Wednesday 13 July 2011

A Little Bit of Background

Hi. My name is Molly and the two things I love most in this world are books and journeys.

This was the first result for "books and journeys." Despite my lack of masculinity and jungle journeys, I feel it's appropriate.

Now, that isn't to say that there aren't other things I'm interested in. I watch much too much television and there was a point in my life when I could rattle off the names of countless Japanese celebrities. But if you were to ask me the two things most important to me at any time from the ages of three to twenty three, I would have no hesitation. I love to read and I love to go places.

I've been in love with books since the first time my mother took me to story time at my local library when I was two. I have vivid memories of wandering up and down the halls of the old library, knowing every inch of the children's section and, with the addition of the new self-check machines, helping confused adults check out books while my mother stood in line for our holds. 

There's just something incredibly magical about losing yourself in a book. There is no other medium that sucks you in like that, that mesmerizing state of imagination and prose, when no matter where you are, you're somewhere else. I can honestly remember periods of my childhood where I'd sit down on a couch with a book and look up to find it somehow hours later and my stomach growling out of nowhere. 

I looked something like this, but more modern and way less coifed.


If you recognized anything of yourself in those last few paragraphs, you should know that I now consider you a kindred spirit.

I think it was all those books at a young age that inspired the second love. I never said that I loved travelling. No, what I always wanted was a journey. Like all the characters from the books I loved so well, I wanted to head out with a purpose and discover things along the way. Of course, I probably wouldn't be the best heroine as a four year old but I'd like to think that as time passed, I might just have inherited those qualities of a classic novel heroine. 

If those animals could do it, so could I!


As such, I've taken pretty much every chance I could to go pretty much anywhere. As a kid, I traveled all around America with my parents, visiting ever-moving relatives and seeing lots of different sights (some I wanted to see, others not so much). It wasn't until I was older that I caught that world travelling bug. A trip to Japan in high school awakened the desire to see different cultures around the world and so, during college, I took every opportunity to fly off into the wild blue yonder. I recently figured out that, since 2008, I haven't gone more than six months without taking an intercontinental flight. It's frantic, it's tiring but, by gosh, it's the journey my life has taken. 

Molly's Journeys

2005


July - Niigata, Japan
A school exchange with a small group of my friends to a small city in Japan. That's where it all started, friends.

2008


January - Ireland
A class on the history of Ireland took me on a tour starting and ending in Dublin, hitting cities like Belfast, Derry, Galway and Killarney on the way. It was glorious.



September through December - London, England
A semester sent abroad at Queen Mary University in the East End of London. Good friends, good classes, good adventures.


November - Copenhagen, Denmark
A visit to another friend studying abroad. I never thought I would go to Denmark but I'm so happy I did. It's like a storybook.


2009


April though August - Tokyo, Japan
Another semester abroad at Sophia University. With my group of four great friends (Angela, Tegge, Amy and Jenny), we pretty much conquered the city. It was an amazing experience.


2010


January - Italy, France
Another class, this time on Christian Art History took me from Florence to Rome to Paris, with several stops along the way. It was certainly interesting, from a crazy group of students to freezing churches in January. 



July through December - Tokyo, Japan
Here's where we met at first, dear readers. A job teaching at an English school in Tokyo brought me back to the city where I had my greatest adventures. Sadly, I didn't have my four companions beside me but a few new friends helped the time go by.


2011


January through March - Tokyo, Japan
The last few months in Japan were filled with a bit of stress and a surprise ending. Although it was tough at times, it was good, too and I'm happy it happened.



September through September 2012 - London, England
Is this my first time announcing it on the blog? I'M MOVING TO LONDON! I was accepted into University College London to get my Masters in Shakespearean Studies. So don't worry, this book blog isn't going anywhere.

And that's it, folks. That's the girl who's writing all of these nonsensical posts. I definitely turned all of my studious travels into mini-adventures that I promise to fill you guys in on. And now that I'm moving abroad again, you'll be the first to know when something ridiculous happens over in the UK. 

You know, as long as I can write about it on the internet.

And hopefully it is as awkward and hilarious as failbook

No comments:

Post a Comment