This month's travel link-up topic is our "greatest adventure". I thought about my first trip to England at the age of 14. I thought about eating pho on the side of the road in Hanoi. I thought about my impromptu weekend in New York. I thought about my decision to live abroad.
Then I delved between those moments. I thought about the catalyst for my move to London; about the chain of events that propelled me to the future that I have today.
And I remembered the place where it truly began; I remembered the porters at our college calling out my name ("Jaime") and my roommate's name ("Jamie") when our rooms were assigned on the first day. I remembered saying the oath at the Bodleian aloud when asked.
I remembered Oxford and all its intracacies: the funny names for the terms (Michaelmas, Hilary and Trinity), the way we shortened "tutorial" to "tute", and the weird and crazy "entz" parties we had in the Junior Common Rooms.
I remembered sitting across from the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy in the photo above (because we were boys and girls, then) and rushing back to our staircase to find his name, running my finger down the list of names until I found the only "John" there. I remembered my tutorials with the great-great-great nephew of William Wordsworth, Jonathan Wordsworth, and how his cats used to jump on my papers during the tutorials at his house.
I remembered it all: the laughter, the fun, the anxiety, the heartbreak, the heartache. The uncertainty I felt for a future which I know now to be resplendent in happiness and joy. The color of the boats bobbing below Magdalen bridge.
Isn't it funny how, when we're on an adventure, we don't necessarily know it yet? We don't know that we're at the top of the waterfall, paddling furiously towards the edge. We don't know how our boat will take the fall; whether it will capsize and drown us all, or whether we'll go whoosh all the way to the bottom and do more than just survive: we'll thrive.
Were the six months I spent studying at Oxford my greatest adventure? Well, it was the point at which the rest of my life began. It's what led me to love, a career, and a life abroad. And I can't help but think that, yeah - it was a pretty amazing, damn fantastic time.
This month's travel link-up is hosted by Angie, Emma, Jessi, and guest host Andrea. Head over to their blogs to read about their greatest adventures.
I love this so much! Fascinating to have an insight into your time at Oxford, which opened the door to the rest of your life! Great post :-)
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Thank you so much, Sophie! I wanted to tell the story as a collection of my memories - they're random but they're the ones that stick out to me the most. Thank you for stopping by to read!
DeleteI loved reading this - Oxford is such an amazing place, and something of an envy to me (academically I always felt like it was something I aspired to but could never achieve) but I had the opportunity over the years to visit friends and the place and though it was more from an 'outside' perspective, it was still a wonder :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cherie! It's a truly special place, and one that I'm very grateful to have spent time in. There's something magical about its very walls; the tradition, the history, and all the laughter that comes along with it.
DeleteGoing to study in another country must be such an amazing opportunity, I wish I'd had the chance to do it. It's amazing to read about your experiences :)
ReplyDeleteI could totally see you having done an exchange at a university in the US, Angie! Studying abroad changed my life - I wish someone would have shown me a crystal ball then to see into my future, but it's been fun coming across all the surprises along the way! :)
DeleteI'm a sucker for a great love story and this one I absolutely love this one! Oxford is such a pretty place to have studied in. I studied in London and as fun as it was and is, it ain't nearly as quaint and charming :)
ReplyDeleteHaha! Thanks for reading, Shikha. I admire you for studying in London - I don't think I'd have the guts to do that when I was that age ... I'm a lot more streetwise now. I think Oxford was probably best for me in that regard!
DeleteAh it's lovely when things you don't expect actually end up being such a huge and memorable part of your life. And what a lovely city to have those memories in :)
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy! I love going back to Oxford with John because of the memories we have there ... at the same time, we were such different people then! I'm so thankful that we grew together there.
