Mis-Guided Youth... What a load of rubbish!

Afternoon Bloggers,

So my mad Christmas adventure is almost to an end, and what better way to conclude events than a weekend back in Newcastle. After seeing my parents and saying my farewells to Friends and Family here i Doncaster i will be whisked off on a train to the mighty toon, up to the Northern wonderlands, and into a great weekend seeing some people i have thoroughly missed.... James, Lish, Sparks, Laurie, Sean, Tom, Dobbi, Craig among others, brace yourselves :)

Ok so this Christmas, if i had not just spent almost 4 months before in Spain, was not anything extra special, anything out of the ordinary, nothing really memorable, if anything it had less going on than ones that have come before..... HOWEVER, This Christmas HAS been extra special, and HAS been extremely memorable, not because it was a 4 week binge, not because it was 4 weeks of pure madness between friends and family, no individual occurances, incidents, events that stand out from the others that shout out; "oi, you, Ginge, i'm the reason you had a brilliant Christmas holiday", but it is in fact the collection of many little things, many special little things, the odd hilariously stupid thing that would come out of Mellors mouth, the odd minger that Callum would pull when extremely hammered, the siiiiickkkk dance moves that me and Evan pulled out in Aruba that would spread like wildfire, the trips to bowling to get embarassingly beaten by Chris, the almost daily dose of football denial from Simon, or the absence of Luke from my life, the dissapearing acts by Mazza or the memorable but short times spent with Dobbi. Then there is the arguments with Lauren, after she'd finished eating Lukes face of course, the looong waits for Taxi's in the freezing cold, the hilarious banter between friends who, although they may not have seen each other for a long time, act like brothers, like they see each other every day, nothing different, nothing wierd, everything just right.

Whether its the freezing cold conditions at football, or the drunken sweats round town. Wether its the almost fights or almost kisses. Whether its the brilliant dance moves or the awesome amount of alcohol. Whether its the days sat in front of the TV, or the nights sat on FIFA. These are the times we will never forget, these are the times that are there to stay with us forever. Although moments in our lives stand out, landmarks; first kisses, marriages, births and deaths. I always think you will never forget the most important things, the times spent during our mis-guided youth, time that people will tell us we wasted on booze, time we wasted watching the t.v, time that could have been spent reading books, working or getting 'life experiences'. Adults will tell us this all the time, as we grow up they will remind us time and again that we just are not making the most of the time we've got, of the opportunities we have been given and the life we are supposed the be living......

I say screw that;

- The time we waste drinking, boozing, getting lashed is time we are spending getting to know the people we are closest to that much more. When we are drinking we are doing things i never thought we would do, chatting to heavy weight boxers, gambling and winning, pulling out incredible dance moves on the dancefloors of the clubs around the world, playing tonsil tennis with individuals you wouldnt look twice at, or wouldnt look twice at you if they were sober, and having amazingly fun times. These times are very important to our 'life experiences', these times are helping us 'grow up' and these times are what we will cherish in years to come, when we, as the adults are now (and yes, oh yes theyare jealous) too old to enjoy.

- The time we waste watching television, films, on the intenet, playing video games and not 'making the most of our youth'... well these my friends are the times where we are learning about the world, keeping up to date with current affairs, being in touch with trends and fashion and keeping in contact with the world around us. This is where we do our learning, this is where we thrive, where we grow as people. We keep connected with the people and the world around us and we do it in a way we enjoy.... here is a newsflash for all the esteemed adult readers... The broadsheet is dead!

- Many people my age don't read books anymore, not because there isn't an appeal, if anything they really haven't tried, but the reason for that? Well it's because you forced them upon us from a young age. Yes the many of us do read, i love to read, and even more to write, but many teenagers, young adults and even mums and dads, just do not find the time to read anymore because they think it bores them, and i'm afriad teachers, parents, tutors, *in a whisper* thats your fault!

So when we grow up, (if i ever do :-/ ), when we shake off the youth in us, the energy that keeps us buzzing, keeps us athletic, keeps us ready and raring to go, when that light finally burns out, well promise me one thing.... You won't forget the times you had, those drunken nights you spent with your closest mates at the time, who you may have grown apart from, and keep in mind some very important things;

- Never let the kid inside you die
- Never let anyone tell you, "you're too old for that"
- Never believe for one second that you mispent your childhood messing around and playing up, because no matter how successful you become, however hot your partner is, or how cute your children are, the friends you have when you're 20, the alcohol you consume on nights out, the scuffles you get into, the tv and films you watch and the football you play when you are a teenager, its those times that define your life, those people, those friends make you the man or woman you are going to become, and the life you will lead, the paths you will follow will be a direct result of that amazing night you spent laughing, drinking and merrily singing until the wee hours of the morning.

And that is why i will be heading back to Spain with my head held high, with fond memories in mind, and wide open eyes, read for anything thrown my way in the next 6 months. I promise to make the most of every opportunity, both educational and recreational (no not drugs) i am given and above all, i will make sure i make the most of every moment i get to spend with my friends.

