From home repossession to a virtual home in Metropolis metaverse
A can-do attitude mixed with a pinch of hope has secured a new home in the Metropolis metaverse for journalist and activist Jillian Godsil…
After interviewing the founders of the Metropolis metaverse – siblings Rania and Rashid Ajami – I discovered that individuals were creating their own homes in this innovative virtual world. This led me to become one of the founding citizens in the city of Celeste.
My inclusion as one of the founder members hails not so much from my position as a leading Web3 journalist but more to a backstory which befits a virtual metaverse so well.
Since a painful home repossession in 2014, I had been unable to find the means to buy a new home – a much more modest cottage for me, my children and our rescue horses. So, to become a homeowner in Celeste is really inspiring – it’s the first time I have achieved the first step to getting back on the property ladder again. Although I’m not sure the horses will like the view – they may stay in more lowly surroundings, closer to the ground and with plenty of grass.
Not only does it fulfil my professional interests, it also provides hope for my personal condition. And to explain why this virtual home, high in the clouds, is so important, we need to go back to 2008 to a financially crushed Ireland with its property market in pieces and a nation suffering from a terrible recession.
There is no shame in failing
I became broke and famous by a series of random and connected actions. Once a successful businesswoman and aspiring writer, I was hit by the double whammy of divorce and recession. Accordingly, it left me in possession of a rather large mortgage (in excess of €1,000,000) on a Georgian manor house reduced to less than half that value in the 2008 financial crash. My ex-husband returned to the UK and became bankrupt, effectively giving me the entire debt.
I fought every way I could but simply could not hold back the tide. I made a video to sell the house which went viral, and I received an offer of €500,000. The banks refused the sale. In Irish law, even had the bank accepted the offer, my two children and I would still have been held liable for the balance. The banks went on to repossess the home and sold it five months later for a miserly €165,000. Following the tide of woes, my business failed and bailiffs were sent in but the story of my plight continued to travel around the world.
Asked why I kept talking, even as I was backed into a financial corner, I could give only one reason… suicide. I believe I have been given a voice to keep talking about debt, what it feels like, how to live with it and how one day to conquer it. Ireland of 2012 witnessed two suicides every day. While not all were down to financial reasons, a significant proportion could be attributed to such a cause.
My mantra is that I am not ashamed to have failed financially. I worked bloody hard but life threw a curve ball. In Ireland financial failure is viewed as a stigma, unlike other cultures which view it as a necessary path for any businessperson worth their salt. It is ironic that the quote ‘Fail once, fail better the second time’ is from none other than Irishman of letters, Samuel Beckett.
In the end, after the home repossession, I became the first female bankrupted under the new insolvency laws in 2014. It meant I was not allowed to run for public office under archaic Victorian law. So I took the Irish government to the High Court and all the way to the Supreme Court claiming my constitutional rights were being infringed. I won.
But then I had to run. After all, I had fought hard to win the right.
I ran in the European Parliamentary elections in 2014, and while I did not win a seat, I did earn 11,500 votes – topping the tally for independents in the country.
Discovering a new path to democratic freedom
After discovering Bitcoin in 2017, it dawned on me that there was a beautiful symmetry in blockchain that democratised the world across every sector. I turned my fintech journalist skills firmly into blockchain writing and was soon in demand, writing for tier 1 blockchain and crypto publications. At the same time, I was invited to chair and moderate at blockchain conferences around the world. It was the beginning of a thrilling time and, in addition, I could see a path back to financial solvency again.
This month I have to move from my rented accommodation yet again – a fourth time since the banks took my home. However, I now have hope and, remarkably, a house in the metaverse.
And so it came to pass. My new digital home is in Celeste, city in the sky, the first city of Metropolis and it is modelled on my own beloved Georgian manor house – Raheengraney House. The banks may have taken the physical bricks and mortar but not my spirit and not my memory of the house I lovingly saved from possible destruction.
I am now one of the founder citizens of the city of Celeste, the first city of Metropolis World, the brainchild of siblings Rania and Rashid Ajami who are well established filmmakers and music producers respectively. Metropolis World is a 360° curated universe that blends unique properties, e-commerce, gaming, art & experiences that span both the digital & real world.
It is possible to rise again – into the lovely clouds of Celeste.
The virtual city of Celeste
The city of Celeste, also known as the city of the air, is the first of six unique cities to be developed in Metropolis world. It is constructed on the Flare Network.
Each building is a bespoke, 1/1 NFT designed and handmade by the Metropolis team of artists. Ownership gives voting and participation rights within the community. I feel like I’m joining a stellar cast of founding members including Steve Aoki, 3LAU and Dillon Francis.
My virtual home is perched in the High Flyer district of the first tower and the image is iconic – it features me sitting in front of my lovely Raheengraney House, the name of which means a small sunny fort in Irish. This is the house I restored from a ruin, but which was then taken by the banks some 15 years later. At least, it is a digital homage to Raheengraney.
So what next?
Launch day is fast approaching for Metropolisworld.io with the Metropolis World Passport pre-sale happening on September 8 at 3pm EST. The Metropolis World Passport is a dynamic NFT that gives people access into the Metropolis World ecosystem.
Only people with this secret code – godsil99 – can pre-mint their Metropolis World Passports. NOTE: The code is only active at 3pm EST Thursday September 8.