This is a post I had hoped I would get to write for forever and I was supposed to straight after I got the news - but life from the middle of 2016 was just a lot, in a lot of ways.
But here we are in 2017, here I am in London, and something I had been hoping/working for for the past 3 years has come to life.
I remember imagining that one day I would be able to write the blogpost title you're looking at above.
It's a bit insane.
So, backstory: Since I started uni I wanted to do an exchange and very quickly after looking into all the possibilities my heart got set on University College London.
Very few people knew about it because:
a. It was a competitive uni to get into and I kept thinking what happened if the year I was applying happened to be a year where all the other people applying for UCL were better than me :P
b. The process for applying for exchange (and waiting for confirmation) was sooo gruelling/intense/drawn out
c. I am very much the person who likes to keep things to themselves until it's all confirmed.
A photo posted by Raashi Agarwal (@raashiagarwal) on
And now, I'm in London. Why London? UCL is an amazing, reputable institution and especially great for what I'm studying - I wanted the experience of attending this uni. London, living in London, I don't think I need to say more about that - I feel very grateful. Can someone say weekend trips to Paris (and so many places in Europe?) :P SO. EXCITED. The process for getting here was a lot. I was so, so, so anxious waiting to hear SOMETHING from them. I just wanted to know. I was so worried it wouldn't happen and as much as I'm a believer in everything happening for a reason, this thing, this thing was something I just really, really wanted, wanted so bad. One morning I woke up, grabbed my phone, refreshed my email as I had anxiously been doing every single day for a while back then, and UCL's name popped up in my list - the email title was: Offer to study at UCL
It was real and now that I'm here, I can confirm it's 100% real.
Sometimes I am walking down the streets here and I still can't believe it.
If only 18 year old Raashi knew that it would have all worked out :P
There was a lot happening in the lead up to me coming here and so it was hard at times that I was leaving home but I was also so, SO excited to do something for me.
Everyone told me I would get homesick and sad initially when I got here for the first few days, but I had been anticipating this for so long and I know what I usually am like with new experiences, I just didn't think it would be the case, I was just so excited.
The final few days before leaving I was super emotional. At times I was even thinking why I was doing this to myself, haha. But at the same time I always still had that excitement about everything I had been waiting for to be coming my way.
I have been here for officially one month today and that is crazy to me, I don't know whether time has gone fast or slow, but luckily I am so enjoying it and I always knew I would. I had been feeling like this was the right time for me to do something like this for a while now. And I'm doing it!
I have been so out of the blogging world for a bunch of different reasons but this experience is so special to me, I do want to have my record of it on here ☺️
I decided a little while before coming that I would do a video for every month that I am here and you'll be seeing January's Video Recap tomorrow! ☺️
I hope I get more into blogging again and get to read all of your lovely posts from time to time - in between all the exploring...and even some studying, hahaha.
So I guess this is it for now...? Haha, just a good ol' hello from little me in London Town! (So crazy!!!)
