Last week was tough.

I had my first writing assignment due for grad school.  It was a book review, on a book that I found completely uninteresting and miserable to read.  Aside from being generally unpleasant, it was also making me seriously question whether this program was the right fit for me after all.

Granted, I was definitely overthinking things, but still.  This was our first assignment, I didn’t have any experience to tell me what the professors were expecting, and a text that’s supposedly central to my master’s degree sparked absolutely no interest in me.  Oh also my roommate was in Italy.  Empty flat = crazy hermit.

I was really, really stressed out.

One evening, I was leaving school just as the sun was setting.  Walking quickly would only get me back to my flat and my imminent workload faster, so I slowed down.

The Royal Courts of Justice buildings were reflecting the twilight, and the windows were lit up like they were on fire.

The sunset colors were blazing over the buildings of Fleet Street.

I crossed the Strand to head into my usual tube station, but I passed it by before I fully realized what I was doing.  I just didn’t want to go back underground yet.

I skipped the few extra steps down to the river, walked right up to the concrete railing, and took in the view.

The sky was changing by the second, and everything along the Thames was just beginning to light up.  See Big Ben’s glowing face peeking out to the right of the London Eye?

I took my time walking along the embankment, stopping to take a few photos for tourists posing in front of the London skyline.  The air got bluer and more lights twinkled on.

Waterloo Bridge was reflecting on the water and the needle-like Shard was sparkling against the sky (towards the right side of the photo – sorry this one turned out so grainy!).

I climbed the steps up to the pedestrian Hungerford Bridge and looked back over the glowing Thames.  A front row seat to one of the most incredible cities in the world.

Before I knew it, I’d walked as far as the next tube station on my route.  Only because I DID have to do my schoolwork eventually, I hopped on the train there and headed home.

I wasn’t quite as stressed out anymore, though.  That twenty minute walk along the river had made me feel better than I had in days.  It was a good reminder that even when something goes wrong, there is still so much to be grateful for.  And I think I’ll take the long way home more often.

Now go ahead, go dig out your old Supertramp records.  You wanted to as soon as you saw this post title.