Life,
as I now know it, is different. April was my final month as a Yellow Monkey,
final month in Bristol and final month of "normality". As of the 1st
of May, I have now moved back home for my pre-camp preparations! It's a massive
alteration that I'm not quite sure I'm ready for if I'm honest. I am now
technically unemployed, without a day to day purpose, in a place whereby,
albeit beautiful, bars, cafes, clubs, shops and public transport are few and
far between. Some of my closest friends are now hundreds of miles away and now
exist only in the 2D realm of communication and social media, not "down
the road".
To some people this
may seem petrifying and somewhat a stupid thing to do as I was so happy in
Bristol, but Quarter-Life-Crises are no joke. I know I was lucky enough to have a wonderful set up,
with a great job in an awesome company, fantastic friends and the city lifestyle
I loved, but Bristol is but one place in the entire world. I am so very excited
about the memories to come in places I have never been, with people I haven't even met yet.
Some people have
said, "it's alright for some!" which makes me feel I should justify myself. Now, I have worked bloody hard for many
years, saving wherever possible and building a reputation whereby I believe I
would be welcomed back into my company. I haven't spent my money on cars,
expensive holidays or designer goods; I have, and always will, spend my money
on memories. I haven't whinged and moaned about my job whilst doing the bare
minimum, I have put in 110% since day one in order to hit bonus' and get promotions. So
they're right, it is alright for some, it's alright for the people who work
hard and deserve to live the life they dream of.
Some people dream of
owning their own home. When they achieve it and post the obligatory photo of
them with their new keys outside their front door, I don't think I've ever seen a
comment saying "it's alright for some!" Everyone knows that they've had to scrimp and save for months if not years to pull together the
deposit. It's the same for travelling the world. I wasn't given a plane ticket,
thousands weren't just dropped into my bank account, I had to earn it. The
difference between the genuine happiness for a new couple buying their first
family home and someone setting off on their travels is that some people
haven't got the bottle (I wanted to say "balls" but let's be gender
neutral) to go and do it themselves. So, instead of a thumbs up and pat on the
back, you get a sense of guilt flung upon you from people who would
rather you stayed put, in your
"proper job" and settled down.
Life for me isn't
something you get too many chances at, I don't want to waste mine wishing I'd
done more, seen more, and regretting not saying "yes" more. Everyday
is the chance to make a new memory, meet a new friend, fall in love with a new hobby, whatever it is that makes you smile.
#thebestdreamshappenwhenyoureawake
