For my STEP Signature Project, I participated in a month-long study abroad program to London for three English credits focusing on detective fiction and crime in Victorian era England. We had the chance to visit Bath and Oxford for a couple days as well where we had guest lecturers who are experts in the field speak to us. In addition to taking classes for ten hours every week, we went on many group excursions to famous sites in London and related their cultural significance back to the concepts of our class.
This trip truly reaffirmed for me my love for literature and for writing. I came into college as a pharmacy major and only added an English major towards the end of my sophomore year. A majority of my time is spent on studying for my science courses, so I do not have free time to read for leisure as I used to so much in the past. I was able to read many new stories and was introduced to a genre that I was not really familiar with before in this course: detective fiction. Participating in an intensive course focusing on literature and culture as well as being in the beautiful city of London rekindled my love for reading and writing.
London is a truly inspirational city with its rich and deep history etched into every street and learning about its culture and literature in intensive studies for our class only made me admire it that much more. It has always been a dream of mine to publish my own novels and walking on the streets and eating in the places where my favorite authors did themselves in the past immensely fueled my desire to reach that dream. This trip also showed me how important studying the arts and humanities really is to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the beautiful and diverse world around us. I have always loved traveling and seeing the world through my own eyes, but this trip made me realize the significance of learning about the rich history every different country possesses as well. Even though my future profession will most likely be in healthcare, this trip instilled in me a desire to continue studying the arts for the rest of my life.
One key aspect of my experience that led to my realization was actually interacting with the other students that were also on the trip with me. There were many different majors on our trip along with the English majors, but what connected us all was our interest in the literature and culture of England. As we visited many historic sites and went on different walking tours led by scholars, I was inspired by everyone’s knowledge on the subject as well as their genuine passion and enthusiasm. I had visited the Roman Baths last year when I went to England, but it was again one of the sites for our group excursions, so I had the chance to see them again. I gained so much more from seeing them this time compared to last time because everyone around me was so captivated by them that I was also able to immerse myself fully into the experience.
Another key event that had a lasting effect on me was seeing a production of As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe. I had a chance to visit the Globe last year as well, but, due to time restraints, I was not able to actually see a play. More than a year later, I finally got to accomplish one of my life-long dreams of attending a play in Shakespeare’s Globe, and it was more than worth the wait. Standing in the pit and watching the amazing actors and actresses perform just as people in the time of the world’s greatest playwright would have was a truly indescribable feeling. If standing in there does not inspire you to write the next great masterpiece, then I do not know what would.
Finally, another one of the most memorable experiences of my project was taking a spontaneous trip to Oxford on our last day in England because there was a special Tolkien exhibition put on by the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford that just so happened to open on that day, and I was not going to miss that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even though the exhibition was not terribly large, I was almost brought to tears multiple times by the sheer genius and artistry of one man’s mind. Not only was he an incredibly gifted writer and artist, he was also a great father to his children as well as a beloved linguist and professor. He spent his whole life crafting his fantasy world despite his busy life and worked on his novels at night after teaching at university. It made me realize that I need to work so much harder if I am serious about reaching my goals and that I have no excuses. I walked out of that exhibition resolving to also spend the rest of my life loving literature and writing stories.
I feel that I have developed my academic and personal goals more as a result of this trip. I realized how much I truly love studying the humanities, and I want to continue learning and expanding my knowledge for the rest of my life even if it is not for my future profession because it is just something that I love. I was also immensely inspired to pursue my love for reading and writing and will continue working towards my dream. This trip showed me how much beauty and truth the world contains in something as simple as walking down the cobblestone streets of London.
