School-me vs now-me

I bumped into someone in the year ahead of me at school last week. He didn’t recognise me, but I recognised him straightaway. He was pretty tall and distinctive, and his features hadn’t changed so much at all. I’m not sure mine have, either. In any case, it’s been more than fifteen years(!) since I left secondary school. I think back to the version of myself then compared to who I am now. It’s interesting how easily we can put ourselves in self-limiting boxes. During my school years I thought I was “academic”, but never “sporty” and not “creative” either. I’ll be honest, I’m still not entirely sure what that word “academic” means. And I’m convinced that those stereotypical school cliques can be pretty unhelpful. Ironically, I love my sports these days as well as - of course - my creative pursuits. I wonder where on earth I had that idea put into my head. I think my sensitivity got in the way of my enjoying sports at school (especially secondary, where rugby was the main sport). Both my sportiness and creativity are things I’ve grown into as an adult. It’s amazing how our environments and our conditioning can so starkly affect who we think we are and what we think we can be. Someone close to me recently shared a poem they had written, alongside the following words: “All this time, I didn’t realise how creative I was… I can’t believe I thought that. I am bursting *bursting* with creativity.” I think each of us possesses all the potential in the world. School-me was exactly who I am today, I just hadn’t let me leaves unfurl and express themselves as yet. That creativity is right there with us, all of the time. We simply need to let ourselves access and express it. // 7th February, 2023 —