This year, Maine Day falls on Wednesday, May 1 and classes will be canceled with the exception of those that meet on a weekly basis. The day kicks off with a parade at 8:30 a.m. that will work its way through campus. Student organizations are encouraged to participate in the parade that begins at Emera Astronomy Center and ends near York Hall. After these initial celebrations, students are encouraged to give back to the community during the “Day of Service” for the remainder of the morning. From there, students are free to spend their day celebrating how they please, whether it be at the Steam Plant parking lot for a cookout and Oozeball, or at various local businesses, celebrating the town of Orono and the University of Maine.

This year, Orono Brewing Company (OBC) is celebrating Maine Day at their new Margin Street location with live music, IPAs and outdoor fun.

“We’re really excited for Maine Day. Orono Brewing loves being part of the student experience at UMaine, and we want to celebrate Maine Day with the UMaine community,” Abe Furth, co-owner of OBC, said. “We are expanding our licensed outside area to allow a large area for games, hanging out and enjoying the outside vibe, all while being able to have an OBC beer in hand. Maine Day is a great UMaine tradition that we’re excited to be part of.”

On Maine Day, OBC will be opening at 2 p.m. where they will kick off celebrations with music from DJ6special, a former UMaine student, and DJ Carlson, a current UMaine student. At 4 p.m., Saco-native and Husson alumnus B. Aull will take the stage.

“Our large outside area gives us the unique opportunity to have a big 21 plus Maine Day event. We’re really excited to have B. Aull perform,” Furth said. “We’re also hoping to open our outdoor beer hut on Maine Day. It’s under construction now and features a fun outdoor bar that we took out of our original OBC location.”

OBC will be open to those 21 and older. They have prepared hundreds of cases of their popular Tubular IPA and their GO BLUE! IPA. GO BLUE! Is a collaboration with Mast Landing Brewing and is only released twice a year for Maine Day/graduation and homecoming.

“GO BLUE! is our beer that celebrates UMaine students and Maine life in general,” Furth said.

Locking down performers for the event has been a months-long process between the co-owners of OBC and B. Aull.

“We reached out to B. Aull months ago because we love what he’s doing. We met up in Portland and chatted about working together. This is the first of many great events that we hope to partner with B. Aull on. B. Aull has roots in Orono, and he has a bunch of UMaine fans,” Furth said.

“I’m hyped to be back up to be a part of the festivities. I love providing entertainment and good vibes, and to do it on a day that should be all about that is an honor,” B. Aull said. “…I love working with Maine brands and companies, and beer and music just go hand in hand. Shortly after deciding to work together, we figured a live show at their new facility on Maine Day would be the move.”

B. Aull is from Saco, Maine, and attended Husson University in the fall of 2013 for audio engineering. He is no stranger to Orono, having lived in the area and having friends that attended UMaine. He has previously performed at the Maine Day concert in 2017 alongside Sammy Adams and Hoodie Allen. His inspiration stems from a childhood of hip-hop music that turned into a song-writing hobby from adolescence into adulthood. His passion and drive to enter the scene for music came after he attended a J. Cole concert in 2011. He draws inspiration from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Kanye West, Goldlink and Anderson Paak.

“We want this to be a super fun celebration of a great year in Orono,” Furth said. “We’re really looking forward to hosting B. Aull and the DJ’s, and we’re excited to be able to provide a fun and safe environment for 21 plus students to enjoy. Nothing beats an outside day party. We’re looking forward to having a great time with all the students that make Orono a special place. We’re super stoked for B. Aull.”

“[I’m looking forward to] seeing people I don’t get to see often, having a good day with my homies, and putting on a high energy show,” B. Aull said. “This will be the last show of my mini college tour I’ve been on over the past month, so I’m looking for it to end with a bang for sure. I know a trip to Orono always makes for a good time.”

Join OBC at their Margin Street location on Maine Day for IPAs, outdoor fun, and entertainment.

“GO BLUE! We would not be Orono Brewing Company without the awesome student population in Orono.” Furth said.

For a list of events happening around Orono for Maine Day, please visit https://umaine.edu/studentlife/maineday/.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Book-to-television adaptations are hard to enjoy when you’re as skeptical as me and need everything to play out on screen exactly how it did in the book. When I finally decided to give HBO’s “Sharp Objects” a try just months after I read the book, I was not disappointed.

