I have been meaning to return to blogging now for exactly three weeks.  22 days ago, I breathed a sigh of relief when my plane from Heathrow touched down, and I  stepped out into the smothering, yet familiar Houston humidity.   Alas, every time I sat down to write a blog post, I couldn’t put my thoughts and feelings my homecoming into any coherent words.  Coming home from Europe, my range of emotions was all over the place.  It is hard to know what you are going to miss about your studying abroad experience until you miss it.  And there are way  too many anti-Obama stickers in Texas, which makes me inherently uncomfortable and a tad agitated.

I can say however that I have returned with Europe with nothing but appreciation for life.  The past year was not easy for me, and for the moment, I feel more grounded and balanced than I have in a long time, and I’m genuinely, honestly grateful for the opportunities for personal growth the past year has bestowed upon me.  I have changed a lot over the past year.  I feel content, I feel more genuine, I beginning to develop a peace with my past, and I finally feel like I am becoming the woman I always wanted to be.  Further, after spending six months of the past year abroad, I’m looking forward to embracing my life in the U.S. with no planned  trips out of the country (yet … ).

And, with all that said, everything could pretty much be summed up in two points: (1) I’m back, and (2) I’m in DC for the summer, where it is hotter than heck.

Cheers!