We Begin Again

Hello! You found the compass!

It’s that time again! I’m writing this from thousands of feet in the air (above Texas) on my way to Boston to spend time with friends before shipping myself off to graduate school. I am returning to Kingston University in London to obtain my Master’s degree in Creative Writing. The process of preparing to go overseas for a year is a complicated one, and there were some unexpected financial curveballs as well (like dropping $545 for a visa). Even knowing I’ll be on my way, it feels unreal that everything is in order. The months leading up to my departure from California were filled with visa this, FAFSA that, pack this, do this, fill these out, check mail, send mail, panic, etc. Having nothing to do is strange, but a huge relief. (I should have thought of a better word than relief. I’m sitting at the window seat trying not to be “that person” and uproot my traveling companions for the sake of getting to a bathroom. Given that I have three and a half hours left in this magical flying box, I think I may have to give in.)

I like jetBlue, but uuuuugh flying gets old quickly.

 On leaving California: I am terrible at goodbyes. Drinking with friends last night seemed to help dull the usual outpouring of emotions that comes with saying farewell (with the exception of saying it to one young man in particular, who came out briefly to say goodbye to me and I proceeded to cry on his shoulder for a solid ten minutes). Overall, though, I managed to hold myself together….until shortly after the plane took off. That’s when, for whatever reason, every single event that transpired during my time in California hit me. I thought about the friends I made, the ones I lost, the jobs I had, the scary moments, the funny moments, how I’d changed, what I would do differently, things I’d said or done, and the things I’m happy I said and did. My saving grace from this crying fit was a book I’d purchased at LAX: Hyperbole and a Half. (I didn’t expect to find the book of one of my favorite blogs in an airport, and I excitedly purchased it. Check out Allie Brosh’s work at http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/.) As I reached the point where my mind was stuck in sad mode because of missing people and being concerned about what the next year will bring, I decided the best thing to do was to keep reading to distract myself. I opened up to where I left off: the end of a chapter on depression. There, staring up at me with the glory of what I assume is MS Paint, was a picture of Allie’s character, smiling under a rainbow, and the words “maybe everything isn’t hopeless bullshit” scrawled across the sky. That hit me. For whatever reason, to me that was the funniest thing I could have possibly read right in that moment. My crying quickly turned into laughing, and at that point I could only assume the lady in the seat next to me was getting distracted from her Korean medical drama to be mildly concerned about the seemingly mentally unstable redhead next to her.

Here it is! - Megan from the future, September 2015.

 With my sadness safely out of the way, I continued to read my book until attempting to nap. Despite getting a mere two and a half hours of sleep last night, I couldn’t nap. I tried my best, using my book as a pillow as I hunched over my tray table/bed with my eyes closed and headphones in. I managed a ten second dream about a football player injuring his elbow before I woke up to find that my elbow hurt. (It was really exciting, guys.) Bleary-eyed and not thinking straight, I decided to open the window shade and see what I could see. Well what I saw were sun-drenched clouds so white that my retinas burned with fury. Acknowledging that any more staring into the endless white abyss would only continue to hurt, I shut the window with mild disappointment and dragged out my laptop. 

 

            So that leaves me here, typing away at thousands of feet while listening to my iPod and hoping the plane doesn’t rock too much. I plan on updating this blog regularly while overseas, as usual. I haven’t even arrived in England and I’m pleased to say that my calendar is filling up! Fresher’s Week will bring plenty of social events, as well as meetings with the creative writing faculty. I plan on going to several of the dances, as well as a Harry Potter themed tour of London and a boat trip to Greenwich. Outside of Fresher’s Week, I’m working on solidifying some travel plans both in and outside of England. Within England, I would love to hike Hadrian’s Wall. The idea was brought to me by another young woman getting her Creative Writing degree. At the time I didn’t know much about Hadrian’s Wall or the hike. After looking into it, hiking the wall made it near the top of my to-do list. It’s a relatively short hike (84 miles), but there are areas of historic significance within easy walking distance from the wall (which, of course, is historically significant in itself) that I would like to explore as well. I’ll be sure to let you know as the plan gets updated. 

            Other trips within England that I’ve toyed with are seeing Dartmoor and Brighton. Dartmoor I’ve wanted to see since the first time around, and Brighton has been highly recommended by everyone I know. As for trips outside of England, budget and time provided, I would like to get to any of the following: Ireland, Scotland, or Norway. Norway, the seemingly odd one out, actually has been planned the most already! There are several other people I’ve met through Kingston who are interested in taking a few days and going to Bergen to see the fjords and enjoy the town. 

            There is one definite trip: a quick stop in Germany. The first weekend in October, me and another Creative Writing major (master?) are skipping town and heading into Berlin. We’ve already reserved the hostel, so the only (very important) item we need to acquire are plane tickets. We decided it would be easier to buy tickets when we’re together in person, rather than trying to coordinate flights over email from different time zones. We’re just heading there for the weekend, as I said, but it should be a fun little adventure! 

            (I’m just taking a moment to point out that my iPod just started playing Ass Back Home by Gym Class Heroes. I’m almost there, Boston! One hour and twenty minutes left! Plus, by the time anybody is actually reading this, I’ll be in Wakefield…most likely comatose in my pajamas and shamefully stuffed with much-needed “real” food. Plane food is a poor choice for a meal, but I hadn’t eaten and I was desperate. Now my stomach feels like it’s processing troublingly sharp cardboard. Fun!)

          (Megan from the present would like to briefly interrupt here to say that Megan from the past, to nobody's surprise, did math wrong. She did, in fact, have two hours and twenty minutes left. Upon realizing this, internal weeping began.)

            Well, there isn’t a whole heck of a lot to write just now. I’ll have a good time in Boston playing games, attending a music festival, possibly going to King Richard’s Faire or Room Escape Adventures, and then I’ll make my glorious and triumphant return to the land of the Brits! My program lasts one year, so that’s plenty of time to get to adventuring. 

            (Ooh, and now Childish Gambino is playing! I’m seeing him tomorrow! Or today, if you’re reading this on September 6^th! Woohoo! Oh, and it looks like I’m flying over Saint Louis! Hi, Amy! Exclamatory sentences!)

            Okay, I suppose I should tear myself away from the computer. My right shoulder is in pain, for reasons I can’t begin to understand, so I am going to get some Advil and keep reading. Or watching Food Network. Or both. Both is good. The next post should be significantly more exciting and better written than this one. Until next time….