Bella Scipione

Sep 29 2023

It has officially been one week since making my move to London. In all honesty, it has been one of the hardest weeks of my life. I am extremely emotional and it is taking everything in me to hold myself together and express myself through a space of positive self-reflection. I was hesitant to write about and share the start of my journey, because the feelings of anxiety and self-doubt circulate through my mind in various moments of my days. However, as I sit at my hotel bar with my bottle of Pinot Grigio, I remind myself that not far around the corner is a chapter turned and a version of myself who is transformed.

In the last week I have adjusted to the hustle and bustle of London city culture, started classes as a master’s student, toured various shared homes and flats, and moved myself and five bags of luggage around three different places of accommodation. Every day brings new challenges and I do my best to navigate them with patience and resilience. I have quickly become accustomed to my reality that this shit ain’t easy and all I can do is take it one day at a time.

Despite these shortcomings, it is only right that I get to share some of the joys of my long, but quick, week here. Last Friday I was able to meet my future flatmates, Sally and Ali, who I absolutely love and adore. They are both British natives and I will be joining them in their lovely flat located East of London, in an area called Stratford. Nobody tells you how seriously difficult and competitive the housing market is in London. And although I am unable to move into the flat for another two weeks, I consider myself so lucky that I quickly found a place that I can soon call home.

On Saturday, I decided the best form of self-care of the day was to take myself dancing to the club, Infernos. Infernos is the club that our British mates Mungo, Archie, Tom, Hugo, and George took G and I to last time we were in London. Funny enough, exactly one year ago from when we were there last, I was there again, and even ran into the boys once again (totally unplanned). It felt so good seeing the boys and catching up – most definitely a sign from the universe that things are working out exactly the way they are supposed to.

I had my first day of classes on Tuesday and am re-adjusting to life as a student. This semester I am taking two courses, one in Critical Bioethics and the other in Critical Global Health. My classes consist of 30-60 students from over 20 countries. In the field of Global Health, it is seemingly important to hear from different voices around the world. We are all encouraged to approach our own work critically in regards to our own context. In other words, how does my own cultural background and upbringing shape my thoughts, opinions, and ideas about the social determinants of health. It is incredible to be in a room with so many people of different disciplinary backgrounds and listen to their own lived experiences. We have so much to learn from the people who are different from us, and I am so grateful to be in a space where I am able to do just that.

Grandma and her good friend, Sanaa, had just finished a cruise around the Mediterannean and spent three days in London exploring. The timing worked out absolutely perfect and I was able to spend three nights with the two of them enjoying and exploring my new city. We saw the Lion King at the famous Lyceum theater and enjoyed a four-course river cruise dinner on the Thames River. I love my Grandma so much and could not have been more excited that she was here to be my crutch through this tough week.

I will be staying in a hostel for the next two weeks until my flat is ready to move in and will be taking the time each day to embrace the upcoming challenges. And as I write this and find myself on the brink of tears, I recognize that this continues to be the absolute journey of a lifetime, and for that I remain hopeful and thankful. When we are growing we are always out of our comfort zone. The most we can do is to live, embrace, and enjoy. I share this through a form of self-affirmation, but hope that it encourages strangers and loved ones to do just the same. Make your happiness and personal growth a priority in your life. The more you take care of yourself, the more you can take care of others.

With love,

Bella x