sisters :)

I have not been very active on my blog lately due to finishing up last minute school work and preparing for my next city. Over the past few weeks I travelled to Amsterdam, ate so many times at my favorite taco place I can't count, and tried to see as much of Madrid as possible before I leave. I will add a few pics from the last few weeks below.

As I prepare to leave Madrid, I have been reminded of how far I have come in a short 6 weeks. I made so many new friends and seen so much history and parts of Europe. It has been a whirlwind to say the least. I am also reminded of what I left behind. My family and friends back in the US. I have been grateful for the support in my journey from them, but still miss all of them while I am gone. Although I miss everyone lots, the three people I miss the most while I am gone are my sisters. They were my first friends in life and will be my last. When I was younger my little sisters and I would say how we wanted a little brother. My older sister literally calls me "J" because she wanted a brother too. We were always a little envious of those who has brothers and sisters because in our minds they got the best of both worlds.

Having sisters isn't perfect. We probably fight so much we have enough rage to last a lifetime. It is also hard sometimes having a sister who is 11 years older and two that are 3 years younger. Sometimes being "stuck" being the older sister and younger sister sucks. But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the entire world, because those three girls are there for me no matter what. No matter how much we fight and complain about each other, we are always there.

For half of my life my older sister Stephanie has lived on the other side of the country in Washington, Alaska, Oklahoma, etc. It sucked having her gone and a part of me got used to it, but I always missed her. Although she was so far away I had my younger sisters Ally and Val with me. Now, I'm the one who is thousands of miles away. It is weird that the role is somewhat reversed this time. I can understand how my older sister feels by being the only one so far away. Of course it is not terrible being away because of face-time, texting, Snapchat and more of the endless social media and then getting to explore a new continent 24/7 on top of it.

I think what I am trying to say is that I don't think I have ever appreciated having THREE sisters until now. We get in fights and are not always perfect and lovey-dovey but hey that's life. I do know for certain that they always have my back and I always have theirs no matter the distance or whether we want to admit it or not. So, I miss you Steph, Ally, and Val and can't wait to see you in a few months (maybe longer for Steph lol) and show you all of the stuff I have been able to do while being gone.

Can't wait to update everyone when I get to Rome tomorrow!

xoxo, j