thelastjterm - Tumblr blog

[thelastjterm]

Some background thoughts...

Growing up in the middle of Nebraska has always made me want to rebel and run away from the closed mindedness of my hometown. You would think that since I’ve been telling myself to get out of this place since I was in 5th grade, I would have done it by now. Yet, here we are. You reading my thoughts about my first international adventure and me trying to reflect and write about those memories. 

This trip that you will soon read about has been something of inspiration, indepence, magic, and excitement. Some days I felt like I was the strongest woman in the world, other days I felt so small and helpless. Nonetheless, I have memories that will shape me today and for future endeavors. 

Most importantly, I figured out why I didn’t leave this world behind years ago. You really miss your closest friends when you are hours away from them. You miss running through the grass, yelling weird phrases with them, and even better, getting strange looks from passersby. Yet, you’re comfortable and no one could judge you in those moments because you’re creating memories with the friends you love and who love you too. We travel to create new memories, to learn, and maybe miss home a little bit too. 

I’m thankful for this trip and I’m happy that you’ve read through these sappy paragraphs. I hope these upcoming words and images keep you intrigued enough to continue browsing through this small blog. 

[thelastjterm]

New York City:Concrete Jungle

We flew into New York City on a chilly Tuesday morning. Hustling and bustling to get to our bus and load up our belongings. 

Our first destination was Times Square. 

Take a look at how excited I am to be there. In that moment, I felt small and big at the same time. I made it to NYC without my mom and dad. I knew what to do in an airport and I knew how to pick up the pace when needed. I made it to a place where people make big speeches, sing big songs, and make big changes. I felt BIG. As I turned my head and let those big advertisements shine their bright lights on me suddenly I didn’t feel big enough. I remembered that I am just a small girl with big dreams in a city that could eat me alive. Don’t worry though, that feeling didn’t last, in fact, it motivated me to be more creative with my dreams.

As with most adventures, you can’t remember every moment and I definitely can’t write about every one. So, from here on out I will be writing about my favorite memories in chronological order. 

Next up, the Statue of Liberty.

Ah there she is Lady Liberty. I can remember this day solely on the temperature. It was freezing and the wind was wild. While seeing the Statue of Liberty is something everyone needs to do, I wasn’t totally in awe of her. 

A not so safe for work photo is coming up. Be prepared. 

Oh yes! Touching the bulls balls for good luck, of course!

Hope you’re into musicals!

Come From Away is an incredible musical. I was so happy to watch this. It was a musical that allowed me to express so many emotions while watching and also gave me some insight as to what other people experienced as 9/11 panned out. I also got to surprise my best friend with a sweet little video from one of her favorite actresses. A very rewarding and special moment! 

Another music oriented place is in line.

Wow. Magic happened in the bathroom of Radio City Music Hall. I’ve always been entranced with beautiful clothes, make up, and photos. So much so that I’ve found ways to make my own. One of the girls on my trip took this photo of me and I will cherish it forever. I felt beautiful that day and I think it’s good to document those moments. 

Speaking of beautiful photos.

This is a painting done by Pablo Picasso. I can’t figure out why I like it so much but I do. It’s one of my favorite pieces by him and it was so cool to see it in real life. 

I also saw this piece and it made me smile. I love cats so much and any art that involves cats cracks me up especially when it’s in an art museum.

Finally, one more show!

I saw one more show in NYC and I liked this one a lot too! It was so cool to see something different. 

Overall, New York City was an incredible place. There are so many things happening and so much motivation in the streets. Everything is fast paced and it makes me want to go go go. I often feel like I don’t have enough hours in the day and always wish I had the ability to sleep less. I can’t wait for more adventures like this one!

