As my time at university comes to an end, I look back at moments that changed my education. From relative deprivation to conflict theory to homegrown vs lone wolf terrorism, the first year of university would hold lessons I’ll carry with me all my life as a politics enthusiast. But nothing could prepare me for the lessons of the summer of Roman*. This was my first brush with heartbreak and politics of the real world.
Don’t you just hate it when you’re looking at a piece of art in a gallery and there is no writing to explain what on Earth the art means? You just stand there, perplexed, wondering how much of an idiot you are for the kinds of interpretations you’re coming up with.
September. Autumn. A new season has begun. As I look to the year ahead, I realise that things have changed, and I consciously try to reorientate myself to a new reality.
Here in the UK, life appears to be returning to at least some semblance of normalcy. Pandemic restrictions in England are gone; in Scotland, whilst masks remain, there are no limits on gatherings. Nightclubs are opening up again. Students are going back to universities. This is a reality made possible by virtue of living in a wealthy country...
Who am I when there is nothing around to distract my mind? What does it mean to live in the transition space between one era of your existence and the next?
The first thought that came into my head when I realised I was non-binary was fuck, I don’t want to chop all my hair off. This was swiftly followed by a succession of minor panics: I don’t have the face for short hair, I don’t have the shoulders for androgyny, and everyone knows that my arse is simply too big to pass as anything but a woman. These thoughts accompanied thousands more over the next few months as I embarked on an excruciating – but ultimately liberating – internal journey...
Have you ever told someone about a problem you’ve been having, and had the always-infuriating response, “Oh, that’s all just in your head”? Have you ever been told that by a doctor? Imagine if you were told that by a judge...
