We All Live in a Yellow Submarine

12 May 2013

First off, let me say Happy Mother’s Day to my amazing mother. She is a great example of a woman of kindness, love, and true beauty. I have learned so much from her constant example of striving to be the best person she can be, and I am so thankful for everything she has taught me. I love you.

My delicious Crumpet I ate for breakfast (the English version of “English” muffins).

Minstrels by Galaxy…I have already eaten 2 bags since I have been in England, and Connie gave me another one to put in my purse…oh joy. They have different types of candies here. No Hershey brand, but they do have Nestles and several others that I have never heard of. Kind of fun!

Learning the history of eras such as the Neolithic, Medieval, Renascence, Reformation, etc. is extremely fascinating…but sometimes it is nice to learn a bit of history that isn’t so far distant from our current era. Liverpool is a splendid port city on the west coast of England with beauties such as a massive cathedral, a sophisticated university, and exquisite streets and shops that spiral through the city creating a unique display of vibrance and charm. Liverpool is known for its large ports, fantastic soccer team, and the names John, Paul, George and…Ringo.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Richard Starkey (known as Ringo because of the excessive jewelry he wore) are four names that will never be forgotten in Liverpool, the UK, nor in the world. John was clever, Paul was friendly, George was shy, and Ringo was funny-and together they formed the band we know as the Beatles. The Beatles are by far the single most important band in Rock and Roll history-welcome to the story of the greatest band in the history of the world.

I was able to visit the museum that tells the story of the Beatle greats, and I loved every minute of it! I just can’t believe how incredibly creative and successful these men were… They started out as a band known as the Quarrymen, but with the help of a Liverpool club called the Casbah-they evolved into the Beatles. The Beatles went on to awe fans across the nation with their musical talent and personable stage-presence. This group of teenagers was more than a band, they were musical geniuses and incredibly creative. They wrote songs with melodies that stuck in people’s ears and words that imprinted themselves in their minds. They knew how to relate to people, and they used this knowledge to get the ENTIRE world to fall in love with them. Being crazy enough to follow their creative aspirations and go against the “norm” is all it took for them to seize the world-song by song. For this reason, I too have fallen in love with them.

The story of how this band transformed from mere young teenagers to superstars in the music industry is incredible and I am so glad that I got to be a small part of it today. As I discover instances of successful innovation throughout history, I have found that every one relates back to being different from everything else. The Beatles too were different than everyone else, and this made them successful. They were teenagers, they were fun, they were serious, and they brought their own brilliance to the stage of Rock and Roll.

As I sit in the Alexander’s car on my way to Stansted right now, I can’t help but reflect on everything I have learned this past week in England. I have learned so much and already developed a love for the people. I am so lucky to be able to study in this beautiful country for a combined 10 weeks at Oxford and Cambridge. Not only will I learn so much from being a part of the unique culture the United Kingdom has to offer, but I will be learning from the two top Universities in Europe. I am absolutely blown away at this incredible opportunity I have been granted. Tomorrow bright and early I leave gorgeous England for historic Rome. The next month will offer an entire new set of adventures for me. I will travel from Italy to France, Germany, Czech, Hungary, etc…as I backpack throughout mainland Europe. The journey that is ahead of me is one full of mystery and adventure. I am stepping out into a big world, small and vulnerable, but ready to learn how I can be a better player in the bigger picture of life.