The pavement is my friend. It'll take me where I need to go.

A few of my friends planned on a day trip to Brighton, which is a beach area. They all asked me to come numerous times but I wasn't convinced. #1: It would be cold #2: It would be windy. #3: I can go to a beach any time in the States. #4: More money for a train ticket #5: I was tired. so. so. tired. Although I really wanted to spend time with everyone, I just couldn't find more reasons to go. Beaches aren't really my thing. I only enjoy them in warm weather. Other than that, it's like hell on earth.

So bright and early in the morning, everyone got up and left for Brighton and I awoke to an empty room. Peace. Solitude. I was loving it so far. I woke up and got dressed leisurely. I finally unpacked and settled in. I put up some pictures from home and called my parents on Skype. One girl decided to stay behind also. It was a sunny (yet chilly) day so we decided to go grab some Starbucks on campus and sit in the courtyard while working on our homework journals.

Enjoying some sun and homework in the courtyard!

I was enjoying the best cafe mocha and sitting under a gorgeous London sun. The beauty was definitely distracting. I couldn't help but snap some pictures and goof off a bit. I decided to procrastinate some more and read a London newspaper. After I ran out of pages, I couldn't put it off anymore...I had to get my homework done. My cafe mocha was very low which meant my focus was at its peak. I got all of my work done at last. Even though I was working, it was an extremely relaxing day. It was a day that I needed.

After some more hours, I began to get antsy while awaiting the arrival of the beach crew. Before they left, I made them all promise me that they would go out with me at night. I was cooped up all day and I wanted to experience some London nightlife! 

They came back full of excitement and refreshed. I was really glad that they all had a great time, but I didn't regret staying behind at all. I was even more happy to find out that a few still wanted to go out. 

We decided on traveling down to Piccadilly! When we stepped off the tube, I was blown away by the site. It was very reminiscent of Times Square. Huge lights, fountains, restaurants, stores and crowds of people. We even passed by the Odeon Theatre where they were setting up for the Rock of Ages premiere! Cassie and I proceeded to jump up and down and scream. A few heads turned but we were so excited because we were planning on going to the premiere. It all became real in that moment. We were actually going to a movie premiere! So hollywood of us! Well, so London!

We walked all around Piccadilly and absorbed it all. 12:15 quickly approached. We had to make a decision. The tube closes at 12:30. Should we head back home? or take a 24 hour decker bus home? With all of the lights and commotion, we were convinced to stay past 12:30 In hindsight...very bad decision.

It was around 1:30 am when we decided we had our fill of Piccadilly. Time to catch a bus home! Easier said than done. We found the correct bus stop and waited. And waited some more. 

At least during our wait, we had some quality entertainment. A ginger lad and his friend came up to our bus stop...obviously inebriated. We mad such a rash judgement because the ginger was carrying a stack of orange traffic cones on his shoulder. He walked into the street and completely blocked off an entire lane! A crowd of bikers came crashing into the cones. We all bursted into laughter. One biker even moved the cones, but the ginger continued to put the cones back in place. No one was getting through. He was determined. After the crashed bikers made their way around, huge decker buses made their way closer and closer. Was the bus going to crash just like the bikers? Nope. Because the ginger decided to begin directing traffic around the cones! Traffic began to back up and everyone was listening to this guy! It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. ever. I know my laughing was just egging him on, but I couldn't help it. I didn't even care. His friend wasn't too amused. I overheard him say, "I'm stuck with this bloody idiot!" I didn't think he was an idiot. They were the coolest people in my book. Our entertainment was eventually brought to a halt by the police. They showed up and scolded the man who fervently denied putting the cones out. "I was just directing traffic! I was just helping!" to which the cops replied, "Well, don't!" It's safe to say that those two guys didn't stick around for the bus. They went on their drunken way...this time without traffic cones in tow.

