Easter Break came around the corner and once again I wanted to do something fun yet I had nothing planned. Also, in this break (just like the last one), I had two very exciting and wild days and then relaxed for the rest of the break. My feasible allowance came in early Thursday morning and I wanted to go somewhere exotic (as exotic as I could get ballin on a budget) but I just could not make p my mind as to where I should go or not go. Right around dinner time, I met a sweet older woman who used to teach at Newbold. We spoke about England, Newbold, and life for just a little while. Not too long after that, I got up through my plates away and I decided I was going to go to London. I had absolutely no notion as to when the last train left the station in the nearby town nor did I know exactly how much sight seeing I was going to be able to do at night. Even so, in my opinion, any time is a good time to go. The city of London is the most beautiful enigma of a place that I have ever seen and I can never say no to going to London.
I was so stupidly excited that as I left the school, I didn’t pay attention to the road signs and where it could have taken me 45 minutes to walk from the school to the train station in the nearby town, it took me close to an hour. Not noticing at first that I took a wrong turn, I ended up by the business area of the town. That was a bit of a delay… I thought that by turning back and going to right way would take me even longer so I stuck it through, not knowing where I was going in hopes that at eventually I would get to the train station. Eventually, I did, but the main entrance was closed. Alas, I thought all hope was lost and that I wouldn’t be able to go. I even told my friend to not expect me anymore. My feelings went from ecstatic to downcast. Near the station, there is a pub with benches on the outside. I sat there, stealing their wifi, contemplating my next move when I heard singing. I looked into the place and saw they were having a karaoke night and they were blasting all sorts of country music and American tunes. It was incredibly hilarious to watch and hear British people dance and shout the lyrics to “That Don’t Impress Me Much by Shania Twain”. I chuckled aloud then walked back to the station and asked some locals about the train hours and asked them when the train would be open for people again. These guys proceeded to look at me as if I were crazy and told me there was another entrance. As a giggly child, I ran to the machine and accidentally bought an overpriced one-way ticket to the city. I told my friend I was going to head over and we were excited to meet up. As I took my seat on the train, I was feeling rather guilty for not staying and studying the entire night, so I studied my sonnet, lines from the Othello play, and a monolog all for the same Shakespeare class on the train ride over to London.
When I finally arrived two hours later than I had originally planned to arrive, I got off the train station at Waterloo and I had no idea what to do or where to go. Bewildered and wishing for a plan, I texted my good ol’ pal and agreed to meet at the Tower Bridge. The Tower bridge is a tourist attraction of a bridge that many confuse with the London Bridge. Both bridges are obviously in London but look prominently different and I wanted to go see the Tower Bridge. According to Google Maps, this distance was even shorter than Binfield to Bracknell. Yet again, what was supposed to take me 36 minutes took me 1 hour and some change. My directions were in the GPS on my phone yet every so often I kept leaving wifi service so the directions would lag, restart, and all in all, refuse to cooperate. Every so often, I stopped and asked people for directions. They would all look at me funny for asking and would tell me that it’s a long walk. I knew this, I did… I just wanted directions. If we’re being honest, I probably turned at the wrong street like 15 times. My feet hurt, my brain hurt, and I was tired. But even complaining in my mind felt wrong. It was a blessing to be lost in London so I was okay.
Throughout the entire walk, I prayed and prayed because even though I have never felt unsafe in England… you never know. I was by myself walking around10pm by alleyways and some isolated streets. It wasn’t scary though, I got to see beautiful people walking by.
Happiness overflowed my body when I saw signs that pointed towards the beautiful Tower Bridge and thought to myself, “It’s about time…” When I finally saw through a park a glimpse of two towers connected by a bridge, my heart was filled with delight. No, it’s not the Eiffel Tower, it’s not Big Ben nor is it one of those thingies in Russia I want to see, yet it took me forever lasting to walk to the bridge so it just looked incredibly majestic to me. At night the bridge had beautiful white and blue bright lights that made it stick out from the different city lights. The water sparkled from the resplendent lights above it and my eyes stayed captivated on the sight in front of me. I noticed many people standing close by taking pictures and after a few selfies, pictures of the bridge, and a few more pictures, I saw my friend standing in the corner! We went off, wandered a bit more around the area, had some Chinese food, and I was graciously invited to spend the night at their place (since this ditzy child of God bought no return ticket). That night was fun. I was educated on The Wizzard of Oz and other important matters of life. Smart and fun friends are the best ones to have. I slept incredibly well.
I guess I had to be lost for a little bit to truly appreciate myself, my blessings, and the adventure of a day.
Through My Specs 