I drew on my trip to Basel for a long time. The most obvious of these hours were and are of course the photos we took. But I still have two things left. On the one hand there are the wonderful memories of all the moments that are not in the pictures and the impressions and feelings that I was able to take with me from this time. Be it the view over the Rhine or the unusual wearing of a skirt in public. On the other hand, this experience had a not to underestimat influence on my self-confidence.
If I summarize the time before Basel again, then these decades were predominantly characterized by time that Nicole spent in her own four walls, supplemented by short excursions under the cover of twilight and darkness and very few short walks in the light. Even if I had left the apartment before, it was more like a rushed one, always with the thought that a neighbor would open the apartment door or run into me in front of the house. The obsession that everyone in the house would get curious about the click of heels, like there were no other women in the house.
Of course, Basel had a completely different potential here. There were no neighbors (i.e. none of my own) that could cross my path. No acquaintances or colleagues who lived anywhere nearby. No, I'm not completely relaxed out of the house. Of course I was excited when I put on my make-up and when I left Claudia's apartment styled. Of course I looked for signs on their faces when I had direct eye contact. But it was different, the combination of my best friend at my side and the "foreign" city actually made it easier for me to find a certain state of relaxation, one could say.
Compared to the total time of the decades before, Basel was only a small proportion of hours for Nicole, but this relatively short proportion of time had a significant effect - it had shown me that life for Nicole in public was by no means impossible. It showed that Nicole could ride the tram, eat at restaurants and, with all the limitations and hurdles in my head, wasn't at all confined to hiding in her own four walls.
Knowing this, it was not surprising that Claudia and I soon started planning the next meeting, but more about that next time.
Until next time
Your Nicole
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