So it may be a last minute blog post, but its for the better I promise. As everyone arrived today, I got here yesterday, just in time for the world to take a moment of silence for London. I got here early afternoon, on June 3rd, ready to take on the streets, meet some new faces, and explore with those who were familiar to me from UMass Lowell. I arrived earlier than the rest so I tried keeping my explorations close to where we were staying during our time here.. responsible, right? Well sometimes you can’t really help what goes on around you, even if it’s minutes to where you feel most comfortable. I sat at a bar stool watching the biggest futbal game of the season, asking the locals to explain to me just exactly what was going on. People roared with rage then moments after yelled in celebration as it was clearly a good game. These people made me feel comfortable, at home even as it reminded me of the small town I grew up in. A single siren interrupted the celebrations which turned to dozens followed by police officers coming from no where. Screams filled the streets and blue lights lit up the buildings. At first, it was merely an accident, probably something minor. The police officers became more frantic and the people more confused. It wasn’t till shortly after that, people from home were texting me asking if I was okay. Photos from the news were sent to update me and I feel as if things got worse every minute. I wasn’t allowed to leave quite yet so I wasn’t entirely sure as to what EXACTLY was going on..finally officers came in yelling to evacuate and get home safe. Thanks to the friendly people I had met, I did exactly that with their help and guidance. It wasn’t until I was laying in bed with the news on when it hit me. This was happening, and I was in the center of it. It got me thinking, it wasn’t just happening then, but everyday. We don’t realize it though, because we aren’t really caught in the center of it..

Things are going on all over the world that we live in and usually tend to take for granted. People are getting hurt, innocent beings are being killed, ice caps are melting, and while all this is happening, we read about it on Facebook, ‘like’ the article and continue scrolling. This time, the happenings were much more than a Facebook post or a newspaper article..

I apologize for not updating this blog with the beautiful churches of London, or iconic red telephone booths that we all know and love, but I felt that this topic was a bit more heavy on my heart and deserved a bit of attention. My thoughts go out to all of those who were affected during this time as I hope the word feels the same.

Hayley