It’s been one week since I arrived in the beautiful and vibrant city of London! There are endless opportunities here from seeing a show on the West End, taking in the what seems like infinite markets, venturing out for a day trip to a neighboring town, or even just going on a stroll along the Thames. The biggest takeaway I’ve gotten, which has proved to be true, is a quote from Dr. Samuel Jackson, which we talked about in my Writing the City course, “A man who is tired of London, he is tired with life.” There is something for anyone and everyone here and I cannot wait to keep exploring.
When I came on this study abroad program, I really had zero expectations. After two long years of anticipation and concerns on if I’d ever get to study abroad, I never thought what would happen when I got here. Because of that, I feel that my goals and hopes have really evolved from what I expected as a rising sophomore in the spring of 2020, to a rising senior, wrapping up her college career.
On a particular project I worked on this previous semester, I learned about the importance of having a worldly view, and an understanding of the events and trends happening internationally to truly be equipped to make strategic and innovative business decisions. I took that revelation to heart and have been prioritizing it significantly on this program. Therefore, when it comes to having personal, professional, and academic goals, I have tried to wrap them into one streamlined experience hope to grow as an overall person, which will subsequently affect all other sub-departments of my life and help me develop a unique mindset when it comes to marketing.
For example, while on the Global Business Institute Program, I am not taking business-specific classes. Instead, I decided to take Writing the City as well as Analyzing and Exploring the Global City. At Pitt, I am receiving a Public and Professional Writing certificate to help with my writing capabilities as a marketer, but Writing the City takes this effort from a much different angle. Rather than reports and research, I am writing poems, memoirs, and short stories. I hope this will allow me to bring a whole new element to copy and short writing in the marketing field.
Experiencing the different lifestyles of European life, I hope to walk away personally with a good sense of work-life balance. Not in the sense of not working hard or working less hours, but when work is over, learning how to mentally separate the two of work and life. When the clock strikes five, the streets are flooded with colleagues out to the pubs, to get dinner, or to go on evening strolls. Acquaintances who were just in a meeting discussing budgets, are now excited to go watch the football game! Life does not stop during the work week, and the emphasis on working to live is alive and evident.