As the end of the “naughties” (that never really caught on did it) draws near, it suddenly dawned on me that at the beginning of this decade I was only 14 years old. (in the picture below I am actually a few years younger than that, I couldnt find one from when I was 14)
It’s probably safe to say the stretch of time between 14 and 25 will be the most eventful in most people’s lives. It encapsulates you still being a child to an adult, although I still act quite childishly it has to be said.
The decade was dominated being educated, gaining 9 GCSE’s, 3 A levels and a degree. I wonder how much of that knowledge I actually needed to learn, or even remember. But I suppose a lot of it was character building, going to a grammar school where everyone were utter bastards to each other certainly shapened the person you know today. I like to think the cynicism and negativity I got from all that I have managed to reduce somewhat in recent years. I can appreciate I can be a drag sometimes but I think the negativity in me helps me appreciate the better times more.
A few months after turning 18 I decided to sever all my ties and go alone to Bournemouth to study computing, more or less on a whim.
I remember saying goodbye to my best friend on the day before I was going to leave home and just wondering what the hell was going to happen next. I didnt know the town, or anyone there, in fact I wasn’t really sure what my degree would actually involve.
It was a frantic 4 years of tight deadlines, too much drinking and learning about how to live without your parents. I cannot imagine what I would be like without this experience. I really value the independance I have now and despite how much I love my parents I know I really couldn’t live with them any more. I dont think they could either.
Going to Bournemouth was thankfully a pretty good decision. I met what I consider to be my closest friends there and have stumbled into a field of expertise which I am arguably alright at and one I am genuinely interested and passionate about.
After my degree I worked for a year in Bournemouth. That was probably the most wasteful year of the decade. I dont really feel like I achieved or even enjoyed it that much. It was ok, the best word I could use for it would be comfortable. I didnt feel I was really getting anywhere.
So when some of my friends got wanderlust and wanted to go abroad to teach English, I thought it might be a good idea to move into the big city, London. I had some friends from university there that I could stay with and I just knew I had to go somewhere different and exciting.
Once again, it was an excellent decision. Unbelievably I still really enjoy the job I first got when I came here. Not only that I have met a lot of very nice people along with my girlfriend and I really cant thank my lucky stars enough for that.
I am very thankful for my blind luck during these years. I feel like I have never taken many of the major decisions in my life very seriously but I have somehow always landed on my feet with a smile. Not only that but without seemingly trying too hard, at least compared to many people, I would regard myself as quite…successful.
So this decade has defined what I am and I cant see myself changing too much from now. Who knows what will happen in the next 10 years…
