London

The sun has suddenly disappeared, it was foolish to think that it would remain bright for too long. It is London at the end of the day...My city; it matches the rhythm of my moods, like a mirror surrounding me. It was not by chance that I chose to live here, and that I haven’t left in 12 years. Most of the people I have met at university and during my life in the city have either complaint endlessly or have migrated elsewhere, not me.

London is not an easy city to love. It overloads your senses and then withdraws leaving you feeling confused and tired. It is full of possibilities but they all seem to be beyond your reach, it is expensive and busy, loud and heavy. But somehow it grows on you, you find little corners that seem out of place, but are beautiful nonetheless. Its citizens have a reputation for being rude and too polite at the same time, but they are not, they surprise you with undue kindness and their strangeness that would seem out of place anywhere else somehow disappears in London.

I have another home, Bogota, but it is not to me what London is. I feel alien when I go home. I don’t in London. My quirkiness is not quirky, it is charming. It is ok for me to want to be withdrawn at times, and to be slightly mad the rest of the time. My closest friends are Londoners and are as opposite in their nature as London is, and I am. It is in London that I have lost myself but have found me again. It is in London that I have become who I am, and it is partly because of London that I am the person I am today.

Chances are I will live elsewhere, I am only 29 and travelling is to me a necessity. But in spite of that, London will always be my home.

Tomorrow is the “big” wedding, and the city is overwhelmed with excitement. Not me, not most people I know. I find the whole affair overrated and unnecessary. They are just two people marrying but because they happen to be “Royal” it becomes some inescapable circus show. I find it hard to come to terms with the unfairness of the whole thing. We are, apparently, going through an economic crisis, frontline services are being cut and people are losing their jobs. We are been told we have to be part of this “Big Society” and be charitable and understanding. However, we are supposed to accept that our taxes are being directed to providing security for a wedding most of us do not care about. Although we are all grateful for the extra bank holiday, it does seem unnecessary. Like I said before, it is only a wedding. The coverage it is receiving in the media draws the attention away from more pressing matters, and it is being used as an excuse to make pointless diplomatic statements like withdrawing the invitation to the Syrian Ambassador, instead of actually engaging the public with the dreadful situation the people of Syria are going through.

Tomorrow I won’t be celebrating, or participating gin this outrageous event. Tomorrow I will be writing essays and carrying on with life like I have when other people have married. I understand some people will be using it as an excuse to have a party, and tourist will be all very excited by being here for this event. Somehow I think Londoner at large will just find it as a disrupting affair, and an insult to the difficult times we are facing. I wish the happy couple a lovely day, but I can’t help but feel offended, I have no job, no benefits and no money because of the increase in taxes and prices and now I have to pay for their wedding, maybe when I get married I will ask the government to help me finance an event that I should pay myself. I love London but right now I do not like the people who run it...