Well, friends, we’ve reached the end. Lucky for me, my last day here happens to have been the longest day of the year. There were plenty of daylight hours for final moments of happy London living: a trip to the Science Museum, cupcakes at the Hummingbird Bakery, a TopShop indulgence, dinner in China Town, and one last frolic in my beloved Trafalgar Square. Initially, I had thought that I would spend my last day alone, quietly reflecting on this immense experience, but when Kat and Emily offered to join me, I couldn’t have been happier. We three set upon this day like a feast. We devoured the hours, and now I find myself pulling an Oliver Twist and pleading: please sir, can I have some more?

To be frank, I think I’m allergic to leaving. I woke up with a painfully sore throat and have been sneezing all day long—a chirpy achoo! as of a small bird. I have a clenched-fist feeling in my stomach. Breath pours out like hourglass sand. Every cell is telling me that I cannot leave these people, these places, these things, which have all acquired the feeling of home.

How can I end this as eloquently as possible? Because the truth is, London has kicked my ass. It has beaten me down and tornadoed my body in its brilliant vortex. It has shaken me violently until all my dead outer layers fell away; it has whittled me down to size and meticulously sculpted my mind. I am Gregor Samsa: I am changed! At first horrified by the rough transformation, now the embodiment of willful metamorphosis. Yes, London has kicked my ass—but I have kicked it right back, spat in its eye, howled into its dark nights, and forgiven it. Love and forgiveness appear to me now as two ripe cherries on one short stem. I have learned to forgive this city for its daily challenges and have come to love it for challenging me. Invigorated by the difficulties of negotiating a foreign land, I have become a more active participant in my own life.

I don’t know when I’ll be back again, but I know that I’ll always have a home here. So thank you, London, for taking me in and showing me six months of full-on living. And thank you, dear readers, for coming along for the ride.