It has been nearly a year since I have started writing this blog. I can't believe it! I also can't believe that the anxiety and tension I had before I had left felt nearly the same when I came back. Yep, that's right folks! I'm back in Chicago... finishing off my school... FINALLY!
First, and foremost, I want to thank you all for reading my blog and keeping up with my adventures abroad. I'm not too sure how many of you actually read this, but for those of you who did, thank you.
I'm not sure if I had mentioned WHY exactly I came back to Chicago when I had absolutely no intentions of coming back to America at all. I mean, I was even taking applications for husbands when I first moved there! But, the school where I had attended told me that if I wanted to finish my degree over there, I would practically have to START OVER. I said, "Hells NO!" I only have 7 classes left to take. How stupid would I be to start all over again just so I can live in another country for a couple of years? But then I thought, well, I could put my education on hold and live my dream. I was concerned with the implications of doing that. When I decided to come back home, was I going to be required to take additional classes that I wasn't prepared for? So, rather than only having 7 to take, would I have to take 10 or more? You never know with our stellar education system. It seems as though they're always trying to get an extra buck out of you.
So, then I decided... well, if I go back and finish my degree I will have finally accomplished what I have been striving for over the past FIFTEEN years! What a load off of my shoulder that will be! Well, until I have to start paying back my student loans. My father once told me, "Denise, you always start things and you never finish them." I guess that statement hurt my feelings quite a bit, but it is probably one of the reasons why I am so determined to finish. And it's not totally true! Granted, there are a few art projects that I have started and never finished... or books I have started and never finished, but the important things I start and always finish. If I found reading a book important, I would finish it... same with my art projects.
Anyhow... the question now remains... when I finish my degree, do I try to make a life in London? Or do I stay in America? I have to be honest... I didn't really like London all that much. The first time I visited there, I wasn't all that impressed. While I lived there, I still wasn't all that impressed, but it was a different culture, a different experience. And what I loved the most was I could fly on a plane for an hour (or take a train) and I would be in a totally different country. THAT'S what I liked about living in London. Other than that, it's very crowded, the weather isn't all that desirable, and everything is way too expensive in relation to the salaries, which in turn, doesn't allow for me to actually enjoy life there. I always had to worry about whether or not I was going to have enough money to last me for a while, and I wasn't even paying rent! It was a very stressful and hard life! Would I do it all over again? Absolutely! Do I have any regrets for going over there and selling my life here? Not at all. It was an amazing experience for me! And I was able to live my dream! I lived the London life, worked at a really amazing place, and traveled. That was my dream. Everything else was icing on the cake... especially when I met the love of my life, Dan.
As life is a constant rollercoaster, and as my teacher told us tonight, "The future is a fantasy..." I'm really excited to learn about the fantasy... and I must say, I fantasize about my future all the time. Where will I go next? Will I move back to London? Or maybe try New York City???
