For the past month, I have been visiting with my life-long best friend, Alina Seitz. Before this trip, it had been three years since we last saw one another. These last couple of weeks we have traveled all over Europe, experiencing many "firsts" together, such as Paris, Amsterdam, and Italy. However, the trip has come to its end, and I will be flying home tomorrow.

Last time we said goodbye was when she visited me in Alabama, and to say it was rough would be an understatement. We stood at the airport for fifteen minutes, neither of us wanting to face reality. Eventually, after many tears had been shed, she had to leave or she would miss her flight. I got back in my car and sat there crying for about twenty more minutes before I went back to school and continued to cry for the remainder of the day. The hardest part of saying goodbye is that neither of you knows when you'll get to see the other again. Truthfully, I don't think either of us expected our reunion to come within three years. We just got lucky that this opportunity presented itself.

I have a feeling tomorrow will go the same way. We haven't really discussed the fact that I leave tomorrow morning, for obvious reasons. We briefly talked about it last week when we both revealed to the other that we had cried the night before because I only had a week left here with her.

What makes it even harder this time is we are older now and have new responsibilities that will make it hard to visit one another in the future. I'm a full-time college student and she works and goes to school here in Germany. However, I know that we will always make time for each other. These kinds of friendships don't come around often, and we both cherish what we have.

To Alina and her family, thank you for opening up your house to me and going out of your way to show me so much of Europe in such a short period of time. To Mr. Volker, thank you for being our driver, and most importantly our map. To Mrs. Nadja, thank you for trying so hard to make me experience German food, German culture, for opening me up to new experiences such as camping, and for being my German Mom! I appreciate everything you did for me more than you know! P.S. your outfit choices (cute top, hiking pants, and bright blue sneakers) always brightened my day and made me laugh. And to Alina, thank you for being my best friend and someone I can always count on. I love you with all my heart. Thank you guys for such an amazing trip. I will miss you all so much!