I have been home for almost 3 weeks now and I am just now starting to adjust back to my life here in America. As almost every student says that studies abroad, it has changed my life drastically. In just three short months I had made connections with my internship, my professors, and new friends from different states. Looking back at my time abroad, I feel home sick. I loved London and my time there a lot and I could not think of a better country to study in but like a lot of people say ‘home is where the heart is’ and I am absolutely homesick for London and the people I held close there.
During my time in London, I was able to work at a theater in Piccadilly Circus and make close connections with my small team and work on all aspects of theater whether it was hanging lights, ‘hoovering’ the floor, or working on color coding production calendars (something I did a lot). I had great mentors that pushed me to do things that I never had done before and referring back to my original post really pushed me to come out of my shell very quickly and take jobs head on.
I had mentors inside and outside of the classroom that really pushed me because they saw all the potential I had. I am truly grateful for the experiences and lessons that they taught me even in the short amount of time we had together. My two theater professors really pushed a lot into me and changed how I view the world. They changed my mind set to how I see myself, how I see others, how I handle myself in stressful situations, and even how I see paranormal activity. (If you have the chance to take Witchcraft & Magical Performance with Mike Punter, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT).
My perceptions about the world, other people, and myself have changed drastically since writing my first blog post in the JFK airport. I see the world now as something that should be explored and made the most of. After my experience being cut short, it has changed how I will travel in the future, that is if we are ever allowed to travel again. I want to travel without worry and without fear of the future. I have also decided that I need to create friends and give love at an even faster pace, cause you never know when your last day is.
When leaving the UK, my parents had booked me a ticket in less than twenty-four hours and I am glad that they did. Due to my plane being so soon, I did not get a lot of goodbyes. I did not get to say my real goodbyes to my professors, I did not get a proper goodbye with my internship supervisors, I didn’t even get to say goodbye to some of my closest friends that I had made while I was there. My goodbyes felt rushed which was then followed by a rush of emotions as I sat on my 9 hour plane ride.
Overall, I am grateful. I am thankful. I am sad. I am happy that I got to be there as long as I did. I’m glad to be home. I’m truly a ball of complicated emotions of overwhelming sadness and happiness. I am a truly grown in ways that I did not even think that I could because of this experience. I love my time abroad and I will always cherish this and carry it with me.