As I lay here in my bunk, I'm all too aware that the week is rapidly coming to a close. 

My first reaction was sadness. I didn't (and don't!) want this week to end. There is so much more to do, so many more people to help, and so much that I haven't learned yet. But I guess the funny thing about time is that it will still go on no matter what else you need or want to do. I felt grief because this week is ending, and that the time I've spent working with 48 wonderful people is going to end. My second reaction was fear. I was scared of going home. Having everything that we built up, the relationships and bonds, be shredded the second we step foot back in Massachusetts. That everything will end. 

However,  our reflection  tonight reminded me that it doesn't need to end. But nothing has to go 'back to normal'. Normal is a relative term where we built our comfort zones around. That we can go home and being our experience back with us. Everything that we learn here can be applied into all our lives back at home, and that's a great thing.

And so, my third and final reaction is excitement. I'm excited to go home  and be the person I have become over the year and over this trip. I think it's going to be a wonderful experience. But I still have one more day left, and I tend to make it as hardworking and fantastic as the rest. And while there will be tears shed, there's an important quote that was said tonight that I'll do my best to reflect on in these last couple days. Mr. Kane has said it many times before, and it's all too relevant now. "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." 

Meredith