A London Recap: Part 1 of 10

ELIZABETH

Being my oldest friend in London, Elizabeth has been through it all with me. We both met while in University in Saint Louis and already great friends moved to London within a week of each other. At first we tried to love London but as it tried us, we learned to hate her. Neither of us realising of course that we were both causing each other greater damage than we could have thought possible. We were so ready for life to be the way it was when we were in St. Louie, so easy and free, and without the need to learn new things, meet new people, or to go against our own expectations. We were each other's crutch, a sound board for everything that was going wrong - trying to offer each other advice that we thought was the best solution but most of the time just complaining that there was no solution - London was at fault. London was to blame for everything. (I should admit that I no longer think this way.)

When I first left London in the summer of 2007 I hated London with all my might. A year later I would return for a week, to attend my graduation, and within an instant I would fall in love with her, without explanation or merit. It was as simple as a friend saying 'you should come back' and I simply replying 'yeah, I should.'

At the end of 2008 I returned to London on a work visa. Elizabeth took me in for a few weeks while I waited for my very promising job to start. Although I was technically starting over, Elizabeth's life was no where near it's previous status. Not only was (is) she married, she was living in a much better environment, had a good proper job, and even a pair of kittens that would jump on my face as I tried to sleep.

My job fell through and I found myself unemployed, homeless, and without a penny to my name. Elizabeth and her husband kept me afloat though, and though I did eventually leave her home for different accommodation Elizabeth continued to support me in more ways than one. Times grew good and bad and then good again. Always a cycle of ups and downs and through it all Elizabeth has never been any different with me. Though we have grown to be very different people than when we first met all those years ago, she has continued to be the same friend. For the good, the bad and everything in-between.

In about 4 days Elizabeth is moving back to the US. After 5 years, her time in London is up and she's ready to start on the next chapter of her life. I wish her the best, and thank her for being a part of so many chapters of my own, the ones that have already taken place and the ones that have yet to do so.