The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I feel like I just returned from Narnia. Honest to goodness. Cambridge has already taken on that distant, almost hazy feel of a magical realm where I spent what felt like years, but came home to find out was only two short months. Now that I'm back in reality, I'm just waiting for the day that I'll be summoned back there. (Grad school?)

Not to worry, the parallels do not end there.

The Lion:

So Majestic.

The thing to notice here is the shirt, not the boy.

The Witch:

Neal says I remind him of Elphaba.
Jordan says Jenessa reminds him of Glinda.
So here we are, posing as such. 

The Wardrobe:

I swear this happened. 

Oh, and one more. 

The Lamp-post: 

Need I say more? 

Well, yes I actually do need to say more. Namely, I need to address a few of the wonderful things I learned from Cambridge. Don't worry, I made a list on the plane. Shout out to Jenessa. (She makes lists). 

1. I can write 13,000 words. Or 53 pages. Depending on how you look it.

2. I can function on 4 hours of sleep. Albeit not well, but I functioned just the same. 

3. Take time to learn from others, because everybody has something to offer. Whether it's at dinner, in class, or on the train, ask questions. And if you need a jumping off point, there's always the ol' "tell me something I don't know about you."

4. Take time to stop, explore, ponder, and yearn. This is one of those links that I really want you to follow. 

5. Count your blessings and remind yourself of them often. It went a little something like this: "Feeling stressed? Don't worry, you go to school in Cambridge, and you get to soak up the beauty of King's College everyday." I'll have to make some minor adjustments to the mantra, but the idea holds true. 

6. Be happy! Keep friends, learn, explore, do- it makes life great.

7. Solidarity sister. Go find your people- they're out there. 

8. Always seek after knowledge - do what it takes to learn and digest. 

9. Let yourself be part of a community. One of my favorite things about Cambridge is the atmosphere of the college system and the unity it breeds. I don't typically let myself become immersed in my ward in Provo, but I think it would be wise to make an adjustment there. A sense of community is powerful. 

10. Lift one another's burdens. This may be my favorite lesson from Cambridge. I had the privilege of witnessing a lot of wonderful people lifting each other up on a regular basis, and it was inspiring. 

In short, the two months that I spend at Cambridge were arguably the best of my life. I learned, discovered, reveled, and loved, and I hope to high heaven I go back there some day. 

 

But something tells me that the key to a happy life is not to live in the past, but to love where I am and look forward to the future, so here are some thoughts on that note. 

Yesterday, I realized something. Provo is, on the whole, my least favorite place to be. Nevertheless, I'm not a victim of my circumstances here. I have chosen to stay here because I am receiving a first class education at BYU. The last two years felt a bit like I was trapped in Provo, but I think going to Cambridge showed me that I have the ability to go anywhere and do anything. If I wanted to leave Provo, I could, and that feels liberating. So now that I've made the decision to stay, it just comes down to finding ways to be happy here. Utah has plenty to give, I just have to go get it. 

Over and out. 

Do you believe in magic?

If you don't, I recommend you rethink that, and if ever there were a place that would change your mind, it would be the Harry Potter Studio Tours in London. 

Do you ever listen to the soundtracks of movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, Chronicles of Narnia, and, most prominently, Harry Potter, and just let the music grab you. If you don't, I recommend you rethink that. Well the studio tours used the magic of music to their advantage. You walk in, and you are overwhelmed. I can't even really begin to describe the experience. Just know that I think we all came close to tears at one point or another. Also know that frozen butterbeer is much better than non-frozen butterbeer. Also know that chocolate frogs are like chocolate Santas, and by that I mean they are both delicious to the taste and delicious to the soul. And now just soak up these pictures:

Happy Christmas Harry! Happy Christmas Ron.

Reenactment of events that took place in Godric's Hollow, 1981.

We stopped at Baker Street on the way there. Monocles up!

Doors to the Great Hall. 

The soundtrack was powerful in this room. 

Number 4, Privet Drive.

I'm not sure if this was one of things where you didn't want to see 5,000 pictures, but this was definitely one of those things where I couldn't NOT show you 5,000 pictures.

So, there you have it.

The Quidditch World Cup!

Also referred to as the Olympics... in some cultures.

August 6, 2012

Men's Volleyball

USA v. Tunisia

8:00 pm

If I were to tell you that my friendship with Jenessa was predicated entirely on the fact that her cousin is an assistant coach for the USA Men's Volleyball team and I had a sneaking suspicion that he would be able to get us three tickets to the Olympics, it would be a dirty lie. But it wouldn't be entirely implausible, because how cool is that? 

But seriously, big thanks to Jenessa and her cousin Chris for providing the experience of a lifetime for the trifecta.

Did I get ripped off by the Indian family selling flags
in the market? Maybe, but mine has character. 

We won!

Scratch that, he won. Because he's an Olympian. And that's his mom,
whom we had the pleasure of sitting near. Matt Anderson, it was a real pleasure

Before I sign off on this post, I'd like to refer you to Devon's blog for a nice post on the spirit of the Olypmics, and I'd also like to tell you about the security at the games. 

In a word, jovial. In another word, lighthearted. I could go on, but I'll save my energy. What? It doesn't take energy for you come up with synonyms for jovial and lighthearted? 

Really though, these people were great. Cracking jokes left and right (or left and wight, if you're Jenessa), smiles on their faces, so warm, so welcoming. It was a beautiful thing. 

Cheers. 

Brain Stew

Or "I like to live my life like a movie"

Picture this:

When: 2 AM. Nightly.
Where: 204 Market Hostel, Cambridgeshire, UK
Why: 13,000 words. Looming.
What: Personal Struggle Montage circa 2004. (What even happened in 2004?)
          feat. Green Day

You're Invited!

But Sirius Black, school is hard. I guess that's why I came though right?

Fortunately, I do other things that are worthy of film credits. Such as? Such as:

Eat at The Green Man pub in Grantchester with these two lovely ladies.

Me, Giselle, Jenessa.
I like to match my friends. 

You want to talk about perfect evenings? We'll talk about it. It's about a two mile walk from Cambridge to Grantchester, half of which puts you in beautiful meadows inhabited by cows and elderly couples. (Jenessa covets the lives of those elderly couples). Not to mention...

The Cam really is beautiful, and I hear it's great for swimming. 

Well anyway, as we're walking through the meadows, a very eccentric woman on a bike stops and offers to take a picture of all three of us. We chatted and she told us about this eccentric pub called the Blue Ball. Well, we had our hearts set on eating at The Green Man, but we decided to check out the Blue Ball afterwards. Fast forward a couple of hours - we're done eating and heading for the Blue Ball, when we run in to a middle aged couple who take up conversation with us. 

"Where are you heading?" 

"The Blue Ball."

"...Why on earth would you want to go there?" In your heard, please insert a British accent. 

Were we deterred though? Not one ounce. 

And thank the high heavens we went because what was waiting for us but this beauty, serving up a heaping platter of musical prowess. 

Meet Matt Woosey.

I mean this pub is tiny. I don't know where you live, but I'd bet my bottom dollar this pub is smaller than your living room. And all of these people are friends. Very much reminiscent of Stars Hollow. So we're just sitting there, I'm sipping on my Black Currant Lemonade (wait... you said vodka and lemonade right? No, no I didn't. Crisis averted), and this guy just sets up shop three feet in front of us and plays a set. I fell madly in love, and we bought his cd. 

Really, truly, it was perfect.