The soul-shattering, earth-defying screech of my alarm clock infiltrated the early morning air signaling that it was time to leave for the airport. I was not thrilled. I needed more sleep and a vat of coffee to keep me sane because it is no shock that these last flights were nothing but trouble. Let us start at the beginning, shall we ...

We all piled into the turd for the final time - oh how I will miss his uncomfortable seats, temperamental cooling and heating system, and his undeniable ability to jerk us around every turn, as if we were strapped into the most intense roller coaster.

We made it to Gatwick Airport in London in record time, exactly two hours before take off. I will not miss sitting in airports, let me tell you. Fun fact about Gatwick: about a week prior, a couple had been illegally flying a drone on the flight line, and all flights were delayed for two days. I'm ecstatic that nothing that drastic occurred, but I was still expecting the worst.

As we arrived, we checked our bags, and low and behold, mine was assigned an "extra heavy" sticker; like, excuse me kind lady behind the counter, but I will not stand idly by as you body shame my luggage. Sure, she's a chunky girl because I had to buy even more clothing when my luggage was lost, but she's more than just extra weight. She was my heart and soul on this trip; she helped me look extra cute in all my photos. She deserved more than that identification sticker, but no matter, at least she actually made it home with me, but we'll get to that in a moment.

After baggage check-in came security, and this is where the trouble begins. All of our personal items and carry-ons had to be searched. Each and every one of us forgot that we somehow had small liquids in our bags. It was great almost having all of my intimates exposed for the entire airport to see. I loved that.

Once we made it through security unscathed, we attempted to find our gate, but had to wait because we had arrived way too early. To pass the time, we ate breakfast at a restaurant where I had an amazing iced almond milk latte. It might be my new favorite coffee drink. Eventually, we were told the gate and boarded the plane. The first plane was a wonderful 50 minutes, and I managed to squeeze in a nap. Again, wonderful. But, then we had a three-hour layover in Dublin. Now, this is where it gets interesting.

We did not have a gate yet; so, we had to sit in the "lounge," which was just a grouping of hard chairs in the middle of the airport. My dad purchased another coffee, and then checked the leader board type sign again, only to discover that we actually needed to go through customs.

We ventured all the way back to the first floor only to go through security again where my father had to throw out his barely touched cup of caffeinated bliss. We literally exited one plane to board another, and we had to be searched again. I was given the pat-down, and I really didn't appreciate it. Why me? Little old me in her stained white Keds and Yuengling sweatshirt - of course, I would be chosen for the search.

After that fiasco, we waited for another hour before take off. This was the worst plane ride of my life, and I've only been on a plane a handful of times. For starters, the rudest humans sat in front of us. The trio in front of my mom, me, and my brother decided that they were the only people who deserved comfort for the almost eight hour flight. The snobby mother reclined her seat all the way back to the point where she was literally laying in my mom's lap. Both of her children, who were small enough to not have to recline their seats, also leaned back super far. I think as a courtesy, no one should be allowed to recline. It's rude.

This was also a completely packed flight, and there were repeated announcements that only larger items like carry-on suitcases were permitted in the overhead compartments. This woman decided to put all of her smaller items up there, including a delicate painting. And then when she was asked to move it over or take it out of the compartment by the flight attendant so that another passenger's luggage could go there, she had an attitude. I was about ready to lose my mind.

Throughout the flight, she kept turning around to give us dirty looks; for example, every time we had to use the restroom. I'm sorry, my bladder is small, but I also said nothing about her son rocking his chair back and forth and disturbing my eight-hour binge session of House. But, the worst part of the flight occurred as we were deboarding the plane.

Hundreds of buckles unlocked and people began to gather their items. My family stood across our row, and my sister was in the aisle between our seats because my dad had to get down all of our luggage as well as some elderly women's luggage because they were seated around us. The woman in front of us kept shoving my sister because her children needed to get out of their seats and off the plane right at that moment. I'm surprised none of us socked her.

We finally got off the plane and touched the sweet, sweet ground. We waited about an hour for our luggage - at least all of it appeared on the belt. It would have been the unfortunate icing on the cake if even one suitcase was lost. It was now time to catch the van to the parking garage. After aimlessly walking around and arguing, we spotted the bus, hopped on, and made it to our car in record time.

The ride home was a long two hours, and at that point, we were all sick of each other. Overall, this was an amazing trip, and I am so grateful that we even had the opportunity to travel overseas. We ate, we laughed, and we hit many speed bumps, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

One of the best parts of this trip is the feedback on my writing. I decided to document every day mainly for family, so that they could keep up with our whereabouts. I can't tell you how fulfilling it is to hear people tell me how much they enjoyed the trip, like they embarked on the journey with us. Affirmations on my writing keep me focused on the craft. Today, someone asked me if I purchased a souvenir in every country, and the truth is that I didn't. I documented the entire trip - that is my souvenir. The Truth About Coffee has grown so much in the past year, and I cannot wait to see what 2019 has in store. The year has been pretty great thus far, but we're only on day four. Stay tuned, because I start student teaching in a little over a week; so, I'm sure I'll have many more stories to tell. Coffee kept me going for the past twenty days, and it will surely keep me alert and ready for anything that comes my way as I embark on the final chapter of my undergraduate career.