There are two dates that I will probably never forget from when I lived in London. I’m not talking about the day I arrived or the day I left. To be honest they are a complete blur.
3rd June 2017 – The London Bridge Attack
14th June 2017 – The day Borough Market Reopened.
On the 3rd June, I was on a 12 hour shift at work and had just returned home as everything kicked off. I remember getting a text through from the parents and turned the TV on straight away. I remember staying awake until I had a message through from my best mate as I new she was on shift and probably would have been asked to stay on duty. I still to this day can’t remember what time she returned home the following morning.
On the 14th June, my dad came to visit and we took a trip to Borough Market. It was the first day it opened and I’ve never seen it so derelict before. There was a true sense of sadness and uncertainty, yet at the same time a true feeling of community and love for everyone and anyway in the area that day. I remember being interviewed for a live vlog stream and being asked how it felt to be back in Borough Market. The response being “why live in fear when you don’t know what could happen anywhere you are”.
When I moved to London I remember friends asking me “Aren’t you scared of what might happen? What happens if your on a tube and something goes off?”. My response was always, what will be will be. A few weeks after the two dates above I had a group of friends come and visit. We were near London Bridge at the time and I suggested heading to Borough Market. I response I got was that of disgust of why would I suggest such a thing. None of them wanted to go as they were to scared that something else might happen.
Why do we live in fear of what might be? We never know what is round the corner after all, right? It’s fine to know where you want to go in life and have that path mapped out, but at the same time it’s fine to find your way and let it fall into place as it goes. After the last 2 years it’s become apparent to me that I don’t always do stuff I want to do, as I’m too nervous, shy or don’t know how to go about it. Over the last few months this has been changing and I’m slowly learning that living each day doing what I want is great. At the end of the day what will be will be and you can’t control everything that happens. We learn by our mistakes and we grow as we pick ourselves back up.
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