I blinked and now it's November 18th...November 18th: 9 days after my 22nd birthday, 82 days after arriving in Italy and 19 days until I will be home. I'll be home and I don't know if I'm ready now. I've spent two and a half months missing home and now I miss Italy. I miss Italy and I'm still here. It's never going to be the same. Life will go back to normal on December 8th. On December 8th, I won't be walking to Hermes for a drink with a friend, I won't be walking to the Co-Op for as many packages of smarties as I can carry, I won't be here. I won't be in Italy. I won't be with these people. I'm not ready for that. I'm not ready not to see everyone every day...I'm not ready to eat without them, to pour water for only myself, to fight over who gets the apple or the pear, to watch a movie on a computer screen because our DVDs won't play here. I'm not ready to part with these people and the friendships we've made. It won't be the same. It won't ever be the same. We'll go back to our lives in the States, we'll see our families and our loves, and in January we will see each other again in studios and classes...but it won't be the same. The bond we've created won't be the same. I'm not ready for that. I love these people too much. I do love them. They have become my family. My family of 30+ college students. Many people are ready to go home. We've got less than three weeks left now. I'm not ready to go home. Maybe it's because my dad was here for my birthday last week and Sara and my mom will be here in two days. My family is coming here and I will see them and I can share this with them - which is what I've wanted all semester - to share Italy with my loved ones. And now they are here and they get to see the wonder of this spectacular place. Then they leave and I follow them a week later. I'll be back to Italy. Leaving Italy isn't what makes me sad. But leaving these people makes me so sad.