I was faced with two scenarios very recently. The first found me sitting on the London Underground on one of the coldest days of the year. And as I sit on the underground I can’t help but feel angry; angry at all the people around me in their worlds playing free-to-play games, being conned into the monotony of life. When I look around I see no smiles and when I smile to myself I get no smiles in return. The whole train carriage lacks empathy. Why? And then it hit me. Exhaustion. I was tired, their tired. Tired of living their lives, doing the daily grind and is this really a life we all want to lead? For what reason? To keep the world spinning? The world will continue spinning no matter what we’re doing and time will keep going and life is what will happen while we’re not looking.
Why I am migrating.
The second scenario placed me as an outcast on a plane from Helsinki to London. Myself a young girl in her twenties dressed in holiday attire surrounded by middle aged business men in thick black woollen coats. As I looked at them I see the image of my father and the man he used to be in the time he worked in London.
When I was about 13 my parents asked me if we could move away, my brother and I said no. When I was about 14 my parents asked me if we could move away, my brother and I said no. By the age of 15 we were almost ready for the question to be asked and this time we said yes. Nobody asks the same question that many times unless they are desperate.
I understand it a lot more now, how hard it must have been and why he choose the path he is now on. When I look at these two scenarios, I just look at the people and I never want to become that way. I’m so proud of my father for having the courage to see this and be able to move away. The only thing stopping people from leaving is fear and if there’s something my parents have taught me it’s to not let fear get in the way of your dreams. I know now more than ever that this is what I want.
CHARLIE WATTS 