I ain't lost, just wandering.

The summer is nearly over, and I still feel like I came back from London yesterday.

Thanks to the internet, we've all done a good job of staying in touch since we've gone our separate ways. I was able to see Katie and Krista in Charlotte, and will be seeing a few others in DC in a couple weeks if all goes to plan. Seeing London friends in the US is surreal. It took a lot of self-convincing for me to believe that, while I was with the girls, I couldn't just click the heels of my flip flops together and return to England with them beside me.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about the semester I just had. Most of my memories are of the simple things. Sure, I loved my classes and teachers enough to make straight A's, traveled to several other countries, met up with so many different people from home, and ate loads of amazing food. But the memories that flood my brain almost constantly are the ones that, to other people, may seem the least significant or substantial. The neighborhood walks. The train rides. The tube stations. The Oyster stops. The grocery days. The weather. The river. The market. The Bentall Center. The cookies (Ben's and Millie's). The music. The dancing. The post office. The currency. The "hole in the wall." The guacamole. The Costa Coffee. The Chocolate Cream Frappucino on a day when it was actually warm enough to drink one on the way to the train station. The ever [un]reliable bus system and the fantastic bus-waiting conversations. The assigned seats and ice cream at the cinema. The couches and Curry Night at Coronation. The comfy chairs and wooden forks at Foodie. The bitch at Corky's. The love/hate relationship with Primark and the 99p Store. The crappy vending machines on campus that never worked and the doors that wouldn't open. The room on campus that doesn't have a catchy name but where we always met...to avoid doing homework. The weird chairs at Subway where we met every Wednesday. The chicken and cheese panini at Moulin Rouge. The Sunday morning football games in the rec field behind my house.

These are the things I remember most often. Not because of what they involve, but because of who they involve. It's all about the people. I went halfway across the world to meet the people who would change my life, and it was worth every single mile.

Returning to college in the US will be strange, and will require some adjusting. But I must remember that these people, the ones with whom I have spent most of my time over the last three years, have also been a part of my life changing experiences. And we all have a whole lot more life to live.

The people I've met are the wonders of my world

I like it in the city when two worlds collide

You get the people and the government

Everybody taking different sides

Shows that we ain't gonna stand shit

Shows that we are united

Love,

lvp