Celebrations

On Wednesday, following my last final, a bunch of us went off to celebrate. There was a group of us that had some of the last set of finals. 

Appropriately, my Congress class headed to the George to celebrate being done with the class!

A tad later, I met up with Federico and Simon. We survived capstone, so naturally we all had to celebrate being officially done with the MPA! 

Following a quick lunch, we gathered with our other friends for some rooftop drinking. 

Talk about a great view!

We all ended up watching the World Cup game that evening at a local pub. It was an absolutely lovely day spent with some close friends celebrating freedom! 

Done with LSE!

I finished grad school this week!!

(Let's out screams of woo!!)

I finished my last exam on Wednesday, shortly before noon. As soon as I put my pen down, it hit me. After going to school for 21 years, I am finally done. It's been quite a long time. 

Pre-school, primary school, secondary school, undergrad, and grad school...

I love to learn, and I will always be a lifetime learner. But, the fact I no longer have to write papers or take an exam is a huge relief. I know in no time, I will most likely miss the assignments. I know I say I'm done with school forever, but since the future is unknown, I may end up back in a classroom someday! 

As for now, I'm enjoying my last few days in London while I begin packing.  

It still hasn't hit me that I'm done. Grades will begin to come with all of them being released in July. 

But, now...onward thinking to Las Vegas! 

Recapping: Instagram Photos

I'm about to be done with grad school in a matter of a few days. As I plan on recapping the Aldwych tour, O-Town, and grad school in future posts, I figured I would at least post a recap of my week. Apart from studying, I did try to add in a few fun things to keep the atmosphere light!

Front Row Seating for Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown, former PM of Great Britain 

Tower Bridge

Sunset

My LSE Class Ring

Brunch is always the answer!

Traveling across the river!

Shard

HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge

Shine Bright, London!

Studying

The month of May was truly a month of travel for me. 

It was also a month of tremendous excitement as I accepted a job offer!

However, now that June is here, I've succumb to the tool of 9-5 studying. I was lucky to have all my papers and projects due at the beginning of May. Those long hours paid off as now I can devote my entire time to my last two exams.

Both of my exams are back to back...go figure. The first is on June 17th. That is my "Cities, Politics, and Citizenship" which is 100% of my grade. Thankfully, it is only two essays on the test. My second one is the next day. That one is for my class on the US Congress, and it is only around 66% of my grade. A tad less stressful than the first! 

I'll be hitting the books straight until the 18th...but I do have a few fun plans to report on the next few weeks (polo game, birthday parties, sightseeing). Stay tuned! 

The "Last" Last Paper

19 years later...technically 21 if you count preschool, I submitted my last academic paper this week.

I'm not sure how many papers I actually wrote over my academic career. There were some that I hated.  There were some that I finished minutes before they were do. There were some that I love. And, of course, there were some that I wish I could go back and keep working on. 

My last two weeks have been paper writing hell. I've spent more times at the 24 hour Starbucks in London than I needed to. The library and I are not on speaking terms anymore. But, I'm done!

My last two academic assignments are two exams in June! For now, I'm switching to job applications and mini assignments, here and there. I've got freedom for a week or so before I start studying!

Being a Tourist & Traveling

As I wrap up my last few months in London, I've got a lot of things to see and do...both in London and outside.

Over the next two weeks, I'm seeing three different plays/musicals. This week, I'm starting with Les Mis. Next week, I'm catching Miss Saigon which just opened back up on the West End as well as Handbagged.

For fun this weekend, I'm headed to Stockholm for a quick overnight trip.  The majority of my friends have their finals at the end of May/beginning of June whereas I don't. Mine besides the papers due this past week are in the middle of June, and I've already started studying. So, as a huge advocate of traveling by yourself, I'm excited to try out another country in Eastern Europe, take in the cultural sights, and just relax!

My friend, Alex, and I are taking a day trip to Burghley! It's heralded as England's Grandest Elizabethan House. Plus, it's been used in films such as Pride and Prejudice!

I'm headed to Bulgaria from May 18th-20th. It will be my last solo trip in Europe.

And, at the moment, my friend, Nicola, and I are researching a trip to either Slovenia or Croatia at the end of the month. Nicola and I interned at the Embassy together in the fall, and we traversed around Munich in November. There are a ton of day trips from either location, and Croatia stands to give us a chance to see three additional countries. Lots of planning as we narrow in on what we want to do!

If you have any tips regarding any of these places, leave a comment! 

Officially a 2nd Year!

Hello All!

Sorry for about a month of a delay in posting. More on that later...

Today, LSE released our exam results. While there is still speculation on whether these were just the exam grades or the actual final grade, I can say that I have officially advanced to the second year of the programme. 

This past academic year has pushed me harder than I ever could have imagined. I'm so proud of the work I achieved, and I'm looking forward to next year!

Now, if you excuse me...I have a dish of ice cream to eat!

Greetings from America!

It's been about a week and a few days since I've been home! 

Where does the time go?

On the day of my last exam, there was the end-of-the-year MPA party! It was the last hurrah for the second years. Sometimes, it is weird to think that there will be new first years in September/October!

