Final submission.

The past week has been all about saying goodbye. Once my final exam was handed in, I got packing, moved out of Pantycelyn in favour of Queensbridge, and hit the town. Now, that makes it sound as if I went all crazy, but it was mostly quiet drinks with friends. I got to say goodbye to Emily, a handful of hikers and people from my Taekwon-Do club, and my dinner dates. And almost as important; I got to eat my final garlic nan from Shilam. I went to my last session in the Taekwon-Do club, which ended with a rather smelly group hug. When I wasn’t out with friends, I went for a long walk in the Pen Dinas nature reserve, and soaked for two hours in my bathtub watching Big Fish.  In other words, a day well spent.

I won't miss the Pantycelyn kitchen.

Mike from the hiking club gave me tiny model of Sam from Lord of the Rings on the very last night. Apparently, these have been given out to people who wish to honour Torin and Jacques Lakeman, the two boys who were found dead in December. Torin was a former member of the hiking club, and many members spent their Christmas in grief. People are taking pictures of these figurines, and uploading them to the facebook group “Jactor Project”. I think Sam will join me on quite a few hikes in the future. He is currently living in my wallet.

After a rather sad farewell with Joe, Chris, Adam, Rowan, Ruairidh and Keleigh, I ended my final night in Aberystwyth, in favour for a 16 hours trip home to Ås and Marius.
  I went on exchange, hoping to decide what to do once I finish my bachelor. I want to do something creative with my life; I want to show people how amazing nature is. I want to make people appreciate he tiny details you don’t usually notice. But I still don’t really know where to go from here. First off, the military has to decide if they want me. If I get into the writers course in Bø, I’ll move there, sadly leaving Marius behind. If neither of the two happens, I don’t know. Perhaps a master’s degree in biodiversity at the university in Oslo? Or something else. Who knows.

But right now, there are other things to think about in the near future. I might join Ski Taekwondoklubb, though the mean height is about 1.50 and they use another style than I’m used to.  I have to get started on my new modules, in which I will have to write a lot of assignments. In March I’m going to Bergen on an ecology seminar. And I have to write some texts for my application to the writers course in Bø. If I get accepted, I will have to leave Marius, so I’m trying to be the a better girlfriend this semester. But I haven’t really left Aberystwyth, at least I haven’t left everyone. Ella has come here to Ås for a semester abroad, so I still have to use my English once in a while. Lina and I are taking her to Oslo next weekend.  

So, to sum it up.

-I kicked some ass pads (and get my ass kicked).

-I got to see some amazing scenery in Snowdonia.

-I met some of the best people to ever walk the earth.

-I became a better student.

-I might have come closer to figure out what to do with my life.

-I got to be young and foolish and live my life, in order to die happy.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgFeZr5ptV8&list=PL65FRAiF2G3R5F8UwCZ0oEjcHjbenX6TU (I do listen to many different styles; this is just a few songs I’ve listened to a lot this semester. No worries, I didn't go all P!INK in Aber).

If Rupert reads this; thanks for always helping me whenever I had a question. I was gonna stop by your office before I left, but I didn’t get the chance. I was also supposed to print the following picture and tape it to Roger Santer’s office door. © Piled Higher and Deeper.

 

And I won't miss the tiny coins either.