Wednesday, 3-6-96
12:27 AM London
6:27 PM E-Town (3-5-96)

Well, I am 21 now! At least in England I am… I just talked to Mom & Dad! When they answered the phone and heard my voice they sang “Happy Birthday!” to me! They are so sweet… it was just so great to hear their voices! They are such luvs… They had just gotten done reading all my e-mails when I called they said! I got special permission to call Deborah long distance since I got this awesome b-day package in the mail from her today… She wasn’t home &  Sally Kellogg (one of her roommates) answered. All of a sudden I started bawling & said for Sally to just tell her I miss her & love her & to give her a big hug for me & tell her thanks for the package! ☺︎ Then Sally said how much they all miss me & I said to tell everyone I say, “Hello!” Wow! Okay, I am a bit of a basket case at the moment, but it will pass… How amazing it is to be so loved!

Well, after an incredible 20th year, from Camp Algonquin, to being President of ALR, to ending up here in London… just full of surprises! It is hard to believe I am of legal drinking age in the States & all the other lil’ things that come along w/ being 21! ☺︎

I wanna be profound, but am not in that state at the moment…

I am just in a sort of bittersweet whirl of emotion! I feel so blessed!

Tonight Jillian came to mass w/ me. It was very powerful for me & I prayed asking God to continue to bless me & be a strong part of my life in the year to come… I went over the year that has passed w/ God. I thanked God for all the learning experiences I was faced with throughout the year… the wonderful people that have passed through my life — some for a short while — other to become a more permanent part of my days — others, like my dear Grampa Robert, the good Lord took home to a far greater place than I can even fathom…

Throughout the mass I was just overcome w/ a feeling of love, joy, peace, & hope! Afterwards I spent a good deal of time e-mailing. I got messages today from Cheryl, Mitch, Kerry & Cooper!

After e-mailing — I had many messages to reply to since this weekend… — I worked out at the ULU! Feeling very refreshed, I headed home & hung out and chatted w/ Lori until midnight, when I turned the big TWO – ONE! ☺︎

Now, going back to this morning… I slept in a bit & then awoke to find a card from Maureen, one from Kelly (homemade in the shape of a “21” ☺︎), one from Nina Anderson, a letter from Suzie, & a super care-package & card from Deb!

She is so thoughtful! The card was titled “The Internet Birthday” which I got a real kick out of since we e-mail so much, which is why she said she picked it out! Inside was a description of what she called my “Birthday Fun Kit!:”

1. A Phi bear to remind you of all you sister in Chambana.
2. Mary Englebreit stickers for your stationary
3. A Pooh frame for your favorite little picture to put on the fridge
4. Silly Putty to relieve stress & boredom
5. PEZ to eat on the Tube on the way to class

How awesome & creative is that!?! ☺︎

Class today was fine. I gave my presentation w/ no major gaps or flaws! Before mass Jill & I had dinner at the ULU Green Room. Actually, she had dinner & I ate a snack, one I had packed… We had a nice chat before we stopped by Dillion’s bookstore on the way to mass…

Well, this entry has gone full circle, so I better try to get some sleep, it is 1 AM now & this is going to be a long day! I have class this morning & then I may hit a museum or something in the afternoon, for myself on my b-day! ☺︎

I decided not to do any work, besides taking notes in class… Then I have a field trip w/ London History Class, after which me & my friends here are gonna celebrate at the ULU pub, the “Duck & Dive!” I hope it is a great day! I know it can be since I am just so happy to be alive, healthy, & blessed w/ awesome friends & family… All expectations aside! I’m just gonna go w/ the flow! Stever would be proud… as his fav. quote says: “Life moves pretty fast! If you don’t stop & take a look around once & a while, you might miss it!” – Ferris Bueller

Life is good! ☺︎

CHEERS! ☺︎

P.S. Mel just stopped by to say “Happy B-day!” ☺︎

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Note from Present Day Kathy: That is such a great Ferris Bueller quote, though I got one word wrong… It should read “look around once in a while,” not “look around once & awhile!” ☺︎

I continue to be amused by how I use “…” so much in my entries, as well as that I spell “e-mail” with a dash and how I spoke of the internet, especially in relation to my friend’s care package. That said, I know it was the early days of email and the internet, so we were all still get used to the novelty of it, which seems funny to think about now.

ALR stood for the Association for Leisure & Recreation majors (or something like that) and at the start of my junior year of college the President changed majors from Leisure Studies to another field and as the Vice President of our student organization, I took over the role.

The “21” card that (not her real name) Kelly made me is pictured above. The 1 is backwards as it opened with the 2 on the front and the 1 on the back.

I looked it up and the University of London Union (ULU) is now referred to as Student Central and the Duck & Dive is now The Library. I get that 23 years later things are going to have changed and I find it both interesting and bittersweet to see how much has. I found pictures of The Library online, on the Student Central website and though they’ve remodeled the space, I can still recognize it as the pub I hung out at often that semester, especially after Canoe Polo Club on Wednesday nights.

I am also fascinated by my voice and worldview 23 years ago. I was certainly more emotional, optimistic and idealistic, which I guess is to be expected in my twenties vs. my forties. I am still an optimist, but I think I have a more mature perspective on the realities of life and adulthood that really isn’t possible to fully grasp at 21. As I’ve said in other entries, I appreciate how strong my faith was back then, although maybe a bit naïve. I love how grateful I was in this entry too, as I reflected on my 20th year of life and all that was wonderful about it!

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Reminder: Unless I’ve been given permission to use people’s actual names, in most cases I’ve removed or replaced the names of the real people who were part of my journey/experience there, in effort to protect and respect their identities/privacy in my London Semester Journal entries. I will also not share details that I think and feel are too personal for anyone I interacted with, my loved ones, and me.

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Here’s the back story of My London Semester Journals from 1996, including what prompted me to revisit and decide to share them here in 2018. And here’s a list a list of the entries, which I will update as I share them.

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