LIVE AS IF YOU'LL DIE TODAY

well this adventure is finally at an end. and honestly, bond really needs to fix the joke that they play on students with a saturday final at 630pm. saturday finals should already be outlawed… but 630pm? honestly - on my last night in australia, they made me sit in a huge room, take a final that made me want to slit my wrists. but i had the most amazing last nite in australia with the greatest people that i will never forget. unforgettable end of semester bash, getting thrown in the ocean at 2am, going through an adventure to just get a taxi home. pulled an all-nighter then headed to the airport at 530am - and almost missed my flight. then had more baggage fee’s and about had a mental breakdown in the airport. 13 hour flight later with little sleep, and i then went through the longest customs process ever in the LA airport - ridiculous. remind me to never again fly internationally by myself around the holidays. finally stateside and on my way to memphis and eventually home sweet home in columbus. i don’t think it has quite set in yet that i have left bond uni, left all of my new friends/family, left all my little swimmer friends, left this incredible continent. i don’t know if i’m more homesick for australia or columbus…

but i can’t wait to see mom, dad and rach. i can’t wait to see people from bexley. i can’t wait to eat chipotle. i can’t wait to go to nyc. i can’t wait to see the edinboro swim team on our never-ending 22 hr bus ride to florida. i am so excited to finally be home. 5pm <3

but the memories i have from my journey abroad will always be with me, right on my sleeve. it’s been real oz. aussie aussie aussie - oi oi oi!! hope to see your sandy shores again soon. miss you already <3

officially 32 hours until my plane lifts off from brisbane. just finished my packing and i am at a loss of words… my room is just as bare as when i arrived here and i can’t believe 3 1/2 months have already gone by. just last week i was homesick beyond belief and now.. it’s going to be so much harder to leave than i thought it would be. there are so many things that i’m going to miss about this place and things i will never forget.

i’ll never forget orientation week - and how much of a shitshow it was. i’ll miss swimming in a beautiful outdoor pool with kids half my age. i’ll miss the day trips to the beach and pac fair. i’ll never forget my amazing trips around this amazing continent with some unforgettable people. i’ll never forget all of the incredible people i’ve met on this journey. i’ll miss the late night boy talks with the girls. i’ll miss the goon nights and the unforgettable morning-after’s. i’ll miss crashing on the couch at the guy’s apartment in surfers - sometimes for multiple nights haha. i’ll miss having no class on wednesday’s and friday’s (that’s never gonna happen again). i’ll never forget the ridiculous nights out on the town or just chilling in the dorm. i honestly don’t know how i’m going to get through life without these people :(

but i can’t wait to be home. i can’t wait to see the family…see and play in the snow…eat chipotle…see the bff’s at home…go to nyc with the fam…see the edinboro swim team…get my ass kicked on training trip…move into my new apartment and live with my big like real grown-ups. it’s gonna be an incredible break and unforgettable second semester :)

stateside on sunday, december 19th at 5pm <3

3 days and 6 hours until i leave. this is so not okay :( it has finally hit me that i’m leaving this place and all of these amazing people. i don’t know what i’m going to do without all of you in my life… <3

soo went to currumbin wildlife sanctuary last weekend - absolutely amazing (besides the monsoon that hit lol). i got to hold a koala, feed kangaroo’s and wallabies, saw wombats and dingos and tazzy devils, and climbed a ropes course through the rainforest. i honestly wanted to stay there forever, or take one of those baby joeys’ home with me. :)

but on a more depressing note… in exactly 6 days and 16 hours, i’ll be on my flight heading back to the states. the end of this incredible journey is so bittersweet… i’m so excited to go home and see all the important people in my life, the many feet of snow, the christmas lights and so on - but it will be so weird not being in australia anymore. it will be weird going back to swimming with people my own age instead of little aussie swimming protégés that will be in the olympics in like 2020; listening to christmas music while seeing snow outside my window instead of sun (or rain for the past few weeks) and palm tree’s; living in an apartment like a grown-up instead of a dorm with flashbacks from freshman year of late nights in the common room and eating the terrible food at the cafeteria; knowing people from all over the world and having those memories instead of being in my little bubble back in the states.

but i can’t wait to come home and can finally have & do all the things i’ve been missing since i’ve been here:

chipotle - enough said. ps i can’t wait to go with my twin to introduce my big to chipotle for the first time :D

decorating for christmas - putting up christmas lights, decorating the tree, opening presents with the family, eating sticky buns and bangers on christmas morning, making snow angels and snowmen in the front yard, snowball fights with the neighbors, snuggling up with hot chocolate in front of the tv with the fam to watch late night movies. i need real christmas spirit instead of christmas in a tropical climate lol.

watching baby videos & harry potter with the mom & sister til 3am - probably one of the things i miss the most. sometimes dad joins in, but falls asleep about 10 minutes in. <3

driving on the right side of the road - i still feel like i’m going to die every time i take the bus or drive with friends.

