StrayAGAIN

S T R A YLiving as a student stray in a big city.

being the fox that comes out at night.

BIRMINGH

AM

STRAY MAGAZINEPage One/tWO the straysPage tHree/FOur entering the city Page Five/siX entering the city Page seven/eigHt entering the cityPage eigHt/nine student life

Page ten/eLeven student lifePage tWeLve/tHirteen student lifePage FOurteen/FiFteen Out of Focus Page siXteen/seventeen Out of Focus Page eigHteen/ninteen inhabitantPage tWenty/tWenty-One inhabitant

contributers: Molly rushton nisha Palmer alfie garland Maria antoniadou

Page ten/eLeven student lifePage tWeLve/tHirteen student lifePage FOurteen/FiFteen Out of Focus Page siXteen/seventeen Out of Focus Page eigHteen/ninteen inhabitantPage tWenty/tWenty-One inhabitant

WHO ARE WE?We are the strays, we are four bir-mingham city students who have collec-tively started this magazine to rep-resent the feeling that many other new students feel, of being an outcast, lost, or a stray in their new city.

The idea of how terrifying it was going to be to move to a big city never re-ally hit me until days be-fore i began my journey. i mean, you know it’s go-ing to be loud, it’s going to be busy, there’s go-ing to be strange things you’ve never seen before, but that still doesn’t prepare you for how loud, and how busy and how many strange things you’ll come across on a day to day basis. Walking along the train track to get to birmingham and looking up to see a large building of trash can lids was when it really hit. Humans were pushing one another to get through the glass doors, it reminded me of the fox-es from back home scrap-ping over the overturned bin. Part of me thought, why have i done this?

why have I done this?“ ”

Theres happiness in these moments that I scavenged

“”

“QuOte QuOte QuOte”

What was the point of making a move? it was quiet, it was safe, and you were undisturbed. but that was just it. Who really wants to live that undisturbed, having nothing hap-pen to them in a quiet little town?

it had begun to drop dark by this time, a time that felt far more natural to me. there’s nothing quite like the night-time. Hustle and bustle suddenly seems less aggravating and more in-vigorating. alley ways and backstreets are suddenly filled with intoxicat-ed students throwing punches only to laugh about it minutes later, throw-ing kebabs to the floor and keeling over traffic cones. there’s happiness in these moments that i scavenged when i nervously observed it from behind a pile of takeaway boxes. it was the odd sense of unity, people who would never usually speak to each other are thrown together in a brawl of alcohol and social awkwardness witnessed in the dim orange lights of a bottled street.

”

it’s not that i was looking for agro, i didn’t want a fight, i was used to hiding behind bins in a quiet street scavenging for something bet-ter. but it was only when i reached here that i think i found it. it’s being part of something that you nev-er really expected by being pushed through the rubbish and along the train tracks and jumping head first into it, without staying in the shadows with your tail be-tween your legs. staying the stray you are but seeing that everyone else around you is

just wandering as well.

welcome to student lifeor many people moving to uni is one of the first ma-jor steps they will take towards grasping independence in their lives. Most students will have lived primar-ily at home before hand, going through the motions of primary and secondary school, sixth form, college, and then finally... university! Moving out. the next big thing. Flying the nest. Moving forward and leaving be-hind everyone and everything you’ve grown up with.it is at this point in time that most students (i say most – my flatmate still hasn’t taken the rubbish out yet) learn to live independently and have their first real concerns about the “grown-up world”; money, rent, cooking, laundry, cleaning (for some anyway!)...

F

welcome to student life

everyone deals with this new-found freedom in a variety of different ways. some will throw themselves with huge en-thusiasm into the whirlwind of socialising provided by soci-eties. Others will hide qui-etly in the dark recesses of their rooms drinking until their newly inebriated confi-dence explodes and they find themselves drunkenly meeting people. some will form packs to protect themselves, and will then sit with animalis-tic pride in the student un-ion waiting for a chance to make their mark. For most, university is a time to rein-vent themselves. a chance to be who you want to be, to try something new. a blank slate. a fresh start. Who are you? it’s entirely up to you! if you’re not dealing with this new found life with enthu-siasm, nerves and hormones, then chances are you’re wait-ing for this life to find you.

not everybody goes to university ready to embrace the world, some people just aren’t ready, not everybody runs to find it. Moving out, starting a new chapter, it can be lonely and terrifying. Whilst new found confidence is in abundance for some, new found social anxieties can be in abundance for others. Frozen still and silent in your room, it can be horrifically difficult to step outside of that door. especially when you don’t know anyone. every self doubt and fewer suddenly has the potential to be real. but there is a way out! you’re not the only one feeling this way surely?!

then chances areyoure waitingfor thislife to find you.

