Attending Wroxton College for a full semester was by far the top experience in my educational career and perhaps one of the most impactful periods of my life. I visited 8 countries in 3.5 months, earned a full semester of college credits while learning from engaging, brilliant faculty members, and grew more mature in a shorter amount of time than I ever had before. Every class session taught me something new and gave me more diverse perspectives than most other courses I've taken in college. Every meal felt like my mum had just cooked it. Every free trip to historical locations and European cities showed me new culture. Every night of dancing in clubs with a group of friends in a free VIP booth was memorable. Wroxton helped me grow so much, and I will be forever grateful for the experience I had. While I struggled with my own mental health at the time, there were no spirits which couldn't be lifted by a cup of tea every morning and afternoon or a chat with the ridiculously eloquent and oddly charming Dean Baldwin. (Please don't tell him I said that.) Even when we lamented about the news of Trump's presidency back home, the Brits shared our anguish with daily worries of Brexit and Boris Johnson's equally scraggly blonde mop. I'd never considered the weather as much as I had in that place, where rain was an almost daily happening but was also offset by absolutely gorgeous, sunny, country days... and the faculty love talking about the weather. History was another constant--the Wroxton Abbey gave you the feeling of living in both a museum and an aged estate. It was comfortably renovated while maintaining an air of mystery around every corner, where you might find a suit of antique armor, a painting of a major historical figure who'd lived there in the past, or a hidden passageway you hadn't yet discovered. It was like living in a game of Clue, but without the murder (thankfully). Everything about my time at Wroxton tugs at my mind, begging me to return. I was lucky enough to have attended a two-week Summer course this year, nearly two years after my semester experience, and it felt like coming home. The faculty all greeted me as a friend they hadn't seen for a while, and the feeling I experienced with driving up the way toward the Abbey upon my return was and is indescribable. If you ever have the chance of getting there, do not hesitate. Go, and never look back.
If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
Things got a bit clique-y among our group of students over there, and I wish I had been able to diversify my time a bit more and get to know the whole group better than I did. Not to say I didn't love the group of friends I was close with, but I could've been more willing to expand that group.
