School Is Too Cool.

Those who know me well know that I've had my share of ups and downs. My downs were pretty far down. In fact they were comparable to living with Lucifer himself. I'd like to think that I learn from my mistakes, and if that's true... after a good solid 7 or 8 years straight of nothing but mistakes, theoretically, I could be the next edition of a Britannica Encyclopedia set with all of that knowledge. I fully believe that some wounds run too deep for time to mend. I've done so many things wrong in my life, and there are times when I look back on all those years and my heart gets heavy and I think "What would my Mom have thought of the person I was?" The weight of that is almost too much to bear, and I have to swallow hard to push the guilt back down.

There is one thing that negates my near-decade of faults and fumbles...and that is my education. Each year that goes by I value my education more and more. It is a powerful tool in the sense that even when I feel stripped and vulnerable, it serves as an impenatrable, untouchable sheild. And for me, it is the one thing that erases all of my wrongs, and I know with every fiber of my soul that if there is only one thing I did right... it was that. Even moreso, if there is one thing my Mom can be proud of me for, it is my six years of higher education. My heart is at peace when I think of such things.

My education acted as it's own entity, my own saving grace that plucked me from the wrong path and steered me toward the right one. My education brought me here. All of this is so clear to me now, being here in London, with this incredible job...living a life that I once thought could only be fantasy. I haven't even really started full force into the work in schools yet, but this job is everything I could have ever dreamed of for my career. I am so lucky and so blessed and I thank God every day.

Forgive how whimsical this all my sound, but the experience I am having in these last two weeks is like no other. It's like a convergence of the totalities of my life experience, meeting all in an East corner of London, known as the Isle of Dogs. I am so so so happy. And while I miss my dear friends and family back in the States....something about this feels inherently...right.

I will continue to update about actual, real details of the job....but I just had to get the mushy "I love my life" stuff out of the way. Thanks for following along, and I hope all of you are well!

Until next time, you stay classy ______ (insert name of city you occupy)!!!