My Life, My London

I love traveling. I've always been intrigued by the fact that it only takes a bus, train, plane, or car to connect to different parts of the world. Traveling allows us to expand our minds and see how other people and cultures operate. Due to my love for traveling, and my general curiosity about life, I decided that sometime during my collegiate career I would study abroad.

This semester, I will be studying in London, England with the American Institute for Foreign Study. For the next four months I will be living in the Kensington area of London to study at Richmond, the American International University. I am a broadcast journalism major and a political science minor, so the majority of my classes will be general electives and courses related to political science.

Whenever I tell someone that I will be abroad for four months, they always ask me a slew of questions; however there is one that seems to stick out the most: "Are you nervous?" I've been abroad before, but this will be my first time being overseas for more than three weeks. So in retrospect, yes I should be nervous, but for some reason I'm not. I know that this is a huge step in my life so I should be a little uneasy about what lies ahead; but I think that's one of the coolest things about this experience! I have no idea what I'm getting myself into but I know that whatever happens I will always keep my faith and have my own back, no matter what.

I was home for about a month and two weeks before I had to leave for London, so transitioning from living on my own in D.C. to living under my parent's roof was rough--you know the feeling. It seemed that everyone and their mother gave me advice on what to do and what not to do while in Europe. From the ‘don't leave your drink unattended, even if you're with friends' speech to the ‘don't allow a creepy guy in a shady alley to give you a flower' rant, my family and friends smothered me with pre-departure conversations. Now, of course I'll miss my family--hi Mom!, friends, and dogs like crazy, but I think this experience will be good for all of us and our sanity.

I hope my brief introduction to my study abroad experience has kept you interested! I'm really excited that I will get to share this experience with you all! I hope I can make it seem like you're experiencing it for yourself.

Aja Johnson is a junior broadcast journalism major, political science minor from Chicago, Ill.. She is a staff writer for The Hilltop's campus section.