Standing Under The Eiffel Tower.
It took me five whole minutes to come to terms with the fact that I was standing under the Eiffel Tower.
My first thought- something that honestly stayed in the back of my mind throughout the night- was caution, mingled with a tiny ounce of fear.
My first instinct was to look around, and make sure that I, and millions of other people around me were not going to have our stories cut short that night. It's so heartbreaking to think that that's what our world has come to.
But my second thought was how immensely blessed and terribly fortunate I felt.
There I was.
Standing under the Eiffel Tower. Not on a family vacation, or a summer trip around the world. Not by drilling a hole into my parents bank account. No. If I was here, standing under the Eiffel Tower, it was all because of me, with little nudges in the right direction from my parents and close friends. And as someone who didn't grow up living the fancy, good life, this felt truly, truly earned.
All the sweat and the tears and anxiety and the depression had led to this moment.
There I was.
Studying in a foreign country. Visiting the city that I'd only ever encountered in my imagination.
There I was.
Twenty-one years old.
Standing under the Eiffel Tower.
The universe at my feet.
My first thought- something that honestly stayed in the back of my mind throughout the night- was caution, mingled with a tiny ounce of fear.
My first instinct was to look around, and make sure that I, and millions of other people around me were not going to have our stories cut short that night. It's so heartbreaking to think that that's what our world has come to.
But my second thought was how immensely blessed and terribly fortunate I felt.
There I was.
Standing under the Eiffel Tower. Not on a family vacation, or a summer trip around the world. Not by drilling a hole into my parents bank account. No. If I was here, standing under the Eiffel Tower, it was all because of me, with little nudges in the right direction from my parents and close friends. And as someone who didn't grow up living the fancy, good life, this felt truly, truly earned.
All the sweat and the tears and anxiety and the depression had led to this moment.
There I was.
Studying in a foreign country. Visiting the city that I'd only ever encountered in my imagination.
There I was.
Twenty-one years old.
Standing under the Eiffel Tower.
The universe at my feet.
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