The Problematic Sophomore Blog Post

At the time of starting to dictate the first few words of this post it is 5.47am, and I am faced with the question that I've become accustomed to pondering at this inhuman hour - "why the hell am I still awake?". The key difference tonight, of course, is that I'm attempting to inject some productivity into this supposed period of rest.

Since posting my first blog post back in September, and having received a lot more positive and wonderful feedback than I could've possibly hoped for (thankyou so much, by the way - I write these posts for myself, not anyone else, but it's genuinely humbling to know that they've been able to help or resonate with people thus far), I've been trying, and failing, to write a sequel. Unfortunately, the creation of spontaneous written media is laborious at best and oftentimes impossible when the artist is faced with lack of direction. I would love to be able to claim that my blog has remained without new content purely due to the lack of significant events occurring within my life that could warrant a written account - alas, quite the opposite is true. In spite of this, multiple attempts to come up with content that is at least remotely engaging, amusing (or just not downright shit) have resulted in me becoming well versed in the layout of my keyboard, the number of books on my shelf or the completion of any other tedious task in order to avoid the task at hand. An analogy I often use is one stolen from The Simpsons - so many thoughts, feeling and emotions are trying to squeeze through the door that is my mind at once, that none of them can actually fit through the threshold.

The Simpsons explaining my mental health far better than I ever could.

At a hunch, 2017 will be a crucial time for this blog. I would like to hope that my audience will continue to grow, and I am certain that the theme of the content will take a dramatic shift. With 24 days to go until the new year (bloody hell, 50% of me can't believe it and 50% can't wait), my calendar is already informing me that it's going to be an action packed 12 months. During that time I'll be travelling to India, Japan, Iceland and the USA - Wales also gets an honourable mention; and I fully intend to document my adventure on this blog. Throw in a trip to Leeds Festival, a fresh chance at education and at least 5 more concerts and it almost sounds like a good time, right?

If I were to take just one lesson away from the past year (a tall order considering the sheer amount of change, unforgettable moments and monumental cock-ups that have been contained within it), it would quite simply be to not set the bar too high. Although that would sound rather pessimistic, I believe that trying to fix every aspect of my life at once is where I went wrong in 2016, and why I've come to the end of it feeling like I got a rather shit deal, in spite of the indisputably* amazing things that have happened (I got to introduce my favourite band onstage to 80,000 people at Wembley Stadium for god's sake). Next year, my plan is to take each day as it comes, truly live within the moment, embrace the fact that my flaws come to make me who I am and - most importantly - fulfill my inane desire to fill every dull moment of my life with cringe-worthy clichés. 

It's now 6.54am (yes, believe it or not it has taken me 67 whole minutes to spill this small amount of spiel onto the virtual page, including a brief proofread) and I now feel distinctly more fatigued, equally as cynical and ever so slightly more optimistic about what the next year of my life has in store. Let's hope I'm proved right, eh?

*I would like my dear readers to know just how long I spent debating with myself as to whether indisputably or undisputably was the correct term to use - 13 minutes is the answer... and I'm still probably wrong.