on completion

Well, team,

I'VE DONE IT.

Wrote my MLitt dissertation, and handed it in yesterday. Mixed horror, pride and relief. Horror, because it'll never be good enough-- that's just academia. Pride because I DID it, dangit. And relief because I don't have anything at the back of my mind, begging to be worried over, anymore.

Packed my flat today-- which involved my friend, Tamara, showing up after my 11:30 pm panic to  help me put my odds and ends in a suitcase and moving my entire life down the stairs, up the street, and up the stairs to her flat. Yeah, she's a beast. / a saint. / frickin' awesome.

CanNOT believe it's nearly been a year. And what a year it's been. Did some of the best and most rewarding work / research of my life. Made some amazing friends (who've kind of become my family over here, which I have to say, I love). Lived in my first big-girl flat. Saw a little bit of the world. Got to know my surroundings. Learned how to be a bartender ("barmaid," as they call it here. haha. what is this, the 19th century?). Got ENGAGED to the love of my whole life (!). Realized that I'm exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I need to be doing at this point in my life.

Yep. I'm pretty proud of myself. And I kinda think I deserve to be :)

So tonight, while I'm sleeping in my little bed for the last time, looking around at the empty room that's been my home for the last year...I'm a little sad to leave. It's been a good year. Tough at times, of course, but-- let's be honest here for a minute-- what year isn't? I'm happy to leave though, too. As Greg said to me just this morning (while he was helping me wade through my laundry to start packing- just so you know how wonderful he is, basically all the time), "Our future is so bright."

And it is. And that's kind of what's making it easier to leave, knowing there's something so good and wonderful waiting for me after I do. Even if we have no answer for what we're doing once we actually graduate this fall...At least we've got no answer together! That makes it all a little better.