Sep 13

Ten things in ten years

Filed under: Personal — Matthew Revell at 6:31 am

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.

4 Responses to “Ten things in ten years”

  1. Simon Stanford says:
    September 13th, 2006 at 5:04 pm

    Interesting list and a nice little snapshot in to what has happened to you in the last 10 years.

    With reference to the above I’d say
    1) You tend to regret the things you didn’t do rather than the things you did.

    5) Depressingly sounding clever IS sometimes enough

    9) If whisky didn’t get you drunk as well would you still enjoy it’s complexity?

  2. Matthew says:
    September 13th, 2006 at 5:20 pm

    Hey Simon,

    > 1) You tend to regret the things you didn?€™t do rather than the things you did.

    That is said a lot but I don’t agree entirely. I can think of at least a couple of things I’ve done that I regret and I’m sure most people can. People often say, “Ah but you wouldn’t be the person you are today”; that doesn’t stop the regret :)
    I have to say that I’m not wallowing in sadness and regret here. I just tire of people who aren’t honest about the negative aspects of the things they’ve done or havne’t done.

    > 9) If whisky didn?€™t get you drunk as well would you still enjoy it?€™s complexity?

    Absolutely :) I’ve never been drunk on whisky. Now, a little tipsy maybe, but who outside of old ladies says “tipsy”? :)

  3. mrben says:
    September 14th, 2006 at 9:37 am

    I agree with all except for 8 (hey - no big surprise there) - although it will depend on your definition of “religion” and whether it encorporates “faith”, but I would still disagree based on the fact that:

    a) some of the greatest “thinkers” of our time, and previous times, have been “religious”
    b) even those who say that they aren’t “religious” will usually have a very well-defined belief-system

  4. Simon Stanford says:
    September 18th, 2006 at 3:28 pm

    I guess it is what you do with those feelings of regret. If you learn from the consequences of your actions and the regret they cause then they can be positive forces in your life.

    Where as if you don’t do something then if you do have regrets about the inaction it’s harder to make something positive from them as you’ll never really know what might have happened.

    Some of the most energy sapping, non-life affirming statements begin with the words “If only….”