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• 1 media/2560px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 2019-05-05T10:31:37-07:00 My History with England 20 Annie O'Neill image_header 2019-05-29T10:34:45-07:00 I first found British culture through YouTube in elementary school. It was two twin boys, Jack and Finn, who made funny videos and happened to be British. They then introduced me to other YouTubers like Zoella, PointlessBlog, and ThatcherJoe, who I all still watch today. Thus began my obsession with England and London specifically. Their culture and humor sucked me in, as well as the city of London. I would watch their videos of them traveling in London and talking about the small cities around England they lived. I learned about Brighton and Bath and so many beautiful British cities. I desperately wanted to get there one day to see it all for myself.It was also around this time that British music came into my life. As a stereotypical teen girl I quickly became obsessed with One Direction who introduced me to a whole new world of English culture. I learned about UK X Factor, which One Direction competed on, that I still watch today. I downloaded the Pandora app and quickly discovered so many of my favorite artists. I was introduced to Ed Sheeran, The Vamps, Olly Murs, McFly, Little Mix, and so many more. I suddenly only listened to UK artists. This allowed me to see more of England through music videos and music competition shows. I was understanding more and more of their sayings and learning their culture. 
  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.