LOUJEAN ALSAMAN, 29 – SYRIA

Wristwatch

When days are tough, I just hold the watch and smell it. It inspires me.

It is an Omega watch that belonged to my grandfather. I don’t know when he bought it, but when he died six years ago, I asked my family to send it to me from Syria. I couldn’t see him before he died.

We lived with him and when I was younger, he spent hours helping me revise so I could be the best in my class and work towards the best degree.

He always told me: “You should keep going, to reach late is better than never reaching.” He inspired me because he completed his law degree while he had four kids.

I lost so many years because of the war in Syria and moving from place to place. It took two years to settle in the UK after I arrived here nine years ago. When I went to university here, I struggled but I remembered his advice: “Don’t give up.” I now work for a big PR agency, but it was challenging. Coming here was a huge culture shock. I felt like I was in a different world, like Alice in Wonderland.

What surprised me the most was how people were so independent. In Syria, we live with our families until we get married, so this was a big challenge. But I made it.

It was a huge culture shock. I felt like I was in a different world, I felt like Alice in Wonderland