So over the past couple of weeks my friends and I have been working on a project; a youtube channel. It's our creative attempt at keeping our lives connected while we are all off on our separate college adventures. As someone who has only a basic knowledge of technological stuff it has been a great learning experience. I am not used to expressing myself verbally, and talking to a camera lens all alone in your bedroom is not normal behavior.
It is quite an odd thing really, all this putting yourself out on the internet. A friend recently described it as "shouting at the air" which is a pretty accurate description. Obviously our channel does not have a huge audience, but that is not the point; it is helping us record our lives, forcing us to think back and recollect on moments that are probably some of the most important learning experiences we will ever have.
Personally, I am enjoying it as a way to share my new life here with all my friends and family back home. Right now London and Lexington feel like two different worlds, but somehow a couple minutes of me rambling to a screen seems to connect them in an odd way. It has also forced me to carry my camera around and use it, which is not something I do normally. Now I have loads of footage of me just wandering around, 95% of which I don't even use. It is nice to have parts of my life stored away on my computer in a form that is somehow more concrete than memory. It will be interesting to look back on these videos in a couple years time and see how much as changed...or how much is exactly the same.
If you are interested in hearing us ramble then check out thisisnothogwarts on youtube!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Lucy Goes To A Polo Match
So I have this friend, the best friend in the world, the best friend I have ever had in my whole life, the best friend I will ever have, and she tells me all the time, "Lucy, you need to blog!" The fact that there is even just one person out there who reads and enjoys what a write is so inspiring to me. It has made me realize that doing this is important...more important than most of the things I waste my time doing. So thanks to her pushing (I am so grateful Alex, really, I do not know where I would be without you) and this new phase of my life, I here begin my new series in which Lucy does...stuff
So in this new glamorous life I lead (Ha) I apparently not only go to fashion shows and after parties but also to polo matches...shortly followed by a night of delivery pizza and bad television. Polo is one of those things that I though only ever happened in movies or bad romance novels, but no. Everyone really does dress head to toe in Ralph Lauren, down buckets of champagne, and pretend to understand a less than exciting sport, all while speaking in ridiculously pretentious accents. I loved it.
As you can imagine the people watching was top notch, there was even some celeb spotting (Geordie Shore anyone?). My own style inspiration usually comes from people I see in real life, rather than the glossed over pages of a magazine, and so this one afternoon was a veritable treasure trove of ideas. It was blatantly obvious that everyone who attended was there to be seen, but at the same time wanting to fit in and look at ease. The dress code seemed to consist of wide leg trousers of various autumnal shades, sharp blazers, and plenty of flowing scarves tied around necks and hand bags.
All in all I found the atmosphere exciting rather than stuffy. The day was organized for fun and enjoyment; a celebratory farewell to the last glimpses of the fleeting English summer all in the name of supporting the troops. A mid match rain shower only seemed to give fuel to the party fire. But by the end of the day we were all wet, cold, and ready to lounge around in sweat pants eating greasy cheap food, and so that is what we did, even splurging on a cab ride up the hill (a grand total of 1 pound each).
I am both fascinated and bemused by people who focus their lives around this sort of event. But for a relaxed Saturday escape it was a truly unique experience. When in London, do as the posh people do!
So in this new glamorous life I lead (Ha) I apparently not only go to fashion shows and after parties but also to polo matches...shortly followed by a night of delivery pizza and bad television. Polo is one of those things that I though only ever happened in movies or bad romance novels, but no. Everyone really does dress head to toe in Ralph Lauren, down buckets of champagne, and pretend to understand a less than exciting sport, all while speaking in ridiculously pretentious accents. I loved it.
As you can imagine the people watching was top notch, there was even some celeb spotting (Geordie Shore anyone?). My own style inspiration usually comes from people I see in real life, rather than the glossed over pages of a magazine, and so this one afternoon was a veritable treasure trove of ideas. It was blatantly obvious that everyone who attended was there to be seen, but at the same time wanting to fit in and look at ease. The dress code seemed to consist of wide leg trousers of various autumnal shades, sharp blazers, and plenty of flowing scarves tied around necks and hand bags.
All in all I found the atmosphere exciting rather than stuffy. The day was organized for fun and enjoyment; a celebratory farewell to the last glimpses of the fleeting English summer all in the name of supporting the troops. A mid match rain shower only seemed to give fuel to the party fire. But by the end of the day we were all wet, cold, and ready to lounge around in sweat pants eating greasy cheap food, and so that is what we did, even splurging on a cab ride up the hill (a grand total of 1 pound each).
