There comes a time in your life where you have to move on, you have to asses what’s best for and make a decision. Having grown up in the countryside for nearly twenty years, I thought its time for a change. I got my degree, its now time to put that into practise. So I packed a small travel bag with what seemed to be essentials to survive in an urban environment. Arming myself with clothes, toiletries, books for entertainment, a smart phone for the times you need to be rescued and an A to Z of London the 1980’s version, which in all honesty has never really been used, especially when you have smart phone. Who could forget the laptop, the most essential item, it provides entertainment, helps with the jobs and provides you with the Internet, when you don’t have it the withdrawal kicks in, trust me. We have become so reliant on it, I swear if it was taken away three would be a lot more crimes and suicide rates would go up. Last step of the move a bus ticket and I’m off.
The journey down to London took three hours, of which most of it I slept. I don’t care much to stay awake during long journeys there’s nothing to see, so earphones go in and eyes are shut. As I wake up the journey is almost over, the bus is arriving at the outskirts of central London.Traffic buzzes around the bus, sounds of horns go off, you can see pedestrians roaming the street, traffic is at a stand still most of the time. This is the time to look around see what’s on offer, gauge what you’ve got yourself in for. I’ve been to London before but every time I can’t help staring in awe, the city is a strange place when you’ve grown up in the countryside. There’s wall to wall buildings, everything is concrete with a few trees protruding from paving slabs and life is all go in the city, where no one really gives a shit about you. And here I am in this jungle.
As I step off the bus I am greeted with a warm blast of air, the pollution already works it way into my system and it becomes a struggle to breathe, this is the time I wish I was back in the countryside with the fresh air, but hell here I am. As I take my bag and haul it over my shoulder, I begin to work my way through the streets and towards the tube. At this point I can’t help but think of ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ by Guns N’ Roses. A video which portrays Axl Rose step off the bus onto the city streets. And here I am a country boy in exactly the same scenario. But what does the city hold for me? I have never had so many opportunities in front of me. It was now time to sink or swim and in a city which is full of sharks I was sure I was bound to be eaten alive. I continued to my first London destination (East Ham). This was the beginning of my London adventure and the beginning of a new chapter in my life.
