Halfway?

Five months ago today I got on a plane to leave everything I'd ever known and loved, and come to a country that I knew little about and understood even less with people I'd never met. If you had asked me that day who I would be five months later, I wouldn't have been able to tell you. I would never have been able to imagine what I've experienced, the adventures I've been on, and everything that I've learned about myself, the language, and this culture. Over the past week I have been preparing for my presentation of Texas and I'm not gonna lie, it makes me a little home sick when I explain where I come from to my peers. But when I stop to actually think about it, I realize that I wouldn't be happy back home right now. That when I go back, it's going to be there hardest thing I've ever done. And that when I go back, a part of my heart will stay here and I will never again be the person I was before. It makes me wonder, "will I be able to be friends with the same people?" "Will I do the same things?" "Will I ever be able to explain who I am now?" They're impossible questions to answer, but I've found myself almost panicking when I think about the day I go back. Yes there are still six months left, but I'm almost half way through my exchange, and things will never be the same again. Will I loose the language? Will I be able to keep in contact with my family and friends here? Will I ever see my exchange friends again? These questions keep me up at night, and I can't help but wish my year didn't have to end. As I watched my Oldie go through security to return to Australia, it hit me that things change so fast and opportunities are lost when you aren't paying attention. I've also realized that so many opportunities are passed up when we get caught up in the past. The first two months all I could think about was home and how much I missed this or that, but once I got a grasp on the language time flew by. School is still ridiculously hard and I'm still learning things about myself everyday, but I'm realizing now more than ever how valuable this year is, how much I've already learned, and how much more I'm going to learn. Thank you all for your love and support, and thank you for showing me what truly matters in life. When the day comes for me to get on that airplane and come home, I will be leaving my old self here and coming home a new person, I will be leaving everything that has shaped me into who I am now, and I will have to figure out who I am back in Texas. No matter how hard it is to leave amazing Belgium, I wouldn't trade this experience for the world.