My History with England
With my introduction through YouTube and music I began to slowly integrate more and more pop culture of England into my life. I would watch English talk shows and reality shows like Loose Women, This Morning, Would I Lie To You and X Factor. I also found English TV on Netflix and fell in love with the IT Crowd. I redecorated my room to feature London imagery like Big Ben and the Union Jack. Pop culture was my view of the people and places of England.
I was desperate to travel to London and my dream came true in February 2017. In celebration of my high school graduation my mom and I took a trip to London over Presidents Day weekend. While it was a very short trip it shaped so much of my perceptions and my reasoning for coming back. We traveled all around using the tube, which I loved. We shopped at Boots and M&S, bought tea and plasters. We saw all the touristy places like Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and St. Paul’s. We did miss out on going inside many places so it was all external learning. Another reason we came to London was to go to the Harry Potter studio tour. As Harry Potter nerds it was a must. My mom had read all the books and I have seen all the movies multiple times. It really takes you into a world that I consider outside of England even though they are all British and use monuments in the films. It was an amazing trip and I knew I had to come back to really take in the city again as a Londoner.
My perceptions of England and British people have fully been formed by pop culture and first hand experience. I don’t have one image in my head of the stereotypical Brit, but I know the British culture I love. It contains comedy, music, and media. Being here will just enhance my love for these people and places.