It’s almost 20 years since this photo – which Mum unearthed while looking for Scrabble yesterday – was taken (25 August 2004, my seventh birthday). A lot has changed in that time. The wheelchair is now electric, I’ve outgrown the Thunderbirds T-shirt I’m wearing and I don’t need the leg splints anymore. But one thing remains the same – fast cars still put a big smile on my face.
I later graduated from museums to racetracks. A natural progression, I guess you could say…
Mason
It’s Lara’s birthday on Thursday. Remember when she and I did that book club together, along with our friend Nora? Well, in the time since that came to an unfortunate end, we’ve continued to send each other a book now and then. She’s turned to her own bookshelf, too, and started to review them on Instagram. Her posts are concise – I’ve tried persuading her to do longer ones elsewhere, to no avail – but they’re always worth reading (you can find them here). They also show off the variety of what she reads. One minute it’ll be a Neil Gaiman fantasy, the next a biography of Queen Elizabeth II. That’s good for me, because I know that in theory she’ll give anything a go (I bought her The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy last year, although I still don’t know if she’s actually read it yet). So why can’t I do the same now – settle on something, one that I’ve enjoyed, and have faith that she might like it too?
It all comes down to the anxiety I feel around all present-buying, for every special occasion. I live with that constantly creeping fear that I don’t know anyone in my life well enough to be sure about what they’d appreciate. It’s always the same, no matter how close the person may be. I can overcome it and press ahead, but this is not one of those times. So I’m stalling – I’ll have to owe Lara, because I can’t help feeling that I can’t afford to get this one wrong. On the upside, maybe it’ll be worth the wait. At the very least, it might end up on her Instagram – even if she gives it a hammering!
Mason
We might have finished university now, but my friends and I will always find an excuse for a chat on Zoom and a quiz, and last Thursday night we did just that, thanks to Nora having the initiative to actually finish writing one (after I started one months ago that’s never materialised). I think many of us would agree that one of the big downsides of uni is that you bond with all manner of people, only to be torn apart and thrown into different corners of the country, so coming together again through technology can make things a little less lonely – especially when you’ve spent all week working from home in your room like me!
At the beginning, we all agreed that we felt a bit rusty, it having been so long since our last quiz, but we quickly hit our stride again. Well, five of us did – Alysha wasn’t able to join us until after we’d finished, and I came straight from my desk at the end of my working day to do it, foregoing my dinner and a shower. I’m nothing if not dedicated to the cause! Unfortunately, what that meant was that by the time we started, I was seriously flagging, and I ended up 15 points away from Deacon, who was ultimately the winner.
You could say my poor performance was down to my lack of knowledge of recently-released films and TV series, but I prefer to solely blame my low blood sugar – an issue I rectified with some cheese and crackers immediately afterwards. Regardless, it was nice to be reunited with everyone, and I’m hoping it’ll serve as a catalyst for regular quizzing again – and for another book club meeting between Nora, Lara and myself. We still haven’t discussed A Natural History of Dragons yet. In fact, I’ve almost forgotten what happened in it.
Speaking of Lara, I must get back to my online shopping – it was her birthday yesterday and there’s still the business of the ideal present to attend to!
Mason
Tomorrow is my 20th birthday, but by contrast to my 18th two years ago, I’m beginning to feel more like an adult as it approaches. As I’ve said to a few people this week, I felt like I had more maturing to do when I first became a legal adult, as I was 18 of body but 16 of mind. It was strange that – for want of a better term – the “safety catch” had been taken off of my life, and I was now free to drink, vote, bet and buy things like knives or fireworks if I wanted to. Even though I was living (and still live) within the bosom of my family, I was suddenly faced with so many more independent possibilities. The world could have been my oyster at any moment, and although I probably sound like a drama queen, that was a daunting prospect at the time.
After all, I had only finished Year 13 two months earlier (although I had a short-lived spell at another college to come after that). I felt security there, with friends, work to keep me occupied and plenty of people to consult if I needed advice, but beyond the subsequent course I had lined up I could be on my own – it would be up to me what to make of my life. Despite my real age, I just didn’t feel old enough to be confident in making those decisions for myself. Maybe my inexperience in adulthood at the time was to blame. Whilst two years seems like an insignificant period of time in the grand scheme of things, they have come with a number of changes and challenges, with my recently-ended one year work placement teaching me a lot about the workplace as well as how to conduct myself within it. I feel better now about my ability to progress further, even though there is little to keep me busy at the moment. I’ll spend tomorrow with Will, who has just told me that he feels 6 on most days rather than 16 or 20, and have as much fun as I can – it’ll undoubtedly help me feel even more optimistic about finding something to do soon. I have a feeling it could only be a matter of time.
Mason
Third Time Enabled 