Things I have learned about myself this summer (an incomplete list)

• Deep down, I truly appreciate my life in Tucson. I just need occasional reminders.
• Spending 6 weeks with a group of people who I have not known for long, and who have no expectations or ideas about who I am and what I stand for, has been really good for helping me understand who I am and what I stand for.
• I am capable of recharging a metro pass, buying hair products, ordering lunch, and watching Gone With the Wind...in French.
  
• I like beer, tomatoes, mustard, and a handful of other food items that I thought I hated. Not necessarily all at the same time, though.
  
• I'm in control of my life, what I do, where it goes, and what's important to me.
• Understanding the differences between cultures is hugely important, whether it concerns my relationship with someone I just met, or my relationship with someone I've known my whole life.
  
• I can live under the constant scrutiny and criticism of a kind-hearted and well-meaning old woman for six weeks, and still love myself at the end of it.
• Sometimes things really do turn out exactly how I wanted them to, or even better.
• I really, really love croissants aux amandes.
• It's okay to trust people.
  
• It's most productive to work hard towards the things I want to be able to do, rather than write myself off as a failure. This can be applied in so many different cases.
• The Four Agreements are important to remember even in France.
• My faith is so, so strong.
• My hair behaves best when I condition it regularly.
• I want to learn to speak both French and German better. And I WILL.
  
• I have always taken clothes dryers and shower curtains for granted.
  
• I really, really love Monet.
• It's okay to admit, "Okay, you're right, you did tell me so."
• Running away from things still doesn't work - but running off for awhile to get a new perspective, and the strength to try again, does.