I visited Edinburgh earlier in the year, and absolutely adored it. It's a city that holds some of my favorite memories of travelling with my friends. I'm putting up this list of ten things to do in Edinburgh that you really must while you're there! 

I've been home for just shy of a month now, and it's very different. Before studying abroad, I had never been away from my home for more than a week when I was away at my university. For four months I didn't have the luxury of a big bed or even a microwave.


It's a little bit surreal to be back home after being on another continent for four months. But if anyone asked me if I wanted to go back to Europe like next week, I'd probably say yes!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Have you ever been away for a really long time? What did you like about being back home and what did you think was the hardest?

  

So I've officially been back in the states now for  11 days. I miss the rolling green hills of England, all of my friends that are now home too, and I definitely miss being able to get on a train and head to cities like London, Edinburgh and Liverpool. Study Abroad was one of the best things to ever happen to me. So I made a list of 10 things that it has taught me. 

1. Attitude is everything. If you don't make an effort to have fun, meet new people and explore new things then maybe it's not for you. There were definitely days where I knew I was being a brat because I couldn't make going to a certain place fit in my calendar. I had to give myself a little you're in Europe and you're letting this one thing/person get to you. Talk.

2. It's not where you go, it's who you travel with. One of the friends I made on this trip told me this near the beginning of the semester. And he was 110% right. I found this out the hard way when I went to Ireland and my friends didn't go, yes I had fun, but I knew the sadness in my heart was because I wanted them to be there with me experiencing the whole thing. 

3. Public Transportation isn't scary. Getting on the bus, and the train then the tube and going through an airport by myself was a daunting thought before I left. But I did it. I probably won't ride public buses at home because I have a car, but it's not as scary to think about anymore. 

4. You'll be more independent. Because now you can ride the tube from Kings Cross to Picadilly Circus by yourself. You can take a flight to Barcelona and back to London, and also from Venice to Prague by yourself. It's nerve wracking but also thrilling when it's over. 

5. You'll miss weird things. I didn't miss my house when I was abroad, but I definitely missed things like cheesecurds and Culvers icecream when I was in England. 

6. You'll miss things about the country you lived in. I've been gone for a little more than a week and I literally miss everything about England so much. 

7.  You learn about yourself. and about what kind of people you want to hang out with

8. Time management is different when you're never at school on the weekends. I never stayed up working on homework past 1am on purpose before studying abroad

9.  Getting lost isn't a bad thing. Yea knowing where you're going is really helpful, but taking a wrong turn down a street can lead to some pretty cool stuff.

10. You meet amazing people. I haven't seen them in a few weeks and it actually hurts my heart, because we spent everyday together.

If you're thinking about studying abroad, GO FOR IT. do it. It's the best thing that will ever happen to you. And you will honestly have the best time. 

This post is going up the day before we leave, and honestly it doesn't seem like it's ending.
We just met. You don't even know how many times I logged onto my laptop to just play around on google maps street view and get myself to the manor and around London. 

There have been so many times that I have felt truly grateful to have such great friends like you. 

People who care when I feel sad, and people who sometimes know me better than myself. People who make me laugh, and are there with open arms when one of us cries. We may have only met in January but it feels like I have known you my entire life. There's no one else I would run up and down 5 flights of stairs for late at night. 

I have never smiled so much or laughed so hard. There's no way words can even describe how much I love each of you. 

Travelling the world with you, has really been a pleasure, and something I will never, could never, forget. We conquered the tube the first weekend, navigated airports and train stations and countless cities. 

You mean the world to me. Leaving you really tears my heart in half. Even though, I know you're going to be so happy to be home again. 

That whatever roads we take, that we get to run into one another again, and that we never lose touch. 

Because I've never had best friends before. 

And these last four months have taught me what it's like to finally have that. 

We have grown so much together. We're literally the same people. I'm so glad I didn't have to go through my entire life not knowing you.

I could never thank you each enough. I wrote all of you letters that you have to read on the plane ride home. I think a piece of my heart is going to be left behind in England, and left with all of you. They tell you making friends is the easy part, but they never tell you that it's also the best part. It's really about who you're with that makes the adventure that much better.

Thanks for an amazing ride. Smiles, laughs and cries and long, late night talks. 

I love you all so much. And this isn't goodbye. Because we'll always have each other, Even if we're more than a floor away from each other.

Until next time, 

see you soon, Kenzie