Back from London!

Wow!!!!

I'm back from my first ever overseas book signing! First of all, just the fact that i'm able to write and say that sentence is mind blowing to me. So, thank you all for wanting me there and making my life so extremely satisfying.  :)

It's different in London. But not too different. I mean, it's a big city filled with hustle and bustle and tiny streets and too many cars. I found myself looking around at all the buildings and the bars and the restaurants and I could literally SEE where parts of New York and Boston came from. The signs, the ironwork, the design of the building... It was as if the inspiration for our country was surrounding me on all sides. I'm sure some of you are sitting there saying "no shit Jenn," but you have to understand how weird that is for me... a girl from Southern California who always thought that Boston and New York had really old shit (especially considering how little California truly has). To me, those states were super old and had beautiful things i'd never seen before.

And then I came to England.

I've never, in my entire life, seen anything that looks like this.

I mean, aside from in pictures online or in history books. And trust me when I tell you that it's NOT the same. (that's the house of parliament by the way)

Or what about this?

The only castle's I've ever seen have been made out of sand. lol  (that's warwick castle) And the grounds surrounding the castle were stunning.

I don't know how to word this all properly, but I guess the best way to say it is that my mind is blown. Walking around things that were made in the 1600's is almost something I cannot comprehend. I mean, HOW THE HECK DID THEY MAKE THESE THINGS?! 

 





HOW ARE THEY STILL STANDING?!? 

HOW CAN I PLAY AROUND IN THEM STILL AND THEY DON'T CRUMBLE BENEATH MY FEET?!?!?!? 

And WHO THE HELL GOES TO COLLEGE AT A PLACE THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS?!?!?! (This is Oxford)

 

See? I'm freaking out. I'm realizing how little I truly know about the world that we live in. Don't get me wrong, I love America and think it's amazing, but holy cow- it's so small in the grand scheme of things... our history is so short... there's so much more out there. SO MUCH MORE I WANT TO SEE AND EXPERIENCE!!! I know you're thinking I've been bit with the travel bug, but it's not that. It's deeper than that. I feel like I've been hit with the life experience bug... I want to have more of it. I want to see what else is out there, who else is out there, what else there is to see, etc.

It's one thing to read about places and hear about their history, but it's another to walk through it and see it with your own eyes. I feel so small. I feel so naïve. But I also feel excited... because my eyes have been opened, my heart has swelled and my mind has expanded. I can't wait to experience more.

That's all. But it's sort of everything, don't you think.  :)