I am now back in Puerto Rico. As I sit on my bed with only a fan set to high and its attempt to cool me off on this hot summer night, I’ve thought long and hard about the final message I wish to leave on my blog:

I want to start off by saying thanks. Thank you to all the mentors, graduate students, coordinators, directors, tech support, and all workers behind-the-scenes who made SPIRE-EIT possible. I also want to thank my fellow interns for you all taught me so much, brought me so many laughs, and gave me so much support. Thank you for one of the best birthdays of my life.

I will remember each and everyone of you. Your stories inspired me to become a better person. You all showed me that I was capable of doing more and that it was okay for me to show my weaknesses. Your stories taught me that I wasn’t alone in having a past full of twists and turns. Some of you went though similar experiences and your stories of how you overcame them inspired me to fully let go of the lingering attachment I had to my past hurt.

I also never felt judged for not knowing something while I was at ISU. In fact, I was supported and guided whenever I wanted to learn something new and had any questions in regards to anything.

Overall, it was an unforgettable summer. As cliché as it sounds, SPIRE-EIT really did end up changing my life. And I will forever be grateful. Thanks again, and God bless you all.

Note: After reflecting on my 2019 experiences, I decided to look bakc the SPIRE-EIT blogs. I found that never published my final post… Hehe. Apologies. Here it is. 😅