The night before I left London for the summer, I went out to grab drinks with Zaina and Elena. I quickly ran into my friend Lexi before we went off to get Mexican food at Wahaca in Covent Garden. It was a great way to start my summer vacation!

My flights home were not too bad. The layover in Newark thankfully resulted in me spending time in the terminal with the huge Starbucks and a Crumbs bakeshop (yum!). 

This past week, my brother, sister-in-law, and their two children visited upstate NY which was great! It was so lovely to see them, let my childish side of my personality show, and just begin to relax for the summer. 

Stay tuned for posts this summer! 

Victory is Mine!

Well, it is official! 

I have completed my first year of grad school at the LSE. It was the hardest academic year of my life. I lost track of the number of hours that I cried over assignments, the number of pages I read, the nights that I stayed up doing work, and the gray hairs that I found. I grew a lot this year.   I have no official word on how I did this year. I'm missing a bunch of grades as well as my exam grades. Those will come.

This coming Tuesday, I'm going home for the summer. It's a big change in the summer plans. I'm in desperate need of a break. I'm going to be working remotely for my two internships with the one wrapping up in July. I'll be starting a brand new internship this fall in London when I return. For the most part, I plan on trying to take it easy this summer. I'm emotionally and physically drained. I have some plans to visit friends and for them to visit me as well.

See you Tuesday, America! 

Destress

After finishing my three exams back to back last Wednesday, I took Thursday off to refresh. I organized my computer files, backed up photos, and even watched a movie. I know- the movie thing is big. Sitting there for two hours and not doing anything was huge for me.

Thursday evening, I finally crossed something off my London bucket list! I got dinner in Brick Lane with some friends.  Brick Lane is famous for Indian food, and I never have made it over there! It was well worth the experience. We grabbed curry at a restaurant called Aladdin that had been named one of the best curry places by the BBC.  

After dinner, we grabbed some drinks to celebrate being 75% done with finals. 

I'm off to go study for my last test on Wednesday! 

Arm Wrestling

These girls got me through this year!

Brett and me

Three Exams Down, One to Go!

This week has been crazy so far.  I took three exams on back to back days. Economics on Monday, government and game theory on Tuesday, and management yesterday. To say that I was tired would be an understatement. They were some of the hardest tests that I ever taken in my entire life. But, they are over! Today, I start studying for my last exam which is next Wednesday. It's hard to believe that next Wednesday at 6pm, I will be done with my first year of grad school.  As I return to the textbooks, I'll leave you with some photos on how a lot of us celebrated yesterday!

It's June!

My exams finally start today. And by finally, I do mean that by the time most of you are reading this, I will be wrapping up my economics final exam. It's worth 100% of my grade. 

May the odds be ever in my favor. 

Tomorrow and Wednesday, I have my government and management exams. And, then one week later, I will take my last one- econometrics.

Thus, studying is what has caused a lack of blog posts. I've been doing a lot of fun things to try to balance out the studying. (See my post yesterday about the Sound of Change Concert)!

Once my exams are over, I'll officially be on break till October. Hell of a vacation, huh? My internship that is based in London will wrap up mid-July. I'm escaping to the US then! Get prepared, America!

For now, I'll leave you with some photos for what I have been up to besides studying! 

Celebrated a 'Bon Voyage' evening with my friend John- he's headed to Burma! 

Hung out at Portobello Road and ate this delicious sandwich!

And, yes...continued my way to eat every macaroon ever. 

If you need me...

I'm currently trying to cut down on this workload:

Week Recap

In between studying, writing papers, and not drinking numerous amounts of coffee, I've been trying to take advantage of London spring weather. 

(Okay, okay...that does include drinking a lot of coffee no matter what I'm doing.)

On Friday evening, we had a MPA happy hour/welcome back drinks at a local pub near campus. It was great getting to see a lot of my friends after a month away. 

Brett and me

Natalia and me

On my quest to continue to find the best cupcakes in London, my friend Karen and I tried out Peggy Porschen Cakes in Sloane Square on Saturday. I met Karen at Local Levo London Launch Event! It's been a great resource for networking, but also finding new friends! We indulged ourselves on cupcakes and shared plenty of laughs! 

Champagne and Strawberry Cupcake!

On Sunday,  a few of us got together to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! My friend, Manny, lives near Hoxton, and there is a large park that we spent the day in.  

London Fields Park 

It's been great being able to add "fun" to my hectic study schedule! 

Exam Motivation

In my sophomore year of college, my spring semester was one of the most stressful periods ever. It was the semester I quit mock trial. It was the semester that I got my heart ripped out and shattered. It was also the semester where I took some of the hardest courses ever. 

(I always was the overachiever taking 400 level courses when a sophomore.)

But, one day when I was studying for the finals, I discovered a song that had been out for awhile.  It's actually a speech set to background music...

"Everybody wear Sunscreen"

Yes, I know the song had been out for awhile. It's still an amazing song that resonates today. So, if you need a break or motivation to continue studying for exams, take a listen. And, pass it on!