“If you love deeply, you’re going to get hurt badly. But it’s still worth it.” ~ ‪C.S. Lewis‬

Yesterday, instead of reading Artemis Fowl like I was supposed to for my seminar essay, I decided to go up into the top of Saint Mary’s. It was a beautiful day, sunny, and high 50’s F. And I am so glad I did. The views all around Oxford from the top of that tall church were breathtaking. This one is of the Radcliffe Camera, my favourite place to study (and the place where all my books end up when I have to look up things). It is my favourite building in Oxford. And the first beautiful building I saw here when I first arrived. Up there I realized, I am going to miss this place so much. It has become home. I’m going to miss the architecture, the nice people, biking everywhere (except for the hills..so yeah, maybe not so much the biking), the weekend trips to London, the ability to see awesome things I would not get to otherwise because England is the home of the fandoms (quite literally actually…), and most of all, the people I have gotten to know here. I have never in my life found a group of people so nice. I’ve never been included in a group of people like this group. Seriously, all of us are so amazed by how great our group is. We are all so talented (yesterday I also got to see our own Tyler Schreiber conduct an orchestra…very well!), and we all work so hard and yet have so much fun together.

Yesterday, I also played Quidditch for the last time in Oxford, but hopefully not the last time in my life. I plan on getting some equipment to play at Asbury even if I am not allowed to create an actual Quidditch team. It is actually a very cheap sport in terms of equipment, PVC pipes and volleyballs and dodgeballs!

And today, I ended my last tutorial. I have one more essay left, the large seminar essay. It is so bittersweet. And I realized something about myself. I absolutely love to write essays…I feel like there is something wrong…

I have talked about it before, but in my mind, England is my Narnia. As much as I don’t have to leave, I have to. I have learned so much here, and now I need to go back and put it into use. I won’t grow as much if I don’t go back and learn more at home. Every good thing has to end, as does every bad thing. If the great time I have here went on forever, it wouldn’t be fun after awhile. It would become mundane. It is the fact that it is a once in a lifetime experience and the fact that I have gotten to do so many things and meet so many amazing people; that is what makes it worth the sadness of leaving. Because the memories may seem like waking up from a dream, but they will always be there. Perhaps I will come back someday, I hope I will, but it will probably happen when I am not looking for it.