30th June - Bristol Love

It's 4:15am and after lying awake frustrated for the last two hours I figured it would be more productive to get up and eat some cereal. So here I am sat on the kitchen counter, eating whole earth organic cornflakes (naturally gluten free) drinking Sainsbury's basics orange juice and looking out over Bristol.

As of 3am this morning I am the only remaining resident on Floor 5 and boy do I feel it. It's not so much the loneliness but more the sense of finality that gets to me. So far I've avoided eating alone everyday this week by begging people to help me finish my leftovers- this has been incredibly successful!

I just don't want to leave this city that has made me so happy. I can't face packing up the room that I have lovingly fashioned into my own. I know it sounds a little overdramatic but as I sit here munching away and watching the sunrise over the buildings, I am more in love with this city than I ever have been. It's the home I have made for myself and filled with the family I have chosen. And yes I know I'll be back in September but that's a two month Boston-tea party-Stokes-Croft-Clifton-Village vacuum that, for the moment, doesn't bare thinking about.

Furthermore, the sun has risen on my last day as a resident in Manor Hall. I have loved every minute of my time here: I love it's character, the sense of community and its sense of fun. The people here have charmed me with their quirks and individual passions and I've thoroughly enjoyed watching us all develop, slowly growing out of the nicknames and jokes we were branded with during Fresher's Week. It's been great to colour in the blanks of people's personalities , to spend time learning about their lives over tea, coffee, angel-delight, chilli fries and library desks. The kitchen, apart from the glorious view, is a bit scabby, I mean the radiator just fell off the wall and there are lady birds everywhere and then there's the tiny shower and the two baths that have been used about once or twice throughout the year, but its been my home and my community and I'm going to miss it terribly.

Ah! There's the sun. I'm sat here overwhelmed with nostalgia at my memories of first year, sadness at the concept of leaving tomorrow and excited because I get to come back in September and do it all again.

Ci vediamo Bristol!