The miniseries began in July and ran on HBO until the end of August of this year, starring Amy Adams as Camille Preaker. Preaker is a crime reporter that was recently discharged from a psychiatric hospital after years of self-harming herself and dealing with alcoholism. Her editor assigns her to investigate a couple of murders that happened in her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, and that is where Preaker is faced with all of the unsettling emotions from her childhood into adolescence. She returns to her mother, Adora Crellin’s (Patricia Clarkson) home where she is faced with the demons of her early life: her younger sister, Amma (Eliza Scanlen), her step-father, Alan, the loss of her sister, Marian. She does not maintain a strong relationship with her younger sister because of the age difference and has never really moved on from the loss of Marian, who died after spending most of her life ill.

The series follows the novel written by Gillian Flynn and is made up of eight episodes that run for about an hour. Every episode is packed full of twists and turns that leave you on the edge of your seat. The show has an eerie and dark feel as it follows Preaker through her investigation into the murders of the two young girls from her hometown that have shaken the community up. She stays with her estranged mother, Adora, who is not thrilled to have her daughter back in town as she also feels traumatized by the murders and is not appreciative of Preaker’s work. On the nights where her mother becomes unbearable, Preaker finds solace in the local bars with some childhood friends and the suspected killers.

The series captures Preaker almost exactly how Flynn portrayed her in the book: a woman trying to uncover these horrific murders while also struggling to come to terms with the traumas that she faced as a child. Her journalistic endeavors often break ethical codes that many hold to a high standard and yet nobody seems to question her motives. As she gets closer to cracking the case, she is faced with more and more flashbacks of her childhood with her late sister Marian, who she realizes was murdered after reviewing her medical files. Once this fact becomes clear, Preaker realizes the responsibility that she has while also trying to protect herself and keep her and her younger sister, Amma, safe.

Sharp Objects is thrilling down to the last seconds of both the book and series. The continuous plot twists gives a good flow to the storyline, which keeps the show from dragging along. Each second provides details that tie all the loose ends together to close it off in a way that satisfies the audience while also leaving you wanting more. If you’re interested in watching the miniseries, it can be found on DVD or through HBO’s streaming channels on various platforms, including Amazon Prime Video.

As the workload of the spring semester of my final year of college starts to pick up, finding the opportunity to spend time with my friends is hard. Working multiple jobs (as many of my friends do) on top of a full course load has made it hard to make time for myself and for my friends. However, there is one day out of the year that my girl-gang and I look forward to: Galentine’s Day.

My friends and I began celebrating this event last year over a spaghetti squash dinner and the film “Lady Bird.” One of the most memorable parts of the evening was a cake from a local grocery store with hilariously misspelled frosting reading, “Ladies celebrating ladies.”

Our inspiration for the event originated from the show “Parks and Recreation.” On one episode the lead character, Leslie Knope, invites all of her female friends and coworkers out for brunch on Feb. 13, to exchange gifts and celebrate one another. “Ladies celebrating ladies” is the motto that Knope coins for the event, and what my female friends and I have made an annual celebration of friendship, love and appreciation.

This year, the torch was handed off to me to host Galentine’s Day. I prepared for the event as I would any typical night in: comfort food and romantic comedies. Included were some of the best episodes of “New Girl” and “Broad City” and the early 2000’s classic film “13 Going on 30.” For the first time in what felt like months, we were all able to gather together and remind ourselves how important it is to cherish the short time that we have left together before we go our separate ways.

As I prepare to graduate in May, I have found that it is easy to lose track of my relationships with others. I, like many of my classmates, feel the stress of a full course load and homework and struggle to find the time to step away from my responsibilities to maintain a social life. It’s easy to get sucked into the stress of our busy adult lives, but making the time for others is crucial to a well-balanced college experience.

I am lucky enough to have a group of supportive friends to lift me up when I am feeling uninspired, to help me through the rough patches, to remind me why I am here and to share successes with. In the wise words of Leslie Knope, “You know my code, hoes before bros. Uteruses before duderuses. Ovaries before brovaries.”

