Writing from a Desk in the Dark, Chapter 1

I won’t tell you everything, at least not all the details. And I won’t say where I’m from either. You’re free to guess, of course, but just when you think you’ve figured it out, you’ll notice another detail. One that will send your hypothesis tumbling to the ground. I’m sure I’ll slip up at some point, so maybe you’ll guess correctly. It’s no use googling me either. None of these names are real, in part because there are better ones and in part because I don’t want to be found. In this town, I live my life in the spotlight, and I hate it. But the stories are true.

I’m in my second year at Uni. I could be done next year, but I changed to a dual degree last term, so now I have two more years left instead. I went in for a journalism degree at first. Wouldn’t have been my first choice, but good enough I suppose. I got really bored with it last semester, when I had to take a class on media law and copyright law. I was considering a marketing degree instead and after another miserable weekend of homework, I felt dead inside. Art was the one thing that I truly love, always have. So I decided to get into the art program. I started too late for it to be what I wanted. All the jobs I want need a BFA, but it’d be five years to finish instead of three, so I’m just getting a BA instead. Still an extra year, but at least I won’t be miles behind everyone else.

Dinner at the canteen was barely edible, for me at least. I live in halls still, and don’t have a kitchen. I can’t eat dairy and am allergic to eggs, so that ruled out a lot of the options. In the end I had couscous, a pork chop, and a bowl of kale. I also had a coconut mound bar, which gave me stomach pain, as I knew it would. Living in halls is lonely. I’m the only second year on my floor and most of my friends live off campus in a house together. But I didn’t have any friends to rent with, and I don’t cause trouble and I got full-funding so it seemed silly to live elsewhere. I’ll probably live in halls again next year. My friend lives on a different floor in halls, but we’re in the same building. He also got full-funding. Maybe we would have gotten a place together next year, but we aren’t good friends anymore. Or at least I know we’re not, he hasn’t figured that out yet. I guess that’s a story for next post.

So I guess I’ll see you next week? I’d like to share a bit more if you’d like to listen. And you can guess where I’m from in the comments.