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I've been starting to count down the days until September of 2015. I guess it's enough that I can actually have this to countdown to; to know that each day that passes means it's one day closer to me leaving. At the same time, over 300 days to go until September seems like an eternity. 

Lately some people involved in my life have made some pretty questionable decisions, which is hard to sit by and watch. A positive of that is that I feel so grateful and lucky to be able to have this oppurtunity to pursue my education further, to live in my favorite city in the world and to travel around my favorite continent. For years this is what I have craved so badly. It's what I have wanted so much and there are very few things that would stop me from doing this. For me, a constant goal for me was to live in central London, do something I love and just travel. Travel is not a luxury to me; it is a necessity. It is something that I have to do, or else I'm sure I'd go insane. Staying stagnant in one place, or even one country seems hellish to me. I've been in my current city for just over a year and a half, and now with the impending move to London, I am restless and anxious. It feels like torture to wait a year to finally get to where I want to be, to where I have worked so hard to get to. To be so close to achieving something, to have it dangling in front of me...but wait, you cannot grasp it yet. 

School and various things keep me distracted for the most part. Future trips I am planning also keep me distracted because I know I'll be able to quench the thirst of my desire to travel. Even with distractions, the want and need for London creeps its way in and seems to weave itself like a thread through my daily life and routine. 

I try to tell myself that having this opportunity is an incredible feat - one that I couldn't have pictured for myself just a few years ago. I dreamt of it, sure, but they were just dreams; no basis in my reality. It makes me feel incredibly lucky to have worked so hard and gotten here, to have the chance to pursue my dream, my ultimate goal. So many people I know cannot, or will not pursue what they want for varying reasons. Or they live a life they simply live because they feel obligated to, not because they want to. I am so grateful for my travels, because traveling has opened by eyes to so many things and has made me into who I am. It has showed me what I truly want, and to sacrifice things along the way, but in the end, it is worth it. 

I have never pursued a traditional path in anything. Not while I was young, not in college, not in my impending graduation. While other people seemingly have a checklist...4 years in college, meet someone, fall in love, get engaged, get married, buy a house...I have never seen the solace in that for myself. Those are not wants for myself in the present, they feel like obligations in place by our society that I have no interest in. I am focusing wholly on myself, and what I want. I am allowing myself to be completely selfish, to fill myself with all of my ambitions and the determination to achieve them. 

Knowing this, it is no wonder I have such an intense desire to leave, and leave now. I just want to surround myself with everything I love, everything I crave, everything I need.

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." 

Iceland

Image via here

Iceland is somewhere that's been popping up in my life a lot as of late which I'm taking as a sign that I need to travel there immediately. This small country is a fairly quick flight from London, and is on my 'must travel to' list once I get settled in in the city.

There isn't really anything I don't want to see. I want to explore Reykjavik extensively, see all of the waterfalls and geysers, do the famous Golden Circle tour, see glaciers, explore the smaller cities and towns, try to see the Northern Lights, The Blue Lagoon...the list goes on. From everything I've read and seen on Iceland, it is a truly beautiful and magical place offering extensive topography from huge glaciers to erupting volcanoes and everything in between. 

To be able to visit this incredible destination is something I hope to do someday, and I hope being a relatively short distance from the UK I hope I can visit it several times during my time in England.

Welcome to London

Image via here.

So about 2 weeks ago I, the day after my last post, was heading into school for one of my classes. I always take the bus and check my phone to pass the time. I checked my e-mail as I normally do, and I saw it: a message from the University of Westminster. I thought it was a message regarding my transcripts or something since it had only been about 10 days since I sent in everything. So I opened it and read: I am pleased to inform you that the University has made you a conditional offer of a place on the above course starting in September 2015. So, in short:

I'M OFFICIALLY MOVING TO LONDON!

I was so shocked when I read of my acceptance. It had only been mere days since I had submitted my application, but there it was! My acceptance. Of course, I called my mom right away to tell her. After the words came out of my mouth, I got emotional and started to cry. I probably looked like such a freak crying on the bus but whatever, I didn't care. I didn't really have time to process any of it as I had to rush to class as soon as I got off the bus. It was really hard to pay attention in class and I was just trying to digest the news, and figuring out who I should tell and when and all of that. I really wasn't surprised at the conditional offer. I haven't finished my degree here yet, so I figured that I would get a conditional offer. As long as I keep my GPA at 3.0 or above, I'm good. In recent days there has been some confusion with the school about my GPA being current or final and they changed my offer to unconditional, then back to conditional once they found out my GPA wasn't my final one, but the GPA I have now. I think that is all settled now, though so we're good. 

It's been a pretty surreal past several days. A lot of people congratulating me which makes it that more real. A lot of breaking the news to friends and family, which made it more real too. Even still, it's very surreal and I have moments of intense realization that hit me and sends me into a mix of happy/excited/emotional feelings.

So now I am working on the financial end of it. Trying to get my GPA up as much as possible so I can apply for as many scholarships, and researching getting loans as well. I think that will be the biggest hurdle, and the most vital to me actually moving. It helps to have a lot of time to devote to that, though. Which is why I applied so early anyway, so so far everything is on track and going to plan.

Slightly off topic, but today a new Taylor Swift song is coming out called Welcome to New York. Taylor gave a little insight into this song which is about her move to NYC. I really related to what she said, but of course for myself it is London, not New York that I relate it to. She says:

"New York has been an important landscape and location for the story of my life in the last couple of years. I dreamt about moving to New York, I obsessed over moving to New York, and then I did it, and the inspiration that I found in that city is kind of hard to describe and hard to compare to any other force of inspiration I’ve ever experienced in my life; it’s like an electric city. And I approached moving there with such wide eyed optimism. And I sort of saw it as a place of endless potential and possibilities."

I definitely feel this way about moving. London has played an important role in my life for the past few years. I've dreamed and obsessed about moving to London since 2010. London as a city inspires me, and my love for it is almost indescribable. The feelings I have toward that city is unlike any other feelings I've had for any other place I have traveled to. Looking to the future, I view my move to England with intense optimism and see it as a place where anything and everything can happen.

I'll be making the move in September of 2015. And now the hardest part is waiting.

Notting Hill

A peek into my favorite neighborhood in London, Notting Hill. These photos were taken on my last visit to London 2 years ago. On this trip I was finally able to explore more of Notting Hill. I was with a small group and we took the tube to Notting Hill Gate and explored. I fell more in love with every step I took, and wanted to capture every inch of this part of London with my camera. Being with a group, and on a schedule I was limited to how much time I could spend photographing this neighborhood. Constantly walking, trying to find the nearest tube station, compromised the quality of the photos...something that bothers me to this day. I have many more snapshots that had the potential to be good, but were ruined for the sake of trying to be somewhere I can't even remember. I look forward to the days where I can explore every bit of this part of the city, by myself, better camera in hand.