its hard to believe that in less than 24 hours i'll be back in LA. wait...seriously?! i've been so back & forth - one minute i'm excited, the next i'm incredibly freaked out. its like i've been going through all the motions of packing up but haven't yet come to terms with the fact that i am actually leaving. how do you say goodbye when you don't know if you'll ever return? it might just be the hardest thing.. time moves in ways that i will never understand, and all i know is that these have been the most amazing and beautiful five months of my life.
the first sunrise way back in february really just feels like yesterday.
the beach in sorrento is still one of my most favorite.
i'll miss all the awesome animals of australia..
especially the sink frogs at orpheus island..
my gecko friends..
and the wallabies who hung out in front of my dorm everyday. (i won't miss the sound of children at the daycare center across the street screaming every morning, however)
i won't miss the weird breakfast options at st. marks,
but i will miss eating an unhealthy amount of cookies at afternoon tea.
i'll miss the starfish flowers, and all the interesting fruit.
i'll miss diving in the great barrier reef - i'll never forget how i almost cried swimming through corals for the first time because it was actually that beautiful, and how it felt to be an arm's distance from the biggest fish i'd ever seen.
i'll miss rock-climbing at mount stuart - i came here mildy terrified of heights and leave craving a chance to get back out for another climb.
going to bowen one of my frist weekends here to try bouldering with a group of people i barely knew was one of the the best decisions i could have made.
i will never drink goon again. never.
since frisbee ended, wednesday nights haven't felt the same.. miss my teammates from fluro fantasy already.
whenever i look at my scar i'll remember how me and deon visited the ER twice in one week. i might even miss the townsville hospital a tiny bit.
i'll miss studying (LOL JUST KIDDING).
..but i leave here knowing how to effectively boil a fish head and reassemble its skull.
i'll miss going on the most incredible field trips to wambiana cattle station and orpheus island.
i'll REALLY miss $5 pizzas on cheap tuesday,
and family dinner at rotary.
i even miss these half burnt/half raw cookies. mostly because i'm pretty hungry right now. PS whoever stole me and katrina's homemade brownies from the third floor fridge in st.marks i am still really disappointed in you.
i won't forget that day when there were so so many clouds, and i'll miss seeing mt. stuart everyday.
i'll miss the strand and how aquamarine the water looked on a sunny day.
& of the course the skateboard gang.
i'll miss the elephants graffitied on the wall of the tunnel i passed whenever i went for a run.
i'll miss the river and i wish i'd gone more.
seeing temper trap play my favorite song at groovin the moo will always be one of my best memories.
crystal creek was one of the most beautiful places..
and so was alligator creek. those were perfect days in every way.
i'll miss the waterfalls, and how awesome it felt to stand underneath the roaring water.
some of the closest places were the best.. magnetic island was so magical & i could have stayed forever.
also i'll always remember that one time i fell off the bike and we almost got hit by a car multiple times attempting to get to the botanic gardens..
and for some reason when i think about our trip to tully i just remember these burgers..
plus kayaking of course...
especially when this happened:
i'll miss the blue mountains,
and the sunset over the sydney harbor bridge and opera house.
i'll miss these guys,
and everyone else i've met along the way. i've been trying to write this whole time about how much australia has meant to me, but words keep eluding me. its like this feeling that i can't begin to describe - i think that's because its bigger than words.
i have loved australia from the first sunrise to the last sunset, and i always will.
