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Where do I even start? Seriously, how am I supposed to try and fit three weeks of amazing fun into one post? The basic answer is there’s no way I can, so instead I’m gonna break it up over a few different posts.

This whole trip actually started back in July. I’d only been home for a month with my family and friends, but had already been to Minnesota, Charleston, Spartanburg, and Seattle. Graduation was on the immediate horizon and yet after all the amazing fun I’d had since being home, I still couldn’t get my mind off Australia. Right at the end of July, I went to Seattle, as you all know. One day, my bro Chong and I were sitting outside enjoying an adult beverage in the crisp Seattle afternoon and the topic of choice was of our long friendship. We’ve been friends for almost 14 years now and as you can imagine, I consider him one of my closest friends. But as the topic quickly shifted to my recent excursion to Australia, he picked up on something that I knew was there, but that I couldn’t explain. In only four months, I had grown amazingly close to my newfound friends. As we sat there sipping our brews and laughing at the crazy guy on the street corner, I told him I wished I could go back, if for nothing else, just a visit. When he asked what the hell was stopping me, I was speechless. There wasn’t a single thing holding me back. In fact, my future, my chances, and my life had never been in better condition for me to simply go off and do whatever I wanted to do. School was over and done with, a job was non-existent, my mom had a few free international passes saved up, and my desire had never been stronger. As all this quickly ran through my head, I couldn’t believe it. Why didn’t I realize it before? Hell if I know, but as I thanked Chong for pointing out the obvious to me, my mind was racing with new plans. It was settled; I was going back to Australia.

The only person I told was Hannah. I wanted to be sure that when I got there, everybody would still be there. Thank God I did this, because my initial date of arrival was right smack in the middle of their holiday break. Would that have been charming. 48 hours of flying to my adoptive homeland only to find the dorm empty for another week. Talk about a depressing homecoming. About two weeks before my new arrival date, I got a message from Keeley screaming about how excited she was. Turns out Hannah had accidentally let the cat out of the bag and told her I was coming. Keeley told Alex, but other than that, my secret was safe. Only three people knew I was coming and the rest? Well the rest were in for a little treat.

To be honest, I began having doubts about coming back once I boarded the train from Sydney to Newcastle. What the fuck was I doing? I had just flown halfway around the world to come back to a place I had only been for four months. What if nobody really gave a shit I was back? What if I didn’t have fun? I feared I was holding on to something I should have been letting go of. Here I was, a twenty two year old college graduate and instead of going out and getting a job like most of my peers, I was gallivanting around the world to a place where in my head, I felt like I belonged. It’s not often I let societal expectations creep into my head, but for some reason during that train trip, they did. It was by far the worst three hours of my whole trip.

I walked off the train around 1230 and decided to wait a little. I knew Hannah was in class until 1300, so I freshened up and sat down to read a book. At 1315, I began the trek to Teds and after stashing my bags behind the coke machine, I walked around the dorm to see if anybody was in their rooms. As I passed by Keeley’s room, dual ear shattering screeches erupted from behind the glass and immediately all doubts were vanquished. For most people, this probably wasn’t the logical step to take. But since when have I ever been like most people? As Hannah and Keeley spilled from the front door and we all just mingled into one huge hug, I knew right then and there I had made the correct choice and that I was gonna enjoy every second of it.

As the screaming stopped, I looked up to see Matty walking up and laughing. He had seen me walk by his window with a cheeky grin and had to come see if his eyes had been deceiving him or not. And from there, the reactions only became greater. Casey did a double-take as I walked into his room. Aiden and Kaz hollered out my name in jubilee. Memma thought I was a cardboard cutout at first. Jordan and Sam laughed at how completely random it was that I came back. And Emma even cried tears of what I believe were joy. Within hours, a large group of us were over at the Bar on the Hill for happy hour. Let me tell you, that first glass of Toohey’s Old was by far one of the most delicious beers I’ve ever had. And as I learned coming home yesterday, while the States might not allow much alcohol to be sent via the postal service, they don’t give a shit about bringing it in via carry-on baggage. In fact, I think I might go have an Old right now with lunch. But that afternoon, I simply spent my time going around and seeing everyone and letting it be known that Goob was back in the country for a while.

My exhaustion finally slammed me around 2000 as we were getting back from Jesmond with pizza. I ate a little bit before being ushered into Hannah’s room and given her bed for the night to sleep. And as I drifted off to sleep that evening, I remember the great wave of warmth and pleasure that swept over me.

I was finally back home with my second family.