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I’ve a Feeling we’re not in Kensington Anymore
I ventured out of my posh little West London bubble yesterday to East London, specifically the Shoreditch neighborhood–not to be confused with “Shortage,” which is what I thought it was when British people say it. While probably not as famous as Camden Town, which I’ve yet to go to, the market on Brick Lane is probably one of my favorite…
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We’ll Always Have Paris
I am exhausted but happy. This weekend my program took the Eurostar to Paris, which is such an easy and sleek (but can be expensive) way to travel. I spent the entire weekend asking “parlez vous anglais?” to everyone because I don’t know a lick of French and was quickly reminded how easy I have it England. Paris reminds me…
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There and Back Again
It’s dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to. But doing so may sweep you into literary heaven, like it did me yesterday. Although it was a chill-to-the-bone, rain-snow-and-hail-drenched kind of day, I managed to spend most of…
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Week One of Becoming British
’Ello from London! It has officially been a week since I left for England. Today is my first day of classes! Ah! Things might actually settle down a bit now, because this week has been completely full of “orientation activities” such as a walking tour of the neighborhood, a bus tour of the city, a river cruise down the Thames,…
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Merry & Bright
Merry Christmas! It’s been a busy few weeks. I finished finals on December 14th and have been mostly working the past week at the alterations shop. My finals went well and overall I really enjoyed my classes of Colonial American Lit, Business Writing, Professional Writing Cultures, Environmental Science, and Philosophy of Logic. I also loved living in a house with…
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The Quality of Gratitude
“Of my own life and writings I estimate the giving thanks part, with what it infers, as essentially the best item. I should say the quality of gratitude rounds the whole emotional nature; I should say love and faith would quite lack vitality without it.” It’s turkey week, people! I’ve been reading Whitman this week and thinking about gratitude from…
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How Firm Thy Friendship
As my friends and I rushed the field on Saturday night after our one point win over Penn State, I was overwhelmed with inexplicable emotion. It felt electric, maybe. I feel that way while I’m at concerts too, but this was a little different. It was similar to our win last year over Michigan, when we also rushed the field.…
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My Sister Peyton
It’s been a while! I took a break from writing for a couple weeks for midterms. Today, despite the constant whirlwind of political calamity I could comment on or whatever, I’d rather diverge and talk about how cool my sister is. My eighteen-year-old sister Peyton visited me this weekend for kind of the first time ever (without the rest of…
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Not Quite a Millennial
I hate the word millennial. “Millennial” is really not a word we 18-34 year olds use to describe ourselves, anyway. It’s usually used as a cop-out for people over 35 to blanket the self-entitlement and liberal narcissism of young people. We young people say the same things about Baby Boomers, of course, and I won’t pretend that we don’t. But…
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Twenty-One
I turned 21 on Saturday! Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I don’t feel any different, but does anyone really feel their age? I’m convinced this is going to be an awesome year, though. I have supportive family and friends, and a whole bunch of things to look forward to. So here’s a short (but not comprehensive) bucket list I…
