Written by Naemi Birtel
Dear friend,
Does the rain also make you nostalgic? I believe when it rains in the summer, all memories of that exact moment are sucked into every drop. The love, the intensity, the dreams that only a summer thunderstorm can bring. However, when it is fall, and the first drops hit the cold floor. It is like the summer pouring all its memories back into the city, in this case, London.
About London, it does what all big cities do: it makes you be everywhere and nowhere all at once. One second you are at the pub holding your big Guinness, the next you are confined in the library. It will make you shift between three versions of yourself on a Tuesday. While this could be a universal London experience, I think it may also be due to a promise I made some time ago.
It all started two years ago when I announced to my friends that I would, from now on for a year, say yes to everything. Two years later, I still mostly follow this somewhat reckless rule. And I do draw the line from time to time. However, I love saying yes to invitations, to opportunities, to coffees, to cigarettes. I held up this promise already on the day I landed in London. Two months ago when I first stood in my new room without duvets yet with bags technically too heavy to carry, I had an ambitious plan for the day. I needed the essentials and a plan for the night. So I went to IKEA at Oxford street, something I do not recommend to anyone that wants a peaceful shopping experience, and bought duvets and stuffed myself with vegetarian Hotdogs. On my way back someone announced drinks and I was off again to have a Guiness. Later on, with my Guiness in hand I witnessed my tutor almost be robbed of his bag, if it wasn’t for a student chasing down the men who grabbed it. A truly authentic welcome to this city. But I was quickly off again to buy the cheapest bottle of white wine and to announce that I would pregame a freshers event to hundreds of strangers in my accommodation group chat. Soon I was joined by a rather random combination of girls passing around the white wine, since no one had glasses yet. My by now hurting feet, stuffed into my leopard print heels, left once again to take the bus. On the way the group escalated to around twenty people all yelling and drinking on the upper deck. Once we arrived, I was informed that my scam ticket was actually not valid for any official LSE freshers events. Not giving up on the night, I spent even more money just to witness what some might say be the most incompetent DJ in all of greater London. And to discuss the far right in Germany in the women’s bathroom. Needless to say I fell asleep later on like I had just finished an ultra marathon. You by now may wonder if this was really necessary. The short answer is “no”. I had made over 20.000 steps, financed at least one position in the London public transport department, got scammed and witnessed Ed Sheeran being mixed with what I guess to be an Indian hit classic. Yet, I still get drinks with the girls I met that first night and just for that it was worth saying yes.
Another time I said yes to a rather questionable plan was during my first weekend in Groningen, the Netherlands. I was eating at a Persian restaurant on my own when two older Russian men approached me. They asked to read my future from my facial structures and hands. I said yes and besides learning that I will become wealthy (fingers crossed), one of them turned out to be a professional pianist. So, I did what my parents would strongly advise against and went home with them to listen to him play. Simply, because I had a good gut feeling about it. Happily, the pianist played me all the classics and had, to my surprise, champagne. And while I do not recommend going home with strangers, this incident led me to stay in Groningen. The city I considered home for a while until London came along.
Dear reader, you may now think that I just have no self-control or maybe that I do not know my own limits, and you are not alone. My father once accused me of a severe case of FOMO, but can you blame me for fearing missing out on that exact conversation, or trip, or move to a new country? Well, I think he still has a point; sometimes I only realise how truly exhausted I am once someone forces me to take a break or when I get a cold overnight. And sometimes days turn into weeks and then into months and all of the sudden you are a year older. So when saying yes remember to take time to process the memories you made or otherwise they may slip away over night. I highly recommend carrying headphones with you at all times so you can slip outside for a moment, listen to your favorite song and write it all down in your notes app.
And lastly, when live gives you a hint, a spark, a little finger, take it, remember it and do not regret. All this began with a friend proposing to move to London, and even though she never did, I moved alone.The secret may not be to say yes or no to things but rather to have a full notebook and no regrets. And I have never regretted trying. Trying to love, trying to understand, trying to notice, trying a new lip gloss, trying to not forget yours.
So, I split myself up into a hundred people, with a hundred lives, just to try all there is.
And while doing so, I have stumbled into your arms, my beloved friend.
Kisses from London
