BIRDS FLYING HIGH
NOVEMBER 21, 2021
Saint Michel
Carmes
For the last two years, I've wanted to move. It didn't make sense, but I have this tendency to stick to paths I randomly set myself, so I stuck it out. Now it's time. I've finally moved. New city, new country, new degree, new people, new all. Here we go.
For years, it had been my dream to live in Copenhagen. I'm fascinated with this city - coffee, style, food, light, ocean, it's all there. My brain fixated on the place, I even started learning Danish, I was ready to go there as soon as my undergrad was over. Being more and more unhappy in Passau, I just wanted to live in a city for the city's sake, and not just move there for the degree. In my last semesters however, I changed what I wanted to do - I became more and more discontent with Business as a discipline, and started to discover Economics. There would have been a good Business degree in Copenhagen, but sadly not so for Economics, and especially Ecological Economics, my niche.
There was, however, a perfect degree in Toulouse. Toulouse, a place I'd never considered. Toulouse, speaking French which I didn't. Toulouse, famous for its Erasmus parties which I hate. Toulouse, not at the ocean, not coffee prone, not as big as I'd hoped. There I was at a crossroads - do I diminish this thought of moving to a city for the city's sake, and let my education dictate my movement again? Even more substantially, do I give up that dream of Copenhagen?
Place de la Trinité
Not my thing, but doesn't hurt to try from time to time
The more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn't a crossroads. I didn't know anything about Toulouse really, Copenhagen wasn't going anywhere, and I was genuinely excited about the degree. So I looked into Toulouse, and what I saw was amazing. From one day to the other, living there became attractive. The city looked gorgeous, it was close to the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean, people were said to be very friendly, and crucially much more open than the Danish. I only heard good things. Eventually, I decided to move to Toulouse. It didn't feel like a compromise, but it felt like breaking up with the idea of Copenhagen - and I'm so glad I had the courage not to stick to the random path I'd set two years earlier.
So, here we are. I've been living in Toulouse for almost three months now, and it has surpassed every expectation. For the first time in my adult life, I feel like I'm where I need to be - place, people, degree, it's all lining up. In all that, however, I didn't want my photos to suffer. I've not taken my SLR, just the little Fuji and my beloved Mamiya. Most of what I've shot is film, and very different motives than usual - the city, portraits, a little trip I took with friends. Besides all those other things, photography still is what keeps me sane, and I love that it evolves with me. I'm excited to see the direction it will take here and I'm excited for you to follow along. It's new light, it's new subjects, it's a new way of shooting. It's a new life for me, and I'm feeling good.
Anna, my first visitor
Sundown at the Garonne