ever learn when you are doing the exact same thing over and over again and surrounding yourself by the same things? If everything you've done, everything you've seen, and everyone you've met has completely the same value… what's it all worth?”
I know many people were against Aliza and I going to Madrid for the summer… “you’re crazy,” “what will you eat,” “why Spain?!” “what were you thinking!?” while others were so excited for us to go through such an experience and could not wait to live vicariously through us.
There still are times when I just ask myself, what the heck was I thinking and why did I do this? There are times when I wonder if it was worth lowering my GPA just for an experience like this. There are times when I question if I have learned anything from the new friends I’ve made…
All I can say is that this experience has changed my life.
It has made me see the world in a different way. Between spending 6 weeks in a country that I can hardly speak the language, having teachers that I cannot fully communicate with, making friends with people that are totally and completely out of my ‘bubble,’ I can say that I have learned a lot, matured a lot, and have become more aware of my surroundings.
This experience has been amazing and I cannot thank all of you enough for being with me every step of the way.
For those who weren’t so happy with me going, I hope that you see how amazing this trip was for me, how much I’ve grown, and how much I learned from this.
For those who continuously encouraged me to go and have a great time, thank you! You guys pushed me to keep going even when I was crashing at the beginning (and a little bit in the end).
To the friends I’ve made here, thank you for giving Aliza and I the chance to be normal… to be interested in our religion and helping us the way you did. I don’t know what I would do if you didn’t want to turn on the bathroom light on Shabbos because ‘you felt like it.’ Or going out of your way to go to the farther store because you knew there was ben & jerry’s.
To Aliza, there just are no words. I’m still shocked neither of us have killed each other throughout all of this. Being able to spend literally 24 hours a day with you, 7 days a week, I have learned so much from you and had so much fun too… YA KNOW!? I still don’t know how we decided to do this trip, but I am so happy we did. It was amazing going through all of this with you and I don’t think there would have been a better person to go with then you… Italy next summer?
And of course, to my parents… who have made a HUGE investment out of this trip. I know it was a pretty penny, but I hope you guys know how amazing this trip was and how grateful I am for having you as my parents….
THANK YOU!
Thank you all for living vicariously through me the last 6 weeks… I hope you all laughed, cried, and enjoyed reading this…. Thank you for letting me share my stories with you and for letting me vent and complain when I needed to; you all know how I love to talk, and what a good way when the time difference is 6 hours away….
Like Bryce said, it’s important to experience different things in life and learn from different people. Real life is a tough place. You can’t stay in your comfort zone forever… the sooner you learn and the more willing you are to understand, the easier the real world will be.