Notes Backwards

We’ve all wondered what we’d say, if we could travel back in time, and tell ourselves what to do. I thought I’d blog about it today, on account of the weather being simply terrible, which is making me all reflective, and thoughtful.

Knowledge, and university courses. In the pursuit of knowledge, there are several things a person must know. The first, is that learning stuff, the big stuff, isn’t easy, and unless you’re bless with a photographic memory, something I dearly wish I had, you will spend an inordinate amount of time reading, rereading, and note-taking, before you can confidently declare to understand something. Moreover, somebody will always know more than you about something. This is inevitable, but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t attempt to be absolutely the very best, at everything you try to do. You should take the university course you love, because otherwise you’ll be extremely resentful of it, and it’ll make it one thousand times more difficult to finish it.

Art. Art is important. It’s important because we like to build things, create things. We must remember to write, read, draw, and dance, throughout the exams, and throughout the long working weeks, because otherwise life becomes well, incredibly boring. It’s also never too late to be something you’ve dreamt of being, even if you find you’re just a little older than the others. That just means you’re more mature.

Body. You think you’re fat now, however hindsight suggests you were wonderfully slim. As Baz Luhrmann quite rightly says, “you are not as fat as you imagine”. Take care of the body. Get some exercise, even if you hate it, and remember not to eat too much rubbish. Some junk food however is good for the soul, and so eating some of it is strongly encouraged. As is the eating of broccoli.

Success. Being an awkward child, you don’t know what you want to be yet, however you do know that it’s going to be something incredibly high-flying, and difficult to manage. The aspiration will seem like it’s a really long way away when you get a reality check, and sadly have to check into the real world for a while, however you ought to just keep going, and find new ways to pursue things. Thinking outside the box is really very, very important.

Self Confidence. Another Baz Luhrmann quote. “Do not congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either.” I find these to be rather wise words, and he has a point. Remember not to get complacent, and don’t think that you know everything. When you get to university you will be humbled by everyone and everything, including your peers, how daunting the real world seems, and how little you really know about your degree. Just remember it’s only the beginning, work hard to understand more, and use the library often. Do not be disappointed if you don’t just sail through, straight away. There’s no reward, if it’s too easy.

I think that summarises my wise words of the day. I think it’s useful, sometimes, to remember what you’ve learnt. It makes you feel wise, and more mature than you were when you first started out, even if it was only really six months ago.  The video by Baz Luhrmann is something I find incredibly useful too, have a listen!

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On People

So, I seem to have been running a theme of happiness, or at least optimism, through my last few posts. I like optimism, you see. Anyone who knows me in person will be slightly bemused by this, because outwardly, I’m not always optimistic. Sometimes I’m downright pessimistic. I like to refer to it as realism; I like to know how things work, and I don’t like things that hide how they operate from me. For example, homeopathic medicine unnerves me slightly, because I don’t always understand how it works. The chemical reactions in medicine however, are something I can understand.

I think this is the same for lots of people; the emergence of science began to disprove, or at least make unlikely, the existence of divine powers. We are human, and so we tend to believe what we see and what we can feel. We don’t like power we can’t control, and I think it’s almost an arrogance of species that we think we can control everything our world consists of.

Some people however are remarkably strong in that believe in whatever they want to, even when evidence, or events in their lives challenges the ideas they have. Everyone, at some point believes in something different to someone else. That’s why during Fresher’s Week, at university, politics and philosophy are generally topics of conversation that are avoided. Part of the bonding process is avoiding contention, and finding common ground. In a university setting, the common ground tends to be making arrangements for a night out. We don’t moan about the washing up until much later on, until we know each other better. You don’t know people you live with until such time as they’re grumpy, and you’re grumpy, and you’re all feeling awful. Or when you’ve all got upcoming deadlines. I think people reveal themselves then, because the stress, and the hangovers bring out the worst in people.

Do you like my new sunglasses? (: (1)

I suppose this idea could apply to all environments, in all walks of life. In a work environment, you don’t moan about your job until you know people better, until you know what the atmosphere is like. You don’t take liberties until much later on. It’s probably one of the hardest things to do in the world; establish what the appropriate code in a social situation is. In computer games such as Sims 3, relationships pop up in little measuring bars; in life we go in completely blind, and feel our way through the dark.

Moving through the dark is character building though; you have to offend people sometimes, to know how to apologise. Most people aren’t born with the innate ability to know when they are wrong; sometimes you have to apologise. At some point during adolescence, people have to realise the difference between hiding from someone, or just thrashing it out. Relationships aren’t formulaic, and what offends one person won’t offend another. We just have to bridge the gap between regional differences in humour, and try to know when we’re wrong.

I did warn you all; I’m feeling philosophical, and rather optimistic, too.

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(1) http://api.ning.com/files/iIAE1QM9rlcxI0cGQ8WtvWY7Yl4JqtZwyTaXHis9yBQPn8y7AAHuaOFWTa-AG6tAzM3W71dC*C1olX6q8LbJVRapvvLGM1zb/optimism.preview.jpg

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