In Preparation for my Short Trip Across the Pond....

 The Background

I am a graduate student at North Carolina Central University, finishing up my Masters in Library and Information Sciences. After about 15 years as a stay-at-home-mom, including 5 years homeschooling, I went back to work as a library page. I applied for, and got into, NCCU's MLIS program and shorting after moved up to being a Library Assistant. While I am focusing on Public Libraries, I am interested in a variety of options available to me, especially Special Libraries. 

The Trip

I am writing to this blog to report on my last class, a study abroad experience. I am traveling with nearly 2 dozen others to London, UK. We will travel around and go behind the scenes at museums, archives, and libraries. I have no idea what's in store for me. Will I be too exhausted to do anything other than the bare minimum expected of me? Will I be too excited to waste any opportunity presented and try a plethora of new experiences? Who knows. I suppose we will find out. 

The Project

At the conclusion of this class, prior to my graduation and ascension into becoming The Mistress of All Knowledge (another name for MLS just trust me), I will need to write a research paper. This paper will be on a topic of my choice, one I can tweak during both my time in London as well as the time immediately after, as I work to craft an essay worthy of the experience. 

The Experiences

For each educational excursion I attend on this trip, I will post a blog. I will include both publicly available information, such as an organizational website, as well as my own content. If I am allowed to take pictures, I will add them to detail my experiences. Otherwise, I will find imagery online to post, with citations. 

In conclusion....

I am terrified.  I am excited. I am nervous, anxious, pre-exhausted, and ready to go. I have not had a trip without any members of my immediately family since I was a teenager. I have not been away from all of my children at once in at least 10 years. I will be disoriented and distracted, but also, I am so, so ready for this. I will be making this blog public such that my family and friends can follow along with me, even if I lose track of time and miss a text, call, or email. 

And yes, I will absolutely make this weird.