Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my blog. I'm glad you've chosen to use your precious time to read the ramblings I post here. I hope you won't be disappointed. As you already know, I'm moving to England for a year. And yes, I am aware that people don't just do that. I thought a little bit of background might help those of you who are reading this without already knowing the whole story. Probably the most important detail necessary for understanding this choice is that I'm single. If it weren't for that, none of this would have happened. So, thank you to all those guys who passed me up. A thank you also needs to go to my friend Sara who planted the idea in my mind. She got her Master's degree at the University of Reading in a year, which led me to believe that perhaps I could too. Only time will tell.
Anyway, about a year ago, I was feeling bored with my life as a teacher of Utah Studies (pretty much the most boring subject matter that exists) to 7th graders (pretty much the most exhausting group of people that exists.) I needed a change. At that point, Sara entered the picture and the seed was planted. I did a little research online and got pretty excited about the idea. I told my parents that I was thinking about going back to school. . . in England, and bless their hearts, they encouraged me! I don't think they really thought I would do it. See, I have this tendency to get great ideas of things I want to do and then I never do anything about it. I'm guessing they thought, "Here we go again. We'll just go with it until she gets tired of the idea." Turns out I actually did something about it this time. I applied to several unis (that's what they call universities in England. Just throwing in a little British flavour) and eventually settled on the University of Reading because it felt right. I hope it is.
University of Reading Great Hall. So charming.
Reading is about a half hour west of London, which means I can pop over just about any time I want. (Stay tuned for future London adventures, some of which will not be shared on this blog, as my mom will be reading it.) It's also apparently a railroad hub, which was naturally at the top of my list of important qualifications for my future hometown. The Museum of English Rural Life is also in Reading, and anyone who knows me knows I love rural life almost more than life itself. So, suffice it to say, Reading seems like a perfect fit.
Anyway, that's my story thus far. I'll be working on a Master's in Modern History, which to the historian apparently means anything from the 16th century to the present. Who knew? When I applied for the program, I erroneously interpreted "modern" to mean like 20th century to the present. Clearly someone failed me somewhere along the way. I will blame the BYU for my less-than-adequate education. Hopefully any other mistakes will be quickly remedied by my stint across the pond.
