This Summer I have returned to the Caribbean. I say returned because I grew up here and spent the most amazing years of my childhood completely naive and unaware that crime existed and of all the other horrors that the big wide world had to offer. I lived about 200 yards from the sea, mango trees littered the landscapes and you couldn't pass someone on the street without a warm and friendly greeting. I look back and think how lucky I was to grow up in a place like this - but looking at it now through my 21 year old eyes, it's a completely different picture. It's still the same, don't get me wrong- it's an absolute paradise, but sadly I'm the one who's changed. I've been completely and utterly Westernized! I look at it now and my mind is clustered with politics, social norms, fashion, media... What have I turned in to?
I'm so lucky that I get to come back to this for a month or two every year. I need that break from the hustle and bustle of London's commuter belt and time away from the constant worry of essay deadlines at university. When it rains here, it's glorious, and there's something really special about the abundance of fruit trees and lack of concrete. This will always be home...
