A list of things I’ve done since my last blog, i.e., since I got back from Paris:

• I saw a completely improvised musical.
• I visited Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford upon Avon. There, I saw the first preview of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Dr. Faustus, two of the best plays I’ve ever seen.

  

  

• I turned 21! For my birthday, I saw Wicked and had a fabulous dinner with some friends from my program here.

  

  

• I hit the halfway mark—and then some—for my semester here. (CRAZY!)
• I attended a fashion show and saw a showroom at London fashion week.

  

  

  

• I saw my first show at the National Theatre, As You Like It.

  

  

• There was a dance night at LAMDA! My semester group performed the linear carroll. Another group did a variety of historical dances, and one a number from the latest musical at LAMDA, Fiddler On the Roof. There was even a fun number where some students did “Fosse: 3 Ways”, where they performed the same Fosse routine to one typical Fosse style song, as well as to “Uptown Funk” and “All About that Bass.” I think Fosse would have been really pleased or really confused. Either way, I loved it.

  

• I had my first performance at LAMDA! Each group performed scenes from comedy of manners and Restoration plays, such as The Country Wife (mine!), School for Scandal, The Importance of Being Earnest, Private Lives, and A Trip to Bath. It was so much fun spending the day with my entire semester group: we usually only see the people in our classes and rehearsal groups, and there’s often overlap there. We were all really excited to see the other groups perform. All of the scenes were directed so differently.

  

• I had my first tutorials (basically student/teacher conferences) with my head tutor and director from the Restoration scenes.
• I saw Cymbeline at the San Wanamaker theater (right next to the Globe!) in the standing area. You lean over the rails and have a pretty restricted view if you’re in the very back like I was- but it was an experience!

This blog is a lot less structured than my previous two. I decided to let it be a little more free-flowing and casual this time because a) I thought it would be fun to try out a new form, and b) I’ll just admit it: I’ve been really busy lately, as the list above and all the pictures in this post illustrate. Part of me felt weird not sitting down and writing this post out the way I usually do, but part of me thought, “Maybe it’s a good sign that I’ve been so busy making memories and having all of these experiences to put into the blog. Maybe it’s okay that I wrote this blog in the backseat of an Uber on the way home from a show, during a break at one of our final Restoration rehearsals, while my friend who’s visiting from Paris is getting ready.” (We’re going to Camden Market, Brick Lane (for Indian food—so excited!), and the National Portrait Gallery, and then seeing a play, Nell Gwynne, tonight.)

I also thought it would be fun to take advantage of this more free-form style I’m trying out and write a few small pieces of wisdom/things I’ve learned.

A Note on FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): So yes, I just wrote out a list of all these really cool things I’ve done in London, and there are some great pictures to prove it. But what I didn’t write on that list or document in photographs are activities like watching Netflix for three hours, grocery shopping on Friday nights, putting on my pajamas the second I get home from school every day (which can be as early as 5:45) and getting way too excited when I get to have Mexican food for dinner. (We discovered the Chipotle in Convent Garden a few weeks ago, and there’s also a great place called Tortilla near LAMDA.) My point is that not everything you do while being abroad will be about being abroad; I don’t go on an adventure every single weekend. In the beginning, I thought I was going to. I thought I would be traveling all the time, every chance I got, and I’m NOT discouraging that. I have a lot of friends who travel every other weekend. But I also have friends who haven’t travelled at all, and some who have only travelled al little—like me. What I’m trying to say is that you should feel comfortable doing as little or as much as you want without worrying about missing out on things or bonding with people. I’m not trying to discourage anyone from getting out there and having fun new experiences, but I promise that you can take some time for yourself without worrying that everyone is hanging out without you and that you’re not doing enough. I’d much rather relax when I want to and then go do something really cool that I’m really interested in than force myself to go do something random that’s probably great but that I’m just not too interested in when I know I need some rest.

A Note on Homesickness: Yep. It’s happened. On the way to school a couple of weeks ago a friend was talking about her mom’s visit over the weekend and I sat there and smiled but inside just wanted to burst into tears. Sometimes, big waves of homesickness hit you. I tried to stomp them out at first, but now I find that it’s just better to accept what you’re feeling, know that it’s normal and know that it will pass. Also, don’t brave the storm alone! Call/text your friends, parents and loved ones. Even a short conversation can sometimes boost your mood exponentially.

A Note on Croissants, Scones, etc.: Live your life. It’s not like there are fabulous apricot croissants in every cafe when you get back home. If you don’t like pastries, thats fine. But if you do, live your life and take advantage of them while you’re here because they’re wonderful.

That’s all I’ve got for now! See you next time!