[thelastjterm]

London:Hotel 1

While New York City was magical in its own way, I found out that London was breathtaking. Not in the way that when a bride walks down the aisle breathtaking or even the way that ballerinas prance on a stage. It was more of a breath of fresh air, the way the cultures intermingled, and how the city wanted to include them rather than push them away. I loved seeing the people on the streets singing their songs and creating their art. How the world wasn’t as fast paced as New York City but rolled on with ease and interest in what was happening around them. I truly enjoyed Trafalger Square and hope to visit again soon. I want to sit at the fountains, watch the people go by and listen to their stories. I think London is an incredible city and sometimes I think about living there.

When I was younger, I was in love with anything British, not so much the historical side of things but rather the pop culture. I was really excited to see the everyday habits of people and what aspects of the media that was moving them. The fashion is something that I took a lot of notes on and I’m excited to start bringing that here. I have always been fascinated about the way that fashion moves, what trends we pick up, and who starts them. It would be wild to have something gain traction in our little town of Hastings. 

Let the images roll.

Were you really in London if you didn’t take a photo in a telephone booth? I remember saying something to a lady before taking this photo and when she didn’t respond I realized that she spoke German and only German. It was so amazing to have that experience and encounter someone who grew up learning one thing while I learned something entirely different. There are barriers between people due to this but I believe it’s important that those barriers are there so our unique experiences are still unique. What I mean by this is that we shouldn’t all grow up the same way because then we will never learn from each other. Something that I learned from her without having to actually interact with her is that neon hats are in and I want to get in on that. 

Some art is coming your way!

I learned about Caravaggio in Art History II and he was one of my favorite artists along with Artemisia! It was really cool to his work in real life and I’m excited to talk about it with my art professors!

Buildings. Buildings. Buildings.

This photo was taken on our way to Covent Garden. I loved how the buildings had little lights all along them. This area felt very uptown like and was definitely a place you could spend hours in which we did. 

Along with our buildings theme, I believe this is the Museum of Natural History. We all thought this was a palace when we were driving by. It is quite grand so it makes sense for us, Americans, to immediately assume it is a palace! 

Another building and this time it is an actual palace! It’s Buckingham Palace! Maybe the Queen was inside, we will never know! (Did you know that Charles got in a car accident while we were in London? Because I didn’t.)

One more view of buildings. This is sweet and breathtaking London. 

One final viewing from the first segment of our London venture.

I wasn’t going to leave my Scottish boyfriend out of this. If you zoom in you can see when he first looks at me. We lived happily ever after. 

[thelastjterm]

London:Hotel 2

As we moved into the second hotel, I became lazy and stopped taking photos. Here are a few things that I deemed worthy of getting my camera out. 

Wowza, we saw the Stonehendge and it was rocky! I thought it was pretty impressive for humans to drag that many rocks from such far distances! Humans do some pretty weird stuff and it makes me wonder what humans a thousand years from now will think of us!

These two photos were taking while driving back from the Stonehendge and Bath. It was a beautiful sunset and could compete well with Nebraska’s! My dad asked me what they did in London and I had to laugh because my dad has farmed his whole life and can’t travel well due to an injury. I told him that there are farms out there and roaring hills just like we have here. 

Up next is something royal.

We made our way into Kensington Palace and I was very impressed. The rooms were grand and seeing Princess Diana’s dresses about made my heart burst. I took a photo of a few quotes I saw and wanted to explain my interest in them. 

For the one about William and Mary, I thought that the feelings of love and sorrow made them really human to me. It was so sweet and sad to read that they actually loved each other and it wasn’t just two people sharing one large space.

For the quote about Princess Diana, I thought about for awhile. I wanted to analyze myself and reflect on what I portray out into the world. Is it someone who I actually want to be? Do my clothes define my attitude in the world? Whether my clothes matter or not, most people judge on appearance first. It’s something that I will think about for awhile longer and then address. For now, I will keep on reflecting. 

Oh how I loved London so. I can’t wait to visit again and make my rounds at my own pace. It will be exciting to dive deeper into the same experiences. Thank you for reading about my little trip. I hope my writing and photos did it justice.