Finding My Place in London

Want, need, desire, wish. These are all words that we use in our everyday life.  We throw them around so casually, that we forget: words have power. As children, we may have said “But I need this sooo badly! All my friends have it” to our long suffering parents. When we grow up, we realise that we actually need certain things in life like love or just to be heard. We have wished upon stars and attempted to manifest our dreams and our deepest desires into reality and, when that doesn’t work, we turn to religion (although praying is part of manifestation).  We may have all desired to start afresh in a new place where no one knew us. We may have desired to be recognised or given the attention we believed we deserved. While desire is similar to wishing, desire is much deeper and much stronger; it arises from the depths of our hearts. We have all wanted something. When our parents notice that look or change of tone in our voice, the first thing they ask is: “what do you want”. When...

We all have dreams.  I know it sounds cliché, but it's the truth.  While we're asleep, we have dreams of reuniting with deceased ones or finding a new planet where unicorns rule (and the rivers are filled with milk chocolate). And then there are the dreams for when we're awake. They can be dreams as specific and fun and exciting as wanting to visit a certain place or try a certain thing; for me, the certain place is New York City and the certain thing is to try certain foods in certain countries (e.g. cheeseburgers in The States, Turkish Coffee in, well, Türkiye, etc.). So, why do people say the sky’s the limit and then say it’s impossible? It’s sounds kinda contradictory, don’t you think? You should never limit yourself or your dreams. And, yes, dreams can be as small as wanting to go clubbing to as big as wanting to stay at The Dorchester for a week with a tour around London and meeting (and sharing a cup of tea) with the King.  We should always try and remember to drea...

There are many British pastimes that are loved all over the country. Have you ever heard of ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’? Well, this is us “carrying on”.  We had a second live episode from EastEnders this year (the last one being 2010) for their 40th birthday and, although I won’t spoil it for you, it got all of us raging for different reasons. Let’s just say that there weren’t any mistakes, but they made mistakes. After the episode, me and my mother were both in disbelief.  After that, I made my second cup of tea of the day. I have been trying to keep it to just one though as my brother likes homemade pancakes, I like smoothies and, on the occasion, we like to eat cereal. Cereal has always been in our household: Coco Pops, Rice Krispies, Sugar Puffs - you name it, we had/have it. A bowl of cereal and a cup of tea.  One thing I love to do during the week is go to my local café; it’s called Britannia, and it’s run by a family. Me and mum generally go together, and we share a ...

Late night walks around London, on a constant adventure and hunt for something new (that you’ve never seen before). I’ve seen The Shard many times and taken hundreds of photos of it, but this is something new. I don’t believe I’ve ever taken a photo of the tip of The Shard before. Ironically (and probably obviously), The Shard at night does look like a shard of glass. This statement could not be truer for when it pierces the night sky.  Liverpool Street Station on a Sunday evening has never felt so busy. I was travelling to the McDonald’s in the station and, although busy, it was quiet compared to a Saturday night. You (and I promise this) do not want to be in that McDonald’s on a Saturday night. I was in the area and Macca’s is surprisingly scarce around that area. I ordered a large Coca Cola with ice and a BBQ Chicken Bacon  One Wrap (crispy, if you must know). When I collected my wrap, it looked like there was barely any ingredients in it. I didn’t feel in the mood for an ...

Love. Everybody loves something (or someone). Love is just such a desired emotion; something we all want to feel and most of the time we're loved, and we don't even know (or feel) it. I know I said (in my introductory post) that this blog was gonna be like a British 'Sex and the City', but it's just mainly about finding love and finding your place in the city; it's about finding your soulmate(s).  Love doesn't always have to be romantic. You can love your city, you can love your friends, you can love your life. Heck, you can love your cat (shoutout to Cinnamon <3). Maternal, fraternal, platonic, self (don't worry, I won't go on, otherwise that will include multiple Wikipedia articles) - there are many different (and beautiful) forms of love. I have yet to fall in love, but I know that I’m loved. I hope that the people I love dearly know that I do. And loving isn’t just about kissing and hugging, it’s about spending time with others, giving them s...

It's the last Monday before (February) half term and, although January dragged, February is flying!  We also got Valentine's Day on Friday and this, along with missing Super Bowl, got me thinking: How much am I missing out? Missing Super Bowl was a big hit for me as I told myself last year that this one Sunday once a year, I would be prepared and have everything under control. Unexpectedly, my plans just didn't turn out great this year; I cried for ages and slowly accepted that I couldn't control everything, and Super Bowl would be on next year and that I could record it. But it wasn't about watching Super Bowl - it was about experiencing it. The consumerism, the constant ads, Taylor Swift being captured on film every five seconds; I wanted to be part of that . I guess that’s people’s main fear when there’s an event on or they’ve been invited somewhere: they’re scared of missing out on the experience and not the actual event itself. We, as humans, have always neede...

I'm cold.  It's been a rainy couple of weeks in the city, but today's been particularly depressing.  It just doesn't even feel like a hot chocolate could cheer me up. On Tuesday, I went to TGI Fridays for the first time in almost five years and there was barely anything on the menu but, of course, the prices were ridiculously high. To be honest, I've been thinking a lot about the last five years: the pandemic, the craziness, how people have changed. When people said that "things will never be the same", I took it with a grain of salt.  I knew I would be allowed to go outside again; I knew that the mask wearing was going to be temporary, I knew that holidays would be green lit and that I would be able to see my (remaining) members of family.  I just knew everything was going to be normal again. It just had to. I go to the cinema on occasion and sit at the front to avoid seeing people on their phones. I have horror stories of the cinema post pandemic, so if ...

Happy Monday everyone! A weekend in London can fly by. Or it can drag out painfully. I've had my fair shares of short and long weekends and, generally, the worst the weekend, the longer it's gonna be. This one flied by (don't ask me what happened on Saturday because I'll be clueless without my search history and a time machine). I don't really go out much on the weekends anymore.  There are a number of reasons for this: - I'm broke - I'm not broke, but there's nothing to do - It's raining - My bed is holding me hostage - My kitten is holding me hostage Personally, I do feel like I'm missing out a bit, but, unless there's something I really want to do, I can generally be found at home during the weekend.  On the odd occasion, I go out with my stepfather up to Romford to watch a movie and then, down to Central (London). We go round Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square and just see what people are up to. Londoners, tourists, the odd day tripper or...