September 2020.
This month is particular important to me as it marks a decade I am here in the UK.
It was the morning of the 10th September 2010 when, with only a luggage full of clothes and hopes, I told my parents I decided to move to the UK.
They were speechless when they saw me turning on the engine of my Volkswagen Golf and departing, with just a sailing course booked in Isle of Wight and not much more planned.
I had no job, very little savings, and nothing was really planned.
Since I was little I’ve always been creative and I’ve always wanted to become a successful Art Director in London.
Guess what? After ten years I made that dream true.
At the age of thirty I became all what I wanted. Or at least what I thought I wanted to be.
I worked non-stop days & nights with dedication & passion; I’ve always been career driven. And London was the perfect hub for people like myself.
This city gave to me so much on a professional level and I couldn’t be grateful enough for.
But equally, London took a lot away from me: the price I had to pay for it was a very expensive one: my mental & physical well-being suffered massively.
I was trying to find outlets (like gymnastics & bodybuilding) to distract me from the stressful city life. I was trying unsuccessfully to create human connections (in Italy we call them relationships & friendships). Let’s be honest - if you don’t drink or you don’t like to party, you are automatically out of the games from the ‘cool’-London’s movida.
And of course Covid arrived. And - as a wake up call, I had to reassess all my life.
In a decade I realized I became that person I never wanted to be: selfish, lonely and ego-centric. But I wasn't the only one whom changed. London changed too in that frame of time. I won’t go into details but it is now very different from a decade ago and I no longer wish to leave here.
That’s why I will be saying good bye to London after this incredible decade and start a new chapter of my life back in Italy, where I will be focusing more on family, friends and towards building a better work/life balance.
I am jumping in the complete unknown, and will have to shape my life once again.
I had a recurring dream: I was running free across a grain field.
Maybe a sign I really need to escape from a place I feel I am belonging no more?
