LotusJadeThorn

Hey Deviants, remember me? Probably not, I was never really 'known' in the first place. Still, here I am. Or am I? To be or not to be, that's a stupid question. Stupid questions get stupid answers, so in that trail of thought, no, I am certainly not back.

But I also kinda am.

For anyone who can check a pulse, or rather, anyone that manages to see this and also happens to remember me and my writing, my photography... hey. Sardonic comments and dry tone aside, I have missed you. The to and fro, the back and forth, the community support that makes dA special... I missed it.

SO what have I been doing? Hell I think I might open up here.

Well, I was last active (like actually active) on dA when I was in sixth form, or high school. I was 18 when I left my small, market town and went to university in a city called Bristol, which is in the south west of England. Bristol is a very historic place in the UK, having been a significant porttown back in the day, and for its role in the Trans-Atlantic trade (yep, slave trade).

As such, Bristol is a multi-cultural city, with a strong Jamaican community (St Paul's Carnival is fucking awesommmme), and further immigration and settling has bestowed the city with a strong Somalian presence as well. Basically, Bristol is your London of the West! That's not me chatting shit, it's true. Saying that, Bristol isn't the utopian society it's sometimes made out to be.

Bristol suffers deep divisions and while some look at Bristol and go, "hmm, there are pockets of communities everywhere! Something for everyone!"

Others go, "man, Bristol is as segragated as ever." And they wouldn't necessarily be wrong. The wealth discrepancies between neighbourhoods is palpable, and what you might call gentrification ~ is definitely going on. Bristol City Council and the locals of so-called Bohemian neighbourhoods are not on the same page.

And that's a pretty skimmed-over picture of current issues in Bristol!

Aside from that, other cultural/historical merits of Bristol include the SS Great Britain and Brunel, that famous Victorian engineer that propelled (heh puns) Britain to the forefront of ingenuinity in its sunny, rosy colonial hayday... and also its thriving creative sector and music scene!

Yep, lots of good music in Bristol. Raves, gigs, open mics, dancehall, house, reggae nights. And there's craft beer! And Castle Park! And St Andrew's Park for a smoke! Gloucester Road! Stokes Croft! HYPED.

I would say... that Bristol is epitimised in its recent story with the statue of Mr Colston being removed, and a BLM statue of a young Black girl (installed by a London artist) replaced it, only to be taken down by the Council a few days later. C o n t r o v e r s y!

Oh yeah, and some Gammon fascists tried to save the Colston statue from the river. That was funny.

So yeah I was in Bristol for a bit (3 years). I studied my degree in English Language and Linguistics, and pleased to report I graduated 2 years ago First class! Yep, sailing straight into victory, success, the burgeoning wealth and wonders!

Wrong.

What I did do was go to Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, to study my MA in the same subject, because I'm a n3rd.

That was fun.

But no, seriously, and sounding less like a dickhead, I've pretty much spent the last four years studying. I did work around my studies, I worked as an exam invigilator, a youth leader at an English-learning summer school (or camp, US readers, if any), and a research assistant at Cardiff!

I've had many great (and not so great, ahh relationships...) experiences. It's been full-on, and quite frankly I just didn't write very much over this period of time. I certainly was not practicing the craft as it were. I did write some poetry and lyrics on the fly, as a sort of emotional outlet (oh yeah, mental health problems), but nothing of real merit.

Until my MA, when I wrote a story about social media and mental health, and I was shortlisted for the Benjamin Franklin Literary Prize 2019! Oh yeah, back in the game. Just recently I was also shortlisted to feature in Here Comes Everyone, a literary magazine based in Coventry, on their Green issue. I wrote a story set in an imagined dystopia, an eco-fascist society.

Have I given away my Marxist sympathies yet.

So, I have been gathering strength (haha) and the creative motor is up and running again. The truth is, I've spent 4 years dedicated to academia (I love Linguistics), and I have spent a long time honing my academic writing, and all-round research ability.

This time two years ago I was considering a PhD. I still am to be honest, for future note. Yeah no I am actually a nerd.

But when I came to finishing my MA, I truly didn't know what to study for PhD, I felt rushed by the application process, and I was actually getting tired of studying (gasp!) Yeah no I was. I just wanted to work for a bit, get professional experience, earn money and not be broke anymore. Pretty much.

So I worked in a hotel for a while because honestly I couldn't find anything better, and stuff happened. I won't go there, maybe it'll crop up in a story sometimes, because p r o c e s s i n g. Lmao.

But I did get a real job! I am a real boy! I got a job as a Case Administrator for a global assistance company based in the States, and it was going well. Until Covid. We were sent home from the office and I, a humble admin on the nights team, was faced with 48 hours a week on nights in my bedroom. And I fucking did it because I'm-- dunno, broke?

I did it for six months and I resigned as of yesterday.

So here I am.

I don't know why I felt the need to give you an exposition of the city of Bristol, and not Cardiff. Hey, I'm not Google, I don't owe you things, I just chat bare shit. And that's it, my friends. This is where I am at, truly. If nothing has come of reading this, at least you got a privy into my stream of consciousness.

Sorry for the verbal diarrhoea.

That's a nice image isn't it.

Edit: Also, I really need to change my damn username.