Our bus finally came and we were ready to be back at the dorm. We ran up to the top deck and sat in the front seats. It was definitely an experience. The drivers over there are insane. They drove so fast and stopped so short. To add to the excitement, pedestrians would play real-life Frogger and dart across the highway. The bus driver must have hated us. We would scream and "whoa" every time such an action would happen and then would burst into laughter. Obnoxious Americans we were...

The Eye at night.

We were pretty excited to see London lit up at night. Big Ben and The Eye at night were absolutely breathtaking. One more thing checked off the bucket list! But once we passed Big Ben we realized...our college was in the opposite direction. We were going the wrong way! We figured that the bus would just loop around and we would end up in the right direction. So, we brushed it off until the bus came to a stop.

"This bus has terminated. Please get off."

Say what!? We all froze but then followed everyone else off the bus. We frantically ran to the bus map to try to figure out our error and how to get back to the college. A kind local informed us that we took the right bus, we just took it in the wrong direction. We all darted across the street to the correct bus stop. We darted for no reason though, because we had a longer wait than last time. The freezing cold weather was just icing on the cake. But at least this stop had some seats. 

We saw some interesting characters come and go, including some dressed up 1940's underground club goers. That entertainment wasn't nearly as good as the entertainment we received earlier in the evening. Bored and cold, our bus finally showed up. We happily hopped on, took our signature seat at the top front. 

Things started to look familiar as we began to back track. We let out a sign of relief and enjoyed the ride. But then, things got really unfamiliar. We kept listening for the stops, but nothing ever said "baker street." A little bit of anxiety began to rise in all of us. But, everything looked familiar earlier. We were confident that we were all right. Our stop had to come up soon. But once we hit Abbey Road, we knew we were wrong. Way wrong. Things got darker and less familiar when it came to a stop.

"This bus has terminated. Please get off."

What!?! All of our mouths dropped open. I believe "you've got to be kidding me!" were my first words. We walked off the bus in disbelief. One classmate asked the driver where the stop was. Apparently our stop was by a different name than what we were looking for. Perfect. We should have just got off when things started to look familiar. We asked the gentleman if we could stay on the bus, but he refused to let us. We walked away in defeat.

Once again we darted to the opposite side of the road where the bus stop stood. We watched the bus around the corner and park, where he turned off all the lights and took a coffee break. He didn't look like he was intending to move any time soon. It had gotten colder and it had gotten later. It was 3:30 a.m. All I wanted to do was get in my bed and go to sleep. I was not looking forward to waiting on this driver to take his break for God knows how long. Everyone debated over what to do and some frantically rechecked the bus maps. We were in a dark deserted part of the city that I didn't particularly feel safe in.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a black cab rounded the corner. Nothing has looked better to me in my whole entire life than that taxi. 

Back in my dorm at 4:00 a.m. Hello, sun.

I screamed, "Someone! Wave that taxi down!" A classmate must have been as miserable as I was, because they took my command and our savior cab stopped on the curb. Taking the cab back was the best option. I really didn't feel like taking another bus that we were sort of sure of where it was going. I wanted to get back and get some sleep after all. I know every one else agreed because we all piled in. And it was a tight fit.

It was 4:00 a.m. when we made it back to the college and the sun was up. I couldn't believe it was already light outside. I had never stayed out so late before. I had never stayed out til dawn before! Let me tell you, it was my first and I'm going to make sure it was my last.

Don't get me wrong, though. Even though we were miserable we really did have an amazing next. We repeated through laughter on the many buses, "This sucks but this is the best night of my life!" It was a great bonding experience and we were bound to get lost in London at some point, right? Another check off the bucket list...


The next morning I realized "Good Life" by One Republic described our night perfectly.

"Woke up in London yesterday. Found myself in the city near Piccadilly. Don't really know how I got here. I got some pictures on my phone. New names and numbers that I don't know. Address to places like Abbey Road. Day turns to night, night turns to whatever we want. We're young enough to say. Oh, this has gotta be the good life."

