Today is a year to the day that I moved to Paris. In fact, I’d have finished my project 365 on Friday if I’d not taken a break after the death of mine and Josh’s grandads. I’ve been drafting and redrafting this post for months, with much musing in between, but this seemed as good a time as any to get it finished. It has been the single most intense year of my life, so packed full of experiences, disasters and lessons that I feel like I’ve barely stopped. I can’t believe so much has happened, but nor can I believe that it’s all flown by so quickly. It barely seems a second since I stepped off the train at Gare du Nord, weighed down by three ridiculously heavy bags, having cried so much on the Eurostar journey from St Pancras that a stranger bought me a KitKat, a bag of M&Ms and a packet of tissues!

In the past 12 months I’ve called five different places my home, taught English to 300 under-12s and been involved in a fundraising event that raised an astounding £45,000! I’ve read dozens of books, had four different mobile phones and visited over 20 different cities in four different countries. I’ve made many wonderful new friends and I’ve lost two very special men. It’s been a year full of change, utterly lacking in stability, during which I’ve repeatedly been forced much further out of my comfort zone than I ever believed I could go.

In Paris, I learnt far more than some new French vocabulary. I learnt that it’s a cold, cruel world, full of selfish people who are only out for themselves. Fortunately, I also learnt that there are plenty of good people out there too, some of whom have shown me truly amazing compassion, support and friendship. Thank you. I learnt that I’m capable of far more than I knew, that I’m far stronger than I’d have believed and that the scariest things can be the most rewarding. Paris was simultaneously a period of losing myself in a fantasy world of culture, food, poetry, beauty and escapism, and a period of finding myself. There were moments of adversity, fun, stress, elation, utter despair and total, peaceful contentment. In each of these I learnt something of myself, as well as some important lessons in patience and resilience. In every sunny stroll along the Seine, every evening of patisseries and wine, every tourist site and every unknown corner, I have profité from Paris’ magic. In many ways, Paris was a time of frivolity, with a few heavy doses of reality thrown in to keep my feet on the ground. It was a once in a lifetime experience, and one which will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Leaving Paris was both one of the hardest and easiest decisions of my life. There’s still so much of the city for me to see and experience, but it was the right time for me to leave. I came home, after my fortnight spent travelling in France, full of apprehension about what the rest of the summer would hold. I needn’t have worried - Eaves did an amazing job at keeping me occupied and making me feel welcome, as well as completely challenging my perspectives. I met some amazing, truly humbling and inspirational women, both staff and service users. After 8 months in France that was focused almost entirely on me - my adventures, my problems, my education - it was such a refreshing change to be part of a charity so committed and passionate about helping vulnerable women. Having spent so much of my time in Paris wallowing in self-pity and feeling hard-done by, at Eaves I got some really vital perspective back. If Paris was all about me, this summer was all about Jasmine - the incredible young woman I met during my first week at Eaves. No one has ever touched my life or inspired me in quite the way she did, with her humility, her passion and her smile. I really hope I did her proud this summer; I know I’ll never forget her. I simply can’t stress enough how important Eaves’ work is, or what an amazing job they do. I’m enormously grateful that they allowed me to play my small part in that.

And now it’s all over, just in time for the next adventure to begin. Josh and I are moving back down to our new flat, in Leamington Spa, ready for our fourth and final year at Warwick. Photos of Paris line the mantelpiece in our bedroom and various other momentos each have their place. The return to studying is going to be a shock to the system, after a 16 month break, but I’m ready for it. I’m really excited about my modules for this year and, for the first time ever, I’ve actually made a reasonable start on my uni reading over the summer! It’s been a truly remarkable year - I just hope this one doesn’t go quite as fast…