Only 2 Weeks: From the Other End

So, I clearly remember how I felt when Sunday rolled around and I realized that in exactly two weeks, I would be stepping back onto American soil. It was just such a weird feeling. I mean, I remember my blog post ever so long ago in September when I wrote "Only 2 weeks?" and those two weeks had felt like an eternity. I felt like I had learned and done and seen so much in those two weeks. But they had also been very difficult, and I looked at the calendar thinking "How am I ever going to make it through 10 MONTHS!!!!" But, here I am, with just two weeks left, and right now, two weeks feels like absolutely nothing. I just have two weeks left of speaking French all of the time, just two weeks left of living in Europe, just two short, miniscule weeks to squeeze in as much as possible. It feels like just 2 minutes.

It's very weird how my concept of time has changed during this year. I remember packing for a 10 day vacation and having that seem really long. And then I was sitting in my room packing for a 2 week vacation to the south of France, and it felt so short. A while back, finishing school at 2:50 pm was a long day, and here in France, I was grateful for the days when I finished at 3:30. And a year, well 10 months, which once seemed like a lifetime, is now just one very full chapter in the book of my life. This year is a particularly thick chapter, with ups and down, highs and lows. It's a chapter full of adventures and lessons as I navigated my way through this year. Of course, anyone wanting to read the chapter will have to be careful, since the pages are most likely stained with chocolate from chocolate croissants and the linings filled with delicious bread crumbs. So yes, it is a full chapter, and two weeks is just a few pages, but it is only that: a single chapter in my life. So, the fact that I'm coming home soon doesn't mean the book of the adventure is really ending. It just means a page is turning. This year was not a book separate and apart, but a fully integrated chapter. That way, it continues to affect the chapters to come as I move toward the next steps and look beyond. Who knows? Another trip to France may appear, or some time volunteering to help other students pursuing the same adventure. Only time will tell. For the moment, I'm just trying to focus on what I have left: 2 weeks.