Leaving from London was very difficult. It was not only difficult to leave the vibrant, somewhat posh, and active city, it was difficult to leave the people I met there. During my time in London I had the opportunity to learn more about what it meant to live in the center of a vastly diverse environment with cultures from every corner of the world. It allowed me to expand my cultural knowledge and in so doing it made me learn more about my identity and my sense of self. Spending these three months in London away from the safety of my family, friends, and home I was able to challenge some, and reinforce other, aspects of the way I was raised. Essentially, I had the opportunity to practice thinking more for myself and the opportunity to determine what I truly valued most in my education and in the people I surrounded myself with. I have now realized that I prefer an education system that incorporates more direction and assistance throughout the entirety of the course, rather than a system that promotes almost complete independence. UCL seemed to be a stronger proponent of independent study, which made it a bit more difficult when it came to understanding all the required readings necessary for writing essays. However, the independent study also had its advantages such as contributing to making better, more academically committed students who had to put in the effort to understand the essential course material on their own without the help of others in preparation for their assignments and/or assessments in each class.
The greater level of independent study present at UCL did not mean that professors were unavailable to help. In fact, professors often had office hours at least once to twice each week. Greater independence simply meant that professors did not spend class time covering any of the readings assigned, except when critical to the class discussion. Thus, during the brief three months I spent at UCL I was able to fully immerse myself in a variety of cultures, learn more independence, and gain a greater understanding of my interests and values.