So here's to the coming 6 months, to adventures across Spain, to birthdays and turning 21 :( (unlucky Matty you have to turn 22!!! old git), to becoming fluent in Spanish, for each blog still to come, to the booze i will drink, the tumbles i will take, and to getting back up again, be it after a hard tackle, a drunken fall, or just out of bed on an early morning, because its the rest of the day that makes getting up early so worth while. Matty, Sarah, Katie, Ash, Kate, Kellie, Mike, Sam, Geoff, Maisie, Bee, Max, Tash if i see you and every other person who makes this year abroad so special, brace yourselves, getting your gladrags ready, your drinking arms rested, your brains warmed up, your football boots polished and your happiness prepped because in a mere 4 days I, Mathew Clarke, son of Will, blogger-extraordinaire ;) and humble servant to my loyal audience shall be back on Spanish soil, back in Cadiz and back to the Spanish sunshine, blue skies, happiness and frolics, and back to make the next 6 months, very, very special :)

Happy Blogging

A New Year, A New Start?

Afternoon Bloggers,

So 2010 is long gone and we have stepped into 2011, into a new decade, with new experiences and adventures just lined up waiting to catch us by surprise. And so like a new  Scorcese release i await in anticipation for the thrills that are to come!

Christmas was spent catching up with friends and family back in good old Donny. Football and lots of drinking with the likes of Chris, Evans, Simon, Mellor, Callum, Luke, Dobbi and Mazza, combined with seeing family that i haven't seen in over 3 months and of course Sunday and Christmas dinners meant that Christmas time was a couple of weeks i would never forget.

Then of course came New Years Eve, spent with Chris and the Parentals in London. New Years Eve in Westminster under Big Ben's booming chimes and in a great position to see the Fireworks from the London Eye. After being asked to have a photo with by a quite attractive and equally drunk senorita and dancing the night away to Radio 1's music being blasted out across Westminster bridge it was time for the Chimes as we saw in 2011 with some of the best fireworks i have seen since the Millenium at Epcot. The rest of the weekend was spent browsing shops and eating our way through cuisine from across the world around London's Westfield shopping centre, Oxford and Regent's street in the freezing English winter.

But with only a maximum of 12 days left in the UK depending on when i finally book my flights back to Cadiz, and also only 16 days, 15 really as its like night-time already, until i reach the top of the mountain, the brow of the hill, the beginning of the end, my 21st birthday, everything becomes clearly in perspective!

What is most important in the festive season? It is traditional ti gives thanks at Christmas and then at New Year set your goals and targets for the next 12 months of your life..... But what do my next 12 months involve?

The next 12 months of my life and the lives of many people around me could very well end up being the most important 12 months of our lives. The 12 motnhs in the run up to New Year 2012 could very well define the rest of our lives; Turning 21, The last 6 months of our Cadiz adventure, Summer 2011 doing whatever we chose to do; be it Work Experience, Travelling, Festivals, or just plain ol Chillaxing, Then the first Semester of Final Year at Uni; Organising Interviews and Filling out Job Applications.... one slight problem.... What the hell do i want to do?!?! Do i want to do a Masters, do i want to work in Advertising, Become a Sports Agent, Travel, or Crack on with Writing; be i Journalism, Writing novels, or Screenplays.... Well guys your guess is as good as mine!!

One thing i do know is, for the time being anyway, i am taking things one day at a time, tackling problems as they come and taking the great times with the god awful ones! So for now i will enjoy the last weeks i have in England with the Lads, Look both ion anticipation and dread at turning 21, and leave planning my future for another day, because after all, I'm having a hell of a time right now!

What am i thankful for?

For my brilliant friends, both here, at Newcastle and in Spain.

For my Family, my incredible family who make even the worst of times easy to cope with.

For my life, the opportunities i have been given and the decisions i have made that have got me to this point.

What do i hope for?

I hope to make the most of the 6 months i have left in Spain and get fluent at last.

I hope Matty no longer looks like a boiled egg by the time i get back to Cadiz.

I hope Kike managed to make their christmas long distance realtionship work (even the mere half an hour is long distance compared to the meer metre they were maximum apart during the past 2 or so months)

I hope to finally gain inspiration and realise what i want to do with the rest of my life

I hope to god Newcastle stay up!!

And most of all I hope that all my Family and Freinds, wherever they may be have had a fabulous Festive season and also have a terrific 2011.

I'm afraid that is all for now folks, my Christmas may not have seemed exciting, (I did make a fool out of myself with a drunken FB email to a certain someone, get rather drunk around both Donny and Devizes, play a powerful perfoirmace in my return to football in Donny, and above all have a great time with my family and friends), but to me it was everything i wished for, a perfect end to a perfect 2010, a 2010 topped with too many highlights to mention, including Fame, Cadiz, London, Devizes, Granada, Sevilla, among lots, lots and lots more, i made so many amazing new friends, meeting the most amazing of people along the way, and now i look forward to an exceptional 2011, so enjoy yourselves guys, make the most of every opportunity sent your way, and hey, look on the bright side.... Winter is nearly over!!!

Happy Blogging :)