Monday 29 August 2016

The Window



To outsiders,  the window wouldn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. It was made up of two panes of glass, opening up in the middle by a turning handle. Occasionally,  especially in the summer months, the wooden panes would expand in the heat and the window would let out a horrific groan, as though it were struggling to push back upon he who disturbed his peace. On other occasions, quite the opposite would occur. A huge gust of wind might blow from the outside inwards, forcing the window open and rattling its glass panes in great triumph of its might and power. But for onlookers, this would have still been considered an ordinary window.
If is only on closer inspection that one may notice that this was no ordinary window. It's colour was a distinctive, unnatural stark white, which illuminated the living room it aboded. It would somehow hypnotically draw a person towards it, by its sheer luminosity, and one may realise that this was far from an ordinary window. The view it looked over was of a huge green field, with an abundance of nature and wild animals within it. In the foreground was a little river which ran down from a mountain which could be seen in the far distance. However,  it is not until one would open the window that one would realise the sheer beauty of it. The window brought us sounds - sounds of the birds chirping, of the wind whistling,  and of the stream resonating it's beautiful song of peace. The breathtaking combination of view and symphony would make it hard,  even for an outsiders to claim that this was just an ordinary window.
I was bored and Father challenged me to write about one of the windows in our living room. This is the first and only draft which took roughly 10 mins to compose and write, but I feel it was pretty successful so I wanted to share it with you!

Pre-Uni Stress




First things first: I got into Warwick University.

Wahey!

Before writing this post I actually scrolled back a bit and found my post from when I visited the establishment with my parents. I had called it my "dream uni" and I am so grateful that they accepted me and I got the entry requirements for my course!

On the 18th, results' day, my Facebook feed was filled with posts from my friends publishing which unis they got into. It was an exciting experience for all - and those who may not have obtained their first choice still managed to find some great places through Clearing. Fast forward a week, and those who are going to uni all have a firm knowledge of where they will be spending the next three or so years of their lives.

Once knowing their universities,  many students joined their appropriate uni Facebook group and started group chats with their peers. I had previously joined several of these chats and made acquaintances with many on my course. However, due to my current lack of Internet  (I have to travel to the next village in order to get Wifi from the local café), I'm unable to be constantly online and replying to messages. Therefore, my friendships have become frail, to say the least.

Just this afternoon, I quickly checked the group chat, and found out all the participants had bonded with each other - a lot. The whole chat seemed to have their own inside jokes and nicknames with each other. I was but an onlooker to their little world. They were already meeting up with one another, and had planned outings as a group in order to create memories before studying at uni together.
This made me feel quite sad, and above all, lonely. It's fairly pathetic and melodramatic that I write this all on my blog, and I pray to the Heavens Above that none of these people were to find my blog. However, their closeness has only made me feel more distant from them. I have been, unintentionally, excluded from their tight knit. I feel alone before even starting uni.

I have to keep reminding myself that there are others out there who will be freshers,  like myself, who may have not even been part of this group chat and they too will have no friends on the first day. Even so, my mind is filled with panic about what's to come. The biggest fear is of course that of solitude. I'll be away from home, from my parents, from my boyfriend. My friends will be off at uni getting a whole new set of friends, and the little voice in my head tells me that they'll no doubt forget all about me. What's more, I'll be away from safety and where I feel comfortable. However, I ought to keep reminding myself that growth comes with going outside one's comfort zone. I will be able to push myself into situations which are different and thus exciting. I will find a new people, and new activities to occupy myself. I really ought to embrace this opportunity. And get a grip.

Wednesday 10 August 2016

Paris • St. Raphael

This summer, I was offered the job of au pairing for a French family living on the outskirts of Paris. As I am hoping to study French this September at University,  I jumped at this amazing opportunity.
For those who have not heard of the term "au pair", it often entails a young student looking after children whilst staying at their house. A bit like a long term babysitter. There are many websites which enable families to find au pairs, such as this site which is very popular. I know many people, including one of my elder cousins, who hires au pairs over summer in order to help around the house and lessen the chore of keeping the children occupied. Before starting my job, one kind friend decided to tell me a horror story of how her parents treated their au pair - like absolute slavery! They would use the young girl to do dirty chores and act like a modern day slave who waited on their every word.
Thankfully,  my family is absolutely lovely. I look after three young boys aged 6, 9 and 12. Being an English au pair, my duties consisted of giving the eldest English lessons once a day (apart from Sunday which is rest day - a break for both parties!). They often let me have breaks from playing with the children, and allow me to go on walks by myself and explore each town. However, I try and spend as much time with the children as possible in order to alleviate the parents' stress as much as I can. Whether it be purposefully losing a race or beating their arses at Uno, I'll be down for it.
As well as benefiting them, this experience is also benefiting me. I'm able to practise day-to-day French for over a month with real French people (wow) who are willing to correct me when I'm wrong, as well as teaching me some "verlan" which is extremely amusing.  I hope that this month will enable be to be that one step ahead of those at uni, whichever it may be. Bring on the 18th.