When I arrived in London almost 4 years ago, I had no formal academic qualifications, I was still under the shadow of mourning Antioch, I was emerging from a most severe depression, and I was trying to recover from a painful failure of a relationship. I saw my upcoming MA programme as a longshot-lastchance to get back on some sort of track after a most miserable year trying to be a grown-up in Paris. I did not know anyone in this city and had no idea as to where to live, but I was excited to be going to the country of Banksy, Harry Potter, the Beatles and John Oliver from the Daily Show. Tomorrow Morning I am leaving London for good, perhaps, and I may not have changed that much but my landscape is completely different: I now have an MA and a law degree (well, lets hope that tort exam wasnt THAT much of a fiasco but Im gonna assume I passed!) from University of London, I am getting married in 2 months (!!!!), I am off all medications, Im physically stronger than I ever be (I can run 10k nonstop and squat 65kg!) I have made amazing new friends, and I have survived against all odds the death of my father. Most importantly, I am not leaving alone-I now have a life-partner (and a genius dog)-and it makes all the difference in the world to be embarking on this new adventure as a solid unit, rather than alone. England to me is no longer the country of Mary Poppins and Fred & George Weasley, but that of unbridled neoliberalism, of the state which allows the injustices which I saw at my workplace every week: the terminally ill woman found fit for work, the old man with no heat and no food, the pregnant young homeless girl who came every week for emergency grants and made jokes about coming to my wedding. It is the country of David the homeless man of Bethnal Green sitting on the pavement in the rain to raise the £42 for his dead dogs ashes urn. And all the rage at feeling like I dont have any political ground/community to fight here, (which is one of the main reasons for leaving). I will bring those images with me wherever I end up and hopefully it will keep me determined to work for social justice and put to use everything I have learned, found and gained in these 4 years in London.
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 23:24:34 +0000
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