Anna Holleman

Farewell,

Farewell for the time being. This has been an amazing trip in which we have discovered the UK, grown together as friends, and learned about ourselves. After struggling to get out of bed, several of us ate our last dining hall breakfast here, something that I will not miss. A few of us continued our day by biking through Hyde Park. We later arrived at the airport, said goodbye to London, and disembarked on a quite long ride.

It was on this ride that we were given a chance to reflect on our experiences. Considering that this is a leadership trip, it seems reasonable to discuss its meaning. Yet, the more that I think of it, the more that I realize that there is no simple way to define leadership. In fact, trying to create such a phrase will inevitably result in the ambiguous and unhelpful definition that leadership is “the ability to lead”. This is because leadership involves so many variables and entities that a few words simply can’t represent them. Leadership can be conducted from any person in the group, whether they are in a leading or supporting role. As for how effective of a leader you are, that largely depends on your motives and goals. The strongest organizations have shared goals that they are striving to accomplish, they believe and trust in the leader, and the leader uses this power to advance their interests. To lead, one must also be capable of communicating and understanding people’s arguments. They need to be willing to come to a consensus and resolve conflicts as they arise. This ability to communicate extends past one’s organization, as a leader is bound to represent that organization to promote its goals to others. These skills are valuable in leaders, yet there are several other virtues that are not listed. In order to become a leader, one should strive to develop these virtues and gain experience in such a role, with the end goal of advancing their organization’s interests within its moral bounds.

Leadership is not an easily definable concept, at least, not in its entirety. We have learned a few values that make us more capable of practicing it. But, what I would argue to be the most important aspect of leadership is one’s willingness to always continue learning. A good leader will always strive to learn from their mistakes, from other’s mistakes, and take responsibility for their actions. That willingness to learn is what has brought us all here, and we intend to continue learning throughout our entire lives.

I hope these reflections have given an idea of what this trip offers. I could honestly go on and on about our experiences. Simply stated, this trip gave 44 strangers a chance to bond together and learn valuable concepts while abroad. 

Thanks for reading,

-Seth

Howdy!

Today was our third day in London, which started off slow for some but ended with a bang for all. We had a free morning, which many used to catch up on sleep lost to playing cards, but others took advantage of the time by visiting the British Museum, shopping at Spitalfields Market, or watching the guard change at Buckingham Palace.

Unfortunately, there were also two trips to the ER today for injured appendages (a big toe and an ankle). They had a lot of bonding time standing in the lines for four hours. Thankfully none of the injuries were serious and everyone was able to make it to the rest of the afternoon activities. 

After lunch, we had an afternoon classroom session for the first time! Dr. Crick presented a lecture on Rhetoric and Power and how it relates to leadership. Using clips from popular shows and movies such as Game of Thrones, the Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and the Incredibles, we learned all about how leadership is about how a leader relates to other people and create systems to enact change, creating spaces where people trust the leader.

Valerie also presented to us on the history of theater as well as theater etiquette in order to prepare us for one of the biggest events of our trip: Les Misérables! After receiving our tickets, we ate an early dinner at the Imperial College dining hall before getting ready for the show. Everyone put on their best attire, and we might be the best looking group of Brown Scholars in the history of the program. Once we captured our style and beauty on camera, we made our way to the Sondheim Theater in the West End.

The show was absolutely amazing, and everyone gave it a standing ovation after its concluding song. The beautiful singing, brilliant set, and vibrant lighting literally transported us into the poignant story of Jean Valjean, Fantine, and Cosette. Nobody has stopped raving about the talent we saw on stage, even as this blog is being written.

The night was concluded with McDonald’s and Meal Deals for some but many pictures for everyone. Today will definitely be one of our most memorable days of the entire trip!

-Mary Faith and Shreya

Howdy readers!

 

We kicked off the fourth day in Edinburgh with a now familiar English breakfast and some haggis, before once again heading into the beautiful St. Trinnean’s hall for another lecture with Dr. Crick. Today, his lecture covered the process of dealing with differences between an individual and a group, delving deep while keeping it relatable by encouraging us to bring in popular media examples like Elsa from Disney’s Frozen or the classic Interstellar. We then had a very thorough presentation from Rudolf and Lana regarding how to get involved at Texas A&M, going through the various FLOs (Freshman Leadership Organizations) and other wonderful communities present at Texas A&M, helping us paint a clearer future of what kind of life we want to lead on campus this coming fall. 

After this class time in the morning, we were given the entire afternoon to explore the city and do whatever we liked. Everyone split into various groups and went their separate ways, excited to have time to enrich themselves further into Scottish culture. Brady, Iko, Karthik, John, Aayan, and student leader Eric formed a group and decided to visit St Giles’ Cathedral. We saw magnificent architecture within the cathedral, accompanied with a giant organ that towered over the entire church and beautiful stained glass depictions of various religious scenes.

Afterward, the group went to revisit the National Scottish Museum, in order to have more time exploring the various exhibits considering the fact that the previous tour was very short lived. There were so many interesting things to admire, with exhibits detailing everything from Scottish history to wave generation to color theory.

After this excursion, the group grabbed lunch at Ting Thai Teviot Place, a cozy restaurant that served delicious and vibrant thai noodles and rice bowls.

Following lunch, the group went back to Pollock halls for some rest before getting a quick workout later in the afternoon, which entailed walking to the park to do pull ups in the rain. After student leader Eric impressed the group with his astounding strength and musculature, they finally decided to head to Bonnie Burrito for some Mexican food with a Scottish twist – burrito bowls and burritos with Haggis – before finally heading back to the dorms for some well needed rest. Another group of students attended mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in the heart of Edinburgh. The group then split in two, with one attending a live music event at a steakhouse, and the other going to a pakistani restaurant. Since Ayaan speaks Urdu, he instantly made friends with the restaurant owner, who gave us a steep discount. The cuisine is widely varied, with amazing restaurants of all specialities and price ranges. In Scotland, one can go to a grocery store and get a large sandwich, chips (or crisps, as they call them), and a drink all for 4.88 USD. Andrew Sorak had us shouting with amusement tonight with some seemingly impossible magic tricks. Mcdonalds was had by the two greatest members of the group.

— Brady and Cadin