Tuesday 28 August 2012

Meeting people. Cool and interesting people in particular.

I think that meeting people from different countries is one of the most important things in life. It means you get to learn new cultures, compare cultures, compare languages, possibly even practise a language or listen to your language being spoken by someone as a second language. Yeah, language is kind of a big thing here. And it can unfortunately sometimes be a barrier between you and the other person. But let's say for this blog post that the new person you hypothetically meet shares a language with you.

What I love about meeting a new person is the story that I have yet to discover from them. They have these experiences and lives to share with you that may be so foreign to your own that hearing them opens up so many opportunities for great conversations. It's not like with your close friends-whilst still equally as interesting- where the conversations are easier to have given the intensity of the relationship, it becomes more of a challenge, the good kind. At first you have to establish the basics: 'where do you come from?' 'where is that near?' and then you start to get into the really interesting stuff: 'what's it like?' 'what job do you have/what do you study?' 'why?'. And then you find yourself involved in this discussion about all kinds of different things that are teaching you about a country you've possibly never been to before from an actual native and not just an article in a travel magazine or a lesson in a geography class. Okay it's not quite the same as actually being there but at least your hearing it from someone who lives there and experiences it everyday, not just a text book.

It's fascinating how much you learn from talking with someone who you may not usually converse with. In some ways you learn a lot about your own country from comparing it with that of a completely different culture. You may even spark healthy debates about things like politics or healthcare or maybe just the people themselves. Sometimes you find yourself or the other person feeling jealous of certain aspects of their or your country. Something like a certain type of government when the other's may be very strict and militaristic or in a time of crisis. It's kind of like watching the news except it's far closer to the truth and far more exciting than dumbfoundingly uninteresting pieces of overhyped lies like "if you use Facebook then you are sure to be raped and killed by a strange man!'. No, these types of conversation involve at least some level of intellectual discussion about interesting topics. So actually I lied, it's nothing like the news.

I really believe that you can gain so much from conversing, meeting and making friends with people outside of you own country. It's beneficial to you and to them because you learn a hell of a lot and probably gain some pretty cool experiences from it. Whether in the world of the Internet or in that weird place with fresh air and stuff we call reality get out there and off your backside to meet some cool and interesting people from all over the world. You'll thank yourself in the long term.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Music.

I don't know about you but when I listen to music I am having one of my happiest moments. In my head, when almost any music is playing, I have created this world where anything I want can happen. It's the most wonderful thing when your imagination goes crazy just because someone compiled notes together to make a melody. That a single tune has the ability to make me feel a million and one different things, is the most beautiful concept.

Music isn't like a language or a poem or a story, because it relates to every single human being. You don't have to be able to read it or play it or even understand it to be able to be hit by music's power. It effects every person on this planet because it is everywhere, it has been with us since the dawn of our time. I don't think that it is exclusive to humans, or that we own it in some sort of way, I believe it is an animalistic trait that a lot of the living things roaming the Earth have a part of. Music is just a sound, but a sound that I don't think we could live without. Take any example where music is used and then remove it, I'm pretty sure that the example becomes next to nothing. Imagine living in a world where music doesn't exist, that means that the feeling in your heart when music plays stops, you can no longer feel it. You never felt it in the first place. The power of music disappears. That's a world not worth living in.

For some people hearing music might not be possible, but it doesn't mean that it never effects you. Music is like a language for everybody, a universal means of communicating, a way of reaching the heart of someone you may not be able to contact another way.

Look, I'm having a hard time explaining this right but what I'm really trying to say is that music is the most wonderful language the world has ever known. And I love it.

Here's an example of what I love:


Wednesday 8 August 2012

Procrastination.


Procrastination. Man's most inappropriate and tiresome friend. You get to watch that film you've always wanted to, but the essay due in for tomorrow has not been finished. In other words, you really wish procrastination would just stop pestering you and go home yet he can be quite good fun and means you don't have to do your dreaded deeds. I procrastinated writing this post, not that writing my blog is a chore as such, just that forcing myself to stop watching the entire second series of Cold Feet was a lot more effort when I thought of what this post was going to be about. Thus, the theme of procrastination.

What our dear friend procrastination does not tell us is that the actual process of doing what you were supposed to may be actually very gratifying or just as interesting than watching Lost in Austen for the 20th time. The other bonus to shoving procrastination out the door is the feeling you get after completing the task at hand. That satisfaction of knowing that you are free to do whatever you want is glorious in its own right. You can now read endlessly with the knowledge that you are now free of the niggling feeling at the back of your head, the one that usually tells you to get yourself together and do some work, the feeling that is usually right.

You see now I can go downstairs and watch a film with my mum with full relief of having pushed myself to write another post. Not only did I enjoy writing it but I will enjoy the fact that I got past the procrastination and did something relatively productive. Trust me, although he tries desperately to be the nice guy, procrastination really isn't doing you any good.