Life after London
Alright, a “couple weeks” blog hiatus turned into, like, a month and a half blog hiatus. But that’s ok. I’ve been busy working and reading and hanging with my friends and family, uninterrupted. I’m happy to get back to this, though, and remember what exactly I wrote about before this turned into a travel blog. But overall, life after London has been pretty great, and I love summers in Cincinnati.
My life in the last month and a half has been slow-moving, but I’ve needed that after five straight months of constantly doing things. I’m really proud that I did something new basically every day I was in Europe, even on random school days in rainy London. But it has been refreshing to be home and take a step back. To sleep in, to read books, to say I’m going to sit on the couch all day without feeling guilty. My friend Kevon and I are slowly making our way through Cincy breweries. I have been able to get some traveling in, too, by visiting my friend Rebecca at her co-op in Savannah, Georgia, and also going to Chicago last weekend with my family to finally see Hamilton!
And yet, it’s been difficult to not slip entirely back into a routine where I forget about everything that has happened to me. The political “discussions” I used to get into with my baby boomer coworkers somehow chip away at me more now; how can I go back to this dissent after five months of being surrounded by the most celebrated multiculturalism I’ve ever experienced? I don’t mean to sound lofty, because I am still young and haven’t experienced a lot of the hardships that my conservative extended family or coworkers have experienced. And I’ve also unfortunately realized that equality can come at a price for many Europeans who are also becoming angrier at the state of their nations.
But the world is more tolerant, more hopeful, and less terrifying than some people I’m surrounded by would like to believe. And that’s not being naive.
And most importantly, travel is not something I’ve gotten out of my system as a young person and can now be content without. I’m excited to make travel, and movement, a progressive and constant part of my life. I know I’ll be getting the “what are you going to do after graduation?” question more and more as this year goes on, and to be honest, I’m still not sure. I may take some time off before I get a job or go to graduate school. The world is wide and I’ve barely experienced any of it. Cheers to more adventures.
