A Tale of Two Cities

1. The difference between your personal and internet life

Despite officially living in London for the past three years, I think the bulk of my growth, my sense of self, and my spirit is anchored to Brighton. This picturesque, quirky seaside city was witness and host to a medley of my significant experiences. This is where my love and my disasters happened, where I learned to earn and stand on my own two feet in UK, where I fostered friendships and the closest thing to a family far away from home. There's so much of me and my life in England that's scattered all over the routes from Falmer to Churchill Square to the Station, that fundamentally, it's probably where I learned to grow up in my early 20s.

I recognize this phenomenon as the separation of formalities. From my public self and all its shared visage in Greenwich, versus the private, quiet life I lead most momentously in Brighton. The glitz that often stars on my social profiles - the awe inspiring view from my Cutty Sark apartment, coupled with a student life in one of the most beautiful campuses in the world, is undeniably a part of me, but its one that I also consciously uphold. But the other me - the one that takes the no. 25 bus to town, squatting on her friends' floors, cooks, cleans, works double shifts endlessly and scrapes her arms over various kitchen chores in the restaurant - this was version that most imperatively allowed me to retain my personal identity away from what was expected of me.

Despite London's iconic attributes the respite Brighton offered me is one that I will eternally cherish.