Welcome Back to the Roaring 20's
- Annie Dupee
- Jan 7, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 8, 2020
On New Year's Eve, I bundled up and followed a handful of friends out to the Meadows, a big open park with a great view of the castle. We perched on a little hill, huddled together on a blanket, trading snacks and sharing the best parts of the year. As midnight neared, more and more people poured into the Meadows, until we were surrounded by hundreds of people. One group of teenagers was setting off their own fireworks (illegal), and they must have been drunk, because one held a firework in his hand while it went off and burnt himself badly. Hopefully the beginning of 2020 was better for him than the end of 2019.
Amidst drums and music and fire-performers, the countdown began. As soon as the clock hit midnight, an incredible fireworks display went off over the castle to the sounds of cheers and renditions of Auld Lang Syne.
One of the things I like about New Year's is that it's a new beginning. I believe in making resolutions any time of year, but changing your habits and looking back on your experiences is easiest during this kind of natural beginning - like the start of a new week on Monday morning, or day one of a new month. And 2020 isn't just the start of a new year; it's the start of a new decade. With that in mind, I want to look back at some of my expectations for the end of 2019.
Right before I left Pittsburgh, I wrote a blog post titled, "Rose, Bud, Thorn". In that post, I looked ahead at my year in Edinburgh and the things I dreaded (thorns), the things I was excited about (roses), and the things that could go either way (buds).
My thorn, the thing I was most nervous about, was finding community. I didn't know anybody in the country when I moved here, and it was the first time I've ever moved somewhere without all of my friends going to the same place. I anticipated a season of loneliness while I tried to make friends; thankfully, I was wrong. God has blessed me with a really wonderful community here. In fact, the very first day of induction, I ended up walking home with three women from my program who all live on the same road as me. We exchanged numbers, we went to lunch, and we've been thick as thieves ever since! The other people in my cohort are very friendly, and we've spent a lot of time writing and getting drinks together. I've also found a great Bible Study - I reached out to them in September, and they welcomed me so warmly into their fold. One of my goals for the next few months is to invest more in my church community and say yes to getting involved in more events!
My bud, the thing that could turn out either well or badly, was the time frame. This program is twelve months long: it began in September 2019 and will end in August 2020. Last year, I had trouble investing in where I was because I knew I would only be there for a year. I treated it as a transitionary period. I don't want to do that again. Because I don't know what my plans are after graduation, this year has felt different. The program may end next August, but my visa doesn't expire until February 2021, so I have options: I could move away as soon as my program ends, I could stay until Feb 2021, or I could try to extend my visa. Right now, I have no idea what I'll do, so I'm investing as much as I can in where I am now. Like I said, the bud can go either way, and this bud is headed in a good direction.
I had two roses - two things I was really looking forward to. The first was traveling. Having a home base in Europe makes traveling to the rest of Europe so much easier (and less expensive). Because I was trying to get settled in this trimester, I didn't do a lot of traveling; I explored the city of Edinburgh and I went to London in October, and that's about it. For the rest of my year here, it's my goal to see more of Scotland and more of Europe.
My other rose was writing. I have always loved writing, and I was so excited to grow and learn more. This has been more difficult than I thought, mostly for one giant reason: I worry too much about what other people think. I want people to like me, and I want people to like what I write. As an avid reader myself, I'm familiar with a lot of subpar novels - sometimes a story suffers because of plot holes, a lack of character development, incomplete world-building, choppy prose, or any number of other things. What I want is for my writing to be perfect, and for everyone in the world to love it.
Obviously, this is not realistic. My friends and I remind each other at least once a week that the whole purpose of being in this program is to learn; if we could do everything perfectly, we wouldn't need to be here. And really, the fact that I can definitely improve is a good thing. I prefer that to being stagnant in my abilities or getting worse. And so, another of my goals is to come to terms with the fact that not everyone will like what I write, and that doesn't make me a bad writer.
In one week, I'll head back to Uni for trimester two and all of my new modules. I'll have editorial mentoring again, so I'll meet with my mentor three more times for an hour of questions and advice. We had several choices for other modules, and I chose 'Writing Young Adult Fiction' and 'Screenwriting'. I'm excited to learn about and practice these forms! The last class I'll have is Authorship. In this module, we'll learn about the practical side of being a published author: how to read a contract, how to find an agent, how much money most authors make (hint: unless you're JK Rowling or Stephen King, it's not enough to live on), things of that nature.
Other things of note:
- I am looking for a part-time job this trimester; since I only have classes on Thursdays and Fridays, I need some routine on my off days. And a little extra cash can't hurt!
- On January 15th, I will be reading some original poetry at an open mic night.
- My only goal for my final grades last trimester was to improve on my midterm grade in one module, and I did!
- I am now a part of the rotation to read scripture during church services.
- Scotland weather: hovering around freezing, wind that will whip your glasses off your face and your cute yellow beanie off your head, occasional rain.
Book recommendation: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. A classic novel about the lives of four sisters as they grow up and figure out their places in the world. I also highly recommend the movie, which is wonderful and heartbreaking and real. It made me cry, and I know it would make Louisa proud.
Comentários