The last week has been an emotional one. Exams are done and the papers are turned in. I have had many 'lasts'. I will not set foot on the UNott Park Campus for many years, I will not see my running friends anymore, and I will not be able to run through Wollaton Park again. The flat has been scrubbed and scoured to a level of cleanliness that no one thought possible. One of the flatmates has already left for France. How sad. We have had last flat dinners and even a meal out that was quite posh. My bags are mostly packed, my bulletin board is empty and my walls are bare. With least thank 24 hours left, I am heading to see our green grocer for one last time. A girls lunch in city centre followed by the last bits of cleaning. Tonight we will complete the year, making it come full circle. A dinner at The Salutation Inn as a last hurrah. We will say our goodbyes to the city centre with a pint at Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem (the oldest pub in England) and then come back home to our local pub, the Lion for one last pint. With out exhausted bodies, we will crawl into our beds for one last night of sleep in Nottingham. Tuesday morning we leave early and drive directly to Heathrow. A flight to Iceland and then onto Minneapolis and it will all be over. I will see my parents and a friend waiting for me. I will cry saying goodbye to my flatmates and Mark and Carol, but I will also cry saying hello to my loved ones back home. To adhere to my dad's warning, I have been drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated while saying goodbye. This blog has been a way for me to keep in touch with friends and family at home and abroad all year, but it has also helped me to analyze what is going on in my life and a chance to secure memories. Perhaps I will keep writing throughout my senior year, but just like the everything else back in the States, I cannot imagine what it will be like, so there are no guarantees. This was an amazing year and it has meant the world to me. I will never forget.
