Waking up every morning and thinking, “Who do you show up as today and for whom?” Do I fill my own cup, or do I fill the cups of my near and dear ones? Some are trying to play dress-up and find themselves, while others are trying to merge with the crowd. As I navigate this city of dreams, it feels like some are melting away like ice cream through a cone, while others are trying to stand out hard like the chocolate on top of the ice cream.
You know what London offers? Your true reality. Not defining it for life, but more like, “Who do I be today?” and usurping that energy. And you know the crazy part? London lets you be that.
Be that corporate girlie, or the Pilates princess. Treat the world like your runway, or cry hard in the tube station with a bottle of beer at 9 am. Be a hedge fund guy with that quarter zip, an IB guy with the half-sleeve jacket, or just another student running to university. London has a place for all.
But even amidst finding your voice, being yourself, and showing up as yourself, we often find ourselves lonely, all by ourselves, in our own lone lane. Isn’t it paradoxical? You get to be your best self and still feel alone. We all want to show up as our real, empowered selves, but in a pack. Where do I go all dolled up when I don’t have my girlies appreciating the 45 minutes I put into my hair? Where does the person go with the breakdown they were just facing while waiting for another tube? How lonely is that hedge fund guy if he can’t share all about the steak dinner at the top floor of The Shard he had last night?
Just food for thought. The sheer love-hate relationship with this city. The urge to leave it on a cold, windy, rainy day, when one has seen all the seasons in one day, and the excitement to return to London for a hot girl summer to be your most authentic self. It’s truly unmatched.
A place for all—the corporate baddies, the go-getter university students, the hard-working baristas, the traditional English, the immigrants from around the world, the posh, the poor, the goth, or the home country of Adele. A place for all. I have heard that London is a melting pot of culture, which it truly is, but have you heard that this city also liberates you? Here, one can feel they can be anything they want to be or achieve anything they wish. A land of true opportunities.
