Mumford and Sons

I didn't think it was possible for anyone to outdo Florence, but tonight was incredible. Mumford came on the stage and captivated the audience every minute afterward. 

The video above shows how they make their big entrance. I thought my heart would burst with excitement!

They then continued to play every song they've ever made that has touched my heart and pulled my soul into a misty, dark but brilliant place. 
They opened with Babel- a large screen pulled back and the band practically burst into flames. Lover of the Light, Below My Feet, Hopeless Wander, I Will Wait, Little Lion Man, Awake My Soul, The Cave, Roll Away Your Stone, White Blank Page, Lovers Eyes, and more! I wish I could live it all again. I think my personal favorite was lover of the light. The lighting, sound, the excitement of the crowd was all such an amazing experience. 
I felt young and free and perfect tonight! This is what living your God given life to the fullest is all about.

Its Hard to Dance with the Devil on Your Back

Last week we went to Florence and the Machine at the O2 in North Greenwich. It was the best concert experience I have had yet in my life (which is saying a lot because Coldplay was unbelievable). 

She is a great performer- running around, talking (but not too much), and singing better than she sounds on the album. It was neat to see her in her hometown, and we could tell she was happy to be surrounded by 10s of thousands of people. She explained that she had some of her best hangovers and wrote some of her best songs here in London (thanks, Florence.. haha) 

The pictures don't do the set justice, very cool!

My friend Kate's birthday was over this weekend! We had to wake up a bit earlier than we would have liked for a meeting with our Graduate department. Afterwards, a few of the girls in our program went to a restaurant on High Street Kensington called Giraffe. Then we went to the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland! For all you peeps at home its like a giant Silver Dollar City on crack at Christmas! Rollercoasters, restaurants, pubs, rides, games, etc. You could definitely feel the holiday cheer and the winter cold! 

Lisa and I went on one of the scary looking roller coaster rides that spins on a big arm and also spins on the separate cart you are on! So we had a pretty good view from three hundred feet up- we saw Big Ben, Parliament, and St.Paul's! Then the ride started moving and we were suddenly seeing the London skyline from right-side-up, upside-down, and right-side-up again in a matter of a second from 300 ft in the air. INSANE! We couldn't stop laughing as we plummeted to the ground spinning. 

Kate wanted to go on a more chill ride- but don't worry, it was still insane! I also learned a very important lesson... Never sit on the outside of a ride that goes really fast in a circle! Oh the bruises..

Another thing:

I'm sure most of you have read and seen it on my facebook, but the squirrels around here are a little different than the squirrels at home. Here, I can be walking on the sidewalk and see a squirrel running in the park next to me thirty feet away. I make a noise with my mouth and that squirrel will start running towards me and come right up to sit and stare at me. One time, a squirrel even started crawling up my leg in Austria! This is no joke, I really have no explanation for it! They all do it. Its really weird. I can't wait to try it on the squirrels at home!

Watch the Squirrel charming video here:http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1795315995684

Lost in London

I'm walking through the tube station and thinking, “I cannot wait 'til I go home for Christmas, things will be great once I land in NWA. I can't wait to leave.” I came to London to explore and be adventurous. Somewhere in the back of my mind I'm still waiting for it to all begin. What is wrong with me? IT HAS BEGUN! I cannot tell you how many times I have woken up in the last week and thought, “Just __ more days til I am in ____!” Fill in the blank with Bentonville, Fayetteville, my house, with friends at Clems, in Dallas with Clo, etc. Places I loved. Places I still love. Places I miss. Places that my friends here are certainly tired of hearing me talk about.

Iron and Wine put it best, “everything looks perfect from far away.” They probably weren't singing about my hometown, but hey- works for me. 

I'M LIVING IN LONDON. 

BE HERE.

BE HERE.

My loyalty and love of home is my greatest strength and my greatest flaw. I have learned new things since I moved to London, talked to strangers, made new friends, and found how to love a new home. But I can't get the old one out of mind, I have trouble appreciating the home I've made here. I've taken it for granted a thousand times, I know. 

Sometimes I take a look at where I am in my life and think that maybe this could be the future, that I could maybe live here forever. I love London. I could be happy here for a long time. Then I remember I have my life somewhere else, too. I feel like I have pieces of me scattered in all the places I’ve been to. 

I don't know what I want from life, maybe this time of travel is about finding what that is. I feel like I was more sure before I left, but maybe the uncertainty is a good thing. I was hoping to narrow my career path- so naive, I've broadened it!  Now, there are more questions than all the answers I've been searching for, and a bank account that has lost a few pounds (no pun intended.. okay, maybe it was). 

Never been more lost, but I'm also more aware of the person I am becoming. I think I've grown as an individual. Its amazing what you learn about yourself when you take away the places and people who have molded who you've become. 

That is why I have to be HERE. Be in the moment, and live it up. I can't stop!