My room looks like a disaster area as I try to determine if all my stuff will fit in my suitcases. Not quite sure how I accumulated so much in a span of two months. It seems just like yesterday I was unpacking these same suitcases, wondering how on earth I would be able to function in such a tiny space with another human being I didn’t even know.
It’s a bittersweet feeling; I’m excited to return home and see my family and friends. I get to swim in the hot Tennessee weather and actually see the stars at night. On the other hand, I’m incredibly sad. I let myself get attached — to the people I’ve met here and to the city. No matter how hard I tried to write about my experiences and document it with hundreds of photos, it all slipped by too fast. I took for granted all those hot and smelly commutes I suffered through. All those crazy late nights with interns and coworkers that turned out to be some of the best of friends. All those silly errands I had to do for work that had me going up and down the city. All these experiences made for one of the best summers of my life.
Not to toot my horn, but I’m pretty proud of how much I’ve grown as a person on this trip. I’ve had my patience tested on more than one occasion and I’ve gotten significantly lost more times than I care to mention. Now I almost feel like a local, pointing lost tourists in the right direction or remaining calm and taking a different route when an Underground line isn’t functioning properly. I came into my internship at the magazine utterly terrified of the tasks they would have me do and left with a feeling of earned accomplishment. Not only did I get the chance to interview artists and entrepreneurs, but my stories and photos will be published in a glossy magazine for people all over the UK to see.
I will forever be appreciative of the opportunity I was given; not many people get the chance to say they interned in London. And even though I might be packing my suitcases and leaving this amazing city in a matter of days, it’s not really goodbye. I know in my heart I will be back, and I have Global Experiences to thank for making this such an unforgettable journey.
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