Guyang Lin is studying LLM Qualifying Law Degrees, and is the recipient of the International Excellence Award. In this blog, they reflect on settling in to life in London and evening classes at Birkbeck.
It was drizzling the day I decided to cycle to a seminar for the first time. The streets of London shimmered with rain, and I was being pushed – by time, by cars, by the city itself – to keep moving.
I didn’t even know which way to go. When you’re new to London, the smallest tasks can feel monumental. Figuring out which side of the road to ride on, how to use a Forest e-bike, which traffic points to use, everything felt like a test.
I got bumped once, and my anxiety peaked, but I kept pedalling. Finally, I reached my destination, a little shaken but glad to have made it. That, I suppose, was a lesson London wanted to teach me: persistence often comes before confidence. But I already knew that. After all, persistence is what pushes me out of the comfort of home and the weariness of work, towards campus.
Two days later, I tried cycling again. I waited at a traffic light near Westminster, nervous but determined. Big Ben struck quarter to five, and I started moving: hesitant at first, then faster as the e-bike’s motor kicked in. The city rushed past me, and I began to feel more at ease.
Soon, cycling became my weekly ritual: my transition between work, study, and self. Between four and six p.m., London bursts into motion as waves of people hurry towards buses and Underground stations. This is the time I ride towards Birkbeck, joining the rush of people in my own way.
Most people use this time to head home, to rest. My destination, though, is not a place of rest but of energy: the lights of Birkbeck campus, the hum of conversation during evening seminars as people gather to learn. People with grey hair in windbreakers, bright pink hair in hoodies, or short hair in business suits. Some come straight from their offices, others from homes and families. Everyone brings a story, a day already lived, and a determination to keep learning. In this environment, I find something both grounding and inspiring, a sense that education is not separate from life but a part of it.
When I cycle home later at night, the city has changed. The roads are calmer, the people less rushed. It feels as though London and I share a secret, the knowledge that between dusk and midnight, the city belongs to those still chasing their dreams.
Studying at Birkbeck has taught me that “settling in” isn’t about becoming entirely comfortable. It’s about finding your rhythm in a city that never stops moving, learning when to push forward, when to pause, and how to keep going even when the rain falls.
London doesn’t slow down for anyone, but it leaves just enough room for people to grow at their own pace. And somewhere between the crowded evenings and the quiet rides home, between the ambition and the exhaustion, I’ve realised I’m no longer just passing through. I’ve become part of the city.
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