122 Days Later...

So I know I epically failed at blogging throughout the semester. But it's more fun hearing the stories in person anyway right? haha What really matters is the lessons I have learned over the course of the semester. I figured I'll cap it off with a list of the funny, random, and life changing things I have learned. It doesn’t capture everything but it covers pretty much the top 20 :)

1. I fall asleep in any moving vehicle, usually within the first five minutes.

2. I am not attracted to boys in track suits no matter how cute your Irish accent is.

3. Irish dancing is impossible.

4. I can't imitate an Irish accent to save my life.

5. I don't like feeling rushed or feeling like a tourist.

6. I'm a lot stronger than I ever thought I could be.

7. I love deodorant and b.o. is one of the worst smells in the entire world. Not kidding, there were occasions where I actually had to leave the gym early because people smelled so bad.

8. My personal bubble is gigantic. I can’t stand being in huge crowds of people.

9. I’ve got the travel bug in me! Exploring the world has become my passion.

10. I love my family and friends more than anything in the entire world. I truly am blessed to have such amazing people in my life.

11. It is unbelievable how close you can get to someone over the course of a couple of months.

12. There some absolutely incredible, genuine, caring, generous, fun-loving, beautiful people in this world.

13. Just when you think you know someone, they can completely surprise you with another wonderful aspect to their personality.

14. After spending almost every waking moment of four months with someone it's still possible to find plenty of things to talk about. But what I love the most is when you are so comfortable with someone that you are perfectly content sitting in silence.

15. Two people may be from completely different cultures and still feel like they’ve known each other all their lives. I love the differences in cultures you can learn so much from one another.

16. Sometimes I worry too much. You don't always need a plan. Some of the best moments this semester occurred when we didn't know where we were going or what we were going to do we just let things fall into place.

17. The American way of living is way too fast paced. There is no need for so much stress and rushing around in our lives. The week I spent in Italy was one of the most peaceful and eye opening experiences of my life. Megan and I could spend days doing absolutely nothing but that was all we needed. We need to take more time to enjoy each other's company, to sit for 4 hours at dinner, to truly get to know someone without having to rush off to another place. The perfect summary of this is the Italian phrase “Il bel far niente” which means “ The sweetness of doing nothing”.

18. There is so much to be appreciative and thankful for and too many things in life are taken for granted.

19. You can be anywhere in the world, but what really matters is who is standing there by your side.

20. Everything happens for a reason. God won't throw anything our way that we can't handle. In the end, we always end up just where we're supposed to be.