When the plain, brown envelope arrived, I had an idea what it was. Placing the rest of the mail aside, I retreated to my room, trying my best to remain calm. My increasingly nervous fingers tore away at the top of the envelope, and a small pamphlet about life in London slid out onto my bed.
"Well that's promising," I thought to myself.
I removed the package's remaining contents and saw what I had been dreaming about for months: a letter of acceptance to City University London. Joy, shock, disbelief and excitement slammed into me all at once, leaving me staring at my letter agog. It took a few moments for the numbness to fade away and for me to function again.
"OK, now what?" was my next rational thought. "I know: better tell Mom."
I walked downstairs and found her.
"I got in," I said.
"Got into what?" came the reply.
"I got in," I repeated.
"To school?" she asked, eyes widening.
I nodded.
"Now what?" she asked.
Progress was slow-going at first.
Fast-forward 17 months, and my bags are packed with paperwork in order. "Now what?" has a clear answer: I'll be pursing a master's degree in International Journalism. Throughout my time in London, I'll do my best to capture my life in and around the city.
Some of you reading this know me, and some of you probably don't, so please forgive my belated introduction. My name is Matt Jones. I'm a graduate of Penn State, lover of the written word and all-out football (the kind you play with your feet) fanatic.
I'll be arriving in London 12 September, and I should start writing about my adventures - and misadventures - shortly thereafter. I hope you'll all come along on the journey with me.
As Bilbo tells Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring: "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
Tomek