I am both fascinated and bemused by people who focus their lives around this sort of event. But for a relaxed Saturday escape it was a truly unique experience. When in London, do as the posh people do!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Across The Pond And Over the Moon
Yep, here I am, my first week of uni (that's what they call it over here) done. It's been exhausting, upsetting, wonderful, and exciting all at the same time. Tuesday, when I moved in, has to have been one of the most stressful days of my life, and perhaps that sounds naive but for someone who as only lived 18 years (and most of them in the same place) its hardly an exaggeration. For the first twenty-four hours I was pretty miserable, I can't really put my finger on why now but I can guess that it was a general sense of feeling overwhelmed...combined with a huge does of hormones. There was the whole moving-to-a-new-country thing to deal with, plus making new friends, finding my way around an intimidating city and basically changing the focus of my life from dance to school. I think the next couple weeks will have me trying to equalize these two parts of my life, which will mean lots of hard work and very little down time but I have realized that I am usually happiest this way (as mentioned before).
I said the first day was awful, by comparison the last few days have been heaven. I've met some wonderful people, made my dorm feel like home, and come to the realization that I am where I am supposed to be. This city is just so lively and gives you the sense that anything is possible. Plus I am ready to take it all in with some fast friends by my side; I have already become very close to two amazing girls (P and C) who both have fascinating backgrounds and sweet personalities. It doesn't even seem silly to say that I know we will stay close for the coming months, hopefully even years. Everyone else that I have met is very open and friendly; no one knew anyone when they got here so everyone was ready to talk to whoever happened to be near by and so I have made friends with many people who I may never have even spoken to under normal circumstances. Honestly I just like listening to all the stories people have because everyone here has grown up all over the world and speaks about five million languages, I feel pretty boring in comparison. Actually, my sister, after looking at pictures of me and my new friends, told me that I was "racially boring." Nice.
Yesterday I spent the whole day getting lost in Covent Garden which was like a dream come true. I found all these adorable vintage shops and tried on pointe shoes at the Capezio and Bloch stores. I of course had to hang around the Royal Opera House, it feels equivalent to a cathedral for me. After meeting C for lunch at a rather questionable but yummy cafe we wandered around near the theater again and spotted a whole group of Royal Ballet School students. I felt like such a creeper but I just wanted to BE them, no matter how amazing my life is at this point I will always be slightly jealous. Fortunately I have discovered that the Royal Opera House as a scheme that gives left over tickets to students for 10 pounds...as you can probably guess I am already signed up and plan to work my way to the top of that waiting list.
In fact I am hoping to turn this blog into a little bit more of a cultural reference as I would love to write profiles of some of the interesting independent stores I find or reviews of shows I manage to scrounge tickets for. As a journalism major I know I need to practice and keep up my writing...so get ready because here it goes!
I said the first day was awful, by comparison the last few days have been heaven. I've met some wonderful people, made my dorm feel like home, and come to the realization that I am where I am supposed to be. This city is just so lively and gives you the sense that anything is possible. Plus I am ready to take it all in with some fast friends by my side; I have already become very close to two amazing girls (P and C) who both have fascinating backgrounds and sweet personalities. It doesn't even seem silly to say that I know we will stay close for the coming months, hopefully even years. Everyone else that I have met is very open and friendly; no one knew anyone when they got here so everyone was ready to talk to whoever happened to be near by and so I have made friends with many people who I may never have even spoken to under normal circumstances. Honestly I just like listening to all the stories people have because everyone here has grown up all over the world and speaks about five million languages, I feel pretty boring in comparison. Actually, my sister, after looking at pictures of me and my new friends, told me that I was "racially boring." Nice.
Yesterday I spent the whole day getting lost in Covent Garden which was like a dream come true. I found all these adorable vintage shops and tried on pointe shoes at the Capezio and Bloch stores. I of course had to hang around the Royal Opera House, it feels equivalent to a cathedral for me. After meeting C for lunch at a rather questionable but yummy cafe we wandered around near the theater again and spotted a whole group of Royal Ballet School students. I felt like such a creeper but I just wanted to BE them, no matter how amazing my life is at this point I will always be slightly jealous. Fortunately I have discovered that the Royal Opera House as a scheme that gives left over tickets to students for 10 pounds...as you can probably guess I am already signed up and plan to work my way to the top of that waiting list.
In fact I am hoping to turn this blog into a little bit more of a cultural reference as I would love to write profiles of some of the interesting independent stores I find or reviews of shows I manage to scrounge tickets for. As a journalism major I know I need to practice and keep up my writing...so get ready because here it goes!
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