2,875.6 Miles Later

It's crazy to think that just this morning I was across the country. I woke up in my dorm room for the last time. I made sure everything was packed, because the last thing I wanted was to forget something. I then made my way outside to meet the rest of my cohort and chaperone, and get the signing out process over with. My roommate helped me with my bags, an stayed with me for a bit. I didn't know how to say goodbye to her! I felt like no matter how we said goodbye to each other, it wouldn't come close to capturing our true emotions. Anika was the best roommate ever, and I feel lucky to have met her.

We weren't going to head out to the airport until one, so we had about three hours for historical site seeing. We had decided a couple of days before that we wanted to go see the liberty bell, and that's exactly what we did. We dropped our bags off at the Sheraton Hotel, that's where Mr. Lawrence stayed during the trip, then began our trip. There was a line to see the liberty bell, and lucky for us we had to wait in the 95+ degree for about twenty minutes. I was a bit uncomfortable, but I tried to enjoy it because that was the last time I was going to be in the hot Philadelphia sun. We took a few pictures with the liberty bell, and read about its history. The air conditioning inside the building felt great, but not good enough to satisfy our hunger. We headed across the street to a food court for brunch. We ordered Mexican food and cheesesteaks. After finishing, our chaperone asked if we wanted to do a bit more walking around since we had some time left before the shuttle would pick us up at the hotel. We all said no, I don't know why everybody else said no, but I can tell you why I did. I wanted to spend more time with cohort, and every time we're together it's just nonstop laughs and great conversation. Today was no exception.

As we headed to the airport in the shuttle all I could think about was how in a matter of hours I'd be back in California. We checked our bags in, went through security, and bought an early dinner before we were able to sit down. We boarded the plane shortly after that. The plane ride was about six hours, but it went by so fast. I think it went  by fast for me because I wanted to spend more time with my cohort! We talked and laughed so much during our final hours together, and it just made it that much harder to accept the fact that our trip was coming to an end.

I was so overwhelmed when I saw my mom and sisters,and they were holding a welcome back poster. My mom was clearly overwhelmed as well, because she began to cry almost immediately after she saw me. I was welcomed back with tons of hugs and kisses. Now that I am laying in my own bed I can finally say it,I'm home.