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Riverside- My Happy Place

2 min read

Yes, you did not read incorrectly. I am actually writing about a park! Because it has a significant impact on my life. It is my happy place. My safe space.

September 2020, I was in my first week in Southampton. And, although I didn't know many places, I was eager to visit somewhere- anywhere. I remember typing 'parks near me' into Google Maps. Then Riverside came up. A 15-minute walk. I could do that. As a result, I was introduced to the park for the first time. It seemed huge and confusing to me at the time, for some reason. I was walking and walking, but I couldn't help but wonder how I was going to find the way home. I remember falling in love with the river. And I also remember there were dogs everywhere.

December 2020. I am coming here whenever I am upset now. So, pretty much every day, lol. Walking around the park and returning home takes only an hour. It's a perfect break for me. It feels almost therapeutic, especially after a supervisor meeting. I just walk and think- sometimes in the rain. There are autumn leaves everywhere. It's windy but not cold, like a breeze. I am loving it.

June 2021. I am so damn upset. Because I just found out that we've missed another flat, again. Why is it so difficult to find a place to rent in this city? I have been working on this for months. But I got nothing. Then I started making a bunch of phone calls while sitting under one of the trees. All of the flats I was looking at were apparently taken. I feel exhausted. Then I acted impulsively, took a risky decision, and rented the last flat I have viewed. I thought it was rubbish at the time, but I was so hopeless that I was willing to accept it. But it turned out that my rash decision was the best one, and we now have a home.

September 2021, I am here again, but this time, for paddle boarding. How cool is that? It feels weird, though, looking at people from where usually ducks look. I am waving some of them, and they are waving back. On that day, the park gained another meaning for me. Now I've had a taste of the river too.

January 2022. Having a picnic with my best friends here. It is freezing outside. Who has a picnic in January? There are all my favourite Turkish foods on the table. I made sarma. I never make sarma. There's also tiramisu on the table. Oh my. I am savouring every bite and wondering how this could possibly be any better. It can't. Trying to capture the moment in my mind. Then capturing with a camera.

There are plenty of memories like this, for sure. But these ones just popped in my head now. Riverside never disappointed me and gave me much more than I expected every time. I enjoy coming here alone, sometimes with different people, but always in various moods. Since I moved, I don't go as often as I used to. But each time I visit, I treasure it even more.

Riverside is still, and always will be, my favourite spot in this lovely city.



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