Saying goodbye...

As my time here in Cape Town comes to an end, there are millions of emotions and thoughts running through my head. A week from today I will be boarding a plane back to the US and I don't know if I'm ready yet. I know it has to happen and it will because trust me, if I didn't get on that plane, my mother would KILL me!!! :) So now that my time is dwendling down to single numbers, i have to start thinking about and actually saying goodbye to people and places I have been surrounded with for these past four months. All my life I have never been good at good-byes and especially with quick change. High school graduation, moving to college, going home for summer break, and leaving for South Africa have been the hardest goodbyes I have ever had to do. Moving on to the next chapter of your life is exciting but scary and sad. Saying goodbye to the people you love the most in life is not easy at all. Living here in Cape Town for 4 months has allowed me to meet some amazing people and make life long friendships that i will never forget. Now that the time has come to move on and come home, i dont want to say goodbye to these people but i know i have to. Saying goodbye means that we are leaving each other, leaving this place, and going back to a place that is completely different from the one we are living in now. We have been through so much here and most of the stuff will never be understood by anyone besides the people on my program. The friends I have made here will be my friends forever and it is going to be so hard to say goodbye and let go to an experience that has changed my life in so many different ways. They have been there for me through some crazy times and i really dont want to leave the memories we have had behind. But we know its what we have to do and our friendship is only being moved to a different country. these goodbyes are going to be hard but something we have to do. just like the goodbyes i had to say leaving for South Africa, the goodbyes i have to say leaving South Africa are going to be so hard but necessary. I think this time here has been amazing and life changing. it has helped us grow and mature into strong individuals we never thought we could be. these goodbyes are not forever, they are more like a "see you later" but goodbye to south africa, until we come back again!!!