The End

There's not really a lot to say in regards to this final blog post, because beating around the bush at this point is useless.

The subtitle to this blog is, as you can see, "... or how I found 221B Baker Street." I expected this to be an incredible ordeal - wandering around London in search of the infamous flat of one Sherlock Holmes and a Dr. John Watson. However, what was so hilarious is that I found the literal 221B Baker Street on my first weekend here, and then the "other" one not but two weeks after that. What's even more hilarious, though, is the fact that those two locations are completely superfluous to what I really found. In every medium - from the original short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to the early films, to the Hollywood reboot, to the BBC-One series - there is one overarching theme, and that is London. Sherlock Holmes would not have been able to remain sane without this city, and Dr. John Watson couldn't imagine himself going anywhere else after he returned from the war... Just try and imagine it - Sherlock and John without London... impossible, right? London was the deciding factor in their story. It was the catalyst of their friendship, the parchment upon which their journey was catalogued from painstaking case to painstaking case... from the beginning to the bitter end and Sherlock's "Final Bow."

London is the book, and they were the story. And, like so many others before me, I leave a chapter of my life in this awesome city.

So, sure, I found 221B Baker Street - but I found much more than that here. I found London, and by finding London, I found myself... in a way. I still don't understand completely who I am, or why I'm here, or what I'm meant to do with my life but coming here has at least helped me go in the right direction, helped me figure out what I ultimately want and love in life.

I couldn't have found these things out without this once-in-a-lifetime experience in this incredible city, and for that I am eternally grateful. No words can describe these emotions that I'm feeling in my heart, and the love that I feel for this city and all that is has offered me - all that I have taken away from it. I will cherish every lesson learned, every adventure taken, every mistake made and every reward given. I guess that, really, all that matters is that... I know what I have gained from London. Verbalisation is unnecessary, as long as I keep it close to my heart. <3

I usually end every post with a song that has been on my mind that current week, and they've varied from Scottish punk-funk-rock-whateverthisis to wizardrock to pop to oldies tunes, to French songs and the like. But no song can appropriately commemorate the end of this journey. It was an incredible chapter, an awesome reboot - a really good book. And there are definitely going to be some sequels. Whether or not they're successful on the shelves or in theatres is really just irrelevant. Because life without the shit can't make the garden... this isn't the end, even if it feels like it.

So, with that, I leave you with one of the most important lessons that I've learned in my life - a lesson that I've only come to appreciate while here, as I revisited my childhood and looked towards the future. 

And that is that the things that we love the most never truly leave us.

"The stories we love best do live in us forever, so whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." - J.K. Rowling

Goodbye?
... not really.

Cheers,
Mac