It’s crazy to think that I said goodbye to my beautiful and cozy flat in Camden and my flatmates only a few weeks ago. Luckily, I haven’t quite said goodbye to London yet, as I am still here and waiting for my family to come before we travel around Europe. The city feels quite different as I feel my identity has shifted from student to tourist.
As a student and intern in the city, I feel very attune and a part of the everyday hustle and bustle and efficiency of London. I must say that although it’s nice to relax and enjoy the city without school work and interning, I feel a bit more apart and detached from London as a resident. The connectedness of having my own flat here with flatmates and friends and a facility to take classes went a long way to making me feel very at home in the city. In addition, it really helped solidify my identity and feel as a person that was a part of London’s everyday culture. I think this has further taught me the importance of human connection and relationships not only in travel but day-to-day experiences. Moving out of my flat and having to live in AirBnBs while I wait for them has made me feel more separate and foreign in the UK.Despite having lived here for so many months, I could still feel the shift in identity and a slight displacement as my program ended and I transitioned from being a daily student to more of a tourist.
Luckily however, to keep me from being lonely, I have made friends who live in London that I have been able to see and experience the city with everyday. Thanks to these relationships, I am able to grasp a stronger foundation and sense of belonging in this city that I have lived in since January.
In terms of other forms of identity and the disadvantages and advantages they offer me in the city, I am very lucky to have lived in such a diverse city as London. In all the places I have visited London is by far the most diverse and I found it a much easier transition thanks to this. Even on the tube you can hear multiple languages being spoken and various accents as well. Through this experience I was able to meet and learn from individuals of many backgrounds not only on terms of nationality. I was able to grow and talk with both those who had very limited traveling experience and those who had a lot of it. I was also able to get unique perspectives from both locals who had lived in the city their whole lives and those who had moved to London from other places. Combining all of this knowledge has helped shape my own cultural identity not only as it exists in London but in how I live in my day-to-day life. I am forever grateful for all that my time in London has taught me and how it has significantly shaped my future.