The London Honors Course and follow up travel abroad surprised me in more ways than one. For starters, it served as a medium between two very different course topics. Who would’ve thought that myself and a peer could be looking at the Cullinan I and II diamonds on display in the Tower of London after just learning about them a month prior? Or viewing the memorial of Cecil Rhodes in Westminster Abbey, knowing now that he founded the former largest diamond mining company, DeBeers. And as I prepare to take Anthropology next semester, perhaps my time spent in the Natural History museum analyzing skulls and skeletons of past human ancestors will be of good use.
My time spent abroad in London has solidified one thing for myself: I love experiencing different cultures. Thus, I know for certain I would love to continue my studies outside of Columbus at some point in my academic career, whether that be going back to London again to delve deeper into material related to my major (perhaps at the London School of Economics), or heading to a completely new destination. Additionally, being immersed in such a big city with a large fashion presence has also confirmed my decision to minor in Fashion and Retail Studies. There is something about being surrounded by a community of well-dressed people of all ages and walking into a lavish store such as Harrods that makes me want to jump right in.
The most important takeaway for me, though, is the importance of living in every moment, and taking every opportunity presented to seize information about what surrounds you. I was so happy that we often had guides right in front of us to explain what we were seeing, rather than listening to explanation on an audio tour. Because of this, everything we were learning felt more genuine, and the group heard facts that many other tourists would not. Though I appreciated being required to document at least some portion of the day, it was nice to be without wifi most of the time; it forced myself to pay attention to what was going on in front of me, and I enjoyed myself much more.
As a final note, I’d like to stress the need to getting a little lost. My times spent off the predicted path happened to be my fondest memories on the trip, such as wandering down a designated graffiti tunnel and stumbling upon a organized group of Santas on bicycles. Going into the new year, I’d like to get lost a little bit more with my time on campus, and hopefully discover new information about something or myself.