Whether or not you choose to celebrate Galentine’s Day, it’s important to make time for your friends. Grades are important, but I’ve learned that self-care is everything and the key ingredient in surviving your undergrad career. I am thankful for the strong women in my life and cherish every moment spent in their presence and look forward to celebrating their successes as we prepare to enter the workforce and officially become “adults,” whatever that really means.

Rating: 3 stars

I wish I could go back to November, when Ariana Grande dropped “thank u, next” and all was right in the world. The song is upbeat and sends a message that resonates with so many of us: while ending a relationship is hard, we must reflect on how it helped us grow up and the importance of self-love.

Fast forward to today, nearly a week since Grande released her album, “thank u, next” just short of six months after releasing “sweetener.” The album is composed of 12 songs, beginning with “imagine,” which was released as a single on Dec. 14, and ending with her newest single, “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored.”

The album is perfect background music for when you’re getting ready for a night out with your friends or to shuffle through during your work commute for a morning pick-me-up. However, as a whole, the album is a bit disappointing after the build-up and excitement prior to its release. There is no doubt that Grande is talented, if you don’t believe me, check out the video of her singing “I Have Nothing” live at the White House. You will not be disappointed.

Grande pays tribute to her late ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller, in the track “ghostin.” Like many songs on the album, this song has several hidden messages within the lyrics. It’s been debated whether the song is actually a message for Miller or for her ex-fiance, Pete Davidson. The lyrics talk about the grief that Grande felt following the loss of Miller last September from an overdose, and how she projected her feelings onto others in her life. Regardless of who the song is actually written about, she shamelessly puts her emotions out for the world to be absorbed and interpreted.

While the album is not her best, it’s important to note that this is her second album in less than a year. My appreciation for Grande began almost eight years ago, when she was singing covers on YouTube, my favorite being her “Born This Way/Express Yourself” mashup. Grande’s music is therapeutic; the messages that are hidden throughout her lyrics are issues that many listeners identify with and connect with.

“thank u, next” as an album isn’t my favorite only because Grande has set the bar so high with her previous albums. Her voice is incredible and while I love the pop-feel of the new album, I miss the early days of “Dangerous Woman” and “God is a Woman.” Her vocal range is comparable to Whitney Houston, which is one of the many reasons why I am so drawn to her as an artist and “thank u, next” doesn’t showcase this talent as well as previous albums.

If you need a new song to listen to, my favorite songs off of the album include “NASA” and “needy.” However, I am still stuck on “thank u, next” as if it were just released yesterday, so it will take me some time to fully digest this album.

Rating: 5 stars

Fyre Festival was touted to be the new Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and projected to be as popular as Woodstock. Despite these predictions, it ended up being a scheme that conned many celebrities out of thousands of dollars and a punch line to those who couldn’t afford to attend weekend festivities.

Fyre Festival guests believed they were purchasing a weekend where they would stay in private villas, attend parties on yachts and listen to live music from artists including Blink 182. The event was promoted by hundreds of social media influencers and celebrities, including Kendall Jenner.

In the days leading up to the festival, those who planned to attend became skeptical as there had not been any photos released of what the housing accommodations would look like and the only footage that had been released were promotional videos.

When the attendees arrived, they were shocked to discover the reality of the festival. The promoted live artists had backed out, accommodations were not as luxurious as advertised, instead consisting of disaster relief tents, and meals consisted of bread and cheese in styrofoam containers.

Now the festival has sparked additional controversy, as both Netflix and Hulu released documentaries on the festival in the past week. This raised the question of who produced a more enjoyable documentary. On content alone, Hulu’s version provided me with a deeper understanding of the events. As a journalist, I find myself more drawn to the version released by Hulu because of the thorough investigation conducted. The Hulu documentary included a wide variety of interviews, including one with the man behind all of the madness, Billy McFarland, the festival’s creator.

If you were like myself, having had no idea what the festival was before the documentary release, I suggest you watch Hulu’s version first. Hulu told the story of McFarland’s schemes before the Fyre Festival controversy and the continuation of his fraudulent activities while he was out on bail. Netflix’s documentary was not bad, it just lacked information and was harder to follow without prior knowledge of what the event was and the chaos that it created.

