Mastering Oxford

Ever had an idea so powerful that it changes you, and you're never the same for it?  
I did. 

It was 2010, I was still working my dead end job, serving crabby freshman in the dining center of my university. I had graduated two years earlier and I didn't have a clue in hell as to where I was headed in life, a position most 20 somethings find themselves in nowadays. The quarter life crisis was indeed alive and well.  I noticed a trend with a lot of my fellow classmates though. The had at least somewhat of an idea as to what they wanted to do and were active working to make that happen. Grad school, internships, work. There was a path in front of them, no matter how small and they were all on it. My path was no where in sight and covered in the instant mashed potatoes from the previously served meal. 

So as any slightly anti social, stuck 24 year old would do, I tried to find comfort in my dreams. My sole dream was England. Always dreaming of England. Blame Mr. Bean. He was the start of my British passion. Are You Being Served? and others followed. The quick wit. The dry sarcasm. The general un-PC ness of it all was a dream. Things weren't watered down for the masses. I loved it. I would dream of living over there, taking walks in Hyde Park and marrying Prince William (this was pre wedding of the century to Kate).  So what was holding me back? I was. The people around me were. My parents would tell me I didn't have the money to go, that I needed to stay home and get a good job and then MAYBE I could visit in a few years. And you know what, I believed them. I believed that I didn't have the resources to go over there. So I put it off, gave a year of my time to AmeriCorps, moved back to my hometown (which I promised myself I'd never do) struggled to find a job, my English dream always in my mind. I convinced myself I couldn't leave when my parents divorced after 30 years of marriage, because my mother needed me there. At the time, I couldn't see it, but things that were no longer serving me were falling away so I could build the life I had always dreamed of. My looming, nay saying parents were less nay saying, having to deal with their own issues. I wasn't married, I didn't have children to worry about. So what was I STILL doing in Minnesota in 2013? 

I went through almost 4 years of a stagnant life before the wheels started to turn and everything started to click. I wanted to go. I HAD to go, I was running out of years in my twenties. But I had spent more time on the UK Border Agency website than any one person should admit to. Visiting the country was easy, staying there was the ridiculously difficult part. I knew the easiest way to find myself on UK soil was through graduate school. But how was I supposed to get in? I had very average grades in college and knew I would have to get in on the strength of my admissions essay and references alone. I looked at universities all over Britain, sought advice from those who had already done what I wanted to do (including many inspiring words from my biggest inspiration, author Jerramy Fine) before I settled on Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England. As an annoyingly aspiring writer, their publishing program was second to none, the town was the perfect mix of culture and academics (Oxford University was just up the road and Brookes students can attend the world famous Oxford Union and have use of its famous Bodleian Library, where many scenes from Harry Potter were filmed) and it was just a stone's throw from London. It was all perfect really. But I had to get IN. I nabbed my references, filled out the application, and set to work on my essay, I had half a dozen people read it and re read it until I was sure it was perfect. Then I sent it all in and made my dear friend Sarah change my password and not tell me so I wouldn't be obsessively checking every hour. A week later I was notified that I had an interview in 2 weeks. Those 2 weeks went by in a flash. The day came and I was nervously pacing. 9am came….and went. 9:15…9:30. I was convinced the program leader has looked at my application again and just decided to throw it out. I double checked the UK time. I had forgotten that while the US had had its Daylight Savings, the UK hadn't yet and as such was only 5 hours behind instead of the usual 6. I was ahead of schedule by and hour and stupendously relieved. 

As you might imagine, I did indeed get in. My MA in Book History and Publishing Culture starts on 22nd of September. From now until then its a whirlwind of paperwork, selling just about everything I own, and getting ready to set off into the great unknown. Right off into the middle of my dreams that would've never happened had I listen to reason. Really. Sometimes you have to breath and jump. The universe will catch you if you let it. 

So come along with me, we will drive right through the bumps of moving overseas, sail through international university life and feel every emotion as I say goodbye to the old and hello to all the new. 

tea drops, 

Samantha