Yesterday was the big day. A whirlwind of activity in the morning led to tearful goodbyes and Ian practically dragging me out of Exeter – as you can imagine, I was not happy to leave.. Before leaving, though, we stood on my “balcony” (actually just a ledge with a short wall, definitely not supposed to be out there) and took it all in. I knew that I would never see this amazing view again, and breathing in the chilly morning Oxford air, I felt – and still feel – endlessly grateful for the month I’ve just had.

Let’s run it back just a bit. We had our graduation on Friday after a full day of lectures. Graduation was a small affair, but was sweet and heartfelt: we all applauded and whooped and whistled for our 75 new friends individually walking across the stage. Shaye handed us our certificates and shook our hands, and now none of us are ever washing our hands again. We had sherry hour with lots of pictures and laughter and wine, followed by a very nice three course meal served to us in the dining hall. It was all incredibly bittersweet, and we took this time to reminisce on the month and the things we’ve learned, talk about future plans to visit each other, and commiserate about our fears of the job market.

The last week of the course felt a bit unreal. We had just completed our stressful hands-on book workshop week, and going from long assignments and meetings every day to sitting in lectures again was quite jarring. Regardless., we had a wonderful week of learning, networking (drinking wine), and adventuring with each other.

Now, I’m sitting in an adorable Airbnb with Ian (still in Oxford), writing this blog, and thinking about all of the wonderful things that I’ve gotten to experience in the last 30 days. It almost doesn’t feel real. I’ve met some of the smartest, most incredible people, walked around this beautiful, ancient city, and learned about my dream profession from top industry professionals. I’ll most likely have another post going more in depth on my thoughts once I’ve done some more reflecting, but for now I’m going to enjoy my last full day here – I’ve still got some bucket list items to cross off!

On to Amsterdam, then Scotland, then London, then Paris. I hope you’re not tired of me yet!

From Oxford, with Love,

Haley