I don’t update this blog nearly as much as I had originally planned, and I always end up saying that at some point in a post. But I suppose I can get away with it as this blog is less so for other people and more for myself; in this day and age I find writing in a diary or writing notes for myself to read at a later date to cause me to add a certain blemish to the goings on of my life in such a way that might be designed to make me feel a little better about myself, whereas I’d rather sit here and think about people reading my words and those who know me who might turn around and call “bollocks” to any claims of grandeur I may have.
So this week I enter my 22nd year of life on Earth. And that has caused me to think more so than usual about the fact that I am officially going to be leaving behind all the claims to childhood and adolescence that I once had. I think it’s safe to say that when you’re 21 you’re still in that margin of youth that lets you get away with calling yourself a boy still, and it sounds very odd to say that I’m going to be a ‘man’ when I turn 22 on Tuesday, but it’s a good point to start thinking about how I’ve changed since I first discovered the world outside of my Playstation at the age of 15.
Granted I’m allowed to be incredibly proud of myself for a moment; I think I’ve grown up dramatically over the course of the past 12 months more so than during any other time in my life. I think I was pretty immature as a person up until Christmas of 2012, mostly because before then I had no idea what I wanted to do and had only recently found myself in a stable academic and professional position, and fortunately since then things have been consistently on the up. I think this is just because I have a better head on my shoulders now than I did then. And I’m just going to write about some things that have changed me since then, and how the past year has really had a significant impact on my life.
My mother always described me as a ‘homebird’ in that I was always going to be very attached to my home and the life I have at the family’s house in North Wales. It’s understandable for everyone to feel this way once you crash through the angst of the period between 16 and 18 and finally develop a closer bond with your family. But I think of myself more than most people as being brought up in the bubble of my own household, not to say that I didn’t have a social life or anything to do outside of home, but I was a pretty spoilt child compared to most with parents who I am eternally grateful towards for all the hell and hard work it must have been raising me and my brother to the age where we’re moving back to our second homes at university and returning to our own lives. Fortunately I think I’m comfortable to say that I’m not a homebird anymore and the idea of getting out into the world and doing stuff is more attractive to me now than it ever has been. So much so that the urge to get out and be productive in the world is pushing on my brain every single day I’m sat at home with nothing to do. So in that regard, I’m glad that I’ve become settled with the desire to move away and get out into the world, where previously I would have contentedly sat at home and done nothing for the rest of my life.
I think of myself as much nicer than I was, the whole two years before that Christmas in 2012 felt like a horrible battle with some nasty demons in my head that were constantly messing with the two switches in my brain that make me happy or sad. Some of my friends have been witness to this and have been incredibly supportive, but I’m glad that I’ve finally ditched all the emotional baggage once and for all. It’s allowed me to become more sociable, charismatic and chiefly has given me a greater sense of self-respect, this last one only really coming in to play in the last month or so. For anyone reading this and wanting to know how to become a nicer, well-rounded and respectable person my only advice is stop reading Wikihow, it is a massive waste of time and is about as valid as referencing Wikipedia in your dissertation. The only thing that made me click was to stop taking advice from others. That’s all I ever used to do, was to listen to others and assume that what they said was better than whatever I thought because there must be something wrong with me. Bollocks to that; whilst it’s all well and good to take advice from your friends sometimes, it’s never good to rely on other people’s opinions all of the time, you really have to take time to think about life for yourself and become your own person in that sense. It sounds bloody cliché and unmasculine, but it works a treat to “listen to your heart”.
A random tid-bit of information but something I picked up on whilst talking to a friend the other day and always good advice to keep in mind is that the age of information we currently live in causes people to rely on a sense of instant gratification; with high-speed internet, fast food, next day delivery and instant messaging all commonplace, we’re too used to getting things instantly, and trying to be as efficient and quick as possible. Whilst the benefits and usefulness of these things are obvious and brilliant, it’s still important to not get your knickers in a twist when someone doesn’t reply to your message in the next five minutes because the chances are they just haven’t seen it, or their phone isn’t on, or they simply might not have time. Another benefit is it’s easier to see if someone is worth your time at all, as many people over the past years I just don’t speak to because once I stopped messaging them endlessly it became apparent that they weren’t interested in me enough to make the effort. In reality things take a lot longer than you may initially think, so on the other hand it’s also a reassuring piece of information to keep in mind so that you don’t give up on something so easily. Patience is a great thing to have and will better equip you to sticking at something and letting it take it’s own course rather than you rushing everything and forcing yourself into a blunder and giving up because what you thought would happen didn’t happen by the following Wednesday.
It sucks, but being a realist about the loss of friends is another thing. I’ve seen friends come and go out of my life in droves, but that doesn’t really bug me nowadays because whilst I’m always eager to meet new people and make new friends, I know that there is a large core group of really great people in my life that I can always place first and foremost above anyone else. These friendships are always more important now more than ever in your twenties because by now you’ve known them a long, long time and still haven’t managed to piss each other off enough to see it all off. My friends are fantastically intelligent people with an all around terrific sense of humour, and despite school and college and everything, it’s great to see that every time we meet for drinks we can insult, berate and banter with each other without causing offence or feeling like twats. The friends that leave your life are ultimately the people that never gave a crap about you in the first place, but the people you still manage to see after moving away to university are the ones that are worth keeping around. So it’s best to just shrug it off and move on because feeling shit about it doesn’t help you get anywhere.
I’m reflecting on all this stuff and hoping it doesn’t sound too preachy, but I don’t really care because I’m writing this mainly for myself as a reflection over the past few years where I’ve really done the majority of my growing up. I’m definitely a more empirical and sane person than I was a year ago, and thrice as mature as I was three years ago. I’ve changed dramatically and become a more liberal and focused person with ambitions and goals that are realistic and achievable. I’m currently studying a degree I am passionate about at a university I love with friends I wouldn’t trade for anything else. So life is pretty on track now, and I’m glad because I’ve never been able to say that before to myself without waiting a second and adding a careful “but…” and then picking holes. But no, life is good and there are no problems at all.
The biggest tip I can give is just being nice. Again I’m resorting to clichés and terribly unmanly pieces of sagely wisdom but I can’t stress how much being a nice person isn’t just about being a completely selfless person who will put everything on hold for someone else, it’s about being someone people enjoy being around because they can tell that you carry yourself in a certain way, and being someone people can respect without putting yourself above them. Most friend groups I observe often operate in a fashion of Primus inter pares or “First among equals” and despite everyone claiming to be on the same level, there is always someone gunning for the top dog position. I don’t know if this is completely true or whether I’m just horrendously cynical at the same time, but I don’t try to see myself as above others and I don’t let myself fall below them either. I think if you want to be a nice person, that’s how you have to view yourself. People don’t like big egos in the adult world, and if they do it’s a sign you hang around with people who have a jarred view of reality and are probably twats.
I don’t expect this to be taken as gospel and I certainly don’t mean it to be written as a guide to life because like I said, this blog is written personally, for me. If other people can appreciate this advice though, I can tell you from experience that it’s a good way to approach life because I find myself getting less frustrated about stuff nowadays than I ever used to. But in plain truth it’s far easier to just be whoever you want to be and find people that appreciate that rather than be someone you’re not for the sake of others.
22 is going to be a great year for me.