A better chapter

I feel like I could over analyze what kind of post would represent the tone of my new blog best, so I’m doing the first one that I thought would be worth reading about. This post is called ‘A Better Chapter’, and it’s basically about exactly that: a better chapter in my life which ultimately brought me to this point.

2018 for me really has been a rollercoaster. At the start of the year you will have found me stood behind a bar, pulling pints and shaking the 1000th Pornstar Martini of the day. In fact, it was as I finished straining that very cocktail when a regular customer in the bar said to me, “Every time I’m in here, you’re working!”... “Well, no s**t, Sherlock, I work here!” Is what I should have said. But I probably would have been fired on the spot. So probably best I didn’t. Anyway, she followed up by asking “Are you waiting for your big break?” and it really got me thinking, what actually was I doing? I wasn’t in education, I’d finished my A-Levels the summer before and was literally just working, but what was I waiting for? Unfortunately, the demands of the career I was working towards kept me rather mobile, but there was nothing stopping me from doing, well… me! I was in the middle of my auditions for getting a place at one of two prestigious drama schools in London (which I understand makes the “waiting for [my] big break” joke even more ironic) but I absolutely could have used my free time to travel the world, or see my mates at uni, or visit my brother, who had recently moved to Spain. But I didn’t, and why? Because I was waiting, what for though, I’m not sure.

Fast forward to June and thank god, things were beginning to look up. I hadn’t made the cut for both of the drama schools I was auditioning for (I’m over it, definitely not salty on the subject, the snakes), and was preparing to leave work to finally do what I’d promised myself from the day I decided to take a year out of education - travel. Bare in mind, ‘year’ out was flexible at this point as I hadn’t worked out a second plan depending on the success of my previous auditions. So off I went, just myself and one of my oldest mates, both of us equally ignorant on how to travel ‘well’ independently. What I didn’t realise that not only was the upcoming two months of my life the best, most enjoyable time I can remember having, but it was also the most important; without it I definitely wouldn’t be writing this.

Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Munich, Lake Bled, Split, Zagreb, Budapest, Krakow, Zaragoza, Stockholm. Eleven places, all equally charming in their own way, and I absolutely recommend each city to someone that’s not sure where to go next. Budapest is the one I’m going to talk about, though, as I happened to be there when a lot of revelations were made about myself that I never thought would become significant. It was the morning after the hostel’s famous ‘ruined bar’ bar crawl, and let me tell you, ‘ruined’ is exactly how I felt. I was laying in the courtyard of the hostel the morning after, soaking up the hot sun through my thick jumper and sweatpants, feeling delicate when I received an email off UCAS, suggesting BIMM (British and Irish Modern Music Institute) to me as a place to apply for if I was still interested in higher education. So I talked to my mate about it, who’s studying in Durham, and he couldn’t have been more enthusiastic, as he knew I wouldn’t regret it. As I was contemplating my next move, the lady at the bar’s famous question “are you waiting for your big break” played through my head. Then I realised, if I have been waiting for something, then this is it. I applied with an amended personal statement and two months of travel under my belt. I got a place to study Music Journalism at the Manchester campus of europe’s most connected music school, and here I am today, sitting in my student digs, launching my blog as per the recommendation from my tutors.

Travel truly is the best cure for ignorance. Not just in terms of life experience and becoming more cultured, but if ever you feel a bit lost, or unsure as to what to do next following knock downs in any context, there is nothing better.