Matthew Revell

In a couple of weeks, it will have been ten years since my mum and dad dropped me off at Leeds University. Looking back, I’m quite surprised by how naieve I was.

I prefer to avoid personal posts but I’d love to see what other people feel they’ve learnt in the past ten years. So, here are my ten, in no particular order and, hopefully, not the sum of my progress over that decade

1. People who claim to have no regrets must either lack conscience or have a selective memory.
2. Progressive rock, in general, is a bit naff. Yes, Marillion, Pink Floyd, early Genesis and a handful of others are exceptions.
3. Wolverhampton is not a suburb of Birmingham.
4. The realisation that “sometimes it does happen to you” is quite shocking.
5. Depressingly, sounding clever is often enough.
6. Saving is better than borrowing.
7. It is possible to meet your soulmate, almost at random, in a pub.
8. Religion may once have been a good attempt at understanding the world but now it’s used as an alternative to thought.
9. Single Malt whiskies are a world of subtle complexity, not just a drink that makes you pull a face.
10. Being truly in love is worth everything else in the world.

With a baby on the way, I imagine that my list will be very different in one year from now, let alone ten.