We were young enough to handle a night like that. After all, we were living the good life.

If the city never sleeps, then that makes two.

My travel into London began with no sleep and ended with no sleep. I woke up in Charlotte at 3:00 a.m. and could not go back to sleep. I ended up on the couch and watched reruns of Friends and Boy Meets World. Nothing seemed to calm me down. I spent the rest of the day packing last-minute items and denying the fact that I was leaving for the airport in the late afternoon. I counted (and dreaded) the hours until my 6:25 p.m. flight.


Before I knew it, I was sitting in the front seat clutching my tissues while pulling into the Charlotte airport. I was a complete nervous wreck and I couldn't stop the tears at that point. I have always been scared of flying even though I've flown quite a bit before. Saying goodbye to my parents was really the toughest part. It made everything seem real. I was going to be getting on a plane to London and living there without my family for four weeks. I mustered up every ounce of courage in my body as I forced myself to walk to the gate. Talking with classmates who were on my flight really helped me, though. I was the only one who had a fear of flying so everyone was really comforting.


I finally stopped crying when we all boarded the plane. Yes, I was still nervous but everyone's excitement was starting to rub off on me. Thirty minutes passed and we still had not taken off yet. The pilot eventually came over the intercom and told us they were "finishing paperwork" and we would be in the air shortly. All right. Fair enough. Fifteen more minutes passed when we heard the pilot's voice once again. "Folks, we're going to have to deplane you all. There's a bit of a mechanical problem on the right wing that needs to be fixed." What. What. What.

This didn't ease my mind about flying, but the hours and hours of waiting sure did. I was certainly ready to get back on the plane around 10:00 p.m. My lack of sleep the night before was slowly starting to make me miserable. A few of us got some food at Chili's in the airport but all I wanted to do was get on the plane and go to sleep. The delay surely dialed down the excitement a bit.

The crew fixed the right "phalange" (and put many extra on board. Friends reference. Of course. What else did you expect from me?) and completed all of their "paperwork" and we were finally in the air for an eight hour flight. I was hoping for a smooth flight but that's not what I got. What I got was a lot of turbulence and very little sleep. I really did try to sleep through the flight but I wasn't successful. I woke up every 20 minutes and I was feeling more and more homesick the further we crossed over the Atlantic.  

After a flight like that, I had never been happier to touch down on land. We were greeted by our professor and hopped on a bus to the college. It took about an hour from Gatwick to Regent's College and that hour was surreal. It felt so bizarre to be riding on the left side of the road alongside red double decker buses. It looked just like the movies and those few London episodes of Friends. After student introductions, I was lulled to sleep for 30 minutes when we reached the freeway.


I woke up to find us at our destination - Reid Hall.  I towed in my two suitcases and was greeted by my roommate. She had arrived a few hours earlier than everyone. She took one of my bags and showed me to the staircase when I heard the dreaded words, "There's no elevator...and we're on the top floor." Lovely. Just one more damper on my challenging trip. I was grateful that she helped me lug my bags up the stairs.

Our dorm room looked pretty decent. Not going to lie, I was a bit disappointed at first. It could have been the lack of sleep affecting my mood. After I put on my sheets from home and added some pictures to my desk, it felt a little more like home. But I couldn't help that stabbing feeling of truth in my heart that it wasn't home...it wasn't home at all. I forced back my tears and met the rest of the class downstairs for our first class adventure. 

As a class, we trekked to the Underground. I was terrified of London's subway system at first. Everything around me was so fast paced. I remember thinking to myself, "Huh, this must be what a city is really like!" It couldn't have been more different from Charlotte. I felt extremely claustrophobic crammed into little trains with way too many people. But the less I thought about being under the city, the better I felt. When we stepped off the Underground and rode up the escalators, Big Ben was staring me right in the eye. I turned around and saw the London Eye right behind me. Even though I was completely miserable and homesick, I couldn't help but feel in awe of the scene in front of me. It took me a moment to catch my breath. The intricate details of everything was so incredible. There is no word that can describe it. It didn't feel real. All of the pictures I had been staring at since I was a child had suddenly come to life.



