I can’t believe how quickly time is flying. How a month ago (which seems like last week), I wrote a post about how I had two months left.

And now I have one.

If I said I weren’t excited, I’d be lying. And if I said I weren’t totally terrified of the next chapter of my life, I’d really be lying.

It doesn’t feel like this experience is winding down. But it is. And every day, I am one step closer to being home.

I can’t stress enough how life-changing the past 5 months have been. How I am a far cry from that lost college senior, preparing to combat life in the real world. And now? Now I will have had 6 months living abroad, navigating around a foreign culture and city, virtually on my own.

This next month will be gone in a flash, I realize that. And with this knowledge, I will make the best of these next four weeks. I have really made a valiant effort to make this experience count, not only by becoming fluent in the language and assimilating myself in the culture, but by making friends out of awkward situations, learning to cook, and becoming comfortable in an otherwise lonely situation, along with many, many other things. The list goes on.

At this point, I can confidently say that I am proud of myself. Proud that I’ve made it this far. That I’ve done something different. That I’ve made the best of the past 5 months, regardless of the tough times in between.

Because I will be a better, stronger person in the end.

35 days.