It's Alright To Miss Home

       It’s getting near the end folks. The finish line is within sight. Before I know it, I will be boarding United Airlines Flight 162 back to the good ‘ole U S of A. Our journeys in life will always have a beginning and an end, a start and a finish. We all know this, but still- I really wish this journey would keep on going.

       To describe the extent to which I have loved the past two and half months would be impossible. Glasgow has become my second home, filled with great people, amazing memories, and an overall sense of satisfied fulfillment. Now, however, is when the irony starts to set in. I both miss my home in Albany greatly, but do not want to leave here. Someone seriously needs to develop a teleportation machine within the next four weeks so that this dilemma can be resolved peacefully.

       A constant thought going through my mind lately are the things I both miss back home and will miss here. Sometimes it helps to create lists, to visualize our thoughts and figure out how our mind is working. So I thought I would share my lists with you. Let’s begin.

Top 4 Things I Miss About Albany

1.      I miss my family. Plain and simple. I miss spending time with my cousins playing card games all night, I miss going on random shopping ventures with my mom and my aunts, I miss sitting down and talking to my gram about everything and anything going on in my life. I love my family.

2.      I miss American foods (i.e. Chipotle, Goldfish, Cheesecake Factory, Cheezits, Potato Stix, Chipotle [again], Homemade Lasagna, Coffee Cake, etc.) and the endless hours I would spend eating American foods to the horror and disgust of others around me.

3.      I miss talking to my friends, whether it be those I see constantly throughout the day or those I simply run into around campus. Not having all of them here has been hard, but I cannot wait to share all my stories to make them insanely jealous. Insert maniacal laugh.

4.      I miss my dog. No description necessary. I love my old pup.

Top 4 Things I Will Miss About Glasgow

1.      I will miss the friends I have made here. Thinking of leaving them is not an option right now. I cannot express the immense bond I have formed with all of them. December 20^th is going to be an incredibly hard day.

2.      I will miss my two favorite pubs: Brew Dog and Hillhead Bookclub. I want to take home with me an endless supply of BookClub burgers and every bottle of Brew Dog’s Dead Pony Club.

3.      I will miss the ability to travel easily and, more important, cheaply. I have been to so many amazing places and I cannot imagine going two weeks without visiting another country or city for a few days.

4.      I will miss the energy of Glasgow, that friendly, positive, inviting, cultural, innovative feeling that comes about with every step I take around the city. This city has redefined my dreams for what I want in my future and I could not be any happier about that.

       It is perfectly acceptable to miss our old lives. It is natural sensation we cannot ignore. It reminds us of how far we have come and how far we can go. I love Albany. I love Glasgow. To say that I have had a worthwhile experience by studying abroad would be a severe underestimation of the truth. Glasgow has changed me for the better, and I cannot wait to bring a little bit of this Scottish city back home to New York.