This one goes out to all the wannabes out there...
I, for one, am currently doing my utmost to blend in with the locals here in Spain. This is no mean feat, as despite my best efforts, my frequent butchering of the language and quite blatant lack of natural 'latin' attitude soon become painstakingly apparent. Which serves to render me all the more flustered and I this commit even more crimes against the Spanish tongue. (Mierda.)
Yet all is not lost, as fortunately there are still those who will take pity on a bumbling Brit and relish the chance either to practice whatever English they've picked up along the way or at the very least give zealous correction of the many linguistic errors made.
The ultimate triumph for me, however, did not come in sophisticated conversation with a handsome stranger (alas!), nor bantering with the locals in the bar, nor even in finally achieving the blissful art of the siesta, but in being able to understand and be understood by a three-year-old (well, for the most part anyway). The awesome ramblings of a Spanish toddler - or one of any other nationality, as it happens - are difficult enough to comprehend with a language in common. So imagine my delight when I found that I had substantially mastered this second language to follow (again, most of) his chatter, and thus try to answer his inspired questions - with a lack of response on my part hereby indicating the difficulty of providing an adequate answer to a child's inquisition rather than linguistic fault for once.
I would therefore like to impress upon you, dear reader, that should there be something you'd like to do, somewhere you'd like to go, or more importantly, someone you'd like to be, and you have the opportunity to put it into practice, then go for it! Take that chance, try your hardest, and enjoy it while you do. If it's within the realms of your human capability (and is not harmful to others) then you should make every effort to realise your dreams, for, as they say, life doesn't have a dress rehearsal... This is it. Feel it, believe it, love it, eat it, think it, see it, be it, do it while you can. And take a few moments each day to enjoy what you're feeling, believing, loving, eating, thinking, seeing, being, doing, as who knows if or when it'll happen that way again! It's all very well and good planning for the future or reflecting on the past, but if we spend all our minutes thus occupied we'll forget to actually live life itself... Once again, I find myself coming back to repeat my mantra, but here it is anyway: carpe diem. Be yourself, as nobody else will do it for you. (Unless your name is Elvis Presley, in which case I think there are a few people who'd like to have a word...) Go out and live your life the way you'd like to live it, and make the most of what you've got and what comes your way. Work hard, play hard, live hard. And don't forget to smile!
