"Woke up in London yesterday
Found myself in the city, near Piccadilly
Don't really know how I got here"
Okay, so maybe I actually do know how I got to London (obviously I took The Chunnel) but at the same time, how did I get to London? It was only a year ago that I was sitting in class, doing my best to
"I got some pictures on my phone
New names and numbers that I don't know
Addresses to places like Abbey Road"
Fast forward from last Thanksgiving to last March. At this point, I was signed up to come study here in Paris and was sitting in my study abroad prep class, looking around at a room full of strangers (literally STRANGE), wondering how on earth I was ever going to survive. But seriously, I couldn't have handpicked a more perfect group to share this experience with. From the minute we landed here in France, we have been a family (pardon the cheesy, yet completely accurate cliche). Whether it's struggling to order a crepe in French or tripping on the [beautiful] cobblestone roads, there are the lovliest people right beside me who have done the exact same thing. And at the end of the day, when I open Instagram and see the photos my newest friends have posted--with or without me--I can't help but be overwhelmed with gratitude for such wonderful people to share this experience with.
"Day turns to night, night turns to whatever we want
We're young enough to say
Oh, this has gotta be the good life"
The good life. That's exactly what I think every time I round the corner and see the Eiffel Tower looming above me. It's what I think every time I discover a new pastry at the shop around the corner. It's what I think every time the nuns in my French class burst into laughter at someone's miserable attempt at speaking the language. Every time I see the guy at the crepe stand smile because he sees me coming for my third crepe that week. Every time I see the bridges full of locks, each representing a couple madly in love with each other. Every time my host parents give me another [french] book about the places I should visit. Every time I eat a macaron. Every time I drink Angelina hot chocolate.
I know the title tricked you into reading this post, promising to be about England (Angleterre, in French). A blog post about a magical place where everyone speaks the same language as me. Where they have turkish delight (which by the way, is good enough that I would definitely join an evil queen for it). Where there are bright red telephone booths and double-decker busses. But if given the opportunity to tell you about my favorite moment in London, it wouldn't be the performance of Les Miserables that we went to at the Queen's Theater--even though it was literally chilling. Nor would it be the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, where I got to see the sets, costumes and props from the filming of Harry Potter (not to mention RIDE A NIMBUS 2000)--even though I'm pretty sure that was the day that all of my dreams came true. No, my absolute favorite moment from London was without a doubt, the moment, standing on Westminster Bridge, looking down into the [disgustingly dirty] Thames River, and realizing just how good life really is.
And it was in that moment when I realized just how much of a gift the present really is. I was literally jealous of myself for having such a great life. Not just because I was in London, taking a vacation from Paris, might I add. But because I get to experience this beautiful world that was created for us. Because I literally have the best family on this planet. Because I get to love and be loved. Because the sun comes up every single day. Because the leaves change color in the fall. Because snow creates a glistening wonderland in the winter. Because the trees always blossom again in the spring. Because even the smallest of things give me reason to smile.
The good life. That's exactly what I think every time I round the corner and see the Eiffel Tower looming above me. It's what I think every time I discover a new pastry at the shop around the corner. It's what I think every time the nuns in my French class burst into laughter at someone's miserable attempt at speaking the language. Every time I see the guy at the crepe stand smile because he sees me coming for my third crepe that week. Every time I see the bridges full of locks, each representing a couple madly in love with each other. Every time my host parents give me another [french] book about the places I should visit. Every time I eat a macaron. Every time I drink Angelina hot chocolate.
And that is all I could think of as I looked down at the Thames last weekend in London, blue skies above me, great friends beside me, and another incredible city around me.
I know the title tricked you into reading this post, promising to be about England (Angleterre, in French). A blog post about a magical place where everyone speaks the same language as me. Where they have turkish delight (which by the way, is good enough that I would definitely join an evil queen for it). Where there are bright red telephone booths and double-decker busses. But if given the opportunity to tell you about my favorite moment in London, it wouldn't be the performance of Les Miserables that we went to at the Queen's Theater--even though it was literally chilling. Nor would it be the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, where I got to see the sets, costumes and props from the filming of Harry Potter (not to mention RIDE A NIMBUS 2000)--even though I'm pretty sure that was the day that all of my dreams came true. No, my absolute favorite moment from London was without a doubt, the moment, standing on Westminster Bridge, looking down into the [disgustingly dirty] Thames River, and realizing just how good life really is.
I can't explain what it was, but in that moment, the past rushed forward, the present stood still, and the future drew near, coming together into one perfect moment of clarity. In that moment, I was reminded of all of my favorite memories from the past. The simple ones, like playing in a pile of leaves with my siblings, eating fresh picked peas with my dad, and reading books with my mom.
In that moment, the potential offered by my future became clear. My mind took off in a whirlwind of thoughts for what school was going to be like next semester and the semesters after that. Thinking about all of the people I would get to meet. All of the things I want to do The silly things. Like having a Harry Potter movie marathon with my roommates. Like having a French party with my study abroad group where we make crepes and greet each other with a kiss on the cheek.
And it was in that moment when I realized just how much of a gift the present really is. I was literally jealous of myself for having such a great life. Not just because I was in London, taking a vacation from Paris, might I add. But because I get to experience this beautiful world that was created for us. Because I literally have the best family on this planet. Because I get to love and be loved. Because the sun comes up every single day. Because the leaves change color in the fall. Because snow creates a glistening wonderland in the winter. Because the trees always blossom again in the spring. Because even the smallest of things give me reason to smile.
I truly hope that I haven't bored you to tears making you read about how I literally have nothing to complain about. Because that wasn't the point. The point of me writing this post wasn't to gloat about just how good my life is, but to illustrate just how good life is. You don't need to be in Paris or London to find something good about your life. You just have to take a look around and I promise that you will find something. It isn't the big things that make life worth living. It's not the extravagant vacations or the newest iPhone. It's not the things we have countdowns for. The things that make life good are the little things that happen every day that we tend to look over. But when it's all said and done, all of those seemingly meaningless things will come together to create a good life, and I don't want you to have to come all the way to England to realize that like I did (although it's not a bad place to come to that realization).
Because after all, "THIS HAS GOTTA BE THE GOOD, GOOD LIFE."
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