So this is it — my final column from Tel Aviv.

How do I begin to sum up my experience here? The past two and a half years have been . . . intense.

I fell in love with Israel as a 16-year-old, during IST. From the sunrise at Masada and Shabbatot spent relaxing in the green hills of the Golan to covering myself in mud at the Dead Sea, the six-and-a-half weeks I experienced in Israel were nothing short of magical. Singing, dancing, laughing, crying and, ultimately, loving every aspect of this country and culture permeated every moment of that trip.

I remember returning to America thinking that Israel was my true home, the place I was meant to be.