Eccentric Everything: On Journeys, Cluelessness, and Inspiration

For the past few days, my face has been exactly like the one above. Right now, I'm still being thwarted with excitement, to the point of teary-eyes in almost all instances. It's just that I can't believe that it's finally happening, that this is occurring. And if you want to know what that is, well...... you'll have to read on!

[Insert a cool af introduction title here]

Okay. I always open my statements with this, but what the heck? If anyone here knows me, he/she would know that I really love to travel. But wait. Right now I think traveling is too much of a light word for me to use to characterize what I truly love. I think the most accurate description for that would be EXPERIENCING. Yes, going to and from countries or locales equates to traveling, but I get a much deeper sense as to what I'm really doing when I go beyond the boundaries of traveling and just be there and experience it all.

February 2014 was the first time I got to experience an entirely new different world. I was delegated in a cultural exposure in Chiba, Japan by my local YMCA. Now that is one thing that I'm still ecstatic about. I remember feeling that jolt of excitement every time I reminisce those cold nights on the streets, warm drinks from conbinis, and the food. God, the food! I miss my Japanese friends too, and I promised that I'll visit them frequently. I haven't gotten around to going back to Japan just yet, but I never break my promises. And my mom has recently been keen on letting me stay at her friend's home in Nagasaki for a long period of time. That exposure really opened my eyes about Japanese culture. I got to meet people and impart our own culture with them. Everything was so much fun, and that was particularly so because of the friendship and experience involved.

Going back, the things running through my mind right now fill me with the same giddiness I felt when I learned that I was going to Japan and not just tour around. Don't get me wrong though, I think that touring and enjoying the sights are perfect. It's just that these opportunities that present themselves to people such as I (who don't come from extravagant backgrounds) have a particular weight on my sentiments and my perspective on the world.

So what IS happening?!

One breezily humid night that fell on the 2nd of March, I was scrolling through my social media and my emails, when one particular subject made my face look like the one above instantaneously. I gripped my heart, because I knew what it meant, or what it might've NOT meant, and clicked. After reading the entire email, I sighed with relief and started screaming in the house! What exactly was the email about? Well...

"The Oxford Tradition Scholarship Offer"

Summer, 2015 was the time when I decided that I wanted to try applying for a scholarship to this program. It'd been recommended to me by a dear friend, and I wished her luck when she applied, and she also wished me luck when I applied, and now I can't believe it's really happening! I'M GOING TO OXFORD FOR ONE MONTH (July)! My family and I thought that this would be a fantastic opportunity for me to take. I'd gain entirely new perspective and experience. Both of which I really love. Add in the fact that it's gonna be in London? Oxford? Fave places? Umm....... Who wouldn't faint at the idea?

And no, I'm not bragging. That would've been the worst reason for me to post this. I wanted to vent this out to you guys because I just NEED to scream this out: Instead of traveling, try experiencing the places you want to go to. Again, I have no bad intentions for those who decide to just relax and post pictures, but experiencing the culture, especially the people, will probably make us better at being open with the world and just connecting. Going to places isn't only a hobby, it's also an opportunity. An opportunity to absorb how the world works, and absorb how you adapt to these mechanisms.

Two more things.

Since I've already put this out here, I'm going to be blunt. Does anyone have any tips on how to maneuver in London? I mean, where do I go, how do I budget, where's everything? I'm practically clueless. If anyone of you guys know or have any tips on how to live in London efficiently and how to budget, please don't hesitate to reach me! I'm desperately clueless! (I'll be living in one of Oxford's colleges, though)

Sometimes I just smile to hide my cluelessness.

On another note, now's the perfect chance for me to launch my Pinterest! I've created this long-ago, but I haven't really expounded about it. Basically, it's a social network where users can share inspiration and inspirational pictures/quotes/etc, and arrange them into boards so that people can follow the boards (or other people), and expand the community! In this case, my pinterest is already set up to accommodate my blog's brand. It has diverse boards that contains anything under the sun (more organized than that, though), so if you want, you can check it out HERE!