One Year in London

Today (18 January 2015) marks the one year mark that I took a deep breath and got on a plane in Las Vegas headed for London. It was the  start of a big adventure and the beginning of what I considered to be a new chapter in my life. I had high hopes despite never having visited London and going there knowing only one person in the entire country. One year later, I can say, without hesitation, that it is all I had hoped for and more. I have seen things I never believed I’d ever see, been places I’d only fantasized about, and met fun and interesting people at every turn. I didn’t really have to learn to love this place; loving London was practically immediate.

I look back at this adventure and know I have no regrets about taking the risk of getting rid of virtually all my belongings, quitting my job, leaving my friends and family, and flying off to a foreign country to further my education both academically and culturally. I lived the majority of my life being super practical and following a certain path that never seemed to suit me. These were choices I made but maybe not always the right choices for me. Today I can say that the one big risk I took has been the best thing that could have possibly happened.

My mother died at a fairly young age. I sometimes wonder if she had followed all or any of her dreams, if she lived the life she had hoped she’d live. Sadly, I don’t think I ever asked her about that. I should have. I also wonder what she would have said about my decision to fly away from the United States and try to start a life in a new country. I hope she would have supported it, or at least the idea that I finally followed a dream. I think she would have. My father, step-mom, and daughter do and that means the world to me.

I intend to keep this short and sweet. I have a paper to rewrite and dissertation to work on and employment to find. This is just me celebrating a fantastic year and thanking you all for being part of the journey! I hope that, in some way, it might inspire others to take a deep breath and go for one of their dreams.

Cheers!