This is it.  Although I cannot say I have been the most faithful to this blog, I am glad that I wrote as much as I did.  This little chunk of cyberspace will be my favorite souvenier of the best semester of my life thus far.  Although I did not go into complete detail with everything, I was honest with all of you, and to myself.  I am so lucky to have had this experience.  I have loved every minute of it (although I may have not known it at the time...) and have learned so much about the world, the French language (some other languages too), new cultures, and myself. I can't really sum up everything I've learned in the last semester, so I will try to jot down some thoughts and lessons from this semester that I will really attempt to carry with me through my journey home and beyond.

• Be thankful for your ability and ease to express yourself.  It doesn't come that easy to everyone.
• Less talking (especially about yourself). More learning. More listening. More loving.
• Cultures are all very different and they define much more about ourselves than we like to believe.
• TRY. Try very hard and have confidence and you can accomplish almost anything.
• Never forget those who are important to you, and on that note, never fail to constantly remind them of how important they are.
• Life is a series of changes; ups and downs, phases of friends, change of place, change of emotions; take everything with stride.  What is tangible now may not exist in the future, but life goes on nonetheless. 
• Each and every single thing that happens to you has a hidden lesson, and thus the potential to change your life.  It's your choice whether or not you profit from it.
• People are generally good, but that gets hidden by the fact that people are generally selfish.