b'T3 Journal - Student Writing in Drama, University of Exeter 2019-20Walking in Shoreditch Submitted for the second-year Cultures of the Street module.Creative WritingBeth BowdenStepping off the train at Shoreditch, I am met with anThe words I MATTER EQUALLY scale a wall, and explosion of activity. An overflowing, dynamic collisionI pause on the pavement. It encapsulates what I feel of different lives. Pathways intersecting randomly for threehere. Im stood amongst a landscape of open rebellion: minutes, in pursuit of a new destination. Tourists luggingof forbidden artwork, visible otherness and divergent oversized suitcases, meandering slowly down the platform.identities on diverse paths. It all contributes to a vast, These slow wanderers are outflanked by speed-walkingbigger creative masterpiece: of Londons heart, beating to businessmen, weaving efficiently past them. Tucked awaydiversity. Whilst my white skin and class afford privilege, in the corner are a couple, their bodies intertwined, talkingthere are parts of me that submerged in this kaleidoscope animatedly and laughing heartily into their next kiss.of diversity, I feel able to show. No characteristic or A young man, carrying a suitcase, singing and dancingdifference feels abnormal. Though I stand still, the crowds softly to his music, blissfully unaware of those aroundstill migrate down the street ahead, framed by the canvas him. I join them, blending effortlessly into the crowd andof art. Its a limitless landscape: an explosive channel accepting absorption into the swarm of travellers. My fleshof multicultural identities all living creatively alongside and my white skin offer up this instant invisibility andone another. It stretches out in front, full of possibility blatant privilege. and pumping blood to the rest of the city. Reminded of diversity, inclusivity and feeling inspired, I step forward On my way out of the station, I settle into a gentleand join the crowds once more.walking pace. On this leisurely day out, I am privileged to have the time to observe others. As a tourist, I am able to seek moments of connection. Instead of following peoples feet, I look up at passing faces and meet their eyes. I journey amongst old ladies, young teenagers, every skin colour and age. Through tunnels, I overhear snippets of scattered conversations, all spoken in different languages. I find myself smiling when I pass a little girl in striped rainbow tights, laughing in delight at her dad pulling silly faces. Slices of everyday life. The garbled snapshots of human diversity. I hold my head up, breathing in the multicoloured identities of London.Out on Shoreditch High Street, playful graffiti starts to spring up everywhere: immense colourful murals, scaling entire walls. The landscape is dominated by haphazard shapes, bold colours and woozy patterns. Openly rebellious and creative constructions ooze out onto every surface. The artwork seems to slip off the walls, enveloping the travelling bodies: movement merging with colour. I am enthralled and engaged by the rebellious strokes of artistry. I feel immersed in creation and by the smattering of colour bleeding out into ordinary life. creation and by the smattering of colour bleeding out into ordinary life.62'