Walking through London was an amazing experience in it of itself, but what was even more amazing is when the walking stopped. Where I especially loved to stop walking was Westminster Abbey. This amazing piece of architecture brings so much more to light than the beauty it supplies to the city of Westminster. The city itself, buzzing with modern Up until that point in time on the trip, it was pretty much all about the historical stuff (although amazing!) was not my forte. Learning that we would be going to Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey and actually have the opportunity to stand on and experience the burial sites off so many of the most important (and my favorite) minds from the English and Literature realm, really sparked my fancy.
Me, a right-brained, fashion major turned English major, was in awe of all the beautiful art and architecture put into these amazing individuals eternal resting places. As English majors, we read so much literature from all these dead guys and never really get to connect to these writers. What is a better connection to the literature than being so close to the bodies of the people that wrote it? I got to stand on the grave of CHARLES DICKENS! HOLY CRAP! My favorite poet from my Intro to Poetry class and British Literature was Alfred, Lord Tennyson and I got to stand (and maybe dance a little) on his grave. This single moment made the entire trip worthwhile. If that was the only thing I did in London, I would have been just as happy. Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration, but what do you want from me? I’m an English major so therefore I am a tad bit dramatic. Seriously though, it was such a highlight of my trip. This experience was the most enriching for me because I finally got to connect all the historical aspects of the trip to where my soul lies, English.
The day that we went to Westminster Abbey was one of the best days of my life. I feel so cool because I can say I saw the tomb of Chaucer, a Shakespeare memorial, the Bronte sister’s memorial, the grave of my favorite poet, and graves of some of the most important figures from my education. The day was followed by my getting tattoo of a book with the words “anything can be.” right above it. I got a tattoo of a book the same day as visiting the Westminster Abbey, experiencing so much rich literary history. So, now, I’ll REALLY never forget it!
-Taylor Thomas, English Nerd