“

”

so with the help of uncle ben you line your stomach, and with the aid of your good old friend Jack daniel, you seize the night and ready yourself for battle! Or you don’t. sometimes you get as far as the door and then re-alise you’re going to return to your bed and cry into your pillow instead. yep, that’s right, it’s not easy for everyone. but it’s worth remembering that despite how you feel, you are not alone. For some people universi-ty is simply an escape, a way out. everybody has their own reasons, their own doubts, aspirations and aims... Make what you will of it, be who you want, but which ever way it works out, be sure to make the most of it!

so with the help of uncle ben you line your stomach, and with the aid of your good old friend Jack daniel, you seize the night and ready yourself for battle! Or you don’t. sometimes you get as far as the door and then re-alise you’re going to return to your bed and cry into your pillow instead. yep, that’s right, it’s not easy for everyone. but it’s worth remembering that despite how you feel, you are not alone. For some people universi-ty is simply an escape, a way out. everybody has their own reasons, their own doubts, aspirations and aims... Make what you will of it, be who you want, but which ever way it works out, be sure to make the most of it!

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TheHiddenAnimalsIn All of us.

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“the only people for me are the mad ones, the oneswho are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved,desirous of everything at the same time, the ones

who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn,burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles

exploding like spiders across the stars”jack kerouac

Birmingh

am Inhab

itantB irmingham inhabitant J.r.r tolkien said

that “all that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.” tolk-ien starts with a line about perception and assumption, though something may ap-pear to be a certain way it doesn’t neces-sarily mean it is. to me; in relation to birmingham, this quote means that despite the assumptions made about the city there are still elements of beauty and inspira-tion. the inspiration to be found isn’t in the most obvious of places; it will take a creative mind to discover it. the latter part of the quote suggests that, although they may look it, not all those who wander are aimless or wasting their time, they are just discovering great things during their wanderings.

When looking for inspiration in our natu-ral surroundings, it can be hard. What we are seeing isn’t usually anything new, it all looks the same and is very uninspir-ing. However if we allow ourselves to get lost, venturing on a journey and opening up our mind to new possibilities we will discover a whole new world. When wander-ing, it can often seem that we’re off the beaten track but this is an opportunity to look in a new direction, bringing a fresh perspective.

a prime example of someone who found beauty and inspiration in birming-ham was the great J.r.r tolkien. the Lord of the rings author moved to Hall green, birmingham in 1896, it was here that he found inspira-tion for his stories. several lo-cations in the books were spurred on by places in tolkien’s child-hood. Perrott’s Folly, a building in edgbaston, was tolkien’s in-spiration for the fortress barad-dûr. tolkien found creativeness in his environment, all it took was him spending time observing – getting lost in his thoughts. a prime example of someone who found beauty and inspiration in birming-ham was the great J.r.r tolkien. the Lord of the rings author moved to Hall green, birmingham in 1896, it was here that he found inspira-tion for his stories. several lo-cations in the books were spurred on by places in tolkien’s child-hood. Perrott’s Folly, a building in edgbaston, was tolkien’s in-spiration for the fortress barad-dûr. tolkien found creativeness in his environment, all it took was him spending time observing – getting lost in his thoughts.

Not All Those Who

WANDERAre lost.

“

”

i am birmingham born and bred, for the past eight-een years i have lived in birmingham; seeing the same things day in day out. For me birmingham hasn’t been that much of an inspira-tional place, however in the last four months since i have been at universi-ty, i’ve discovered a dif-ferent side of birmingham; digbeth. to the average brummie, it isn’t the first place you’d like to see, it is run down area dominat-ed by derelict industri-al buildings. However as a student of visual communi-cation, the neglected area offers tonnes of inspira-tion; an example, the back-streets displaying unusual

architecture and art.

Perrott’s Follyedgebaston

barad-dûr, Peter Jack-son’s film interpreta-

tion

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