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hoffmasa

May 8th, 2014

The Final Stretch…

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

hoffmasa

May 8th, 2014

The Final Stretch…

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

As I am anxiously waiting for my LSE exams to begin in t-minus two weeks, my friends from my home university back in Virginia have already finished their exams. Finished! The Facebook posts of joy and celebration mock me as I go to revise yet another topic in a long to-do list. This is the exact reverse of September, when I was lounging home in Texas counting down the weeks until my departure to London while friends were back in the day-to-day of the fall semester. The grass is always greener on the other side.

As much as I’ve been complaining, my final exam schedule is actually kind of…nice? Is that an appropriate word? I begin on May 21, and end June 18, with about 1 exam every week. I know there are many that are envious of me.

With all of this time, I’ve had more than a few opportunities to reflect back on a year that is somehow almost finished. I am happy with my decision to keep a journal, because reading back to my first few weeks at the LSE shows me just how far I’ve come. As cliched as it sounds, you truly don’t know what you are capable of until you relocate to one of the largest cities in the world, by yourself, at age 20. I have grown more than I ever thought possible and I’m sure when I return home in just under two months my journey will become even more apparent. At the end of September, I left all my friends at my home university behind as I moved to a new country, not knowing a single person, with two 60-pound suitcases and a serious love of all things British. In just a few months I would learn how to conquer public transportation, become more comfortable with my larger-than-life city surroundings, and discover my independence and learn to embrace it. Talking with my parents over Skype, it quickly became apparent to me just how much I had seen and done in such a short time.

It was not all easy. There were times when it was very hard, and when I yearned for my comfortable and familiar bubble back home. But I am so happy it wasn’t easy, because I never would have learned so much about myself. LSE helped me discover my passion for public health and development with the help of amazing professors and thought-provoking readings. London pushed me to discover my independence and confidence to venture into new situations, and to just grab my purse, go out, and EXPLORE. I knew coming to London for one year of my undergraduate was taking a giant leap into the unknown, and I am so glad I jumped.

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hoffmasa

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