I got off the train in Highbridge, Somerset in the closing days of the summer of '95. The only material things I had were what I was wearing, a double wrapped bin liner full of clothes and a full size VHS video camera (don't ask) - that was it.
I was unemployed. On benefits. I'd spend my nights watching telly, first getting up at midday. Then watching more telly.
One time, walking down the high street of the seaside resort of Weston-Super-Mare, I kicked an empty coke can that lay on the pavement, but I had no-one to kick it back to me. This memory is burnt vividly into my brain.
No friends. No local family. I was alone, disorientated, in a place that wasn't home.
Although Somerset was now 'home', it sure didn't feel like it. I was an uncomfortable outsider.
Opportunity can be traced back to the most innocuous of decisions. This was the starting point of this new road I now walk, the new life I now live.
We all have to start somewhere. Yet starting can seem daunting, because where you want to be is often so far away. But start you must. So forget for a second about the destination.
Where is the first step towards your new start?
Try to recall any seemingly throwaway memories that refuse to shift from your brain, like my kicking of the can.
Within each of these, you'll find there's a lesson that has been waiting for you.Grab a pen and piece of paper and go mining, to see if you can find the reason why your memory won't let that thing go, and discover the lesson from it.
It really can help to go back to understand why those memories have stuck with you and how this formative stuff moulds and forges us. And uncovering lessons from all of your experiences can give you a better base to work from to make better decisions next time around.
Don't get so busy that you ignore how important socialising is, even if it is online.
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