Welcome!

First of all, I’d really like to thank you for visiting my blog. I suppose I should warn all of you that outside of journalism class I have never blogged before, therefore, I cannot guarantee that this blog will be any good, contain any useful information or be of any interest to anyone. Although I hope it will.

That said…I am leaving for London this Friday evening at precisely 9:05 at night to spend the semester theoretically studying about journalism and different cultures. I plan, and hope, to travel around Europe as well, and want to get as much out of this trip as possible, hence Hayley's European Journey.

This past semester has been a whirlwind of excitement trying to get ready for this trip. I jumped through the Missouri Journalism School’s numerous hoops to get into the program, which they themselves admit anyone can get into if they have the correct requirements. Still, I submitted my resume, application, essays and letters of recommendation, and completed two interviews. I attended both seminars about what to expect about my abroad experience and paid the bill (which was by far the most painful part), so maybe finally getting to the finish line of actually going on the trip may just be the easy part.

I also got my passport stuff in order, got a visa (which is the hardest, most grueling, and most completed application process I have ever completed), signed my life away to Mizzou and the program setting up the trip, got international health insurance, a bank account that will work all over the world and then finally got a plane ticket! Thanks to my wonderful mom, I also shopped for lots of things that I will supposedly need in Europe, but am not sure I will actually use. 

So, this week I will just be attempting to fit everything I own into one checked luggage under 50 pounds and a few carry-ons (wish me luck). Any of you that have had the unpleasant experience of traveling with me or watching me prepare to travel know that I am a very nervous traveler. Therefore, flying internationally will probably not make me any less calm, but if that is what it takes to get to Europe then it can’t be that bad.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and has a good semester back at school. Keep me updated on what you’re up to! I will try to blog later this week and definitely when I get to London on Saturday. I'll try to keep this updated at least a few times each week.