"It wouldn't be much of an adventure if it wasn't hard"

          Last Monday was 4 months since our plan landed in Istanbul. 4 months since I arrived in the country that I fall more in love with every day. 

          When I first got here, I had visions of a "perfect" exchange running through my mind. You know, being great at the language super fast, never being homesick, loving every second that you are here. And when I had only dreamed of a life here, never lived one, those things still seemed totally realistic. But then life gave me a bit of a reality check. Homesickness is inevitable, it's impossible to immediately be good at a language that you knew none of before you came, not every second is fun and exciting. And in the last 4 months, life has given me my little reality checks over and over. But I've come to realize that without the hard times, I wouldn't have learned everything I have. 

          Some night in the summer before I left, I was telling my dad about how hard learning Turkish was or saying I was scared about the coming year, and he told me, "Well, it wouldn't be much of an adventure if it wasn't hard." And it's amazing how true that really is. If it was easy all the time, I wouldn't have grown as much as I have these last few months. Without the hard times, the easy times wouldn't be as wonderful. And it wouldn't be an adventure if it wasn't hard. 

          I've grown to appreciate the fact that this journey I'm on will never be a straight line or a straight uphill. It's constantly going up and down and that makes it all the better. It's hard during the bad times but when I get through and look back on them, I have so much pride in myself. 

          4 months is a pretty long time, but it has passed ridiculously quickly. 4 months: 122 days and 40% of my year abroad. Crazy to think about how fast it's gone, but I realize how much time I still have to continue enjoying living this life I've been so lucky to be given. The good times come with the bad and the easy with the hard, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The absolutely beautiful place I get to call home. If there are going to be hard times, at least I have beautiful things to look at during them. 

          I apologize if this was overly cheesy or sentimental, but when I realized almost half of my exchange is gone, I got a little introspective. I might be less cheesy next week, but I make no promises. Have a wonderful week wherever you are! Hoşçakal!