Category: Weblog

Wow. 2020 was a thing?

I started the year homeless, single and with an uncertain future.

I ended the year with my own house, a focused – rock solid plan for the future of my business (that is solely mine now, too) and if I play my cards right there may be a relationship with an amazing female on the horizon too.

Bring it on 2021 and beyond!

Ok, so the last year has been a rollercoaster for all. Lockdowns, tiers, masks and other nonsesne – it has created a few positives tho, and im going to talk about them, init.

1. People go outside more. I have walked a dog every day for the last 16 years or so, and I have noticed SO MANY MORE PEOPLE out in nature, enjoying the fresh air etc. THIS IS GREAT!
2. I havent heard the phrase “Binge Drinking” in years. Literally.
3. Town centres dont smell like piss.
4. Most people are thinking more about their health and hygiene and trying to make better choices.

I wanna talk more about the 4th point there, as I am a Vegan and cant help shake the idea that if more people were Vegans too, we wouldn’t have ended up in this mess? (the Rona started from someone eating a bat, not a stick of celery)

I see lots of my friends getting bikes, going out running, and trying to be better versions of themselves. I love this.

I also see shops and things being more proactive in regards to hygiene, things are cleaner, and a cleaner world is a healthier world.

A friend of mine has recently started a Wheelie Bin Cleaning business, and we got talking about whether or not certain things should be compulsory – like having your wheelie bin cleaned. For how much it costs, and for how many germs and nasties must live/grow in there. Urgh. Surely its a no brainer?

Also things like petrol pumps, card machines, ATM’s and other communal “things” – these should ALL continue to be cleaned more often, kept sterile etc. I’m not suggesting we should make absolutely everything germ free as we still need to build up our immune system, but minimising unwanted and dirty horrible bacteria and horrible sh!t is surely what we all want?

Social Media is Shit

I saw an image shared (ironically) on social media, that contained what was labelled as an “Unpopular opinion”. That opinion, was that Social Media has destroyed our generations chances of ever truly being happy.

Back in the days before we posted our every single move we make online, an individual’s world was what they could see before them. They occasionally found out about what other people were doing by speaking to them or overhearing a conversation but generally your world was what you could see, and choosing to be happy (as its a choice, dont forget) was an easier choice to make. Apart from unreachable celebrity lifestyles, the majority of the lives we could compare ours to were the ones of our close friends and family, and usually those people live within the same world as you do. Phrases like “Keeping up with the Joneses” have been around for over 100 years, and originally it meant trying to stay on par or ahead of your close neighbours in terms of how nice your house looked, how neat your garden was and how proud you were of your little – actual – empire. Now, thanks to the rise of materialism and consumerism, we now define someone’s success by the clothes they wear, the items they possess and how “Polished” they are as a human being.

Nows, due to how far-reaching each person’s “world” has become, there is a plethora of micro-celebs, internet “influencers” who paint unrealistic, unreachable pictures of their lies across dopamine-hit-inducing “social” networks, and whether they realise it or not – they use these false images to compare against their own lives which leads to nothing but disappointment and depression.

There is no denying the correlation between the rise in social media usage, and the rise in clinical depression and anxiety in young people. The rise of suicides, the rise of addiction treatment for social media usage… We have created all-consuming platforms that have taken control of our happiness and almost removed the choice from us. We are forced to feel like shit.

I have spoken to real people, who are fully addicted to instant messaging and social media and completely deny it. I have witnessed with my own eyes  some people’s inability to hear a notification and ignore it, they are drawn to their device and are impulsed to check what it is and who its from – replying instantly despite the fact they were half way through a conversation with someone else at the time, for example. I’m no angel, ive done it before and now when it happens I find myself feeling guilty for wanting to look. I try not to, as I understand its an issue and I dont want to fall victim to it.

I am trying to be the best version of me, I am trying to “own” my life and my decisions and not let anything choose or decide for me. It’s hard, and it almost feels like by doing so, I am alienating myself from the rest of the world but I hope I am simply an early adopter of this mindset and I hope one day the world does an about turn and decides to not let AI and social media dictate their happiness.

Don’t let a temporary feeling or emotion dictate the rest of your life. There is a real world happening around you, dont view it through a 5″ touchscreen for the rest of your life.

Peace out.