End of the Year Dinner

The end of the year dinner gives everyone a chance to have one last event together, say their last words, and celebrate a great year. We had ours last Wednesday night at La Rotunda and it was incredible. It was a great reminder of what a great year it's been and how awesome the people in this program truly are.

The meal was very good, which kind of surprised me. We had multiple courses with crustini, two types of pasta, meat and potatoes, and tiramisu. We also got wine. We had Dr. Burke at our table, and he kept the "Poet" flowing. He also contributed some entertaining stories, including the time he got placed in detention for doing the Twist at a dance and the time that he decided to leave the seminary after seeing some girls out his window.

The place was packed but it was fun to talk with different people and reflect on the good times. After dinner, a few of the teachers and staff made speeches. Dr. Burke then started calling out random students to come up and speak.

When it was all said and done, it was a strong reminder to me about how special this year has been. It's not just the many incredible places we've gone to and all the new things we've learned and experienced. It's also the people that went through all of that by my side. I've made some great new friends here, many that I probably never would have made had it not been through this program.

I only have a week left here, but I'm definitely not ready to go home. I miss everyone back home and I can't wait to see them all, but at the same time, I still haven't accepted that this adventure is about to come to an end. I guess I still have a week of this incredible journey, so final exams aside, I'm going to make the most of it.