for what it's worth, it was worth all the while♥

I am sitting in the Berlin airport, looking at six hour of “me” time with this lovely layover before I head to Paris. I officially said goodbye to Salzburg; the Monchsberg, my top bunk and Austria. I woke up and only had to throw a few things together in order to be “walk-out-the-door-ready” to catch my taxi that was picking me up at 9:15am. The girls had already left me; they were up bright and early leaving the house at 4:30am. So it was just me in our room. The bare walls and empty shelves kind of hit a nerve—as if Clorox wipes could simply erase months of everything we lived and breathed.

Time is such a weird concept. When you want things to just be over already, the days drag and each week seems a day longer then the last one. When you want more of it, someone is always there to hit the fast-forward button and you find yourself just trying to hang on.

We had our banquet dinner Monday night and our program director, Kevin, put together a slide show of the semester in a glance. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the Wintergarten when all the good times were splashed across that big white screen. That night was the most sentimental we got. It was emotional but it was actually good because we got it out of our system and had the whole next day to pack and clean and do those last minute things.

But standing in my room this morning I felt sad. It is always hard to say goodbye to somewhere you know you’ll never be again. I will never be in Zimmer 3 of the Monchsberg, sleeping on bunk beds with three of my sisters. Or in our group of 30—friends who have made more of a difference to me in three short months than a lot people have in years.

It makes me appreciate things. Appreciate the good times, people, & memories. We tagged the O’Malley’s bathroom last night—a Salzy tradition. It’s the background of my phone now and looking at it reminds me of the place in my heart I have made for Salzburg. Auf Weidersehen, it was fun.

Everything that I once thought important

Just got blurry and I can’t tell what is what.

Every time I see you I get butterflies,

Did I ever tell you that? --fall 09