As I say goodbye, I cannot help but feel the tears stream down my face. I don’t want to seem cheesy for crying at the airport, but I cannot help it. Eight months of hard work, dedication and craziness and you have been there for me the whole time. As I complete my freshman year of college and venture back to the land I call home, I want you to know that I will miss you. I cannot believe this school year is over and that I am entering into the four months we call summer. I feel excited, happy and anxious. But I also feel sad, nostalgic and scared. What comes next, I do not know. All I know is that I’m coming home.

The past eight months have been the craziest months of my life. As a first year college student, I had no idea what to expect. When I arrived on campus, I felt as if I was in a foreign country. There were different customs, people sounded weird and I felt that I would not fit in. I was challenged to conform to a society that was different than where I grew up. However, I somehow achieved my goals and succeeded. I was challenged academically. The endless nights in the library and cram study sessions payed off, for I succeeded.

Coming to a school where I did not know anyone, I was challenged with all the social gatherings and parties where I felt I knew no one. However, in the end, I made a friend or two every time I went out. After a while, those friends accumulated and I realized I had a whole network of people. Everyone I met along the way impacted my life whether or not they realized it. From the senior in my Spanish class to the freshman in my psychology class, all the people I have met were amazing. Even my professors have had an impact on my life with their desire for us to succeed.

Now, this time has come to an end. The stress of finals is over and the gates to summer are open wide. The anxious wait to get home is over. I sit here in the airport -- tears finally dried -- and I realize all of the accomplishments I have made in the past eight months. I came from a far-away city and achieved so much more than I could have imagined. I have survived freshman year of college. But as I look towards the future, I feel something I would never have thought I would feel leaving school for the summer. I feel sad. I feel sad that I have to leave. I feel sad that I have to leave all the friends I have made behind and the family that I have built. However, this is an exciting time that I have been looking forward to for quite some time now, and although I feel sad and a bit nostalgic, I cannot wait to see what the future brings me. So for now, I’m coming home.