It’s that time of the year again when websites and blogs post their “Best of <insert year>” lists. Since I’ve been at LSE for only ten weeks, I thought it’d be more appropriate to title this blog within the time frame of my first term. Also, this list is not really restricted to memories, but just stuff that I’ve learned or noticed. Essentially, this title was chosen more for the gimmick of [kinda] having an alliteration rather than anything else really. And hopefully that all made sense…
Anywho, here are my top five Michaelmas term “memories”:
5. Adapting to London weather. Lately, the temperature has been around 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). When I lived in Los Angeles, the coldest it’d get during the day in winter would be 15.5 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) and even then that’d be a really cold day. Also, when it rains in Los Angeles (which is about twice a year), it’s like the end of the world. Here in London, it lightly rains frequently enough so that I always just carry an umbrella with me. Living in London has allowed me to get used to cold weather and not be as annoyed with the rain as I used to be.
4. Going on the Harry Potter Studio Tour. This trip was easily one of the best things I’ve ever done. Harry Potter is awesome and I love movies, so seeing two of my favorite things put together almost made my brain implode. If you’re a Harry Potter and/or movie fan, the studio tour is a must-see.
3. Joining LSE’s Drama Society and attending weekly improv workshops. Even though I lived in Los Angeles for four years, I never really did anything related to acting let alone improv. Going to improv every Thursday night has been an awesome way to end my week. I was absolutely terrified going to the first workshop by myself, but now I look forward to every workshop!
2. Embarking on adventures throughout London. I’ve gone to a BBC Orchestra concert, the London Jazz Festival, a chocolate festival, Winter Wonderland, museums, cafes…London has so much to offer. Before I came here, my friends and family back home wondered how I could enjoy my time in London while on a student budget. There are actually a lot of free opportunities throughout the city – you just have to look out for them!
1. Realizing that LSE and the MSc Global Politics program are perfect for me (awww how precious). I’m going to be upfront…I actually accepted an offer at another school and fully intended to go there. I visited the school, accepted a housing offer, told everyone that I was going to go there – the works. But for some reason, my gut told me that I had to go to LSE. So at the relatively last minute, I decided to change which graduate school I was going to attend and went with LSE. It was literally one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Lesson learned: always listen to your gut.
In reality, there are way more things I could put on this list and perhaps these really aren’t my top five. The point is – my first term has been an absolute blast. I can’t wait to see what happens after the holidays!
