Dear Edinburgh,
It’s been almost four years now, and still, you never fail to amaze me. When the sun covers you and you glow and wrap me in warmth, you take my breath away. And even in the everyday grey, in the delicate but drenching rain – you are always radiant.
Do you remember the first snowfall we shared together? Did you laugh at us dancing in the courtyard in our coats and pyjamas? The 24hr McDonalds you put just beside our first-year accommodation really added to my waistline. Sadly, no amount of your steep windy streets could help that. But thank you for introducing me to the gym, and thank you for having £3 yoga classes. I know that I won’t ever get those again.
Edinburgh, you’ve taught me so much: how to deal with mice, with scamming letting agents, with treacherously icy streets – and that my liver definitely does not like vodka.
You’ve always made me feel safe, free to be whomever I want to be. You’ve made me more outgoing, more open-minded. We both know it hasn’t always been easy. I’ve been homesick, sick of your dark nights, of your freezing cold flats. Coming from a bustling Asian metropolis, people sometimes ask me if I ever get bored of you. But I’ve come to love how compact you are – a true Swiss-army-knife of a city. To this day there are bits of you I haven’t explored, and places I don’t get sick of revisiting.
To the Topshop on Princes Street that has eaten too much of my bank balance – I don’t regret a penny. To the Hanging Bat, you will always be my true love. To the fifth floor of the main library – thank you for hosting me through so many essays. And to the perpetually sticky floors at Hive – thank you, next.
Edinburgh, you’ve given me so much: a confused vocabulary, a great collection of coats, a critical mind, a newfound appreciation for sunlight. Thank you for all of the friendships you’ve allowed to blossom, for the flatmates that have become like family. You will always be a light in my life, a fond, fond memory.
Edinburgh my love,
Happy Valentines Day!
(I’m sorry there was a time when I rhymed your name with Hamburg)
Much love,
Stephanie
