25 and Over
What have I achieved, am I doing well for a man my age, am I happy?
I remember when I turned 21 I had these similar thoughts, I had conversations with family members who would always tell me. “Once you get to 21 the time flies” and that has proven correct now that it is four years later, having felt as if a few months have passed.
I recently had a conversation with some friends about relationships where I made a passing comment that I want my partner to be my “peace” one of my friends then came back with a comment saying that I need to be my peace, this opened my mind to thinking about a lot. My mental health is something I have always found important, so things like these that challenge me to think about how I am treating myself is important to me. It brings me back to the questions I ask myself as I turn 25, What have I achieved, am I a good person, am I happy?
At The start of each New Year, my Mum and I write down some goals that we want to complete for the year, in the note I wrote.
- Continue recovery from a liver transplant.
- Do things that are out of my comfort zone, challenge and build confidence
- Find a stable job or career that will allow me to pay bills and enjoy my lifestyle
- Visit somewhere I have never visited
- Manifest first Radio show
All of these goals were manageable but also quite difficult in a sense. I had already spent most of the previous year recovering from the Liver Transplant I was feeling good physically and mentally, but it was still important for me to take it easy.
I wanted to take the opportunity to build my confidence, I am naturally a quiet reserved person but I wanted to make a change and do things that would make me feel uncomfortable so that I would feel challenged. I was able to do lots where I felt uncomfortable, going on holiday with a group of new people where I knew only one person, signing up to group sessions and having to present, and DJinng live in front of a group of people. Normally I would take a back seat in these kinds of settings but I made sure to push myself to be more vocal and take lead.
Growing up is hard work, it comes with the challenges of figuring out what you will enjoy doing for work and also what is going to pay your bills and put food on the table. I have been fortunate because I have been able to try different careers paths before finding out that what I want to do is give back to the community and work with young people. There is so much in this type of work that excites me. Not only is it challenging, but it is also very rewarding! When you spend days, weeks, sometimes months working with a young person and you get to see first hand the change or impact you have on that young person life, it motivates me to continue working and making changes for other young people.
With the travel restrictions, I was able to travel to Lanzarote at the end of the year and it was a break that was truly needed, I met a group of people that were lovely and had conversations that I wasn't used to but opened my mind.
On the 14 March 2021, I had my first radio set on RunDemCrew radio which is an online radio station, this was a big achievement for me as I had been practising mixing and wanted to have some recognition from someone who was in the industry. I had sent my Soundcloud mixes to the owner of the radio and he felt I was good enough to allow me to have a show on the station.
I ask the question “Am I a good person.” As I try to live my life in a way that reflects how I have been taught and learnt from the environment I have lived in. I continually see bad things going on in the world and although I know it is impossible to please everyone I want to be the difference that can make someone's day positive, whether thee interaction small or big I hope that if a person thinks of me they think of a moment that I had a positive impact on them.
Am I happy? Yes, No? Sometimes? The answer to this question changes all the time. But what I am finding important is to make sure that I am in control of my happiness. It's okay when I am upset or feeling low in mood, but I don’t want to rely on other people to give me my happiness. I am learning to do things that I enjoy doing, that help me get to the mood I want to be in.
Love & Guidance
Keiran x
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