Tag Archives: Selfdiscovery

Why Walking is Important

Visiting a new place is scary, but here are some top tips to make the most of your travel experience.

That is what every trained media professional or influencer will tell you when trying to show you the beauty of a place through rose-coloured glasses, in which they show themselves on top of a mountain or walking through a bright, bustling market. The “but” obscures the actual process of arriving in a place and being faced with the fears and insecurities that come with being a foreigner, and the fact that you are usually being perceived by all those around you. Or that’s what my mind tricks me into thinking.

The truth is, people will look but won’t remember. The glance you think is judging you is extremely temporary before the person continues on with their day, since they are thinking of their own issues and tasks that need doing instead of considering your clothes, origin or when you last showered. It really is that simple.

The Art of Access: “Into the Wild’s” Critiques of Power and Visualising Geographical Knowledge

Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild”, based on Jon Krakauer’s book about the life of Christopher McCandless, begins with this poem. The words echo throughout the two hour long visually stunning journey of Chris from College graduate to lonely nomad, huddled inside an old Fairbanks City bus. It describes the pleasure found in nature, away from human intrusions and structures, away from capitalist habits and responsibility and taxes.
The film’s cinematography communicates these pleasures and evokes empathy from audiences seeking escape from societal power structures, namely capitalism and neocolonialism.

The Art of Noticing

There is a sticker on a lamppost that reads “get lost”. The lamppost hasn’t been cleaned in a number of years so the sticker calls out to those who view it, as a blinding yellow circle. I listen.

There is a bench dedicated to a woman from her husband after her death five years ago and I sit there and wonder what she looked like when she was alive and if she would have liked to have a bench dedicated to her. Maybe she would have hated it. Maybe she wanted a plaque on a birch tree instead.

Twentieth Century Women : Why I wish I grew up in a colourful house with strangers.

Santa Barbara 1979.

An old white car sits in a car park engulfed in flames while a mother and son look on from the window of a grocery store.

This kind of beginning of a film is rare. The rarest kind of intrigue that doesn’t require the usual conversation of – “Oh you just have to get into it a bit first before it picks up.” There’s none of that and that is why this film is classified as my third favourite film of all time.

Copenhagen

So here I was. Copenhagen. A city I had dreamed of visiting ever since my mum had told me stories of the architecture and the danish way of life and Hygge. I was finally here as my third stop on my month long Interrail trip.

With my monstrously heavy rucksack in tow, and stepping off the train I had last boarded five hours ago in Hamburg, the towering wooden ceiling of the antique Central station with its chandeliers reminded me more of a cathedral than a station. The air outside was warm and filled with the smells of cars and hot dogs from the steaming stands near the bike racks filled to the brim. This was the city of cyclists after all. Cycle lanes were bigger than most road lanes.

What are you doing next year? – and other panic-inducing questions.

The most common question I’ve come to expect from people nowadays is ‘What are you doing next year?’ which, in itself, is something that can be easy to answer logically but the second that the answer isn’t something stable, secure or definitive, judgement creeps in and you find yourself questioning whether your decisions ever madeContinue reading “What are you doing next year? – and other panic-inducing questions.”