(Singing in foreign language) Sie ist ein Berlin City Girl
- So it is my last night in the UK.
I don't know if it's because
the weather hasn't been very nice,
but it genuinely didn't feel like summer happened.
Like it did, but it doesn't feel like it was a summer
in entirety, it was just lots of days.
I'm getting to the point in my life
where I'm lucky enough to say I studied abroad before.
For the first time ever I'm returning to a city
that I've been to before,
I'm gonna live in Berlin next term.
But it's also the place in the world
that I have felt the most connected to
and fallen in love with the quickest.
Very excited to be going back there.
I just feel good, I don't feel stressed.
I'm confused at myself.
I'm like, where's the bubbling,
Jade, you are starting university,
and Jade, you are moving abroad feeling, like where is that?
I think it just hasn't hit me yet
because it doesn't feel like summer has passed.
I'm also spending some time in Berlin
before my semester starts to help me find an apartment.
Oh my God, Berlin's housing market is crazy.
And to chill, and to settle in,
and to finish my summer work.
I technically started packing a few days ago,
as in I got out the suitcase, and whenever I felt like it
I would randomly add a few things.
I'd just sort of chuck it in there.
But I've really been procrastinating properly packing,
so much so that today I spent pretty much the whole day,
my last day in the UK, watching Netflix with my brother.
(Jade laughing)
I'm in a situation that I always end up in,
which is late at night, the day before I'm going,
shoving things in a suitcase while I'm tired,
haphazardly knowing
I'm probably gonna forget something important.
I can't believe a new journey is starting, ahh.
Last year my term in Berlin utterly changed my life.
Changed my friendships, changed some of my self expression,
changed how I feel about where I wanna live in the future.
Changed so many things,
even though two months of it was spent in lockdown,
like it was a restricted life there,
and it still was so impactful.
So what is it gonna bring this time?
I don't know, so exciting.
Being very honest too, I also feel so conflicted
in what to vlog and what not to vlog.
I used to share my life a lot more freely
than I think I do now.
For example, I haven't vlogged actively this summer
like I might've done in the past.
I dunno, something about the pressure
of having more people here, more eyes watching.
And also this balance between wanting to just live my life,
like social life and uni is my priority.
Also there's a fly in my room,
I don't know if you can hear it buzzin' around,
causin' havoc.
Yeah, I don't know how much of my life you'll see,
but I definitely want to vlog,
I want to share my love for this city.
I'm so excited to get back into studying.
If you don't know what I'm doing,
I do a liberal arts degree,
so you kind of carve what becomes your major as you go.
But it looks like my major is gonna be
a double major in cognitive neuroscience,
because I am fascinated by the brain,
and I love the biology of it.
So yeah, I'm taking more courses in that, which is great.
And then I think I'm also gonna get double major
in business, specifically in branding.
Even for example with YouTube,
it really helps me the business side of things.
There's so much that you don't think about
when you do YouTube behind the scenes.
Even for example, thinking about growth,
or outsourcing, or ecosystem of social media,
all of these things through a business lens
are really interesting,
and I've loved the courses I've done so far.
So we'll see how it goes,
I'm doing another business course next semester.
At some point I wanna do an elective in philosophy.
I'm both very excited to get back into the learning
'cause I am an education nerd at heart.
Also terrified because Minerva is not an easy place to be.
Social wise, it is my favorite place in the world.
The people are (Jade kissing) chef's kiss, everything,
but the academics are rough as hell.
I do not want to be writing minimum an essay a week,
making an assignment a week again,
having to do a mini internship in the city.
Grinding, grinding, doing these classes, readings,
la la la la la.
I've done it before, I know how it's gonna be.
I know it's gonna be stressful.
But I will be empowered, done it before we can do it again.
Jade, you wrote a flipping book last semester,
I can do this one without writing a book too,
I will be fine.
Also random,
but I think I've developed a perfectionism around YouTube.
Sometimes there's so much friction to me
picking up a camera and just talking,
because I'm overthinking it.
I think again, it comes back to knowing
how many people watch this now.
But yeah, I just wanna say thanks for being here,
you're wonderful.
Let's go to Berlin.
♪ When we wake ♪
♪ Hear the birds and see the sun ♪
♪ Side by side our fears are done ♪
♪ Oh the the good times just begun ♪
- I think it's scary going away and studying abroad
when your dog's getting older.
♪ Let's hold on tight ♪
♪ Found what we're-- ♪
- And she's not that old,
but I never used to think about it when I went away.
♪ Call us crazy but things are finally right ♪
- It's just appreciating what you have no, you know?
♪ With you and I the future is bright ♪
- Okay, good night.
♪ Oh, you and I we got it ♪
♪ Oh, we don't need no more ♪
♪ Let's break our plans and live just like we're golden ♪
(upbeat music)
(zipping zipper)
- Bye England, bye home.
(upbeat music)
(Jade laughing)
We do get too used to doing this.