Both major streaming networks released the documentaries, but do yourself a favor and watch “Fyre Fraud” on Hulu. It might make you realize just how thankful you are to be a broke college student, watching the disaster unfold from the comfort of your bed while thousands of influencers wasted entire tuition payments on a fraudulent music festival that did not deliver on its promises.

On Monday, Jan. 7, The Roost in Orono announced via Facebook that their doors would be closing indefinitely, effective immediately after the owner, Jim Coleman, decided to retire.

The bar, first opened in 2010 located on Mill Street in Orono, is home to several different food and drink specials which are popular among students at the University of Maine.

“What started as a simple idea on the way to a high school basketball game turned into something so much more,” Colman wrote on the Roost’s Instagram page. “We have seen some pretty crazy [and] incredible things happen over the years … from just your ‘average’ Wednesday $1 wells [and] the karaoke nights to marriage proposals … we have seen it all. The Roost became so much more than just a restaurant/bar, it became a destination.”

The announcement came as a shock to many and left others disappointed about losing another local business. Last spring, the Bear Brew closed its doors and The Roost picked up their drink specials.

On Jan. 14, Orono House of Pizza (OHOP) announced that they would be taking over the space and creating “The Slice Bar.”

The announcement from OHOP has gotten a positive reaction from the college community using the hashtag #KeepOronoFun to express their approval of the new business.

The Slice Bar opened on Wednesday, Jan. 23 with $1 pizza slice specials and karaoke.

Braydon Norris, a fourth-year chemical engineering student, went to the Slice Bar on opening night and gave a glowing review.

“The Slice Bar by OHOP will set the gold standard for nightlife in Orono,” Norris said. “With the new management they can only go up. There is an excitement in anticipation [for the new establishment].”

Nevertheless, Norris noted, many are sad to see a staple of Orono nightlife go.

“The Roost was loved by the community, so it was sad to hear about the decision to close,” Norris said. “The Roost’s Wing Nights, Karaoke, and [dollar] wells were appreciated by so many people.”

The Slice Bar plans to stay open for the semester and close for the summer for renovations, according to OHOP’s Facebook page.

Rating: 4 Stars

As we all gear up for the last week of classes, exams are near, time is limited and stress levels have reached an all-time high. In the time I should be spending hitting the books, I often find myself distracting myself with a podcast, usually in the confines of my bedroom while stress-cleaning. This week, I stumbled upon “True Crime Obsessed,” which is hosted and narrated by Patrick Hinds and Gillian Pensavalle. Each episode consists of a dialogue between the two hosts as they discuss famous true crime stories. The two hosts have previous experience with podcasts – Hinds is the creator of the popular “Theater People” podcast and Pensavalle is the creator of “The Hamilcast: A Hamilton Podcast.”

“True Crime Obsessed” reminds me a lot of a morning talk show. The hosts open up each episode with a new true crime case and break it down with their own commentary and banter. They use the term “true crime” fairly lightly as one of their episodes is based on the documentary “Catfish,” by Nev Schulman, which was later adapted into an MTV documentary series. Other popular deaths that are discussed include JonBenet Ramsey, Kurt Cobain and Dee Dee Blancharde.

I give this podcast 4 stars because I have found it very easy to tune in and tune out of, since some episodes may be hard to follow if you are not already familiar with the topic of discussion. It is also an acquired taste — if you don’t enjoy light commentary and banter during storytelling, you might not be into this podcast. Initially, I had a hard time adapting to this because my brain had gotten used to narrative style of podcasts like “Serial,” “Dr. Death” and “Happy Face.” The two hosts simply sit down for each episode, discuss documentaries based on the crimes and have a conversation on their opinions, which are often humorous.

As a person that spends a great portion of time listening to true crime podcasts, this one was much different than the others I’ve listened to as it was light and easy to pick up on. It is the perfect sidekick for any long car ride, walk across campus or study session break. However, it is important to note that the banter the two share throughout each episode is not casted in a negative way; the two have a way of discussing each case in a respectful way while also maintaining a conversation that is educational and informative. Hinds and Pensaville also manage to keep the listener laughing throughout with their quick wit and jokes.

If your schedule is looking as empty as mine for finals week, do yourself a favor and download this podcast to your Spotify playlists for your drive home for winter break.

