“I’m doing a final-year thesis on the temporal dynamics of self-harm. It’s so much more common than people realize, and it’s something that’s very life-changing for a person. I’m motivated to spend a whole year studying this topic because it finally makes me feel like I’m doing something with my degree; I’m actually trying to find out new things that could contribute towards helping people in the real world. When I was doing background research, I noticed there was not a lot of research on older people, people of ethnic minority, and people of the LGBT community. Are interventions today, which are based on research on self-harm in young people generally, can they be really specific and relevant to someone who is of the LGBT community, for example? I don’t know, because they may be self-harming for slightly different reasons. So if we can make lots of different interventions that are specific for different populations, then we might be better able to help those people.
I remember my tutor in Nottingham telling me, ‘We’re going to start opening applications to study abroad, does this interest you?’ I said, ‘What? No! I want to be close to home. I don’t want to go anywhere, that’s way too scary.’ And I nearly didn’t submit my application. I nearly couldn’t talk to you today, you know? But coming here turned out to be the best decision of my life! And let’s just be real for a second—it was SO much fun! Vancouver was the best decision I ever made. I really vibe with Vancouver. The beauty, the people, how friendly they are. I made an amazing set of friends here. Mentally, I just—I felt more alive here. So don’t let an exciting opportunity scare you enough to not take it, because it most likely will be amazing for you. Push through that fear, and reap the rewards…
And I met Patrick too! … I remember having the conversation: ‘Ok Patrick, I’m not really from here. I’m from England, I’m going home soon. What’s going to happen?’ … But if you love someone enough, be it friend or boyfriend, and you put in enough energy to sustain that relationship, it works.”