As my journey to Great Britain comes to a close, there are some things that I hope will stay with me, and other things that I miss about home. This trip has been a great way to not only form some wonderful relationships with other people, but to also understand myself in a deeper, more meaningful way. I am definitely someone who needs to be taken out of their habitat once in a while and given a break, because it is far too easy for me to get too bound up in work and school to really live my life.
One aspect that I had lost was the sense of enjoying my time. Back home everything is always as efficient as possible. Breakfast is boring and bland because it is something I do not put thought into – I merely make some oatmeal or grab some fruit and coffee before rushing to class or the office. There, I sit for hours at a time and work hard, only to get home and be too tired to put effort into a meal or do things that I enjoy. Being here, I have been able to wake up early and plan out a real breakfast, or go out to eat a real breakfast, and actually start the day off right. I find myself enjoying mealtimes more often, and actually wanting to put that effort into not only preparing my food, but sitting down and just focusing on eating it, rather than cramming more school or work in at the same time.
Another thing I need to take time for is myself. Easier said than done, as I am the person who sees free time as time I could be using to take care of things or give up to other people. Here, I was allowed to have a day to myself. To simply sit around the flat reading, cup of coffee in my hand, bundled in a blanket. Even though I was reading for class, I was allowed the time to read it at a pace I found comfortable, and to enjoy the process. I honestly miss reading above all else in my life. Being an English major, reading becomes a chore very quickly. Masses of essays, novels, poems, excerpts, and so forth, are shoved into a few weeks, deeply analyzed, and then the process is repeated over again in Sisyphean style. It has been ages since I simply picked up a book that I wanted to read for pleasure and actually finished it. This is something that I know I can make more time for, even if it takes a bit of rearranging of my schedule.
London has taught me so many things in a nonchalant, underlying way. Lacking an international phone plan, I barely touched the thing. It stayed mainly in my pocket or backpack, and was only used as a camera during excursions. It was refreshing to go out to eat and see no one on their phones – everyone actively engaged in conversations with one another. I did not have to evade people with their noses pressed to the screens on the sidewalk, too busy to pay attention to their surroundings.
I also feel that once I return home, I am going to walk anywhere and everywhere, no matter how far. What’s a car again? Now I have grown accustomed to using the public transportation when necessary, but for the most part walking to anything I need. And while Monmouth may not be the best area to play out this plan due to the lack of public transportation or anything within reasonable difference, I still feel that this can be employed on a much smaller scale in the fact that I do not have to drive to everything all the time.
These are merely a few things that I have noticed in the last week of staying here – small changes that have occurred in my daily life and my mindset towards the world around me. I can only hope that more travels await me in my future, as this would be a wonderful thing to experience every so often to ‘reset’ the old batteries.
Until next time, London.
Jenna
