considering that my name means light of the sun, this journal is dedicated to the things around me.

December 22nd, 2014: three days before Christmas and I was anxiously waiting at the Des Moines airport for my flight out to Chicago O’Hare before making my way to London Heathrow in the morning. I kept my fingers crossed hoping the snowstorm wouldn’t affect my flight, but it did.

It was my first time flying to London, so I was deadpan excited. Nearly 24 hours later, I was finally flying over the English skyline. I could’ve sworn I was looking right at the London Eye before the plane shifted and navigated its way towards the airport so I had a very limited view of the city. But my goodness, the night-lights were beautiful. Even the air smelt different when we boarded off - light and inviting.

Fast forward to New Years, the city was relatively quiet compared to the hustle and bustle from the night before.

January 2nd, 2014: Glasgow was beautiful. The cathedrals, the buildings, the roads, the constantly wet tarmacs – it was daunting to see how stunning the city was from a micro point of view. The more streets I walked on, the more I started to notice how the roman arches were built into almost every notable piece of architecture in the city – from the shape of the St. Mungo’s Cathedral, to the halls of the University of Glasgow, to even the Clyde’s Arc. The Clyde River, in my opinion, was probably the spot with the most relaxing view.

I stayed in Glasgow for three days and two nights before I took another bus down to Manchester. For 4 hours, I was fixated on the view outside my window. The road overlooking the Scottish plains were no less exquisite than the view the city had to offer.

The streets of Manchester had character. As the tram passing through Piccadilly Garden paid its tribute to the Wheel of Manchester, I on the other hand, found every red brick that paved the alleyways to be quite alluring. By this time around, I’ve taken at least 100 photos (possibly more) of alleyways across the places I’ve visited so far.

Before I knew it, I was on the bus back to London, and a few underground tubes to Greenwich. I didn’t really know why I was moving around so much but I did know I just needed to go somewhere, see new places, and find new things to ogle at.

On one hand, I was excited to go wherever my wallet would take me. On the other, it was actually my first time properly traveling on my own so I didn't mind the thought of going back to America completely broke. It was a refreshing experience, despite the gloomy winter weather.