university

As a child I wished I could be going to a Japanese school alongside Serena Tsukino or Sakura Kinomoto, catching up with my friends at the arcade after class or meeting my brother and his friends to go to a festival at the shrine. I spent hours reading manga and daydreaming about my alternate life – it was an escape from my life as a loser at school. I don’t think I realised how much of the clothes and fashion present in anime and manga infiltrated my young brain until this trip – so much of my personal style was identical to the young girls we saw daily in Japan.

This seifuku outfit was completely serendipitous (blouse, skater skirt and trainers is my daily uniform at home) but the minute I emerged Sam exlaimed “you look like you’re going to school!”. So of course when we visited Keio University we had to take these “going to school” photos! My own school uniform was pretty boring – I would have preferred cute sailor collars and pleated skirts! We headed to Kinchi Park afterwards, a beautiful little playground filled with teenagers and kids.

The Keio Univeristy campus itself was so regal – I’m sure it was partly due to the combination of sakura bloom and intense sunshine (notice me squinting in every photo…) but the buildings seemed steeped in wisdom, authority and knowledge. It wasn’t too hard to slip back into my childhood daydreams and imagine myself chatting with friends on the walk to lectures or studying under the sakura during summer exams. I always like visiting universities when I go somewhere new – my own university meant so much to me and I suppose I’m curious about where everybody else spends their student years!

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Blouse – £4, charity shop. Cardigan – £3.50, Topshop via eBay. Cat ears – gift. Shoes – £25, Rocketdog. Skirt – £10, Urban Outfitters (sale). Socks – £2.50, Topshop (sale).

I graduated on this day 3 years ago with a BMus in Classical Music from Goldsmiths. Going to Goldsmiths is the best decision I have ever made. I know I sound over-dramatic but it genuinely saved my life. I read every single prospectus available at my secondary school and the whole idea of university seemed completely redundant until I found Goldsmiths. It’s kind of impossible to sum up what I gained overall from my degree; I very firmly think that everything we do affects and shapes us in one way or another.

At Goldsmiths I learnt how I function best. I honestly think the best thing you can do with your life is learn how you work best and put the rest of your life around that. I work very well by myself, very well in collaboration and very well as a director. I don’t work well under other people or in work where I have no say over the direction of the project. I don’t really care why this is or what it says about me; I just know that’s how I work best and I’ve engineered a life where I’m constantly working at my best.

I found so much from university; on one level I made great friends, had some amazing lecturers and got the most brilliant education. On another level I found the validation for myself that I’d been lacking in my own life before then; validation for education and art that I’d struggled to find in secondary school. Goldsmiths ultimately showed me that being myself is ok. I’ve always been quite fiercely individual and independent but a lot of the fight I had as a teenager evaporated at university; I didn’t need to stand up for who I was or be resilient to other peoples remarks.

I was thinking of writing some sort of graduation post about the things I’ve done since graduating – graduation is some kind of mythical dark time in the media where everybody sits around jobless and depressed. That’s maybe true for some people, but I think the media owe it to everybody to portray an open, inviting world where anything is possible. I’ve obviously made my own jobs and career path since leaving and I feel like everything’s been great! I’m in love with my work and the world and all of the amazing projects and people in it. Any recent graduates reading; let me know if you’d be interested in hearing about my experiences since leaving education. Certainly I loved university and miss it but life is a lot more exciting now and I relish the freedom and satisfaction. Thank you Goldsmiths. :)

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