Bliss.

As mentioned in my previous post, I had come down with an awful cold at the end of last week. After visiting Globe Theater and Parliament I quarantined myself to my tiny room much similar to the size of a jail cell although decorated much nicer I like to think. I didn't waste all of my time sleeping but I surely did not have the ambition to catch up on any school work either. That's always the kicker. When I'm feeling good I don't want to waste my time here doing frivolous things, I want to explore! I mean, yes, I am here to study and I do take that seriously but my work will get done irregardless so why should I let the thought of it ruin a chance to learn about what cannot be taught inside a classroom? I make a good point, eh? Back to the point.  Over forty-hours without leaving my flat, much less my room. And I won't tell you that none of that time consisted of showering because that would be gross, and I am a human being not a filthy animal.

Sunday rolled around. I woke up feeling rejuvenated and even somewhat joyous but the motivation to do much of anything was still lacking. I did however watch over twenty episodes of The Hills as well as draw and color a very mediocre picture of a sugar skull. I am sure those are not the images that come to mind when you picture the daily activities of someone who studies abroad. It's the sad truth. Not every day can be filled with adventure, or at least I tell myself that.

Today, as you may or may not know depending on when you are reading this, is Monday. I have a lecture from 9-11 followed by a seminar from 11-12. This class is Issues in International Politics. I have mentioned my extreme dislike for the teaching method here already so I won't delve into that, but today was different. Midway through lecture a fire alarm sounded sending mass hoards of students outside of the building in no real panic just excitement to be freed from the excitement presented in the video on Guatemala that had recently entered it's tenth boring minute. After standing outside eavesdropping on numerous conversations we were allowed back into the building and I trudged to the room in which my seminar is held.This is where my wonderful day began. (Note: As I say that I realize that I failed to mention that somehow, for some reason, today was one of the greatest days I have ever experienced in my life to date.) In our seminar we were each given articles to read and analyze critically in order to see how we would be able to provide an annotation for them. Although the actual annotation was not required for this exercise I went ahead and wrote one because they are fairly easy to do. When the professor came to me and asked what I had gathered from the article I told her that I wrote an annotation for it already and read it for her. To my surprise she seemed oddly taken aback by it and proceeded to praise me for my quick and concise work. I was pleased with my work don't get me wrong but she acted as if I had just written a Nobel Peace Prize worthy piece of literature which clearly was not the case. 

My day continued when I left seminar and found my way to Sarah's apartment. I had cooked a couple of meals over the past few weeks so she felt it necessary to return the favor and therefore lunch was on her today. As we sat in her kitchen we were bombarded in the worst way, by a freaking pigeon. I would like to let you in on a secret. I HATE PIGEONS. Like, more than anything else in this world. They are gross, disrespectful creatures that only care about eating, and although that description probably fits a handful of people you know they are so much worse. I laughed hysterically as the pigeon tried to wiggle it's way through the window without Sarah noticing until it was halfway through. Luckily her shrieks were enough to scare it off. As the sun shined through the now nearly closed window Sarah and I decided that the day was too beautiful to waste on things such as homework, laundry, and any other daunting responsibility. But what to do? Never having a concrete plan, we decided to venture into central London and decide where to go from there.

We arrived in Waterloo Station and made our way outside to a map. We stood there for a few minutes planning a route to head north to Piccadilly Circus (not an actual circus). As Sarah attempted to ingrain the map images into her head I sang her sweet melodies only to soon be mocked by a homeless man who then continued to scream out how I was the problem with society today. While this may or may not be true, not even these harsh words could stop me from having the not so private concert that I somehow had no inhibitions about. As we began out adventure Sarah thought that Big Ben and the London Eye looked too picturesque to not capture so she stopped herself as I continued to cross the street. As she did this, her foot nicked a bicyclists wheel knocking him and his bicycle to the ground. Not knowing what to do, I naturally continued walking and pretended to not know her. What else are friends for? We walked around Piccadilly Circus and China town for awhile, after having a quick stop at a frozen yogurt joint and basically explored the territory more than doing anything of real substance. 

The walk back from Piccadilly Circus is where my joy truly set in. We found ourselves in an area by the name of Convent Garden. Here there were steel sculptures spelling out the word "love" which were donned with silver hearts pad locked onto them. These hearts contained messages from various people to the ones they love, about the ones they love, and about love in general. The background noise of this beautiful area filled with cobblestones and shrubbery was an elder man singing love ballads accompanied by his acoustic guitar. In this very moment I felt infinite. No, I am not Stephen Chbosky but those words that he wrote were accurate for the way I had felt. I knew that at that point in time I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Maybe it was the sentiment of love itself that made me feel this way. Maybe it was the setting, the scenery, the music. Maybe it was the way that people looked at each other. It was quite possibly a mixture of these things, but I believe it was more than that. I finally feel truly happy with my life and the direction that it's headed. This experience has given me a chance to reflect on my life and those who are in it. As cliched as it may be, I am blessed. I have a family who supports me and all of the wild decision that I make on a whim (like moving to London for instance), friends who make it a point to remain in my life during all of this when at times it would be easier to stop making attempts at contact even if we fail to remember that there are other forms of communication besides Snapchat (Alex, if you're looking for a shout out, here it is), and a college that I miss dearly filled with professors who challenge but believe in me and have made me realize my true potential. My heart is in a wonderful place right now as well which leaves me no room for pessimistic feelings of any sort and for that I am thankful because usually when I start to feel this way I would become fearful that the feeling would not last, but why should it not? I am in control of my emotions and feeling this blissful is something that I cannot let fear drive out of me.