Our professor surprised us with tickets to ride the London Eye. I was wary of that at first. I had enough of being in the air for one day, do I really want to get on this thing that's in the air for 30+ minutes? No. But the magnificent scene in front of me seemed to convince me otherwise. If it was all this beautiful from the ground, imagine how amazing it would be from the Eye? I was right. It was the perfect way to see London for the first time. I'm absolutely content with my decision to hop on with everyone else, even if I did safely sit on the bench the whole time.

The group split up after the Eye. We walked the streets until we ended up at pub near Trafalgar Square. I should have been excited but I was so sleep deprived and sick that excited was the last emotion I was feeling.The lack of sleep was making me more emotional and more homesick.  I have scoliosis so my back was absolutely killing me from the past events. I had not had anything to eat on the day of my arrival and couldn't even think about eating at that pub. While everyone else dined on fish & chips and cidre, I sat at the table completely zoned out, sick, light-headed and worried about everyone's first impression of the sickly version of myself.

I was so happy to get into bed that night around 11:30 pm. Shortly after I received my initiation of dorm life. There was so much commotion and noise heard through the walls. A girl on the hall ended up getting sick all over the bathroom floor. The commotion increased when the rest of our neighbors discovered that. Shrieks and screams and yelling sent me over the edge. I hit my breaking point. I cried myself to sleep after texting my mom that I wanted to go home. What mistake had I made? What had I done? I was in a completely different country...alone. I finished searching flights to Charlotte and ended up only getting about 4 hours of sleep.

I never knew that a lack of sleep and a backache could make me want to leave London. After successfully worrying both of my parents, my arrival day finally came to an end. Everything felt backwards and far away, but unbeknownst to me my misery wouldn't last for long.

Location:London

Five days and counting...

In five days I'll be on my way to London (and Dublin and Paris in between). I started this blog to record everything that is going on and keep in touch with family and friends. I can't believe how fast time has flown by. I know deep down I'm really excited but right now my nerves are overshadowing every emotion. This is completely out of character for me but the bottom line is: This will be good for me.

I'm not the best flyer and all I can think about is the flight. Eight hours in the air...eight! Nine hours in the air coming back to the States. I am well-supplied with music, books and Dramamine to make this flight as easy as possible. I've flown to Europe quite a few times. I don't understand why I'm so nervous now, though. Maybe it's because I can barely remember those flights. Maybe it's because I'll be alone. It's quite silly to be this hung up over a flight that (hopefully) I'll be sleeping through anyway.

I'm going to try to not let this ruin my time in London. I've wanted to go to London since the age of five...ever since I saw Hanson's documented London visit in Tulsa, Tokyo and the Middle of Nowhere. Whether I want to admit it or not, the Spice Girls did affect my interest in the city as a five-year-old. Oh, of course, who could forget the epic London episodes of Friends? I'm sure I'll be the obnoxious one screaming, "London, baby!" on my first tour of the city. Thanks for the influence, Joey.

I've been interested in it for as long as I've been interested in music. I can't believe I'm finally going to be there. It's a bit surreal. I'm sure it will take a day or two before it really hits me that I'm in London.
I have a lot of fun things lined up that I'm so excited about (Harry Potter Studio Tour *cough cough*). I hope to see some inspiring places, try new food, make new friends, see celebrities (I can't quit my American habits, can I?), hear new music, buy a lot of souvenirs and have the time of my life.

I basically just want to stay busy enough so I don't miss my family too much (Very high hopes...I know I'm going to miss them the second I step on the plane). While I've been nervous about this since the day I applied to study abroad, I've been taking it all in baby steps. One day at a time. Deep down I know I am prepared in every way possible. Now, the next step is finally here: Get on the plane...


The City - Ed Sheeran. The song I titled my blog after.