November 1st, 2015 | Uncategorized
This past week was reading week at WIT, meaning a full week off from classes. I thought of this as a great opportunity to go visit an old friend, former William and Mary teammate, Taylor Hilton who is currently living in London to achieve her DJ’ing aspirations. Back in our William and Mary locker room days, Taylor was responsible for the music for game days, getting ready to leave for away trips or even when we were all relaxing we thrived for her playlists.
London is a massive city comparable to the Big Apple, New York City. There are all sorts of transportation systems and tons of people swarming its streets. As soon as I arrived to Taylor’s house Thursday night, we left to catch one of her DJ’ing gigs at a club in Shoreditch and another one later that night. What I admire about Taylor the most is that she lives her life chasing her dreams of basketball and now DJ’ing. Her passion for music is incredible and she works extremely hard to create art through her music, she even taught me a few things about it. She had a gig every single night I was in London and it was pure bliss. The bliss of consuming herself into her own music and mixes. The bliss of watching people’s reactions to her mash up and how their faces lit up and body move to the vibrations of each song’s bass and beat.
At one of her night gigs, I got to meet up with another pal, former men’s basketball player, Andrew Pavloff, who is now working in London too. A small William and Mary reunion of with Taylor and Andrew, known as “Pavs”, was just the thing I needed on my getaway.
Enjoying London’s nightlife wasn’t the only thing I did. Taylor studies audio engineering and she has class every day from 2 pm – 5pm, so I went sight seeing in London during that time on Friday. The transport system made it easy to get around. With some help from British citizens, I found my way to the London Eye and Big Ben where I took nonstop pictures of evvvvvverything. I even took pictures with the telephone booths posted on the side of London’s streets because it reminded me of Superman and the scene where Clark Kent changes into a superhero.
After this trip I think I am doing well for myself as a girl who never left America until this year. Europe has so much to offer and I feel blessed that Sport Changes Life offered this great opportunity because without it, I would have probably never left America or begin traveling to other cultures for another five years.
p.s. I just want to thank Taylor and Shantel for taking such good care of me in London and introducing me to all of their fabulous friends.
Victory Scholar: Jazmen Boone
Present University: Waterford IT
US League: CAA
Club/Community Partner: Waterford Wildcats
Alma Mater: The College of William and Mary
Sponsored by: Teamwear Ireland