For the past five months, I have lived in an entirely different city; in actuality, an entirely different country. Although at times it was not easy to be away from the comfort and familiarities of my home, I was still able to grow and learn and see and meet people from all over the United States and the world. I could make a list of all the things that I learned -- some useful and others for smiles -- and how these things have affected me as an individual. But, alas, it does not seem to be the fitting way to end my time here in Berlin. I will save that for another day, a day when I can reflect on Berlin without actually being here, when I am actually entitled to miss what I have experienced in the past five months. Instead, I will focus on what no one wants to experience: the ending of something spectacular. Today marked my final day of making "last" moments and memories before departing from this city that has been my home since January 2nd. The brevity of my time here did not hit me until I was sitting at a Starbucks (only because it was the only place that I could think of with free WiFi), unsure of where the nearest Deutsche Bank was to my locality (proof that one can never know everything about Berlin), and staring at the Brandenburger Tor, one of the greatest symbols of Berlin. Thus, for the remainder of my afternoon, and with the stride and pace of a typical Berliner, I thought about the most significant event (or events) that happened since my semester ended almost two weeks ago.
Since the Wednesday before last, I have had to make far too many goodbyes. I had to say goodbye to people who have affected me so greatly since first landing here in Berlin. These people have been my rocks since January. They have shown me what it is like to laugh, to learn, to grow, to have fun, to be miserable and pretend not to be, to be upset, to let loose, to ponder and discuss important (and sometimes not so important) issues and events, to discover and try new things, to sing even when nobody is listening, to converse, to engage, to eat and drink (sometimes too much), to smile, and, even, to cry. These people were willing to let me into a part of their lives and aid them in making their time in Berlin unforgettable. For five months, these people were my closest friends, my accomplices in crime, my knights in shining armor (in a platonic way), my motivators, and my inspirers. The goodbyes were not said easily; in fact, many were met with this awkward blend of hopefulness of meeting again in the future and sadness from not knowing when this future will actually occur. But despite this uncertainty, I will continue to hope -- maybe blindly and naively -- that I will meet these people again, that we will be reunited in the future, and that we will be able to create new memories that will challenge the ones we made in Berlin.
So, for old times' sake, I will raise an imaginary beer and say "Prost!", staring intently into the darkness instead of the eyes of these people whom I am no longer with, and dedicate this final toast to them for making my Berlin experience one to remember.
