Monday 20th April, 2020
Manchester, U.K.
Studying Interior Design: Day 0. I had a tough time falling asleep last night. It felt like trying to get to sleep the night before a big holiday – lying awake in anticipation of my alarm going off to get dressed for the airport. Of course the world is in total lockdown right now so there’s no hope of a holiday. I guess waking up to my first day of studying Interior Design is the next best thing right now!
The morning of…
When chirping birds woke me up and I realised it was morning, my eyes burst open with excitement. I was instantly ready to go downstairs, make a coffee and set up my new study space. Grabbing my phone to check the time, my spirits fell a little when I realised it was only 5:30am. Then I heard some shuffling and banging downstairs that I guess must have woken me up, since I’m the type who normally struggles to open my eyes before 8:30am. Ready to sound the intruder alarm (aka scream), I crept down to check what the commotion was about only to find my father-in-law ironing in the lounge room. Seems I’m not the only one who couldn’t get any sleep.
I spent the next hour and a half in bed, killing time scrolling through my phone and flicking through magazines. Interior Design magazines are a lovely distraction from the horror that reading the news is these days. When an alarm finally went off at 7am it was like music to my ears. I jumped at the opportunity to start my day, leaving behind a very confused husband and snoozy dog in bed.
My second trip downstairs that morning caught my father-in-law scrubbing the kitchen clean. He was clearly on a mission and I wasn’t going to hold him back. ‘Too sunny to sleep’ he said – which is, quite frankly, a wonderful problem to have.
Starting a course during COVID-19 lockdown
So five hours of sleep and one excellent Monmouth coffee later, I’m sat at my temporary ‘desk’ (read: dining room table) at my in-law’s house where I’ve spent the last 5 weeks since COVID-19 lockdown started. As much as I adore our 60m2 apartment in Paris, it felt too claustrophobic for months of lockdown. We have a small balcony overlooking the courtyard that gets absolutely no sun. Plus the beautiful park over the road is closed. So after Macron announced a country-wide lockdown in France, my hubby and I rented a car and drove to Manchester with a suitcase of essentials and our miniature dachshund, Slinky, in tow.
Spending the last five weeks living in a big house with a big garden and lots of beautiful outdoor walks has been an absolute God send. It has turned what was a really stressful and anxiety-ridden situation into a fun experience. I’ve been spending time with my new family (I’m a newlywed and also incredibly thankful to have chosen 2019 for our wedding date!), fixing up bits of the house and doing the gardening. Getting through all the odd jobs put aside for ‘one day’ that never comes – until the world goes into lockdown, that is.
Anyway, maybe it’s the lockdown or the career rut I’ve found myself in lately, but I’ve never been more excited or ready to learn something new. I’m so passionate about studying Interior Design. It’s something that all my skills, interests and previous work experiences lend themselves so perfectly to. Pouring everything I know about design, space, colours, storytelling and business into a topic that I’m so passionate about is incredibly exciting.
Getting (too) excited about studying Interior Design
In my usual overenthusiastic way, I’ve already set up an Instagram account. I’ve also bought a domain name and am working on a new blog (which I guess you’re reading right now!) What is unusual though is that this morning I shared my Instagram handle with friends, despite have zero posts. I’m normally one to perfect something before I share it with the wider world, for fear of judgement if I don’t get it right.
Somehow studying Interior Design already feels different. I’m craving the support of friends, family, acquaintances and strangers to make this dream a reality. It feels less important to get it right, and more important to share my story from the get go. I don’t really know why, but I’m going to follow my hunch on this one and just see what happens. At the very least, I’ll have a lovely journal to read back on in a few years’ time.
So, enough rambling, time to start my first day!
Wish me luck.
Kamila