school's out for the summer

time is running out on this adventure and the absence of it has successfully and continually been hitting me. 

with the comfort of home looming in front of me and the scariest parts of this journey behind me, i think i'm finally immersed by the wonders of travel and newness and ready for more. while i initially respond to that realization in a sad way, i think it's exactly what i will have wanted out of this experience in the end. 

as i've already written to a friend in response to the question, "what is a way you've seen yourself change during this experience;" i can't actually pinpoint anything, and i don't think i want to just yet. i can definitively say that i've probably learned more in one semester than i have in my entire high school career, but i think everything will become clearer once i step back from all of this and am faced with decisions and situations at home that require the use of the knowledge and experience acquired while here.

another definitive: i am ending this chapter in the u.k. with a serious thirst for more. it's a beautiful, exciting feeling. 

so it's my last week in england. and i've had some time to explore, to be inspired, to say goodbye, to reflect, to go outside, to pack.

on monday we finally made it to brighton, where we were entertained by the sun and shown around town by the kindest of friends, jon-luke. we swooned at moroccan imports, goofed in the grass next to beautiful indian architecture, and walked on top of the english channel eating noodles. 

The Royal Pavilion

jon-luke.

the pier

with your feet on the air and your head on the ground

But if God is the trees and the flowers
And the hills and the moonlight and the sun,
Why should I call him God?
I call him flowers and trees and hills and sun and moonlight;
Because if he made himself for me to see
As the sun and moonlight and flowers and trees and hills,
If he appears to me as trees and hills
And moonlight and sun and flowers,
It’s because he wants me to know him
As trees and hills and flowers and moonlight and sun.

And that’s why I obey him,
(What more do I know about God than God knows about himself?),
I obey him by living, spontaneously,
Like someone opening his eyes and seeing,
And I call him moonlight and sun and flowers and trees and hills,
And I love him without thinking about him,
And I think him by seeing and hearing,
And I walk with him all the time.
v, fernando pessoa

i've gotten to learn so much about friendship here.

rosie, grace, megan, tuna, jon-luke, margot, chiara, jénnifer, louisa,
all people who have been so kind and warm to me. I know it's too soon to get sappy, but i will miss them all very much and have loved being international students with them.
katlin and rachel,
the constants, who i thank for being great role models and understanding and loving companions on this journey.

some infinities are bigger than other infinities

the fine art exhibition was yesterday, and 5 of my friends came out to join me. it's been a bit of a chaotic, at times unpleasant journey to this point but it's only made all the happy more valuable. 

i haven't been able to decide how i feel about the work i presented this time around, but maybe i don't need to. i've been subconsciously relating it to my overall being as an artist but maybe to simply accept that, like this entire study abroad experience, it provided an amazing learning opportunity, is enough. 

this semester i decided to get away from my typical style of drawing, which is realism. entering into the world of illustration, i decided i needed to at least try to experiment with other drawing styles and mediums, so i did a bunch of drawings of little things that have stolen my attention while here. i also chose to embrace some of the photos that i've taken here and have them interact with my drawings. together, they speak of my 'little infinity' here in london.

truisms by design students in the lobby

artists and their families, friends and coworkers. knew my family would have loved to have been there!

'there was a home here'. (literally. i did a drawing of the house i'm living in here, and that's the piece that my tutors lost.)

ended the night at a veggie restaurant we've been wanting to try

last week was one of the most hectic weeks i've had since being here, with my mom and sister being in london while i was handing in art and studying/taking an exam. 

it's still all a blur, now being free from school with only about a week and a half until i leave, fitting in as much as possible and making the absolute best of my diminishing time in europe. 

the shock of realizing where the past 5 months have gone is slowly slapping me in the face.

despite the recent shitty weather and a couple road bumps, 

things here are ending with so much positivity.

even more stems from the thought of having the love i experienced last week 

waiting for me when i get home.