Post London Denial

Over the past six weeks, my mantra has been "I'll sleep when I'm dead." While it sounds morbid, it encapsulated my reluctance to miss out on any minute of my time abroad. I wanted to make the most of it. One will notice, after having read this blog, that almost no space was dedicated to talking about classes or class outings. This isn't to say that I hated the "study" part of study abroad, or that nothing we did was worth my time. Far from it, in fact. But after spending a month and a half in London, there was just no feasible way to include every single thing that I did in one blog. That could fill a novel.
What did I take from London?

I took an invigorated sense of independence. 

I took a heightened appreciation of beauty, and an understanding of my own personal aesthetic. 

I took nine new books to add to my already overwhelming "to read" list. 

I took an awakened childlike wonder for things, as well as an appreciation of the things in my childhood that molded me to the person I am today. 

I took a renewed interest in history, and classic literature. 

I took several new friendships with people whom I've seen the world with, people whom I'll have this bond with for the rest of my life. 

Perhaps most of all, I took an overwhelming gratitude for my parents. I'm so fortunate that they were supportive of this ineffable opportunity, and were able to help me finance it. I'm especially grateful for technology, because I was able to keep in contact with my parents even though I was half a world away. I just hope that my pictures gave them some sort of idea how awesome my experience was, to repay them somewhat.