After spending the day in class and then returning home after a long work shift last week, I was ecstatic to see a large envelope on my counter addressed to me when I walked into my apartment, and even more excited to see that Abbi Jacobson’s new book, “I Might Regret This,” was sitting inside the wrapping.

Jacobson is one half of the “Broad City” duo, a show on Comedy Central that focuses on her and her best friend, played by actress Ilana Glaser, and their adventures through New York City. The show is a guilty pleasure for my friends and I, as their quirkiness and sense of humor are some things that we all find pieces of ourselves in.

The book was written after Jacobson took a three-week road trip across the United States. During each stop, she experiences anxieties that many of us face regularly: insomnia, restlessness and mental health issues. Jacobson discusses her sexuality, her regrets about coming to terms with her sexuality and her first serious relationship.

For me, this book was everything that I needed. If you’ve fallen victim to the seasonal mood-shift, it’s nice to read about someone, especially in the public eye, that also struggles with heartbreak, loss and depression.

Much of the book references parts of “Broad City” that some might not fully understand unless they’ve seen the show. If you’re like me and have seen all of the episodes on Hulu at least four times through, it brings a sense of nostalgia and happiness hearing about how some of my favorite scenes from the show came about.

The book takes the reader through each night Jacobson faced insomnia and anxiety, written in both a personal journal style and bullet point lists. During one of the nights on her trip, Jacobson dives into a tangent about her ex girlfriend, where she lays out every worst-case scenario that would happen if she bumped into her ex in Los Angeles, Jacobson’s destination and her former partner’s city of residence.

Jacobson spaced out each passage with drawings of albums that she listened to while on the road, food and beverages that she consumed and other notes that she made along the way. Some of my favorite albums that she included were “Purple Rain” by Prince and Sia’s “Breathe Me;” both songs have been crutches for me when I needed musical relief.

My favorite passage from the book comes after Jacobson calms herself down after a tangent about the possibility of running into her ex. She says, “It’s okay to think it’s not okay. It’s okay to go off the grid and not be in touch. It’s okay to take a second and to breathe and to cry. It’s okay to be tender. It’s okay to fail. It’s okay to change, to grow, to be confused. It’s okay to fight for something and want to give up. It’s okay to want someone. It’s okay to need someone. It’s okay to learn and to get better and to know you’re still not quite there yet.”

My love for Jacobson began long before “I Might Regret This” entered my life, but the book solidified the feeling. I would recommend this book to anyone that is feeling unsatisfied with their careers as a reminder that there is more out there. I relate to Jacobson in that I relied on traveling to find myself and feel inspired to pack up my car and drive across the country to see what exists outside of Orono, Maine. While still upsetting, it’s reassuring to know that you’re not the only one dealing with depression and other anxieties, and I am so thankful that Jacobson was able to open up about her struggles to make some of us feel less emotionally isolated.

As snow began to fall outside of the windows of the North Pod in the Memorial Union on Oct. 23, a pop-up Make Shift Coffee House organized by the Rising Tide Center was held, where students were encouraged to talk to one another about voting and how they make their political decisions. Live music was performed by the Eric Fay-Wolfe Trio before the event and during breaks.

Before the event began, organizers handed out papers with the guidelines of the event and ways to ask questions in a non-defensive manner. Tips included speaking from experience, listening to understand, giving others time to speak, not criticizing, and sharing ideas.

The event was meant to serve as a space for students and faculty to discuss the current political climate and personal views in a productive way. Those in attendance represented different political parties and ideologies.

Included on the event flyer was a motto that read, “No need to persuade. No need to agree. No need to decide on what’s right. All that’s required is a desire to understand and a willingness to listen.”

After the trio wrapped up their set, the event kicked off. The moderator of the event was Craig Freshley, who once again outlined the guidelines and then opened the room up for the first discussion. The first to speak was Mitch Noland, a former student at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Noland dove into his reasoning on why he votes and is registered as a democrat.

“I vote based on these principles: morality, climate change, education and equality,” Noland said.

A major topic of discussion was the experience of growing up in a household with family members whose political orientation does not align with one’s own. In many cases, students admitted that they were raised in a very conservative Republican household and deviated from their upbringing and now identify as democrats.

