As study abroad has continued to speed by, I’ve found myself in a whirlwind of emotions and feelings about the whole experience. It seems like every time I blink I’ve been here another 2 weeks, and all of the trips that had been bucket list items for so long are finally coming to surpass. It has felt a bit like I’m living in a far off fairytale-esque world where there are no real implications to anything going on around me.

However, a lot of this came to a head while I stayed up through the night watching the election unfold back home. As a public policy student, I have a strong vested interest in U.S. politics. Both on a personal level and a professional scale, the outcome of the election feels like it will dictate a lot of my life over, at the very least, the next four years. As I sat up watching everything unfold on my tiny yellow couch, I knew that there was something I’ve been missing about being in France. Though international politics and French history are an interesting subject, there is a bit of my heart and so much passion that remains in my studies in the U.S. So, post election, I made a decision I had been sitting on since the beginning of my arrival here that I couldn’t quite pull the trigger on, and have shortened my stay from the year to just one semester.

In a way, making the decision to come home early has made this semester so much lighter. I’ve stopped worrying about my life plans so much and about the “real world” back home, because I know it will still be there when I get back. And knowing I’ll be back so soon has made me stop and take in every moment here. Since I made the decision, I’ve taken two trips and planned 4 more. My pain au chocolats taste a little better, and my room became a little cozier. I’ve been able to stop worrying about my abroad friends leaving and just enjoy them here, knowing soon I’ll be home too.

I would never say that I regret my initial decision to come for the year, and I would strongly encourage anyone to take the opportunity to do so if they’re able. However, for myself, I’m incredibly content with the experience I’ve had so far and am absolutely ecstatic for what I have coming up in my last few weeks here, and know that going back to Denver makes the most sense for me. Even so, Rennes has undoubtedly become another place I call home, and I will always look back fondly.