- We'll have a lot of cheese days.
- Love you.
- Folk, this is such a big step in your life too.
(upbeat music)
(Jade laughing)
About to get on the plane.
Oh my gosh, this is so exciting.
(upbeat music)
Now what's weird, is that every time
I've been lucky enough to study abroad
I've entered the city and it feels so foreign.
I'm overwhelmed by new sights, new systems,
signs, and new languages,
and all of it brings up these overwhelming feelings
of nervous excitement.
It's like this feeling of, wow,
this doesn't feel anything like home,
but somehow I'm going to find a sense of home here.
But this time it was all familiar.
The silhouette of the TV Tower against the sky,
the graffiti coloring every wall,
the people enjoying beer by the river Spree,
or sitting outside Spatis.
And because I learned German over the summer,
I was suddenly looking at signs
like they were also written for me.
The next two weeks in Berlin were amazing.
It was rediscovering my old favorite vegan cafes
and restaurants, and reminiscing old memories.
I went to the planetarium,
I got to enjoy a non lockdown Berlin.
Spoiler alert, Berlin is the capital of veganism
and it is incredible.
I also saw old friends from Minerva
who were in Berlin early.
I climbed to a hill with an amazing view of Berlin,
and I had a vegan picnic in the sun.
(upbeat music)
So beautiful.
And I interspersed all of the summer excitement
with uni prep.
I had a lot of summer work to do which wasn't yet finished,
and so it was nice in these two weeks
to kinda prepare myself.
I have behind the scenes YouTube work,
and a really exciting project which I've been working on
for almost a year.
A few of my team who I work with,
even flew to Berlin for a few days
to work on the project with me which was so special
because I felt like a tour guide.
And since publishing the book,
it's just been this crazy whirlwind of interviews,
being on podcasts, and publicity, and media.
I just did a podcast recording for Modern Wisdom.
I don't know if you know what it is,
but it's an amazing podcast,
and it feels like such an honor to be featured on it.
We talked about the science of learning,
human memory, revision techniques, academic system.
Guys, it's so scary going on podcast,
even though he's lovely I'm like,
oh my God, what am I saying half the time.
But it's fine, we're fine, we're professional.
Professional.
So look at this really cool podcast suite.
When I first came in here, I was like, oh my God,
how on earth am I gonna set this up?
I don't know how to use any of this equipment.
Fancy thing here, I couldn't get the Mac to work.
Like it was just, it was a stress.
(Jade exhaling)
The imposter syndrome never truly leaves.
I made notes for uni,
I went over some of last year's content,
and I kinda just got my shit together.
One of my biggest stresses in the last few weeks
was figuring out my apartment situation.
This semester I've chosen to live in independent housing
nearby my uni's residence halls because I've realized
it's near impossible to make YouTube videos,
and regulate all the different aspects of my life
while having two roommates.
I love the experience,
but it leaves me very stressed at the end.
So just once, just for one semester,
I wanted to try would it be like
to have some more independence and balance.
And I looked on apartment websites
almost every day of summer, and applied to at least 15.
And so while I was here,
I've been going for apartment interviews.
And I got lucky.
I got it.
I'm moving into my own apartment.
That's so crazy.
I swear, I can't even count the number of applications
I have sent out for apartments over the last summer.
This is just the best news.
It's a 10 minute bike ride away
from where all my friends live.
It's gonna give me so much more freedom to create content,
and have my own space.
I'm gonna live an independent life in Berlin, so exciting.
I can't move in until the 15th, but when I do,
get ready for our new home.
One especially good day was when a bunch of my uni friends
had a temporary Airbnb before the term started.
They invited me over for a dinner party,
and it was just so surreal because last year
the city was in lockdown,
and the concept of gathering inside over food was foreign.
I am blessed with friends who are chefs,
and one of my friends even made a vegan wellington.
We caught up about summer, we talked about the new term,
we reminisced Berlin.
And just yesterday, all my other friends started arriving.
♪ They say it'll all get better. ♪
(upbeat music in background)
(Jade laughing)
♪ Gaga, ooh-la-la ♪
♪ Want your bad romance ♪
♪ I want your love, and I want your revenge ♪
♪ You and me could write a bad romance ♪
♪ Oh-oh-oh-oh-oooh ♪
- So I have officially finished my summer work.
Yay, go on Jade.
And all of my friends have now moved into Berlin,
which is so exciting.
Tomorrow I start my first class,
and in a week and a half I'm moving into my apartment.
Life is starting.
Oh, also I'm so glad that I learnt German over the summer.
I still suck, like my German has gone way downhill,
I need to go over vocabulary.
I'm slacking.
But it is so refreshing that I can understand
most of the signs in Berlin.
The elections are happening really soon in Germany
and there are loads of candidate posters everywhere,
and it's really cool being able to understand most of them,
and being able to chat to people in shops,
just feeling a little bit more local.
Really cool.
Okay, goodnight, bye.
(upbeat music)