Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I should be so lucky

I visited Oxford over the weekend to meet some of the Extended Family, and it just blew me away. I can't believe I spent three years of my life in Bathurst like a chump when I could have just gone here instead.
Kidding. But seriously, the entire city looks like something out of a fairytale. And not the dark, innuendo-laden traditional kind. The Disney fairytale kind. I mean, the streets are cobbled. COBBLED.

DO YOU SEE?


Anyway, the whole university city vibe got me a-thinking.
Before I hopped across the pond I was frequently asked by  people of widely varying ages and professions what my plans were, both for this year and in the long term. And, to be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure. I know that I want to spend some time footloose and fancy free before I commit myself to a career, because I also know I want to be completely amazing at it when I do.
My answer was usually something along the lines of:
"Oh, I don't know. Travel, work. Become a real person somewhere along the line. I'm not too worried. Things generally work out well for me."
And that, that last bit right there, was where I encountered problems. Almost every time I said those magic words I would be greeted with some combination of pity, disbelief and condescension. I got it from my friends, my parents' friends, from family members. And MY GOD was it frustrating.
I know that assuming life will be all rainbows and happiness is unrealistic, and that saying things will work in my favour is, you know, kind of arrogant, but it's also true. It has been in the past and, so far, it's still doing good things for me now. I've been incredibly lucky since I've been here, in terms of my living situation, my friendships, even my career prospects.
Leaving aside the philosophical connotations (do I make the statement because it's true, or is it true because I make the statement) it makes me really...angry? Upset? I'm not sure. But it makes me really negative-emotion when people disregard my awesome life potential just because they haven't had some kind of bullshit, fairytale smooth ride. (And when I say "my", I mostly mean "other people's in general"). Gah! Nobody does! It's not even that bad!
Basically what I'm saying is get some perspective. That'll probably clear your shit right up.
And also, don't be a hater.
I'm going to go now before I sound any more like Justin Beiber.

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