LLAL: London Loving and Loathing
London is arguably my favourite city. Maybe rephrase that to European… UK city. However, it’s also a spectacle of everything wrong with the world.
Everyday, I will attempt to create a professional, articulate, hilarious and modern take on my day of thought or action. Inspired by Casey Neistat who created a vlog everyday for 450 straight days. I will call it: 365MeThoughts
To find the acronyms that are at the top, go to my Instagram page everyday and see what the images are and see if you can figure it out…
I explored (with some others) my favourite city in the UK. It’s my home and I have a Marmite sort of relationship with the place. Sidenote: Marmite is a British delicacy usually applied to toast or crackers, or if you’re weird, eat it on its own. Their catchphrase is:
“You’ll either love it or hate it”
That’s how I feel it is for some people visiting London. Being a tourist in London and living here are two different things. I think you see a lot less than what you should as a tourist, but I also feel like that happens in all holiday destinations.
Today, I saw from the West End in Knightsbridge, to the East side in Mile End and then all around the middle. It was a tour of all the city’s tourist hotspots had to offer. I realised a lot about why I don’t see myself living in London after university ends.
The day started with a MExU promo (soon to be released) with an influential and forward-thinking entrepreneur, Omar.
I saw Knightsbridge once again after last visiting to obtain a USA visa.
Omar and I talked about disparity, it is very prevalent in the most affluence areas of London, especially the West End. Having worked (not officially) for a homeless charity on Christmas Day, I really have started to engage and understand the struggles of the homeless. It’s a problem everywhere, even in Austin (TX) where I didn’t think it was possible.
I remember on the road trip, stopping in Winchester and seeing homeless men and women lining the streets for a few pennies to make the days tick over.
I feel like money isn’t the answer to their problems. It doesn’t give them a sense of value nor place. It’s a pity statement but sometimes that’s all I can offer. I also don’t believe what the media tells us about what homeless people spend money on, some have addictions while other suffered from terrible divorces. Anyone of those factors could rip any one of our prosperous lives apart in an instance.
As I looked over the River Thames, I started to picture a place far away. Where capitalism had not infected the lives of so many yet propelled the lives of others. It’s a dynamic that seems to work in perfect equilibrium, but has never made sense to me.
I understand and appreciate that mini-tensions and conflicts creates progress and innovation. Where there is no capitalistic motivation for inequality and disparity — race, religion or gender would cause a dividing line. I just think that if those already cause differences, having capitalism in the mix perpetuates the issue.
My dream job is as a humanitarian journalist. I want to help people tell their own stories and change their own lives. Offer the tools to do it themselves. While colonisers gave resources for them to use with no training, I feel like every population is more than capable of defining their own future.
I am striving to create a personal brand this year. It’s hard, I want to just start and see where I get. I am branding myself with the USP of doing a new journalism. One that is not accepted nor practiced to date. I will carry and strive to spread this message:
‘Journalists shouldn’t just tell stories, they should give others the ability to tell their own’
That’s me. I don’t see that to be possible in London… just yet. I believe South East Asia will be my destination, or perhaps South America.
But either way, I hope one day I can return to London and say;
‘I’m so happy London has changed for the better’
Only time will tell on that front…
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