A Birthday to Remember

As almost everyone knows by now I just celebrated my 20^th birthday on Monday.  Now I know that I am not the only person who will be celebrating their birthday here in London this semester, but for me it was a memory I will never forget.  I have never been this far away from my family and friends for this amount of time so far and I had never pictured celebrating my special day in a foreign country, but here I am!  On Sunday night, we all decided to go to the fireworks on the Thames River and didn’t get back until midnight, which is technically my birthday!  I have to say that it was a great way to start off the day and one of the best fireworks shows I’ve ever seen since we were practically right underneath them.  Even though the initial culture shock I had when we first arrived in London is starting to wear off and we are all getting used to everyday life, I couldn’t help but feel a little homesick when it came to thinking about my birthday. However, it actually helped by going to class and surrounding myself with the rest of our group because I learned that we will all most likely feel like that at least once within the next few months and it’s completely normal.  I have learned from this experience so far that it’s really not about what you do, but about who you’re with that matters because that can really make all the difference.  I am going to remember this birthday because it was different and stands out more than all the others.  Adjusting to life in England hasn’t been completely easy so far for me and I didn’t expect it to be, but I’m just glad that it has opened my eyes to new experiences and broadened my horizons so that the next few months will be the best they can be!