A World from Emma's Point of View
About Emma Creed
Emma creed, who is also my mother is not only a caring mother but also a caring sister and friend; throughout this interview, she talks about her experiences growing up, how coming from Manchester has affected her and how she views the world differently because of her nationality.
What was it like growing up in Manchester?
“I didn't know anything else or anywhere else, but growing up in Manchester was quite good. It's a big city, so a lot was going on. What I would say is that there were not many green spaces like here in Switzerland. It was a big city with built areas and then lots of suburbs full of houses,”
What was school like?
“I went to school, close to my house when I was in lower school, so I could walk there. But when I went to middle school and upper school, we'd moved house, so I had to get the bus. Sometimes there'd be fights between kids from our school and the other schools.”
Do you consider being from Manchester a big part of your identity?
“Manchester is the biggest city in the north of England. So some people feel like they are the bosses of the North of England! People from Manchester share typical characteristics; we are sarcastic, tough, like to look on the bright side of life and make the best of things. Being from Manchester is a big part of my identity because I'll always be a “Manc.” There are lots of famous people from Manchester.”
Do you have any stories from when you were younger?
“There was a band called Oasis in the 1990s and he was a singer, but before that, he was just a kid at my school. He was in my sister’s grade, a couple of years older than me. He was known as a bit of a naughty kid. Rumor has it, that once he threw a chair at a teacher although I don’t know if this is true. He didn't get thrown out of school for that, because that's not the worst thing that happened at our school. He also was told he wasn't very good at music at school! There was quite a lot of naughty kids there. Not like at your school.”
“I would consider it [being from Manchester] a big part of my identity”
-Emma Creed
What did you think the future would be like?
“When I was a kid, around your age ..no, I didn't think there would be flying cars. I thought computers would become like a bigger thing, but I didn't really like computers and still don't, I imagined that in the future I would work hard and get a good job. I thought I might be a lawyer, but later on, I thought I might be a graphic designer and then I thought I was going to be a psychologist or a forensic scientist. Yeah. And in the end I was none of those things. I [also did] ice skating for a while, but the ice skating rink was quite far away. There was only one ice skating rink in the entire region of about 4 million people”
How did the people you surround yourself with affect you?
“my friends were very important to me when I was 12. My best friend was Jo and my best friend today is still Jo! So she had a big impact on me. I always knew I had at least one good friend and we would always stick up for each other. That made a big difference to me, especially at school where there could be bullies. I still know my other school friends as well so I am happy I surrounded myself with these people when I was your age. I lived with my mum and my two sisters, so we were quite close, and we were quite religious when we were growing up.”
“ Being from Manchester is a big part of my identity because I'll always be a “Manc”
