Fatma

The last few weeks have been a blur, but in a good way. I was super scared about not making any new friends in college, but luckily, I’ve met two girls who are my dream friends. They’re in a lot of my classes, and we’ve been talking a lot. They have similar music interests, they watch films that I like, and they dress really cool (they know about UNIF and other brands that I love). A few weeks ago, one of them told me to listen to Rina Sawayama. I searched her up and listened to her music and instantly fell in love. Fast forward to two weeks later, and me and my two friends were able to see Rina in concert in London.

I definitely wasn’t allowed to go to a concert in London at night without anyone travelling with me, so I thought I wasn’t going. But my mum and my sister came up with the idea that they would travel there with me, then while I was at the concert, they would go sightseeing around London, and then when the concert ended, they would meet me and we would go home together. And that’s what we did. And I’m so grateful that I was able to go because it was such a fun experience and a great reward for working hard and getting good grades in school.

The lights were beautiful, and my friends and I were dancing together and singing along to the songs, and everyone was really friendly and apologetic if they accidentally pushed me or bumped into me. Also, people were wearing pvc trench coats and platform buffalo shoes and I realised that I shouldn’t be self-conscious when I wear the clothes I like, because there are so many people who like the same things as me and I know I’m not alone and I’m not weird.

I wish I could go back to pre-college Fatma and tell her that she will make friends and have fun experiences and that she won’t be laying in her bed, in the dark, forever.

If you’re reading this and you feel like your life is uneventful and you feel like you’re missing out, trust me: you’ll find your people and things will get better. There are always people who are similar to you, but they’re not always where you want them to be.

But sometimes, fate will bring you closer to the people you belong with.