As I sit in the Lima airport, I am reminiscing about the last four months I have spent living in South America. I cannot even begin to comprehend how lucky I have had been to have experienced something as wonderful as Remote Year.

Unfortunately, I had to make a really hard decision to leave Remote Year, as my remote job didn’t pull through and I wasn’t able to lock down a new one in time. Leaving the people who have become my family today was one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do. These last four months we have lived together, laughed together, and grown together. As they travel to Europe on the next step of their Remote Year journey, I am forced to face the reality that I am heading home.

Choosing to see this as a positive, I have to believe that this didn’t work out for a reason. There is something waiting on the other side that is even better. However, it feels like a break-up in which every time a memory pops into my head, it brings me to tears all over again. But the cure with any break-up is time. I know that a week from now, I’ll be immersed back into my life, with Remote Year seeming like a distant memory.

People ask me about Remote Year. Should I do it? What’s the best part? What are the surprises? The answer to all of these questions is YES, because the PEOPLE. The people you meet make this whole journey worthwhile. So I want to say thank you to my Battuta’s for allowing me to share this journey with you and for allowing me to be my crazy, weirdo self. I love you all, and I have no doubt that we’ll see each other again.

So as I sit here, I have to smile because I was the lucky one. And now onto the next adventure! …Whatever that may be. ♥♥♥