Today is my last proper day in Brighton, leaving tomorrow.

Yesterday I went to Lewes and Eastbourne. I’m going to miss exploring East Sussex. Between the coastal path and the rolling hills of the South Downs there are so many different landscapes in a relatively small area. Each town and village has its own distinctive character. I’ll also miss the university campus, sunken into a leafy valley, it’s a special area. Even the faded council estates of Moulsecoomb, Bevendean and Whitehawk, I’ve grown attached to these places and suddenly struck with loss at the thought of not coming back.

When you’re a teenager your social life has a rhythm of meeting people in the sixth-form common room, or going round to a friend’s house to play video games. Now I’m going to be 23 soon and life is marching steadily in the opposite direction. I still read comics, but I don’t get to talk with anyone about them; I barely play games any more. The university doesn’t have a common room, and while I do have friends there, we’re all adults now, it’s more formal.

Recently I met someone who’s my age, and she likes video games and 80s pop music, and hanging around in town, she gets it. It’s just been so long since I got to do that I almost forgot what it was like.
And now I’m leaving.