Live Life to the Fullest

Today I woke up with a wicked headache hours before my alarm.  I was really annoyed.  In typical fashion I turned on my phone to scroll through my messages and whatnot to wake myself up.  The above video was shared on Facebook by my little sister, Amanda.  

I was not expecting what I saw.  It was heartbreaking and inspirational all at once.  I cried at the unfairness of it all and downloaded Zach Sobiech's album from iTunes to honour his memory.

I've just found out that last night my brother, Will's long-time friend Todd passed away in a motorcycle accident.  It is tragic and horrible and many many more adjectives I can't think of right now.  I have fond memories of Todd.  I always thought he was such a cool guy.

Todd and Zach both passed away too soon.

My heart goes out to both their families and all their friends.

The message to take away from these tragedies is that you never know when it is going to be your time to go.  You need to make the most of every single day.  

Live life to the fullest.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Amanda, Charlotte, Melissa, Justine, Me, and Corinna enjoying Afternoon Tea!

I have tried to write a new post at least half a dozen times in the past two months.  I need to face facts and accept that it would take days maybe even weeks to adequately describe everything that has happened.  So let me update you on my current situation.

Today I wrote my second to last final exam. A little over a week from now I will write the final, final exam of my undergraduate degree.  I cannot wait to be done!  With a mixture of final papers and exams the exam period here in England has felt endless.  Basically I have been writing/studying fairly consistently since returning from my Easter break a month ago.  I thought exam period in Canada was bad and that was only a few weeks maximum.

All study, no play has never been, and never will be, used to describe me.  I made sure to fit in a few, well deserved study breaks/trips.  One of my goals when moving to England was to see as much of the country as I could manage to fit in during the short time I am here.  Thankfully there are a couple tour operators that have allowed me to see a good deal of the country by doing day and weekend trips.  During the last month some friends and I visited Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds Castle in Kent (not Leeds like I originally thought), and Canterbury.  Previous trips included stops in Bath, Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, Cambridge, Greenwich, Oxford, Windsor, and Eton.

A couple study breaks were spent in Brighton.  A week and a half ago, my friend from Canada, Aly popped down from London to visit for the day.  It was really great to see her and show her my favourite spots in town.  It felt like ages since we had seen her but in actuality it was only three weeks.  Melissa, Justine, and I spent two weeks travelling in Monaco and Paris with Aly during our Easter Break.

The most recent study break was yesterday.  The girls and I went for Sunday Afternoon Tea at our favourite teashop in town.  We are such frequent customers that the staff at That Little Teashop in the Lanes know us now.  We go at least once a week.  Their scones with Devon clotted cream and jam are to die for!

Well I better leave it there.  Tonight we are celebrating Justine’s golden birthday!