“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” — Jawaharal Nehru
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou
So this is it. My final post. It’s not going to be long, but I felt like I needed something to sum up my semester spent gallivanting across the globe. So here’s what I’ve been doing since then. I came home for the summer, missing my boyfriend back in France. Luckily I was only without him for less then two months because he came to stay with my family for one month, in which we went to DC twice, Annapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Ocean City and a variety of other places. The visit was bittersweet. Sweet for the one month we had together before life got complicated again, and bitter, because, well, life got complicated again. I have to go back to Nashville to finish undergrad and Laurent goes to business school in France in October. We don’t know when we’ll see each other again, if ever. I’m going to make an attempt, but with his global internships and law school for me, the actual implementation of my plan might be tricky. Optimistically, I would like to stay together. Realistically, my semester in Copenhagen and my Laurent might be a wonderfully precious memory I cherish for the rest of my life. But I wouldn’t change our relationship or anyone or anything I did in Copenhagen for the world. Traveling opened amazing doors for me- it gave me a sense of freedom, independence, and awe that I believe only traveling in foreign countries can provide. I met incredible people and I now know I am welcome in many parts of the world. I don’t know how else to describe this feeling to someone who hasn’t traveled. I guess the only way to discover it is to travel yourself. So do it! It doesn’t matter how old you are, how broke you are, how scared you are. If you can walk, if you can scrape up enough money for one plane ticket, and if you can force yourself on that plane, you can do it. My life has been changed for the better. And I think everyone else deserves that too.
“Perhaps if we never veered off course, we wouldn’t fall in love, or have babies, or be who we are. After all, seasons change. So do cities. People come into your life and people go. But it’s comforting to know the ones you love are always in your heart. And if you’re very lucky, a plane ride away.”
- Carrie Bradshaw, Sex in the City
xoxoxo one last time,
h.
ps- thanks to DIS, my professors abroad, my parents, Laurent, my DIS friends, and Vanderbilt for everything!
