FIRST PUBLISHED: 20th Jan 2014, aged 18 years old.
It's never too late to repost old blogposts from when you were 18 years old. What on earth could go wrong?!
I think there is a myth held by those who don’t live in London, that Londoners’ lives are that much more interesting than anywhere else in this country. Whether you’re a happy-go-lucky person or not, our lives roll along in a constant state of celebrity, fun-ness, interest, surprises and extraordinary-ness. I guess at times this is true, there are opportunities that you can have which you just can’t get in say…. (Wait, no. I’m not gonna name drop cos I don’t want to offend people)… a more remote area. Yet our lives can be equally (if not more) boring.
One excuse I often give myself is that, the amount of choice can be overwhelming. This excuse in itself makes me slightly angry at myself. “I have ‘too much’……… for me to be able to do………” is a pretty bad excuse but I have to admit, it is one. Although often saved for the uber rich or those who live comfortably, the excuse can sicken me but I do think we can all suffer from it. There seems to be a human complex that once there’s too much choice we go into melt down. This does make me question whether we ever have free thought but I’d rather not battle that question right now and especially not on this blog. So I’ll just say that we have to be extra strong to fight against the awe of choice. Go be choosers people of the internet!
Back to my idea in hand — I receive instance kudos for living in London but actually it’s perfectly possible for me to spend all day inside never leaving the house. And the argument therefore is: Well I could do that anywhere. London is not so special after all. Why am I instantly given this huge sense of achievement and coolness by living in London when actually my existence could be far less invigorating than their own?
Theatres, museums, clubs etc. etc. You hear people bleat at you all the time about the things that are there and how one has to take advantage of what’s available. But just because you live where it’s available does not mean people can assume that you actually do it… I know people who don’t make use of any of the things which sit on a London doorstep (or at least the tube step). Their existence is almost identical to the one they had in their home city. So London has all these things but don’t assume all Londoners use or even know these things.
But Wait. Stop. Even if you are super invigorated and open minded to want to do things – London does not provide anyone to experience these things with. Yes, I do do lots of the things that London has to offer but as a non-uni student and my line of work being very isolated, finding people to do stuff with can be hard. I mean museums alone is fine- sometimes even better, but going to a club alone? Ok if I was super ballsy-maybe, but for me? No just no. It’s like the research that shows we’re seen as prettier in a group photo and people feel depressed when on Facebook. We become happier, better, ‘amazing experiences’ people through sharing it with others.
So in conclusion (although I’m not sure I’ve reached one), even though it can be false, I like having the capital’s badge of ‘cool’. With all the other things we have which can be negative let us at least embrace the ‘cool’. So Internet-ers here’s a rambling for today and until next time….. I’ll be back.
C x
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