“I was raised in a Republican household. I came [to Maine] and I switched,” Freshley said. “I was exposed to a deeper way of thinking and it altered my mind.”

Nate Andrews, a fourth-year environmental science student, voiced a similar sentiment.

“I’m from upstate New York and I grew up in a red district in a blue house,” Andrews said. “Coming to Maine from where I lived was a far different demographic. Many people that I’ve talked with that are on different sides of the discussion [political spectrum] feel that they’re treated the same way in terms of the name-calling, and I feel that a lot.”

“While I agree on the tenant of civility and seeing common ground,” said Susan Gardner, professor of education and the director of women’s, gender and sexualities studies and the Rising Tide Center. “It is hard to do when we start to dispute research, saying that truth is not the truth and fake news and the reality that some of us live in is different than the reality that some of us live in. Finding that common ground feels difficult for some folks.”

Most of the opinions expressed throughout the event were held by those who identify as liberal Democrats. Freshley encouraged spectators with opposing views to speak up and voice their sentiments to the room.

After the initial discussion, Freshley broke the crowd into groups to have smaller discussions on specific topics by table. The group reconvened after this break to share final thoughts.

“You have to build the bridges in a common ground,” Andrews said.

“It’s hard to realize that any person saying anything has a whole bunch of different points of view,” Freshley said. “In the age of the internet, there is so much information coming out from so many different places and it’s so complex.”

Midterm voting will take place on Nov. 6 at the University of Maine New Balance Field House from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for Orono residents and UMaine students. Those who are not registered to vote on Election Day can register upon arriving at the polls. For more information on what to expect on the Maine ballot, please visit lwvme.org/guide.html.

For more information on other Make Shift Coffee House events, please visit MakeShiftCoffeeHouse.com.

May 25, 2018: The day that I embarked on my biggest adventure yet. For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to leave the east coast and the small, rural towns that I have occupied for the first 20 years of my life. On this day, the countdown was over 一 I was starting my travels out to Lisbon, Portugal.

I began planning this trip during the summer of 2017, shortly after my father died unexpectedly. Most of that summer has been blacked out of my memory, but I knew that I couldn’t just spend the rest of my days grieving, so on a whim one warm August morning, I booked the trip.

This trip, through EF Ultimate Break, would be a ten-day-long excursion, spanning three cities: Lisbon, Portugal; Madrid, Spain; and Barcelona, Spain. This trip is something I’d dreamed of since I was nine years old, singing along to the “Cheetah Girls 2” soundtrack into my hairbrush. The movie, which was filmed in Barcelona, was (and quite honestly, still is) one of my favorite movies of all time.

There was one catch to this trip: I would be traveling to Portugal by myself. My excitement to travel overcame my anxieties about entering a new country by myself. My excursion began in Portland, Maine, where I flew down to Washington-Dulles International Airport for a six-hour layover before my overnight flight to Lisbon.

Through the last year and a half, everything in my life has changed. One of the only constants in my life has been my mother, and I do not think that words could ever properly express just how much she has been there, even during times when she is unable to hold herself up. It had been nearly an hour since I had last seen my mother, but I was already panicked about not seeing her for ten days.

My first struggle on the trip happened while I was still in the airport in Portland. I had packed my belongings incorrectly and had to throw away an entire bag of toiletries. Immediately, I panicked, called my mother, and told her how I was not ready to do this trip alone. I remember her telling me over the phone, “Honey, this is just one bump in the road. You’re fine.” Tears sprung to my eyes because for the first time I was venturing without my mother by my side. For the first time, I was completely independent, but no matter what, she was still there.

While hanging out in my terminal at Washington-Dulles during my six-hour layover, I binge-watched “Gilmore Girls” and wrote in my travel journal. I even made a few friends in the terminal.

The flight to Lisbon was long and I did not get a single wink of sleep the entire flight. I would like to blame this on excitement, but the three drinks that I inhaled at the Starbucks next to my terminal gate would beg to differ.

The first step out of the airport in Lisbon is a moment that I will never forget. The sun was bright, the air was fresh and my hopes were high. This was uncharted territory on my map and I was thrilled to see what the world had to offer me.

