This may seem boring but: Hello World!
Tags: Teenagers, Current Events, Starting To Write, First Time, Hello World

At last, I throw myself into the thick of it: I pick up my pen (not literally, I’m staring at my keybord) and I start projecting my ideas on a pristine sheet of paper (my dim, cracked screen). I have been mustering up the required energy for nearly a year, since the dreaded 16th March 2020, remembered in the history books as the day all our lives stopped (at least for those of us living in the UK). Alone in my room, interminable hours at a time, I have been obsessed by one question, nagging at my solitude: how can we connect with others in times where we cannot physically meet?

We have all tried virtual coffees, brunches and aperitifs, long phone calls and endless emails, Whatsapp and Messenger. We have all been to the park, trying to catch up all the time that has been lost, teared away by the virus. But meeting through the medium of technology or socially distanced, with masks, is not the same. At the end of the day, we are at home, watching another movie or finishing the third season of a series we started two days ago (I recommend The Society on Netflix, if you haven’t already watched it), or skimming mindlessly through our Instagram feeds. Some of us are lucky enough to have been quarantined with our loved ones, but successive lockdowns take their toll on all of us and the atmosphere at home can become quite electric!

So, in these unprecedented times where our vision of the world, of society, of our lives have been overwhelmed, what has not changed? That mad, old, shrivelled, racist aunty that nobody likes but that is always invited to family gatherings will surely try to give you a big, slobbery kiss next time she sees you. But some things are universal and will never change. What about the genuine, honest things that bind all of humanity, however imperfect your aunt may be? What can we all count on in times of sorrow and despair?

Reading and writing.

It’s no coincidence we consider history to have started with the invention of writing. Litterature is our heritage, the record of our fates, our fortunes and afflictions, our feelings. Though it, we can shed a tear, share an idea, laugh, live.

Having read all the books I could get my hands on in the house, I turned to writing. But it is not as easy at it could first seem. The seeds of inspiration were sown in my head a few months ago. They have gradually blossomed in my mind and on my notebook. The flowers are now ready to reap. However, they are frail, vulnerable creatures. The wonders of evolution have barely started and the story and the style in which it is written are in no way complete. For the sake of those beautiful flowers, I beg you to have mercy and help me nurture them.

But my field of poppies is not the only thing growing. Every day, battles are fought, for laudable causes such as human rights, climate change, social justice. Every day, some of these struggles are overcome, others are too big for us and will take time to beat. But one thing is for certain: we live in a ever evolving world. Sometimes it changes some much, there are so many issues at hand, that it is difficult to keep track of it all.

However, some events will stand out, we will talk about them for years to come, dread or celebrate them. People will write about them. I want to be one of them, I need to be one of them, to share my thoughts and my feelings. Otherwise, I will go completely barmy, surrounded by a wall of dusty books!

Therefore, I’m going to try and describe my teenager’s London life, the view of our world from this global city, through the eyes of an innocent teenage girl who is discovering all of it for the first time, having recently emerged from a secluded region of the Amazon.

London is the biggest jungle.

That’s it!! The journey has begun. We are casting of the safe, sheltered port that is home, sailing towards the unknown!

Break a leg! Knock ’em dead! See you soon.