Visa Expiry

London Anniversary 

Congratulations, Sal. You've successfully lived in overpopulated, underpaid, socially unresolved England for a whole year. Within that year, you've worked for two handfuls of employers, only one of which provided a performing job. You've kept a smile on most days, and on those less happy days you've stayed roosting in bed. You've learned a lot about your craft and yourself. You've managed alright. Now you come upon the final six months of your visa, and you wonder, "what next?"

"Sal, you've spent the past six years traveling from Sydney to Cardiff, and now London. You need to choose a place and give yourself time." When my coworker said these words to me, I felt them resounding in my gut, the resolve to stay formulating. I needed to control my fate and take action to solidify my future. I needed to find a way to stay.

He encouraged me to do more than just plant a seedling. It's time to see this plant grow, to see it flower, or thicken, or dwindle, but at least see it through, and that I hope to do.

After harbouring this decision for some time, a few crucial things happened. The referendum has left the British community in askance, wondering how and who will lead us through the Brexit negotiations. After leading Leave contenders all dropped out of the running for Prime Minister, we are left with Theresa May as the only MP up for the job, a woman who has a questionable past when it comes to immigration laws in the UK.

I asked my flatmate to explain his stance on immigration. "I didn't like how the Brexit campaign talked about immigration so negatively. We live in a global society and that flexibility between countries goes both ways." So as Leave voters aimed to maintain the integrity of British society and create a more competitive salary for skilled labourers, they also denied themselves the flexible passage to live and work within the EU. Perhaps as a Commonwealth citizen, I will be spared any hiccups in future visa applications, or perhaps with the current climate in the UK, the competition for my intended visa will increase exponentially. 

Take these doubts and amplify them with my slim chances of making a name for myself as an actress, and you get a Sal, sitting slovenly in bed, wondering what the next steps will be. 

You know as well as I that this lapse in gusto will be short-lived. I am a woman with a horrendous memory, and these feelings of sobriety will diminish and be forgotten. If my efforts at staying are proven null, I will not defy the law under which I have chosen to live. I'll just pray and move. What's so bad about that? Life is not a string of bad occurrences, but a series of unexpected ones, and I am undeniably strapped in for the ride.