Well, Anon, that question is simple, so naturally I will explain why I love London as briefly as I can. And with that we now begin the explanation as to why one of the greatest cities in the world (don’t forget the country, too) is one of the greatest cities in the world.
First, Anon, I must tell you the story of how I met my beloved city (figuratively) for as you kids know I haven’t actually been there. This obsession really blossomed in the year 2011 and to be more specific around the beginning of December. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself. To really understand the full blown obsession, Anon, we must go back to the summer of 2005.
I was entering the sixth grade and had to read a book for summer reading. I chose Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Yes, I was late to this bandwagon. I tried reading this book in the winter of 2002, but for some reason I could never get past the chapter “Halloween.” After that summer, I started reading the entire series up to that point. I was hooked. I watched the movies again but with a new passion and love for them. I began getting attached to the way they spoke and even the scenes outside of Hogwarts. I had no idea that when J.K. wrote about Surrey and more importantly London that I would eventually fall in love with that great place.
If you think that is it, well buckle up (click it or ticket) because this is just story of how I met my obsession with… Harry Potter. Now, in order to understand the next stage of my obsession I have to take you to the summer of 2006.
I was at my best friend’s house at the time just hanging out like any normal teenagers of my time. We were playing video games in his room, on Myspace (no Facebook [We didn’t have Facebook then. There are rules against it!), and on AIM (no iPhone). (Oh, Myspace and AIM - the lost networks.) His brother called us into his room to listen to this song. I don’t really remember why he decided to share this with us, but he did. And in that, it began.
Anon, the song was “These Words” by Natasha Bedingfield. At first, I really didn’t see anything special about the song. To be honest, I thought it was crap, but then I had an epiphany. I fell in love with that song and “Unwritten” until one day I had her whole album. I became a fan.
Through middle school nothing else really added to my love for this city. Except in 8th grade when Natasha Bedingfield came into my life yet again. Her newest album came out “Pocketful Of Sunshine.” It was an automatic classic for me. To this day, I have still not memorized a whole album of songs like I did this one. (Although, kids, I must say that soon enough I think that I will know all of the lyrics of my newest obsession. [But I am getting ahead of myself. Where was I? Oh, right.]) I used to go on bike rides around my neighborhood with my Zune (Yes, I was and still am a proud owner of a Zune - the first generation.) playing the entire album.
After this stint with Natasha, I fell in love with another girl with an accent and her name began with the letter ‘N’ too; however, this time she was an Aussie.
If I remember correctly it was the summer before 10th grade making it 2009. After watching a YouTube video by the internet sensation Ryan Higa, I saw a suggestion for another video on the screen titled “Asians Hate You Miley Cyrus” and yes, I clicked it.
I was intrigued by this one video from the “What the Buck” show - so intrigued in fact that I immediately clicked on a link to one of her videos. Now, kids, I can’t remember exactly which video I saw first. It was either “sleazy in the rain” or “How to fake a six pack.” For some reason, by either of these two videos, I was hooked forever (or so I thought, but that is for later.)
Now for the entire summer and fall I was glued to my computer screen -to be honest the many months that followed I was avid watcher of “communitychannel” or Natalie Tran. I soon had favorite videos that I could easily watch over and over again. I could easily relate to everything she was saying. She was perfect. Natalie was sarcastic, funny, beautiful, and overall amazing. I became so hooked that I was promoting her to others around my school. While walking down the hall you can bet if my hand accidentally touched your hand or I grazed your left boob that I would break out in song.
“Yeah, we just touched awkwardly. Was that strange for you like it was strange for me? Yeah, we just touched awkwardly. No, I’m not gonna let this go…”
There is more but I won’t go on. You can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2RzKNCahRg (Have fun and enjoy.)
Anyway, I continually watched and longed for Natalie’s videos. It was a great time in my life. I fell in love. She was the person I wanted. She was my everything. I was prepared to move to Australia to be with her, but Mitch was always in the way…Mitch. Until April of last year, everything was fine, but then on April 14, 2011 Natalie posted “Googlemaps Breakup.” It was the first sign that Natalie was leaving me. We had a “Rough Patch” for about three months - I didn’t hear a single thing from her. But then there was a glimmer of hope off the horizon, but alas after a few videos she disappeared yet again. And then again she left for three months and came back. Now, it hasn’t yet been three months, but I am not holding my breath anymore.
I have finally moved on from my first love - Natalie Tran. It was definitely one of the hardest parts in my life, but I have gotten through it - just look at Twitter or even this tumblr. However, even though I am past this part in my life if Natalie Tran returns and even if she doesn’t she will always have a place in my heart.
Now, after that turmoil that I went through, I was devastated at first, but there was someone that helped me get through the pain. Her name was Miss Adkins or Adele Laurie Blue Adkins or Adele (for short). Oh, Adele. Her voice could melt any stick of butter. It was bloody brilliant. I watched an entire concert of her just sitting on a stool belting it the way she does. Through this I found out that not only is her voice amazing but her personality is wonderful too. I started singing all of her songs - in the morning as my wake up music and of course in the car for me time. Adele brought me back to where I first stood. She brought me back to England.
So, at this point in my life we can pinpoint it to be about the beginning of the 2011 school year. I am all over Adele and her sheer awesomeness. But to understand yet another foundation that made this love for England and especially London, we must go back to March 2011. I had passed over this picture countless times but until March of that year I had not delved deeper into the glory that lay within it. The glory was the UK television series skins. It became my biggest obsession of the time. I shipped characters with other characters and I got a bit emotional when bad things happened to the characters I grew to love the most. I grew attached to the people within the show. (Note: I realize that skins is set in Bristol, but at this moment I am talking about England as a whole.)
Although, skins doesn’t describe my exact life in relation to the alcohol, drugs, and sex, I related to characters on a deeper level thereby allowing a stronger connection with the people which then transformed into a stronger connection with England. Sometimes, I “dreamed” of having friends or a group of friends like this. And there was one character that I “bonded” with more than any of the other characters through the three generations. This series shed a new light on the England scene - a scene that I so desperately wanted to be a part of. I would also like to point out that most of the locations within this series were quite breathtaking. I remember this one location where Cassie is on this bench and the view there was beautiful. In fact, that scene or location inspired my icon for my tumblr (think about that one).This show gave me an insight to the wonderful environment of England.
For the most part, I think this paints an accurate picture of why and how I fell in love with England/London. If not, then I apologise for wasting your time with my rambling. Perhaps, these are just some things that I really like. Either way, a Massive Thanks for this question. If I didn’t answer it to your specifications please shoot me another question. My ask box is always open (and always empty).
