The Rise of Time,
The Fall of Gold
A Story of a Story
in Five Quotes
By Giancarlo Nurhachu Hao Gonzaga
Class of 2022
BBA in Global Business & Marketing
“But it was simply not him to go down without a fight. No, he would find a way. He just needed time.” – The Fall of Gold, Chapter 1
When I was a child, I had hopes of receiving a letter from Hogwarts, where I could learn magic in its grandiose hallways and picturesque courtyards. In my teenage years, I yearned to perform a different kind of magic – storytelling – bringing imagined characters and castles to life. Alas, as I stepped into adulthood, I wrote few stories, amidst all the academic rigors and social jollifications that characterize GBUS life.
Fortunately, the antidote to writer’s block is inspiration. It engages, entertains, and enraptures, and enables entering that elusive flow state. And studying abroad, another GBUS hallmark, provided just that.
“Where you have grand flagstones we have fallow fields, where you have gardened pine trees we have sprawling oaks. But I must say I like both kinds of beauty. Natural and man-made.” – Danerion, The Fall of Gold, Chapter 2
In 2022, I found myself walking amongst the real locations where various Harry Potter scenes were shot: the University of Oxford, monikered the city of dreaming spires for its sandstone walls and turrets of centuries past, which enclose wide swaths of manicured grass. Oxford is where many great authors composed their legacies; one sunny day, I got to visit The Eagle and Child, the renowned pub where J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and their fellow writers once convened.
There was certainly no shortage of Oxonian aesthetics to inspire my writing. As a visiting student at St Catherine’s College (fondly called Catz), one of Oxford’s constituents, I got to study in some of the oldest and largest libraries in the world, most prominently the Old Bodleian Library with its gothic towers and the round-domed Radcliffe Camera, which appears in all internet searches of ‘Oxford’.
“Good guess, but no. I came to The Capital to study and advance research on Alxeonic Energy, just like my father before he became one of the Stewards of Ordowen, and my grandfather before him.” – Danerion, The Fall of Gold, Chapter 3
At Oxford, I was free to pursue multifarious academic interests. I studied the neurobiology of decision-making to deepen my marketing and psychological understanding. I studied strategy and entrepreneurship, alongside the philosophy of AI, complementing my GBUS learning in paving my eventual entrepreneurial path. And indeed, I studied creative writing, composing my hitherto-unfinished fantasy novel titled The Fall of Gold.
Tutorials are the main form of learning at Oxford. They are tailored to our individual interests and capabilities. We prepared for every session, completing readings and writing essays or other assignments, which we discussed in-depth, either one-on-one or in small groups, with the professor during the tutorials themselves.
“He laughed, whilst looking straight at her. ‘Well, there certainly are some interesting people I’ve met.’” – The Fall of Gold, Chapter 4
What characterizes Oxford? While I am initially tempted to answer architecture or academics, these miss a crucial aspect: the people. Setting alone makes description. Plot alone makes history. Characters are what make a story, and my friends at Oxford helped inspire my story’s characters.
They come from all corners of the world, much like our GBUS community. One friend from China often took long walks with me throughout the city. Another appreciated art and music much, so we attended orchestral performances and took painting classes together. I exchanged bittersweet stories with a third from northern England, and went on a gastronomic adventure with a fourth from the States.
With many more, we watched horse racing, went to carnivals, and took silly photos at Buckingham Palace’s gates on a day tour to London. We played mahjong and reveled at themed parties hosted at Catz’s nigh-weekly. We watched debates, rode horses, and visited the parks, where blossoms of all colors adorn the trees and bushes lining the riverside, to which wooden punts and boats were moored.
“It’s not yet too late... Find her and ensure her story corroborates this time.” – Ophelion, The Fall of Gold, Chapter 5
Inspiration is everywhere. One just needs to live in the present and seek it. We continually pen the plots of our own stories. Thus I chose to seize the opportunity to study at Oxford and open its trove of magic, getting inspired to write a most memorable chapter of my life.
