Skip to main content

This City is my City

Walking to campus the other day, it hit me that very soon I will be leaving. Lincoln has been my home from home for the last three years, and now my brain decides to fall in love with it? We've had a bit of a love/hate relationship, Lincoln and I. First year, I was too ill to really contemplate how beautiful it was, second year I was too busy hating being here, and third year has been a blur.

But, I can't help but reflect on the fact that this place has shaped me as a person and become a massive part of my identity since moving here in 2013. Lincoln isn't all that big, but it provided me with enough running space to explore, to hide, and to delve into the nooks and crannies to find many a gem. These places will particularly have a soft spot in my heart, and are my haunts, as such:

Thomas2, Broadgate; this cafe has the closest place in my heart. I am pretty sure I am known as 'gluten free bacon sandwich weird lonely book girl' in there, since for the majority of second year I'd go in (at least once a week) (I know) (bad Claire), book in hand; and just sit, drink tea, and read. They honestly must have thought I have no friends, because the look on the waitress' face when I said I was meeting someone, or (shock horror) when I did actually bring someone with me was rather amusing. Honestly though, Thomas2 gave a place in which to be comfortable at a time when all I wanted to do was run away.

The University of Lincoln Library; aka Hell for some people. For me? Heaven. With cherries on top. I actually think that my sadness at leaving Lincoln, and my friends, will be synonymous with the sadness of no longer visiting that library. The hours (oh, the hours and hours) I have spent there could probably result in me contributing to their gas bill. In particular, my little desk on the second floor amongst the English books which often has provided residency for me between 8am-11pm, thank you little desk. (Ok nostaglia and love just hit new levels.)

Waterstones Lincoln; aka Heaveeeeeeeeen. Not only did I get to work there for a short period of time in second year, but I probably have spent £fuifhuirekjjlksdjik there. What? You didn't get that? Must have something in your ears!

The Brayford & the Glory Hole; (sounds like a fairytale. A weird fairytale.) This little stretch of my walk is where the Taylor Swift blasts, the fresh air wails, and "I think I'm finally clean" (T-swiz. so much love.) Particularly, my walks to Siren FM at 7:30am are brightened by this sight of the Brayford, and the swans (and sometimes dead ducks or swans. RIP.)

Walkabout; because who doesn't love to boogy with the locals on a Saturday night? Need I say more?!

The Shed; aka 'The Swan' (wtf), this little pub-come-student-cafe was a third home (along with the library and my hovel in the attic) during second year, and I've had many a drink, laugh, and tasty meal there. Though, I did prefer it when I could eat gluten and kinda actually eat something other than jacket potatoes. But, regardless, The Shed will forever have my heart for feminist rants, celebrations, and one sad event that will be forgotten with time.

LPAC; home to Shakespeare week, and the place where I met my boyfriend. Oh yuck, I'm being all soppy (there is a line.)

Lincoln, you have made me feel welcome, unwelcome, loved, and hated; but you have changed me, and let me grow in your oddly-shaped-one-high-street-city. Let's enjoy these next couple of months, in a little safe haven, before the real world becomes a thing.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Teens don't read"

Earlier today Maureen Johnson pointed out that the view of "teens don't read" in the UK is deeply entrenched (which is a word that I now love  and had never heard before). As a teenager in the UK, the stigma around reading seems to be - to me - it's "uncool", it's "geeky", there "aren't any good books out there". I think the fact that a lot of teenagers in British schools are exposed to older literature or, perhaps, not that popular literature in lessons and forced into over-analysing and spending countless hours on 'what the author meant'. A point that was raised in this twitter discussion was that people didn't want to be seen reading, or didn't want to be seen reading certain books. It's made me realise that I never   ever ever  see people reading in the older years in my school ( ever ). Perhaps the odd year 7 (12 year old) or year 8 (13 year old) will read, but - from experience - they will probably be ...

To A Baby

Dear Baby in a cafe, You are growing up in an incredible age. The age of the unknown. We are balancing on a thin line that could topple either way and the future, Baby, is unknown. For the moments that our eyes meet I see a world in your mind. The cogs whirring and your mind constantly processing everything. You see so much and understand so little; but that is changing. It is funny to think of all the new things you're currently learning about. Learning to eat, to drink, to speak, to listen and learn. The world which you observe, Baby, is wonderful. I cannot convey to you how incredibly grand it is because it simply is impossible to put it into words. It is wonderful - completely - but it is also full of terrible destruction. It's like a coin; there are two sides to it. I tend to pick the glass-half-full attitude, because I believe it will ultimately be okay. There are horrible things that happen in this world, Baby, and this world is heading down an unknown path. However...

The concept of 'okayness'

Something I've noticed through both personal experience and observing other individuals is how human beings deal with the concept of being 'okay'. Generally we all have good things and bad things going on in their lives, take me for example: bad - back pain, medicine; good - family, friends, home, life, food, money... good stuff happening and change (change is an 'okay' right now rather than a 'not okay'). I happen to think that my life is  okay at the moment because, for me, the good stuff out ways the bad stuff by a milestone. Throughout a day I may become not okay but on the whole I am - on the whole I'm happy. I have noticed though, through reflection and looking at others, that we almost have this desire... this tendency to want to point at the 'not okay' bits of out lives and make them of a higher importance than our 'okay' bits. If I'm having an average day it can much more easily become a bad day than a good because I reme...