Regret

Regret is an interesting phenomenon. People are so quick to regret but not so quick to observe the beauty of mistakes. I use the word mistakes loosely as every mistake is an experience. As reference to Blake's poetry, it is experience that is the ether of life. Experience takes us from the little lamb to the roaring tiger. With this literal equation, how it is possible to live with regret? Regret is a painful burden that people need to be free from. Past mistakes should be obsolete. The past is the past is the past and the future is the future.
With this in mind, since I have moved on with my life and become the person that I want to be. I refuse to regret any of my past and love all of my mistakes. I'm going to travel, make myself me, live everything and love everyone.

YOLO

What's fun about fantasy?

“Not all who wander are lost” – J.R.R Tolkien

The previous post concentrates on the M20C (my new ‘cool abbreviation for the ‘mid twenties crisis’) and how our life experiences should be the focal point for any decisions made. The M20C is brought about by sociological pressures, creating not only an emotional crisis but sometimes also an existential one. How do we alleviate these pressures? How do I alleviate these pressures?

Fantasy texts are the answer; novels, films, tv programs. A genre dedicated to pure, unadulterated escapist pleasure. For me, the self doubt and self questions stop when I enter a world that is so unbelievable, it encompasses my whole self. The reversion to reality can be wholeheartedly depressing, when I’ve been so entranced in a happy bubble cloud of words. What more could I want, coming home from work on a bleak Manchester evening, than to curl up and immerse myself into a world of magic, knights and dragons.

Some people assume that these above points are all that fantasy texts are about, but there’s so much more. Key themes include illusion versus reality, good versus evil, relationships, and there’s always a flawed protagonist. Maybe I’m being contradictory, maybe I can see myself in these characters; the flaws in the protagonist are the key to the human condition and every person is part of that. Whether the hero be in Narnia, Middle Earth or Terre D’ Ange they struggle too. How many times have I read about an existential crisis in one of these texts and related to it? They are the key to my education, they live, take risks and experience life in ways only imaginable. Let’s re-evaluate, we can now call it an educated escapism, as we can relate to the hero. In fantasy, things usually work out well in the end, so this is what we can hope and strive for. The key point is ‘experience’. It’s the adventures, heartaches and downfalls that are exciting to read. It’s these things that make the hero eventually get where they want to be. I am the protagonist of my story. Ready for the adventures.

Mid twenties Crisis

“What would you like to do with your life?” How many times do my generation counterparts get asked this question and what is the correct answer? Life plans seem expected from older successful counterparts, yet surely in your twenties you are supposed to snatch upon the freedom of inexperience and live with a slight ounce of spontaneity. The conventional expectations that are imposed upon this generation by older society have now become flawed. The older, traditional life route would be to indoctrinate yourself into education from age four until twenty one, followed very closely by a jump into a career and then eventually marriage and babies. But this just isn’t possible any more. Life is expensive. University is expensive. Cultural recession makes it difficult to get a graduate job. For me, the thought of getting married and having a baby is so far off, it is as elusive as the philosophers stone. Hence then, the question positions the lack of answer and then instigates the “Whatthefuckamidoingwithmylife” mid twenties crisis.The Mid-twenties crisis; a phenomenon that my friends and I certainly weren’t expecting. The transitional period between student to adult is difficult and rarely smooth. A life faced with low income and high bills is not a pretty one. Another facet of your education begins; life education.Your twenties are supposed to be the time in your life where you make your mistakes and learn from your experiences. There are many things that make it tough. Heartbreak, housing issues, emotional displacement, job searches, but they’re supposed to be FUN. So I say let’s wrap up the crisis together, experience everything, grow from it, learn from it and then decide.

Bloody planning!

Planning, planning, planning. How can you plan for your life to change so intensely, dramatically and amazingly. If you've read the many emo previous blog posts you'll be able to recognise that this year has been a whirlwind, a torrent of negative emotions that have been impossible to control.
How do you recover from this? So many people don't. Never run away, never dwell, no regrets. That's the key. This little lady is going away, going away to find herself again and to be centred again.
Here's the plan...Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, the Phillipines and Indonesia. If I'm good I'll charter it well... If I'm not too bad. First travel post in approximately 6 weeks.
Follow my journey, it's sure to be emotional! Xx