If there's one feeling most students can probably relate to, it's being skint. Living off pasta and taking advantage of every drink deal under the sun is how most people make it through uni, but not Alice Kensington.
Alice, who's 25, goes to uni in a notoriously pricey city: Paris, France - also known as the city of love.
Like many students, she spends much of her time attending classes, studying and hanging out with friends, but where some might make their money from bar work or waitressing, Alice has opted for a slightly different job: sex work.
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Speaking to LADbible, the law student explained that she had 'very little' to her name when she first arrived in Paris from the US. She had 'hardly any money', and was staying in the 'cheapest old apartment' she could find, all the time worrying about earning enough to live while still having time to attend her classes.
In a bid to earn some extra cash, Alice began to dip her toes into the sugar baby scene - a move she's since learned was a common stepping stone for 'many of the people [she's] come to know in the industry'.
The job saw her receiving 'beautiful clothes, jewellery and money' in exchange for what she described as 'very little' on her behalf, and though it was 'great at the beginning', Alice soon decided that she wanted to 'go further into the industry'.
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She explained: "I wanted to embrace it, and fully cross the threshold into sex work. After all, it was a lot more money for far less emotional labour!"
Alice was as 'nervous as anything' when meeting with her first client as a sex worker, but she ended up having 'the best experience [she] could have asked for'.
The client was looking for more of a 'girlfriend experience' instead of just sex, and remained a 'complete gentleman throughout', Alice said.
She credits this experience with 'pretty much cementing [her] decision to continue', and since then she's grown her business and learned a lot more about what it actually involves, as well as taking steps to make sure she's as safe as possible.
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"I had very few safety precautions in place like I do today, and just didn't really know what to expect," Alice admitted, adding: "Before I started sex work, I thought it was exactly about that - sex. To the contrary!"
"The majority my clients seek me out to be seen, heard, and felt in a way they don’t get in their private and professional lives. A lot of them like to simply cuddle and talk about their day.
"For me personally, my dates tend to encompass the ‘girlfriend experience'," she continued.
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"Essentially, less kinky, more intimate. If I've been flown out to a client, for example, this could be anything from going on an adventure-packed day of tours around the city, or simply lounging around on the beach and soaking up each other's company. Of course, fun in the bedroom shouldn’t be downplayed... but it shouldn’t be all that the experience encompasses!"
Alice has now established a 'Fly Me To You' package which allows customers to bring her on holiday, giving them the chance to experience new places with a companion so they 'don't get lonely on their travels'.
When a client reaches out for this experience, Alice tells them the price before discussing 'any activities, expectations, and of course, the sex itself'.
It's experiences like Fly Me To You that make escorting a 'luxury' for Alice, with her 'best experience' involving a trip to Barcelona.
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"We stayed in a gorgeous hotel on the water, took a romantic walking tour of the city followed by a couple's cooking class, before heading back to the room for some of the best sex I've ever had with a client," she said.
"We finished the trip by visiting a plethora of local eateries, before he treated me to an afternoon of luxury shopping. I almost considered never leaving!"
Not too bad for a weekend's work, is it?
As well as allowing her to visit new places, sex work has also allowed Alice to stop worrying about money.
She charges an hourly base rate of €400 (£343), with additional charges added depending on what kind of experience the client is looking for.
"I’m generally happy to accommodate most requests, but will ask an additional €100 (£86) for threesomes, €50 (£43) if they wish to bring sex toys into the mix, and €50 if there are any specific costumes or uniforms that they’d like me to wear," she explained.
These prices have helped Alice move out of her old apartment into a 'larger apartment next to the Louvre in the 1st arrondissement', as well as giving her the chance to treat her friends and spoil the people she loves.
Though it might sound like she's too busy being jetted across the globe to focus on studying, Alice actually said her job has allowed her to focus better on her work to get a law degree.
"Escorting has helped me prioritise my studies without having to worry about working eight hours a day on top just to be able to stay here," she explained.
Alice isn't off entertaining clients all day, every day, either. She typically spends her days in classes, hanging out with friends and studying, and if she has a free evening she'll try to visit new restaurants, or give time volunteering at a local animal shelter.
The student admitted that finding a balance between her two lives was 'definitely a challenge in the beginning', when she was 'prioritising earning money' to try and 'get [herself] off the ground'.
Alice has since settled into things, though, as she explained: "Nowadays, thankfully, I've reached the point where I could work more, but if I feel I'm too busy, or need a break, I'm much more inclined to turn down requests to prioritise my life, health and studies instead."
Part of balancing her two lives involves making sure that not many people know about her work. In fact, it's only her 'close friends' who know what she does.
"I try to avoid inviting people to question what it is that I do," she said. "In class, for example, I'm quite a modest and quiet character; I don’t wear the latest designer clothes or thousand-euro pieces of jewellery to university. To the average person, you’d never be able to guess I work as an escort."
Though her life as an escort is largely kept underwraps, Alice has praised the work for allowing her to 'live life to the fullest'.
"I have been able to see new cities and countries, try exclusive restaurants, and have once-in-a-lifetime experiences like being front row at the opera, skydiving, and seeing an exclusive burlesque show that I probably never would’ve have done otherwise," she said.
"Looking back on it, I wouldn’t change it for a thing!"
Topics: Jobs, Money, Travel, Sex and Relationships
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Emily Brown