DeleteOh Jaime, how funny to read something that you feel captures your own experience. I haven't found that "ah, this is where I'm supposed to be" until 12 years after I first stepped foot in Europe. But I distinctly remember that feeling of "I think I'm onto something here... I'm on the right path and so excited for the future." You have such a way with words :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so, so much. It's exactly that: that moment when you realize that you're onto something ... it's like walking through a house with lots of rooms and taking a tentative peek around the corner of each room before walking in. So exciting.
DeleteSuch a lovely post Jaime! Oxford is so beautiful and such a gorgeous place to fall in love. Andrea xxx
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Thanks, Andrea! This was such a great topic - well done for coming up with it!
DeleteStudying at Oxford must have been fantastic, we have friends who did an MBA there and they showed us round their college.
ReplyDeleteIt was a wonderful experience, Suze. I made some fantastic friends there (one of whom I'm seeing tomorrow) and I can't believe that I was lucky enough to meet John there as well!
DeleteThis is a great post and very close to my heart. My sister was at Oxford for her undergrad and I would visit every term - and started making friends there in my own right - and just never got tired of the architecture or the buzz of the town. It's so nice that the whole place has such an intrinsically academic vibe. Did you get to see the graduation ceremonies (I'm not talking about the fancy ones, I'm talking about the mental 'trashing' that they do)?!
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No way, Ellie! That's so lovely that you visited her every term. It's such a special place, isn't it? Yes! The graduation ceremonies were crazy.
DeleteThis is so beautifully written and I couldn't agree more whole heartedly about the top of the waterfall moment. Sometimes we don't know we've had our greatest adventure until it's over and we're at the bottom! Thanks for sharing this Jaime, loved it.
ReplyDeletePolly xx
Follow Your Sunshine
Thank you, my love! xx
DeleteJaime your post brought back a nostalgic flood of memories... I was at Oxford for my undergrad at St Hugh's (graduated 2010). Which year were you there? From the beautiful bylanes to the colourful punts, you've really captured the spirit of the university so wonderfully! xxx
ReplyDelete2005! I was at St. Catz. It was a wonderful time. xxx
DeleteI like your comment that we don't know we are on adventure - there's the obvious 'adventure' weekends but the rest of it, all the decisions and hobbies and fun - they are lifes great adventure!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anna!
DeleteAww lovely story - what a fantastic place to study and what a beautiful beginning to your expat life!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jessi!!!
DeleteWhat a beautiful story, I loved reading about it and it brought lovely memories of my visit to Oxford. Thanks for sharing. Also, huge compliments on the blog, its a beautiful space and I look forward to reading more stories. :) xoxo, nano
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Nano! That's so kind of you to say. I'm following you on Bloglovin' now and I look forward to reading your posts! xoxo
DeleteI love Oxford too! I've got a few friend that studied there and I always loved visiting them. Weddings at Oxford University are also pretty special :)
ReplyDeleteI love all the different colleges! Weddings at Oxford are definitely magical.
DeleteOxford is such a magical place. I went to university there (I think we may have been there at the same time!) and your photos have captured it perfectly. Keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Julianna! That's so cool that we were there at the same time! Which college were you at, and what did you read?
DeleteReally enjoy all your pieces. It's quite funny isn't it! I was at Keble and read English - feels like a very long time ago now though!
DeleteI love this post. It's beautifully written and I already want to know more! It's so true that we almost always don't realise - or appreciate - the adventure we're having until we look back on it years later. I spent a year as a student in Paris and I think you're so open to experiences at that time in your life. Six months in Oxford sounds far too short. Love the photos too.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for saying so, Clare. I have a lot of respect for your writing, so that means a lot coming from you! I would have much preferred to spend all three terms at Oxford (I was there for Hilary and Trinity terms) but I actually dropped my Chemistry major last minute in order to read English Literature and Philosophy abroad before being accepted to Oxford *right* before Michelmas term began, so I'm really grateful for just being able to be there for the rest of the terms!
DeleteThank you Jaime, that's such a lovely thing to write. I have to say I'd pick English Literature and Philosophy over Chemistry any day!
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