Today I finally made it to Paris. It’s been almost exactly four years since I’ve been here, and I’ve spent most of those four years dreaming about coming back. I spent the day just wandering around and enjoying the city, getting familiar with the metro, and scoping out places I’d like to return to. (I… Continue reading For the love of Paris
Category: Life
The Lake District: A 24-hour Adventure
This weekend was an adventure. In addition to figuring out how to make a five hour trip up to the Lake District (it included three different trains and a bus), we went on two different hikes and visited William Wordsworth’s home – all within about 24 hours. We left Oxford at 9:30 Saturday morning, and made… Continue reading The Lake District: A 24-hour Adventure
Walking: A Thoreau Effort
(First, let me just say that you’d all better appreciate that pun.) Since coming to the UK, I’ve walked at least ten thousand more steps than usual. On Wednesday, we decided to walk back to Swansea University (where we’re staying in Wales) because our professor told us it was about a mile. It ended up… Continue reading Walking: A Thoreau Effort
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and some other forms of transportation)
In the past 24 hours, I’ve traveled by car, plane, train, bus, and foot a distance of approximately 5280 miles. Over the course of the day I slowly made my way from Texas to the UK, despite the obstacles of canceled flights, equipment malfunctions, and late trains. Of course, after traveling for 24 hours… Continue reading Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and some other forms of transportation)
Adventures in Journaling
There’s something reassuring in writing down the day’s events. It’s acceptance, in a way, that certain things happened, and however you may feel about them, they aren’t going to change. When you finish an entry in your journal, the day is over. It doesn’t matter if it was a good day or a bad day… Continue reading Adventures in Journaling
Why Re-Reading is Worth it
“Harry had never been to London before.” One of my study abroad courses is called “Harry Potter and the English Fantasy Tradition.” Most of the people I tell this either don’t believe me, or think that it’s a thinly veiled excuse to read Harry Potter and pretend I’m taking a class. The truth is, I… Continue reading Why Re-Reading is Worth it
Diverging Roads & Solo Travels
During one of our long weekends in Oxford, a group of us have decided to make the trek to Paris. I was ecstatic when I found people who were just as interested as I was in exploring the city I fell in love with four years ago. But as we were planning, I realized that… Continue reading Diverging Roads & Solo Travels
The Universal Experience of Writing
Writing is such an integral part of our society that it’s hard to imagine civilizations existed without it. Writing is a tangible method of communication, one that withstands the test of time and space – writing is universal. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately as I prepare to travel. There are so many… Continue reading The Universal Experience of Writing
The Value of Road Trips
I love a good road trip – I can’t tell you how many hours I spent as a child reading or writing in the backseat while my parents drove us to various vacation spots. To me, road trips are the epitome of an American childhood. Yet I meet so many people who hate driving, who… Continue reading The Value of Road Trips
Real Writers Don’t Have Free Time
That’s a bold statement to make, isn’t it? I don’t mean it as harshly as it sounds, but I do see a bit of truth in it. Don’t worry, I’ll explain – Sometimes we get so caught up in the novelty of simply having free time that we do nothing with it. After a busy… Continue reading Real Writers Don’t Have Free Time