Today, on my 4th of July, I did the following: finished loan entrance counselling, applied for a loan, signed a Master Promissory Note for said loan, as well as one for a federal loan. Man oh man, am I going to absolutely (to be read with dripping sarcasm) love it when my wallet is consistently empty for the next 30 years! I also was told that my housing application should be processed within the next 7-10 days and I haven't heard anything about my CAS yet. Insert me throwing my hands up in the air and sighing.
But things have certainly moved forward in the past two days, if only by baby steps!
And something I thought that would be interesting to tell you all, that focuses on the theme of Independence!
I will be in Scotland during a very interesting year. In September 2014, just around when I'll be finishing my degree, Scotland will vote on a referendum. In fact, they'll vote on 18 September - just two days after my program finishes. This referendum will either continue to place them as a part of the United Kingdom, or grant them independence from the English (and Welsh and Northern Irish, I suppose)*. For those of you who do not know, Scotland is technically not an independent country; though they were granted their own parliament by the English (which they took very happily, of course; the Parliament building resides in Edinburgh, just a short train ride away from Glasgow), and most certainly have had an independent primarily Presbyterian and Catholic kirk, or church system, and a decent economy (depends on who you ask?) - they are not on their own with no strings attached.
You could say that the intertwining relationship between Scotland and England 'officially' began when the Stuarts took to the English throne, uniting them under one crown/monarchy, or in 1707 under the 1707 Act of Union which legally bound the two together, but even before that - there were some interesting developments between the two nations. Take for instance - in Roman times; Hadrian's Wall was erected to efficiently separate the 'barbarians' of the North from the Roman settlements in the South. There's always been some sort of separation, and of course additionally - some sort of cultural mixing. I'm not going to get into this too much, but if you really want the details on the referendum, what it's about, the sides to be taken and the history involved, here's a list of good and interesting articles on Scotland, England, and independence!
- Twelve Dates Which Shaped Scottish History (BBC News)
- 1707 Act of Union (UK Parliament)
- Official Scottish Referendum Page
- Q&A: Background Info on the Scottish Referendum (BBC News)
- Scotland and England: A Priceless Relationship (History Today)
- Scottish/UK Relationship (Scottish Government)
Certainly am proud and happy to live in America and be an American, don't get me wrong - but there are other countries out there who are having similar political fights of their own (we won't get into the Egyptian revolution; you could certainly read my old blog for a bit of that, though they are also still fighting nearly two years later) and somehow, ironically, I travel to these places right as the thick of it begins. Maybe I should take up travel journalism!
Happy Independence Day, and just take a moment to think: do you think Scotland will become Independent from the United Kingdom?
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