The Final Post

So, remember when I said that I had a flight home on Friday? Well, I did. Then, on Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that the London airports (including Heathrow—the airport I was flying out of) were going to be OPENING that night!! If anything has been an Easter miracle for me while in London, it’s been this. Finally, finally finally, I was set to go home, and it felt wonderful. Especially because my brilliant father got me a flight home on THURSDAY! The airports opened up tons of new flights, so I was able to change my flight and get home a whole day earlier! Fun fact is that I’m actually on the airplane right now writing all this out… So while you’re down there, I am up here, in an airplane, sitting approximately two feet away (I’m in the window and no one is sitting in the middle seat, hallelujah) from a strange Indian man that I’m pretty sure has been watching all of the episodes of Gossip Girl thus far. There is an hour and a half til we land and I have to pee really bad… but of course the fasten seat belt sign is on….so in order to distract my mind from the impending doom that will result if they don’t turn the fasten seat belt sign off soon, I will take you back to my final hours in my love, London.

Wednesday, I woke up around 1PM-ish and then Caitlin, Emma, and I went to Ben’s Cookie’s in Covent Garden, where Caitlin was, as usual, bombarded by a group of pigeons looking for a little love—one of which had a club foot. After Caitlin finally fed the handicapped pigeon some of her cookie, Emma and I went to Anthropologie to do some last minute London shopping. I got a bunch of really cute things on sale and then came back to get my final £5 for dinner. After devotional, we went to dinner at GBK where I got my usual BBQ burger, and then we went off to see Mamma Mia! We got great seats—4^th row—for about £27 when they were originally £67. Student discounts are just the greatest. The show was kind of weird—the singers weren’t the best, but it was a fun experience, and one of the dads was super hot. At the end, when the cast did their finales, the whole theater turned into a dance party, and Katie, Britin, and I stood up dancing like we were complete idiots, but I loved every second of it. After, we went to Cool Britannia to get candy and we attempted to go find a Karaoke Bar, but we soon gave up hope when we realized that we didn’t know where a Karaoke Bar was—and the only people to ask were the strange Arab men in Cool Britannia who were trying to make small talk with us by asking us what our “good names” were.

So, we came home and I started finishing up packing. Before I knew it, it was 4AM and Caitlin and I called a taxi that came to pick us up and take us to the airport. I parted ways with Caitlin as she left for Terminal 5, and then in due time I made my way with my cart holding my three suitcases, large carry on, and purse, to my gate.

Leaving London has been such a weird experience. Now that I’m gone, it honestly feels like it was all a dream. I’m sad that it’s all over, but I feel so excited for life again. I feel like I have so much potential right now, which is such a switch from when I first arrived in London. I learned so much about the world and myself, and I met people who have changed my life for the better. And when I mean people, I mostly mean these three:

Britin:

You are the nicest person that I know, and the best thing is is that your kindness is genuine. You’re not nice because it makes you look better, or because you’re trying to teach everyone around you a lesson. You are just a genuinely good and kind person, and you care about the people around you. You, of everyone I have met, have taught me what kindness really means. You make me laugh and you always make me happier when you’re around. And you always laugh at my jokes and put on little charades when I ask you to. I love you very much and I can’t wait to see you soon.

Emma:

You are such a beautiful person and you have made me feel the same way about myself. I’ve told you this before, but you are someone who really has true class, and I see you as someone who is very smart and supportive. Now that I’ve met you, I will probably continue to come to you with my problems looking for wisdom—or maybe a few good quotes ;) You are incredibly kind and have made me realize that I deserve so much more from life than what I’ve been settling for. You have made me want to be a better person, and you have proven to be something that I’ve been looking for for a long time at BYU—a true, genuine friend. You mean so much to me, and you have helped me in so many ways without even realizing it. You are one of the main reasons that I have been able to get back up on my feet, ready to start living again. I know that you are going to be one of those people in my life that I will never forget.

Caitlin:

Caitlin, Caits, life partner. Thanks for going camera shopping with me, even if it meant looking like my girlfriend, and thanks for letting me wear the same outfits as you. And, of course, thanks for taking prom pictures with me in front of the Eiffel tower and in our hotel room in York. You’re the best. But in all seriousness, I’ve told my family this before—I’m so happy that you entered my life. Maybe its because I feel like you and I are in similar situations in our lives or because you seem to be someone that truly cares about me. Either way, I am truly, truly so thankful that I met you. You have been such a good friend to me, and you have this way of lifting me up whenever I’m upset or whenever I’m having a crap day. You are such a strong person, and you make me want to emulate that strength. You, of all people, have helped me to know who I am, and know what I deserve. You have taught me to trust myself and to be strong in the face of opposition. You make me feel like a good person. Honestly, you do. And there are only a handful of people on this Earth who have been able to truly do that. You make me love being who I am and you have taught me to be unashamed of being different. You have changed my life for the better, and I love and thank you so much for that.

Now, I’m back in the U.S. (yes I’m finishing this post at a different time then when I started it), and I feel like London happened years ago. They say that you don’t know what you really have til its gone. Well, that’s true. I forgot how mundane Provo can be compared to the exciting city of London. Now that I’m here I cant help reflecting upon my favorite things in London—things that I’m starting to miss so much:

the tube

being minutes away from Big Ben

Borough Market

The Waffle Man at Whiteley’s

My Dorm 4 Divas

being able to walk downstairs in my pajamas to my classes

Terri’s cooking

Monday Movie Nights

Seeing a broadway show whenever I want

Cath Kidston

Red Velvet and Black Bottom cupcakes from Hummingbird bakery

Red Phonebooths

The Home, or rather the library

watching Caitlin get annoyed with Daniel Cooper

Hyde Park

Kellen

taking a taxi when I’m feeling lazy

Caitlin and Emma

Nando’s and GBK

eating 3000 plus calories a day

Food and Wine

Oxford Street

My cave

When getting an email felt like Christmas

Susan and Roger

going crazy and belting out Celine Dion

waiting for Ashton Kutcher to come out and Punk me

eating Subway on every day trip

sitting next to Macy on every bus trip, and her always getting mad at me for having my pillow touch her

Tony—HA JUST KIDDING!

Dave’s obsession with ethnic peoples

Kit Kat Chunks, when they’re actually called Kit Kat Chunkys

Camden Market

Queensway and Bayswater

Having my snuggie be my constant companion

Eating food in my bed every night despite everyones commands not to

British accents

Harrods and all of its magic

Primark and TopShop

disrupting the social order of the London Centre

Portabello Road

Britin singing In the Dark of the Night

dressing Euro chic because I can

eating Ben and Jerry’s like it was nobody’s business

living with a few of the greatest people you’ll ever find

being incandescently happy

In conclusion to this final blog post, let me just say that London was the experience of a lifetime, and I will never, never forget it. I will never truly be able to express in words what it was like to live there for a semester, and what it was like to go through all of the experiences that I did. I can accurately state though, that I have grown as a person, and I have taken one more step (a big one at that) in taking my life where I want it to go. This was the story of my life in London—an account of the places, the events, the stories, and the people. And now, it is finished. However, greatness doesn’t end here. This is only the diving board. I’ve only just begun.