Ups and Downs

1_ A new beginning

I woke up this morning in my new room. We had moved here to Toulouse yesterday and it was the first day I was in this town. It was weird being alone in this huge new town. I used to live in quite a small town near the sea in which I knew everyone and every place there was, it felt strange knowing I wouldn't be able to see all the people I grew up with. I got out of bed and went to shower avoiding all the boxes I had to unpack. Without eating breakfast, I grabbed my headset and walked out the empty apartment, I had to discover where I was living.

It was a nice sunny day and the summer sun was already high in the sky, perhaps moving here wasn't such a bad idea after all. It is true that I was terrified at the idea of leaving the only place I had ever known especially knowing how shy I could be.

As I walked around town, I kept staring at people trying to find out what type of people lived here. After a few minutes of walking, it seemed quite obvious that the city was mostly full of young people, probably students. Such a huge amount of young people made me think two things; it would be easier to make friends which helped my confidence, but at the same time, all these people were more people that could, and would, judge me at every wrong turn I took. I was taken out of my thoughts as I passed by my mum's bakery. She had always loved baking, she lived for it. It was though work but she managed to open her own bakery and that was her biggest dream. The passion she had was incredible and it's what I admire so much about her. She had sacrificed so much for her job including time with her family but I was used to it by now and I knew it was what made her life meaningful and I couldn't ask her to spend less time doing it. I think I admired that about her because I knew that I didn't have a passion like hers and I wish I would have.

I walked into the bakery and looked at the new shop she had. It was a bit messy but still cozy and all the blue and purple flowers made me feel at home. The smell of lavender slowly sank in me and I knew that this shop would become my home. I went up to the counter and bought a croissant. At the sound of my voice, my mum came out from the back door and came to hug me.

"Olivia Martin, you should have said you were coming!" she said as she frowned. "The place is still kind of messy, I hope you don't mind. I still have a lot of work to do before I can enjoy our new town. You should go and visit, it's really nice, I'm sure you'll love it here." She was definitely a chatterbox, and it made me smile. "Don't worry mum, it's fine, I was just buying a croissant and I was just about to go and walk around town." She smiled and pushed me out as she kept on repeating that she would let me discover more of her bakery later in the week. I laughed and walked out.

After an hour of walking around while eating my delicious breakfast, I had seen the town's river, the main square and the bricks that adorned most of the buildings. I had to say, the town had quite some charm even though it was a bit too big for me. I made it back to my new home, opened up all the windows, and put some music on. I had the apartment to myself and started emptying my boxes while dancing a bit. At that moment, I thought to myself that this might be a good change in my life and that my life would maybe be good here too. Little did I know of what was to come. I spent the rest of the day unpacking and making something of the rooms we had. After that, I was exhausted and ordered a pizza for me and my mum. She wasn't home yet, and I knew she wasn't going to be home until late tonight, but at least she would have something to eat after her long day. I ate and went to bed processing the day and picturing what my school would look like.