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A year ago today, I was off on the adventure of a lifetime that I often think about when I’m bored at home. I didn’t realize that what I had ahead of me would be the best days of my life.
When I got into BU, I was admitted to this program called CGS January London. It was essentially spring admittance where I took a gap semester, but to make up for missing the first semester of college, I studied abroad amongst all my classmates in the program. This specialized program was so dope because I was able to get close with all the people I was going to London with in Boston; so by the time London came around, we had established friend groups. All my friends lived in the same building and on Mondays, we would all go on field trips together with our professors. I was blessed to be able to visit Oxford and Canterbury. It was such a valuable experience to visit London’s most famous museums and see the art that we were studying in my humanities class. Also, in my social science class, we studied both the World Wars and it was fascinating to me to be in a country where history was made. Being able to go to British museums and gain a British perspective on the wars was so eye opening. If you are considering studying abroad, I think you should send it because being on my own in a foreign country made me grow as an individual and gave me experiences that were very impactful, which is bound to happen for you too. Dear London, The first time I met you, I came as a 13-year-old with my family. We eagerly visited all of your most touristy places. We sipped afternoon tea in the Savoy, saw you from above in the Eye, visited the royalty's palaces, and gazed at the Queen’s crown jewels. When our time was up together, you left me wanting more. I knew that one day in the future I would return and be in your lively presence again. One day a letter came in the mail and an opportunity to see you again landed in my lap. It became apparent to me that sacrificing my first semester of college was worth it; we could be reunited again, but this time longer than a week-long vacation. Once my choice was made, I thought about the daily adventures waiting for us in the near future. Oh, the excitement of touching down in London town! I couldn’t sleep at all on the flight because I was so eager to see you. The ride from the airport to my dorm was thrilling and the best part about that memory was that I was in good company. I finally made it to the beginning of a new chapter in my life that I had been daydreaming of for months. London, you are so lovely in your early days of summer. So many afternoons and evenings were spent laying in the grass of your most pleasant parks, exchanging conversations over a bottle of wine. I’ll never forget our days where my closest allies took you on by bike. London, you are fun. Your nightlife was always popping, and I never had a bad night out with you. I’ll never forget the drunkenly nights my friends and I had spent navigating your bus and train systems to get home after dancing the night away. The one person who was able to figure out which of your busses we had to hop onto and which stop to get off on was our hero for the night. We were all enamored by the unpredictable fun you threw our way, and the sun would be rising by the time we got home. London, your Indian cuisine that you had to offer was to die for. I was lucky to find comrades that shared the same love I have for Chicken Tikka Masala. It was our ritual to indulge in the deliciousness once a week. I enjoyed every minute I had with you. Even when work started piling up, and I felt like spending my valuable time exploring you, instead of focusing on my studies, I’d find one of your quaint little cafes and be productive there. I never wanted to stop exploring you. Even when I found myself feeling down, you picked me back up and made me feel better by surrounding me with unforgettable street art, aesthetically pleasing cobblestone alleyways, and egg-shaped skyscrapers-- all reminding me how beautiful life truly is. Your beauty and excitement wasn’t even the most impactful experience you had on me. London, you taught me a lesson that I realized when I was walking down the street alone with a handful of groceries on an average Friday afternoon. Even though it might have been one of our more uneventful moments, I had this coming of age realization that I was on my own in a foreign country without the guidance of elders. There I was, for the first time in my life, realizing that I was an adult and I was completely content with it; I was not scared or nervous in the slightest way to be independent. You gave me the experience and the confidence to know that I could go out into the world, take on whatever came my way, and have an extremely fun time in the process. Here’s to you London, and I look forward to the next time we meet again. Thank you for the memories that make me smile on some of my hardest days. Love, Olivia
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 I don’t know about you, but what I miss the most about life BC is eating out at restaurants. Being able to share and enjoy a meal with a friend amongst others was something I seriously took for granted. The first night my family ordered food for pickup, after we had only been eating at home for 4 weeks straight, was a highlight of my early quarantine days. That experience was so impactful on me that I literally took the time to document it in my journal. I’ve come to learn that it is the smaller things in life that make your day better, and in that instance, the smaller thing was a French Dip sandwich from Houston’s. So with all this time I have found on my hands, cooking and baking have literally kept me sane. Whenever I start feeling anxious about the world crashing around me, how do I cope? Baking chocolate chip cookies. You would think that I’ve gotten tired of baking and eating them by now, (I’ve made 10 batches in 7 weeks) but I haven’t and neither has my family. You know, the more I think about the reasoning behind all the working out I have been doing, I’m realizing it might be a subconscious action to make up for all the cookies. I’ve also been taking the time to try out new recipes and recommended products from Trader Joe’s! One of the first meals that I made in quarantine for my family was a homemade version of my favorite salad from Sweetgreen. I miss the Harvest Bowl with avocado from Sweetgreen with my whole heart and to my surprise, recreating it at home was possible. I looked at their menu and bought all of the ingredients that they put in the salad. It definitely took a lot of effort and 2 hours to make between preparing the chicken, baking the sweet potatoes, and roasting the almonds, but it was so satisfying to be able to share my favorite salad with family and to get a fix of a meal I was craving.  I’ve learned in quarantine that eating breakfast every day is a good way to start the day off on the right foot. I saw this video on Tik Tok where this girl gave a recipe for a “flat tummy tea” that you are supposed to drink every morning before eating to increase the rate of your metabolism and to prevent bloating. All that goes into the drink is a glass of warm water, juice from half of a lemon, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. It has a very tart taste so I always drink it with a straw so it can go down faster. After I finish that, I love making myself some iced coffee. At school, I would always get a cold-brewed iced coffee from my local cafe (Cafe Nero I miss you so much) and when quarantine started, that part of my routine got messed up. Although, Trader Joe’s helped solve this problem because I found out that they sell cold brew canned coffee. I love this product because it makes me feel like I have some kind of normality back in my life and it is really easy to just pour over ice.
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