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In this comfortingly weird corner of the Internet that I have fashioned for myself, I have always been wary of merely keeping a public journal.
I am more interested in surreal monologues on Scottish tennis players or absurd poetry about baked goods and American political leaders than in pouring out my heart or sharing my day-to-day mundanity for its own sake.
Lots of things are changing in my life right now. It is exciting, but it can get a little overwhelming.
I have found that, in these moments, it’s important to take some time to focus on those things that remain constant while everything around seems uncertain.
Momentum, or the lack thereof, is a powerful thing.
It’s the curse of the blank page – once you start eating into the word count and forming some paragraphs, momentum kicks in and it gets easier. It’s starting that’s the difficult part.
I love words.
For instance, the word ‘decant’ is particularly mellifluous. If you have the opportunity to use it and instead you choose its inferior cousin ‘pour’ then we may need to rethink our friendship.
Andy Murray is the Wimbledon champion. He is an Olympic gold medallist and the reigning US Open champion.
He is a hero. He is a fighter. A brave warrior returning with the spoils of war. A triumphant boxer with arms aloft. The victor astride his vanquished foe. He is Muhammad Ali. He is Obi-wan Kenobi. He is Joan of Arc and John McClane.
I don’t know if you have noticed, but everyone is engaged. No, literally everyone. I can barely get through a week of moderate Facebook use without being informed of yet another friend’s betrothal.
I’m not even using hyperbole for effect.*
Last week marked a year since I was last able to sing properly.
It has been far and away the most frustrating year of my life.
At 23 years of age, I am very much aware that my experiences on this planet are inherently limited. Much to learn, I still have. So I try to hold things lightly and keep an open mind.
Nonetheless, there are some things that I feel I have learnt in my short journey thus far. Nuggets of wisdom. Fish fingers of insight. Battered mantras, if you will.
I am not always the most punctual person.
Now I know – that must come as a surprise to you. I seem like a guy who has it all together, who would never dream of being so much as 10 seconds late to any of the various events, soirées and get-togethers at which his presence is required.
I was meant to write a blog post at some point yesterday. Possibly the day before. The details are a little fuzzy. Because I’ve been too busy reading the fifth Harry Potter book, you see.
I know what you’re thinking – how come I’m only just doing this now? Well, it’s not that big a deal. A couple of years ago I looked up what happened on Wikipedia. So I’m really just recapping and fleshing out the details in my head.