My identity did change a lot over the course of me being in London. Before going to London, I would have considered myself a kind of shy suburban born kid who had never really lived on his own. After coming back to the United States, I am now realizing that I am a more mature individual. Living in London was the first time that I had to buy my own groceries and cook for myself along with having classes and an internship that I went to four days a week for most of the semester. Now that I am back in the United States, I am again living on my own with a bigger class load and a full-time sport. After my semester in London, I am sure that it prepared me to excel with my new, current situation. Obviously the main identity I encountered while abroad was the British identity. Whether it be a professional British identity with my supervisors or maybe the more laid back British identity when I met people at pubs. The professional identity was at times extremely proper but quickly evolved into a being very casual which made my time working very enjoyable and made me be excited to come into work. The pub British identity is actually similar to the professional identity with just more extremes on either end of the spectrum. Whether the person you’re talking to is having an extra good time or extra bad time you have to be able to read them before interacting with the pub British identity. Overall, my identity and the identity of those that I met made a huge impact on my experience abroad and now back in the United States. As this being my last blog post, I want to reflect a bit on my time. I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world and my internship was the main reason why. The four supervisors, Hannah, Martin, Pete, and Martha were amazing and deserve credit for most of my experience. Also, I managed to somehow get the best roommates that were able to balance fun and school and work perfectly to perfect my time in London.
Thank you and goodbye.
Connor