Four months into my semester and amidst major political turbulence over the ever-looming Brexit deadline, journalist Lyra McKee was killed by paramilitary gunfire in the city of Derry. McKee, a young, gay, female reporter, wrote extensively about the country’s restrictive laws regarding abortion and same-sex marriage. Citizens on either side of the conflict erupted into debate, eventually culminating in the British Parliament’s July decision to legalize both same-sex marriage and abortion.
BY LILY REAVIS ’21
Mount Holyoke’s study abroad program was one of the main factors contributing to my decision to attend the College. As a senior in high school, I dreamed about the semester I would spend abroad: walking along old European streets, visiting tourist sites like Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower and running daily errands in a glamorous city. Now, halfway through my experience, I wish that my prior viewpoint had made room for the less romantic aspects of living in a different country.
