All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players

Stratford Upon Avon was exquisite. William Shakespeare is legendary. So many people from all over the world visit the five houses related to his life in Stratford. For a small village town they have kept it so nice for tourists, there is lots to see but it also has preserved that quaint, small town feel. It was gorgeous and so interesting. Shakespeare, or the mystery of the man behind some of the greatest writing the world will ever know, fascinates me. So much of his life remains unknown, a timeless, brilliant writer left a mystery to the world, is a good story in itself. The town has done their research well and I learnt some things I didn't know about good ol Bill. I had no idea that the reason he often wrote about twins was because he fathered twins, Hamlet and Judith (although Hamlet died at age eleven). I also didn't no his father made sheep skin gloves! It is amazing what you can learn in a day.

I never realized how much of the world or life I was missing always being so close to home. Going out into the world is more than gratifying for me, it makes me feel, it makes me see. I never realized that I had never really seen hills before. The English countryside has these amazing green, and yellow hills. I understand that it is just grass, and farmland, but to me it's more. It's the world, new, fresh, and I can see it. It is like seeing for the first time, or what i imagine it would be like. And the feeling of going to a completely different place for a day, getting off the train and not knowing what direction to go, it makes you feel; scared, anxious, excited, alive. When I see places I've read about in books, it makes them real, knowing I've walked on the same ground as William Shakespeare, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Daniel Radcliffe; it makes me real.

To think that the majority of people spend most days just going through the motions of everyday life, makes me sad. To realize that I did this the majority of my life, makes me sick. Of course there are good days, bad days, and average days. But I know now that in my life I am meant to see and to learn. I am feeling more like myself than I ever have. I hate to iron, but it is a small price to pay because all the world's a stage and I will do anything to make sure I see the show.

C