Because of the way that I booked my tour, I stayed in hostels in each city. I met up with a tour group in Lisbon and shared a room with five other girls. Despite the small rooms, small showers and uncomfortably warm nights, the bonds that I made with all of the girls are what contributed to the experience and made these ten days the most incredible.

Portugal was stunning. The history there is rich, the views were incredible, and the hills were steep. During the day, our tour guide, Antonio, would show us some of the highlights of the city, and then come afternoon, we would have free time to roam around and go back to places in which we wanted to spend more time.

One of my favorite excursions in Portugal was the walk (more like the climb) up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge. The trip to the castle was exhausting and felt like it would never end, but once we reached the top, all of the pain and soreness that existed within my body went away. From the top of the stone castle, you could see the entire city. The view was breathtaking. I tried all the wine and sangria that my body could handle and took in the culture and views every second that I could.

I could go on for hours about my love for Spain. Being in Madrid did not seem real. This trip had been planned for so long, I had to pinch myself every morning just to make sure that it was not a dream. Here, we visited several different historical sights and buildings. Among my favorites were the Royal Palace of Madrid, the Museo Reina Sofía (Museum of Queen Sofía), and an event in the Plaza Mayor where a helicopter dropped 100,000 poems. I was able to see Picasso’s Guernica in person, I heard the tales of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, and I ate more paella than my body could handle.

The dropping of 100,000 poems was incredible. After spending the day in Toledo, Madrid’s neighboring city, my tour group and I returned to the Plaza Mayor where a helicopter was circling, getting ready to release the poems into the city. As the slips of paper began to fall from the sky, hundreds of spectators jumped for joy in hopes that they would catch one. After a few moments, I caught one, and then as we began walking back to our hostel, another one practically landed in my hand while I was walking.

The last stop on my trip was Barcelona. This was the part of the trip that I was most excited about. One of my favorite songs, Ed Sheeran’s “Barcelona” had been playing on repeat during the months leading up to the trip. Everything about this city felt like a dream, from the buildings designed by Gaudi, to seeing the Sagrada Familia in person, or the Park Guell, where “Strut” from the “Cheetah Girls 2” was filmed. None of this experience felt real at all.

One of the last nights of my trip fell on the anniversary of my father’s death. The feeling hit me like a ton of bricks. I had planned that morning to go out to a few bars that night with a few friends that I had made on the tour but realized shortly into the day that I needed to tend to myself, so I stayed in and dealt with my emotions. Losing a parent is hard, but losing a parent as unexpectedly and unsettlingly as my siblings and I did has made every emotion that much more difficult to process.

I counted my blessings every single day. A year earlier, I was not even sure that I would be able to return to college. Losing my dad took such an emotional toll on my body and mind.

What people don’t tell you about dealing with a death is that the pain you feel never truly goes away, you just find a way to deal with the grief. For myself, I found solace in writing and staying occupied. I also decided to take some of my grief and turn it into good and signed up for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out Of the Darkness Walk in my father’s name, and between my siblings and I, we raised over $350.

My last day on the Iberian peninsula was bittersweet. While I was excited to go home and sleep in my own private room, I knew that there was so much more left for me to see. Summer classes were waiting for me at home and my car was in need of some love. But in these last ten days, I had learned so much about myself. I was a brand new person with brand new experiences under my belt and I traveled to a different country by myself. I realized that I am independent, I am strong and I am brave.

My biggest inspiration through all of this has been my mother. On the good days, she’s there. On the bad days, she’s still there, with a smile on her face and arms wide open. Seeing her deal with trauma with so much grace and class has made me appreciate the woman that has been there for every event in my life, from the boring band concerts in elementary school to the airport when I finally made it back to Maine after 12 hours in flights and layovers. Without her raising me to be independent and courageous, I would not have been able to take on this journey alone. She was there for every time I called home to panic or talk about the views and memories that I was making. I owe her everything.

To anyone that is struggling to come to terms with emotional turmoil, know that you are not the problem. Traveling helped me realize this. Take care of yourself, and find a healthy outlet to help yourself deal with these feelings. This can be through seeing a counselor, writing in a journal or going for a run. Whatever you do, make sure you’re putting yourself first and making your health a priority. You are not crazy and you are not defined by the past.