When I came back home, it was as if I had never left. Which was a strange feeling. I had changed and no one else had, it felt like. The time change was the worst: I was so tired and felt so sluggish for a good week. I had to go to work the very next day after getting home and that was so strange!

I hope I get to go back to London and explore everything I didn’t get to this time around.

I climbed the Eiffel Tower this last weekend. I felt so free. I have wanted to do that my whole life and I finally got the chance to do so! The view was breathtaking.

Paris was pretty, too. And the food! Oh my goodness the food was delicious, probably the best food I have ever had.

I want to go back and bring my mom with me. She would love it

I went to Scotland last weekend. I felt like I was home. It was a strange yet familiar feeling. Edinburgh is such a beautiful city; so green and full of hills and ripe with culture – probably more so than London. When you’re in Scotland, you can just feel that it is the home of the Scots. In London, it is home to many, many people. Edinburgh just had a small-town feel – which I really like. I want to go back.

My feet ache from climbing Mt. Arthur, from which I could see all of Scotland at the top. I’ll never forget it.

My Shakespeare class is so fun. The field trip days are long but I enjoy them; I am learning so much.

We went to Titus Andronicus a few days ago at The Globe theatre; to stand and watch a play in a place that is rife with so much history was incredible. I felt like a part of history. Not to mention, it was a great play. Very bloody, which I like. I did not know Shakespeare wrote such horrific plays.

A girl named Kate and I wandered around Central London yesterday. Not being able to drive is so lovely. Walking gets tiring but I love it. I am able to stop and really look at things, which is nice and something I do not generally do at home. Maybe I should start.

London is so different from America. My first few days here were overwhelming, exciting, exhausting and ridiculously stimulating. Once I got my wits about me, however, I began to relax and meet people and figure out how to wonder alone on my own without getting lost. It is easy to get lost here but I have discovered it is also easy to get back. Tube stations are everywhere; you just have to know which tube stop leads to home. I feel as though a lot of this month is going to be trial-and-error. Which is fine by me. That’s the exciting part about traveling!

I am really nervous. I have never been away from home for so long before, much less in another continent! I am really excited, though. It will be a great experience and I look forward to all that I will learn. Mom cried as she watched me go through security. I am sad to leave family but all I can focus on is the fact I am going to London and fulfilling a dream!