Birthday.

"Tell 'em that it's my birthday

when I party like that."

- Selena Gomez.

I think I'm a little too young to be saying I'm 21. 

Or shall I say...twenty-fun?

Whatever suits your fancy, it's true. I am now a full-blown adult. Okay, maybe not all the way because I don't have a big-girl job and I still live with my parents. But this rite of passage is huge in the books. How huge? I have to pull my ID out of my wallet every time I want to order some fancy drink.

GETTING ALL CRAZY NOW. PULLING OUT THE DRIVER'S LICENSE WITH THE TEENAGE PICTURE ON IT. WOOO.

All sarcasm aside, turning 21 was one of the best birthdays. I got to do my favorite things ever with my favorite people ever. Waking up near the beach, drinking mimosas for breakfast, massages and hot tubs, impromptu photoshoots and dinner with the crew i.e. the fam. How awesome is that?!

Another year older, another year for the record. And I have to say...starting my twenties off with an award for my work, jobs that I am so thankful for, the temporary move of a lifetime and people I could not live without is an INCREDIBLE feeling. Like, indescribable if I'm getting to be completely honest with you.

I don't want to get too cliche, but the best is yet to come. Crazy to even think when age 20 showed me so much goodness. Wow. 

But I'm pretty sure twenty-fun won't disappoint. How can it when fun is in the age title?! Exactly. That's what I thought.

Don't Forget Where You Belong.

"Been a lot of places, I've been all around the world.

Seen a lot of faces, never knowing where I was.

On the horizon, well I know, I know, I know, I know

the sun will be rising back home."

- One Direction.

I think people underrate how deep it is to not know how you feel. What I mean by that is being full of mixed feelings is taken for granted and that's not okay.

Although London became the love of my life over the past few months, I admit I had memorized all of the details of my flight home. I thought I was 100-percent ready to hit the States again.

But when it came time to get on that flight, it took everything within me to not run the opposite way security was directing me.

Long story short, I got on the plane (thank you if you get my Friends-like reference). Instead of wallowing in my pity like I had planned, I occupied my 10+ hour flight with movies and music galore. I swear, if you are ever in need of a catch-up on pop culture, book a international flight and you've got yourself a ticket to every movie that was nominated for an Oscar that year. Anyways, where was I...?

Oh, yeah. So ten hours and thousands of miles later, I felt the wheels touch down on American soil. And unlike any other flight, I felt at ease. I felt calm. Most importantly, I felt at home.

That was exactly where I landed. Home. 

As thrilled as I was to get through security see my parents, I also felt so weird to get into a car and ride on the right side of the road and know that I was not returning to the Redcliffe Gardens. I was back to the normal life, whatever that meant.

Sure, I love America and, more specifically, I am obsessed with California. But I have now become weirdly nostalgic for a place I was only days ago. Reminiscing is me of a time so long ago and yet long ago means a month past when I was frequenting the local pub for a pint. I am homesick for a place that is technically not my home and that I was merely a stranger living within. 

At that, I leave you as I started. Angry and frustrated that being confused over my feelings is a totally neglected response in our world. I guess it's hard to fall in love time and time again. But it is now time to let my heart fall back into its West Coast ways. 

Summer, let your waves take me.

What Dreams Are Made Of.

"Hey now, hey now.

This is what dreams are made of."

- Lizzie McGuire/Isabella.

You know how they all say "save the best for last"? Well if that means going to Italy and Greece at the end of our study abroad program, I will totally take it.

Don't get me wrong: I was waiting for ages for this trip and my expectations were beyond high. I romanticized the thought of what I'd seen in movies like Sisterhood or Lizzie McGuire. I just imagined perfection in each city we planned to see.

And that's exactly what I got and more.

I can definitely tell you there is not a better way to say goodbye to the continent I called home for a semester than to watch a sunset by the pool or eat pizza next to ancient buildings. Even typing that sentence makes it sound as epic as it was. 

I am so lucky to have this life and for the memories I made throughout the past four months. It hit me even more so as I sat on our Greek front porch and watched the sun go down to bring the small stars out. Man, I am too lucky. No doubt.

It really has been what dreams are made of.

I may not have met my Paolo, but Rome still gave me some of the best spaghetti and gelato I could have asked for. And unlike boys, good food will never let you down. (Yeah, Paolo. You don't lie to nice girls about international music awards.)

Santorini. Talk about a place that absolutely changed my life. Take the most beautiful thing you have ever seen and multiply that by 10. That, right there, is Santorini for you. From Oia to Fira, everything is perfect. It's the closest to heaven and euphoria that I will ever get. No joke. I think my most used phrase was, "I wish we had another week here." Something along those lines. Promise you I will be back sooner rather than later. 

It's hard to match the wonder that is Santorini. But Athens is one city that surprised me more than I thought. Yes, I wanted to see the ruins and learn about the history. But the Greek just know how to run this whole business of being awesome. While the language may be Greek to me, I am sure of the fact that I love this country and I could not be more thankful for it being our last stop upon the Euro tour. (P.S. No coffee will ever match the perfection that is freddo cappuccinos.)