swimming on the right side of the lane - it’s so weird swimming on the left side of a lane and i feel like a fish that can’t swim. but now that i’m finally used to it, it’s going to be so hard going back to how swimming is back home.

john’s wildwood pizza - mozzarella sticks, pounds of fries, drunk pizza orders, extra crispy wings :) mmmmmmmm…..

breakfast bagels at the cafe with the swim team mob after morning practice, and the all-you-can-eat buffet - again. self-explanatory. since all-you-can-eat is like a foreign language to people here.

ranch dressing - the dressings here are a joke. i need some fattening ranch to go with my pizza and mozzarella sticks and fries

snowball fights outside of highlands - but maybe i don’t quite miss the blizzards…

bruce 4 & the epic team parties - the nights no one remembers. the nights after midseason, florida, and conference. the nights when security gets called numerous times. the nights where the photos go up the next day and people laugh just as hard as before. oh how i miss these :)

a cell phone that i can actually text on - texting on a dinosaur that is only 2G is definitely not a highlight of my trip. and i miss my full keyboard - i have no idea how i lived without it.

watching my shows on an actual tv, not a computer screen - yes, SideReel saved my life over here. but i miss turning on my tv in my room, cuddling up under my covers, and always finding USA Network on :)

it’s so weird talking about going home… i really don’t think it’s hit me yet that i’m leaving…

oye i am really failing at updating this blog lol. but last weekend was a blast, hanging out in murwillumbah on my friends’ farm in the aussie bush. even after getting eaten alive by mosquitos and almost dying every time i saw a huge spider that could eat me (aka every 5 minutes lol), the ridiculous nights of sitting beneath the most starry sky i have ever seen were unforgettable. and our day trip to byron bay was even better because it was sunny and beautiful out, compared to the monsoon we encountered the last time we visited!! we also experimented and tried kangaroo steak - pretty good to be honest, even though i felt terrible eating such an adorable animal. and of course, how could you not have a farm weekend without chickens, cows, and a humongous pot-bellied pig named pepper who thought she was a dog. incredible weekend :)

on an even better note - finally done with classes!!! now all that is left is a hardcore study week and finals. then home :) i can’t believe i only have 16 more days in this paradise - it’s surreal. i feel like i got here just last week. yes i’m so ready to come home and reunite with friends and family… but the memories and the friendships i have made here are going to be alot harder to leave than i thought it would be. but i am so glad that i am homesick, otherwise these last couple weeks could have been so much worse.

when looking back on this entire trip, i realized that my true reasons for coming here were to finally grow up, be myself, and do what i wanted for once - not to continue being someone who’s just living life day by day doing the same thing they’ve always done. i wanted to experience and immerse myself in another culture, meet people from all other walks of life, and build friendships that will last a lifetime. there were times when i wished i hadn’t come and wished i had stayed back home, where i knew i had people i could fall back on when things weren’t going so great. but a good friend here reminded me that no matter how bad things get or how down you may be, things can only get better from here - and what could be better than just being in a foreign paradise on the other side of the world, experiencing things that others have only dreamed of. i only wish other people could have the same opportunities i’ve had here and could experience this incredible adventure with me. this whole soul-searching escapade has truly changed my outlook on life and made me realize how important it is to go out and experience the world outside of your bubble lol. don’t keep these dreams and wishes bottled up inside - grasp them and make them happen. that’s how you’ll live your life as if you’ll die tomorrow :)

as i am growing more and more homesick from seeing thanksgiving pictures and skyping with the fam back home, i realized how thankful i am so many people in my life - my incredible friends & family back home, the edinboro swim team, my sigma sisters, & all of my new friends here in oz. you all mean so much to me & i’m so thankful to have you all in my life. being abroad really made me evaluate my life & made me realize what was truly important to me. and i cannot thank you all enough for everything you have done for me over these many years :) love you all <3

thisisyourchance:

well whitsundays was fun and interesting. it rained practically the entire time we were there :( but being on that boat was so relaxing and definitely would have been even better if we had sun the entire time - that’s what you get when you decide to go during the rainy season i guess haha. but, on a good note, the snorkeling was just as amazing as cairns and i swam among so many schools of fish and got so many awesome pictures! definitely buying a boat once i get a job and a real life :)

and i have finally finished my last paper of the semester - after another all-nighter lol. three 2000 word essays and a 20 minute presentation down in 3 weeks. hell ya! now just waiting for study and finals. home in 26 days <3 i’m so excited to see friends. and family. and chipotle. :D but let me tell you… i got a care package from my sorority sisters and cried soo hard. the picture was soo great and i loved reading all of the little messages in my giant card!! you girls are incredible and i can’t wait to be home (SLAM) <3