100!?

“I don’t believe in being serious about anything. I think life is too serious to be taken seriously.” – Ray Bradbury

100. Triple figures. This is my 100th article! One of the reasons I got into writing was because I had so many opinions on things, and there were some issues that I thought just weren’t getting the attention they deserved. So why not write about them?

And I love writing. It’s nice to have ideas and put them down on paper. And I’d like to think I’ve grown. I’ve changed: my opinions have altered, my interests have shifted. And it’s been quite a journey. I remember when I was excited to get to double figures; it was such a big deal for me.
And somewhere between frantically trying to come up with a topic to write about and equally frantically trying to find the perfect quote to open with, I wasn’t sure I’d reach triple figures.
If anything, this feels more like a Chanderpaul Test century than a T20 century – it’s been a slow but hopefully steady journey, rather than the glitzy T20 half-second ride to a century.
And this milestone also coincides with another milestone – last Friday I wrote my last ever CAPE exam! And most importantly, it means that I’ve just written my last ever exam as a student of Queen’s College! We’re at the beginning of the end. High school is wrapping up. There’re just the final rites of passage to get out of the way – like graduation.
But exams have been such a massive part of what school’s been about, so for us to have written our last ever high-school exam – it’s a big deal. Some of us celebrated the end of exams with a movie at the ‘Princess’.
But it still hasn’t sunken in that we’re free. It still feels like I need to pick up my ‘Bio’ book and learn about neurones and synapses. I’m not quite sure when I’ll fully realise that it’s all over. It’s a bit like the end of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ when they destroy Sauron and everyone is all battle-scarred and worn out and Sam says, “Yes Mr Frodo. It’s over now.” Except I don’t have a loyal Hobbit tagging along with me everywhere I go.
But otherwise, it feels exactly like we’re at that scene. Working through some of those math problems was equivalent to clambering into a volcano and defeating super-sized spiders. Identical, actually.
But we’ve finished one chapter in our lives and we have this nice little “August” interlude before we have to begin the next chapter. I guess this is the time we’ll use to rest and recuperate before we go to war again in September. And I can get back to cooking.
But it’s been an interesting two years. Getting used to going to the same school but with so many of the people that were always there since First Form not returning for Sixth Form, and with so many students from other schools coming in. Getting used to a Sixth Form System where we’re told going in that we’ll be expected to do 80 per cent of the work on our own, with the remaining 20 per cent being covered in school. It all gave me some new perspectives on things and as with most experiences, they helped me to grow a little bit more.
And then of course, there’s been the experience of writing this column every week. It’s been wonderfully fun. So I’d like to say thank you to all of my readers. Thank you for not skipping my article and just reading the new ‘Ripley’s Believe it or not’.
Thank you for taking the time to read the things I have to say.