Adios, España!

    During my final week in Spain, I made a conscious effort to stay present. Even as we scrambled to finish our final essays, we found time for last-minute souvenir shopping, late-night walks through the winding streets, coffee runs, and evenings spent at tapas bars. On our last night, after our farewell lunch, we climbed up to the Albaicín and shared a beautiful Italian dinner at the base of the Alhambra. When the sun started to settle over the city, we hiked to the top of the Albaicín to watch the sunset spill over the Alhambra’s towers, which was accompanied by local musicians playing traditional melodies. Later, back at the hostel, we gathered one last time in our classmates’ room (shoutout to Analisa and Rania) for a few rounds of Mafia and Uno, followed by music and dancing. Eventually, the laughter gave way to hugs and tearful goodbyes.

    When I first arrived in Spain at the end of June and wrote my initial blog post, I mentioned that even within the first week, I had learned there was so much more to life than I had ever imagined, and that I could already feel my life shifting. It might sound far-fetched to say that a six-week trip could truly change a person, and in some ways, I agree. But it’s also true. I feel different. Changed. And yet, more myself than ever before. Studying abroad has been a dream of mine since childhood. I had a deep sense of wanderlust I never quite knew how to satisfy. What I’ve come to understand is that maybe wanderlust isn’t meant to be satisfied. Maybe it’s meant to live within me as a quiet, persistent pull toward something more. A reminder to stay curious, to keep going.

    This trip wasn’t just about seeing new places, it was about seeing differently. From our classes and excursions on the Spanish Civil War, which highlighted the importance of preserving history, not just history in textbooks, but lived, complicated, human history. To conversations about the modern-day struggles of African immigrants in Spain and Moroccan students who are denied access to study abroad due to visa restrictions, I was reminded that the world is layered, vast, and often unfair, and I’ve barely scratched the surface.

    These experiences made one thing clear: there’s still so much more I need to learn. I want my life to mean something. I want it to be a vehicle, not just to move through the world, but to understand it. To explore what it really means to live a life. To tell stories. Anywhere, on any continent, under any circumstances or government.

    I’ve learned so many life lessons during these six weeks, and I plan to keep traveling, collecting more as I go. Among them:

1. Stop and listen to the street musicians.
2.Try the thing you’ve never tried, it might become your favorite.
3. People are carrying burdens you can’t begin to imagine. Stay grateful.
4.The world is vast. You need to see it.
5. If you blink, you might miss everything. But if you never blink, you might see nothing at all.
6. Do things alone. Do them with strangers.
7. You are always one decision, and three seconds of courage, away from the life you’ve been dreaming of.
8. Never stop learning. Never stop trying.
9. Stories matter. Don’t let them go untold. And if no one’s telling them right, go discover the truth for yourself.
10. Never stop discovering.

    I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Ms. Kathleen Denno and the entire Study Abroad Office for making this incredible journey possible. No thank you could ever be big enough, wide enough, or loud enough to capture the depth of my gratitude, but please know how truly and deeply I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. This experience has changed my life, and I will carry it with me always. A part of my heart will forever live in Granada, Spain.

Adios, España! Volveré algun dia.