Journey across the sea
I’ve been living in England for over half my adult life. At the age of 22 I decided I wanted to move away from Guernsey. It was too small for me. I was a creative person and didn’t want to have a “small island mentality”. I felt trapped and needed to breathe. Everything was just too comfortable and insular, particularly at that age.
My route wasn’t easy. I knew I wanted to do something creative but wasn’t sure what. I was quite good at drawing and painting at school and decided to try that at a College in the U.K. I sent off my application to Southport College and waited on a response. To my surprise things escalated quickly and before I knew it I was on a plane to Manchester a few weeks later.
Studying in the U.K. had not been easy. I found a lot of red tape and a variety of numbers to call. This was pre-internet circa 1994 and I somehow stumbled my way through. There wasn’t anyone in my family that had an academic background to help me. I felt very much alone throughout the whole process.
All those years later and I found myself back in Guernsey talking to students about my journey and experience and what I had achieved so far in my life. Some of the students I spoke with were thinking of studying in the U.K. but were apprehensive as to what to do next. Some of the students were worried about leaving their lives family and friends behind. It brought back powerful memories.
I found this experience very cathartic and at a couple of points I felt emotional during the process. Due to the content I felt like I was a complete specialist on the subject and that I was given the ability to help change young people’s lives. I also felt a sense of responsibility to them in making sure I conveyed such an important message to them; that there was support for them. Things had changed. Institutions had changed. They had resources at their fingertips and they now had me as a contact of they had any questions to ask. In some small way I could give them guidance where I can and help them forge out a more clearer and distinct direction for their lives.
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