Well. My ten minute stretch of anguished staring at the blank screen in front of me has done nothing to dissipate this awful case of writer's block. Even my go-to writing music (Tschaikowsky's Swan Lake) is not getting my mental juices flowing! Is this really how I'm going to start off my foray into the blogosphere?
Honestly, the idea of writing a blog upsets my perfectionist (and academic) sensibilities. Somewhere between my college freshman year and now, I've lost the ability to write freely - in a stream of consciousness, if you will - without having the overwhelming urge to edit and revise. Even now, writing this paragraph, I'm consumed with the need to edit, the need to sound intelligent, and the need to obtain written perfection. But alas! these needs must be denied. Nobody wants to read a dreary and/or contrived blog and I promise to try my best to avoid those pitfalls. I want this blog to explode with life. My goal, like any author, is to bring you into my world and my experiences - the good, the bad, and everything in-between. In the end, my time abroad in London will be an educational experience for us all, but perhaps not in the way you might expect.
This then brings me to the title of my blog - An Education - inspired by a movie I watched a few months ago, also titled An Education. Set in 1960s England, the movie follows 16-year-old Jenny as she struggles to choose between a life of academics and a life of carefree glamour. A student at a rigorous prep school, Jenny is on the fast track to earning admission to Oxford....that is, until creepy, yet charming David shows up on the scene. He and his attractively stylish friends introduce Jenny to a glittering world full of exciting new experiences. Here, in this new world, Jenny indulges her desires, explores her surroundings without parental or academic constraints, and lives without regrets. Fully enriched from her adventures, Jenny chooses to return to her studies and pursue a degree at Oxford.
Because of the Communication major in me, I was compelled to construct some weird parallel between the movie and my own life. In many ways, I relate to the main character. I, too, am an extremely studious individual hell-bent on being as successful as I possibly can. Nothing stands between me and my studies (seriously, I'm the person who is finished with a paper at least a week in advance so that I can do my editing and revising thing). While there is nothing wrong with my ambition and dedication, I feel as though I owe it to myself to see another side of life. Therefore, my time in England is my "David." I plan on having a full-on, hot and heavy fling with adventure and I couldn't be more excited. Everything I've known, I'm throwing it out the window. Books can only teach you so much; it takes real-life experience to teach you the rest. I hope that at the end of my travels, I'll be able to return home with a new-found understanding of myself and the world around me. As Marcel Proust says, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
Bring on the adventure!
