Page 1 of Sara O'Rourke's writing

1. Thanks to the Sun When one thinks of London, the mind is immediately filled with droplets of gray rain, splashing the tarmac with an acidic fizz - that familiar smell and sound of pollution. You imagine the sea of frowns, briefcases, Starbucks and cigarettes, as... (posted by Sara 74 days 20 hours ago.)

2. A Flash of London II The chill of the month of February is already creeping under my clothes, and there is a sense that winter, and all the warmth and security that comes with its festive sleepiness, is finally thawing. I grip tightly onto the torn silk lining... (posted by Sara 113 days 23 hours ago.)

3. A Flash of London I It is the classic thing, and strangely poetic, I suppose, to begin these series of articles with a commuter journey into the capital. This, after all, marks the beginning of a long, London day. I hop on at Bicester, near Oxford. Not the nicest... (posted by Sara 116 days 23 hours ago.)

4. An Evening in a Fiji Village After spending a good part of my year in Melbourne, I decided to take a jet over to lovely, little Fiji - small in geographical size yet beaming with pride and joy. I have never seen so many pearly white smiles or welcoming waves than travelling... (posted by Sara 262 days 15 hours ago.)

5. Paris, Je T'Aime I am half surprised (and, clearly, half not) that it has taken me all twenty one years of my life to actually visit the city of lights. Surprised, yes, because there is a very large part of me that is annoyingly, insufferably, perhaps, romantic... (posted by Sara 264 days 1 hour ago.)

6. A Very Honest Goodbye The big adventre is two weeks away and I'm sitting here in an empty house, television on to keep me company, my eyes stinging from crying. Whenever I feel the wave of sadness hit me like now, I am compelled to write things down, in a vain hope... (posted by Sara 1 year 130 days ago.)

7. I Love Bad Timing My clock reads 23:59. I had been asleep a couple of hours ago, for a little while, then been woken by the sudden need to make a phonecall I had forgotten about in my drowsy state, and now I sit here, upright in bed, not able to shut off my mind. I... (posted by Sara 1 year 145 days ago.)

8. Athens at Christmas I'm sipping on a very creamy cappuccino, with a stray cat tickling my ankles and the sun, burning at about twenty, shining on the side of my face. The day ahead, as I envision it, will consist of, roughly, taking a casual stroll up the mountains... (posted by Sara 1 year 154 days ago.)

9. The Student Bridget Jones Picture this: I'm sat on my double bed - freshly clean sheets - fig-scented candle flickering, a tub of hummous and a family bag of nachos beside me, computer on my lap. I switch on the television and gorge with my eyes over the endless recorded... (posted by Sara 1 year 210 days ago.)

10. The Time of our Lives So I'm sitting at a dining table - it's 21:56 and I have half a cup of cappuccino on a pink polka dot coaster to my right and a half-eaten nectarine to my left - I'm waiting for my clothes in the tumble dryer; its low drone is quickly sending me... (posted by Sara 1 year 238 days ago.)

11. The Student Life It's coming to the end of the first year of the student life in its purest form, and by hell has it been an interesting run. Just the other night I had a friend stay over and had him wear some fantastic flowery boxers and a Mexican Socialist Party... (posted by Sara 2 years 13 days ago.)

12. The Darkness of Empire We learn of slavery, of massacre, exploitation and corruption, of the destruction of cultures, places and entire peoples, and all in all the picture of the British Empire we are left with is one of so thick a darkness it is very hard to find any... (posted by Sara 2 years 13 days ago.)

13. An O'Rourke in Dublin It's 08:00 am. Guinness in right (and left) hand. Wearing headband with dangling, flashing green LED bobbles. To be quite honest, there is no other way to spend St. Patrick's day than in Dublin - in the midst of the authentic Irish cheer... (posted by Sara 2 years 63 days ago.)

14. Lost and Found - My Trip to Spirituality By now, ripe and wise from nineteen years of living, I have come to know myself well enough to recognise that part of my character, indellible and carefree, is my lack of direction. Sure, in my world and life outlook, what I see is very much the... (posted by Sara 2 years 95 days ago.)

15. Food For Thought My response to writing an essay on the responses to dearth and famine in Early Modern Britain was one enormous yawn. I don't think I am alone when I say that the economics of agrarian society is not really the cherry on top of my learning cake.... (posted by Sara 2 years 134 days ago.)

16. First Term Stories So they say to write what you know, yet what I know does not amount to a great deal. I'm nineteen, have huddled my way through the typical middle-class itinerary and am probably quite heavily dictated to by hear'say and BBC Breakfast in my morning... (posted by Sara 2 years 152 days ago.)

17. More Than Big Red Buses You're not so much welcomed into the capital city as you are sucked into it by everything. As a returning 'gapper' - a student out of education - with my two suitcases and new room in halls for the next three terms, and London just outside... (posted by Sara 2 years 193 days ago.)

18. Advertisers - Concerned or Predatory? They are flashing images behind your eyes and stored away in your memory - the colours, noises, smells, tastes but most of all the sensations they gave you. Advertisements bombard you heavily every hour of every day - what are the true intentions... (posted by Sara 2 years 244 days ago.)

19. Womens' Journey In mild preparation for my degree course, reading up on the fascinations of Gender and Sexuality - of course, I went straight to these as my starter chapters - I found an emotional, intense and desperate journey. It has only been in recent years... (posted by Sara 2 years 247 days ago.)

20. Singing out for New Orleans The heart of the American south is one of warmth and hospitality. A relaxed pace exudes in the southern life - a slower speech, a less rushed shuffle, a looser grip and more lenient rule. It was this pronounced sigh of ease as well as the bursting... (posted by Sara 2 years 254 days ago.)

21. Exploring Utopia Our authors and creators of utopian worlds and concepts reach far and wide across the body of History; Plato inspired Thomas More, and in turn his account of Hythloday dining with the utopians gave flame to firewood for H.G.Wells and the... (posted by Sara 2 years 357 days ago.)

22. Nostalgia The person I am now, living and breathing today, is a light year away from the person I was a year ago. Having recently celebrated my nineteenth birthday, I have embraced the unknown and the excitement of the future, blind to the past. I feel it... (posted by Sara 2 years 358 days ago.)

23. Men and Women Being female is a challenge. People may well say that complaining and moaning is all in a woman's genetic make-up, and therefore that everything I am about to say is all a result of some hormonal imbalance going on amidst the nervous activity in... (posted by Sara 2 years 358 days ago.)

24. Starkey VS Politics In the words of fabulously well-spoken Dr David Starkey - renound historian and now an overnight legend, the time is right for a political revamp in the United Kingdom and political figureheads should not waste any more time if their wish is to... (posted by Sara 3 years 6 days ago.)

25. Thick Grass and Dripping Rainbows My Central American adventure all started in the pleasant and colourful Antigua, ex-capital of the country from which the coffee tastes best - Guatemala. A rushed (and thankfully so) taxi ride through Guatemala City and I'm dropped off at a quaint... (posted by Sara 3 years 19 days ago.)