T minus 1 month

Well folks, this is it... we are winding down.  I officially have no more classes at la Universidad Catolica de Cordoba.  I feel three things: thrilled, sad, and apprehensive.  An interesting mix no?  Let me explain.  I have been in class since February 1st--that was a long time ago.  Although it was an amazing experience to have classes in Argentina, all taught by Argentines and in Spanish, it is a relief to know I won't see the inside of a classroom until September.  However, the end of classes signals the end of an era--the era being that of studying abroad.  I've known I wanted to study in Argentina since I was a junior in high school.  This dream, and a dream it has truly been, is coming to an end depressingly quickly.  Finally, with every end is a new beginning.  This experience has changed and is changing me in ways I haven't even realized yet or could possible have the words to describe.  When I come home, I will not be the person that left.  This is a little scary.  Add on to it the fact that I have one year of college left and then nothing but the real world.  I have been blessed in so many various ways throughout my youth; I'm not ready to leave it behind just yet.  I feel the responsibility and weight of adulthood around the corner.  I'll still find a way to incorporate my jet-setting, life of the rich and famous, as my father calls it, but I'm leaving something behind that has been the experience of a lifetime--as if that even describes it.  The other day I was about to start on some homework, and I opened my computer.  The still black screen reflected my smiling face from a joke my roommate had just made.  I caught my eye, and I caught my breath.  Call me corny, call me cliche, but for a second, I didn't recognize the woman staring back at me.  Again, I was all at once proud, content, and terrified.  It has been a journey in self-awareness, and self-reliance above all else.  I just hope I've left my footprint behind in the best way possible.