A Few Realisations

London is very possibly the most amazing city in the world. It has practically everything any tourist or resident could desire and even though it’s right under our noses it’s easy to forget just how brilliant it is.
This evening I went into central London without any plans or an idea of what I was going to do. The two friends that I went with were on the same page. I think we were just satisfied to be in each others company which was helped by the energy surrounding us on a Saturday night in the West End. It made it really enjoyable and one of the most pleasant evenings I have spent with friends in ages. Especially because one of my mates is somebody who I used to be really close with and haven't spent enough time with in the last few months. Plus we also met Monty Panesar the England Cricketer which was pretty cool.
This afternoon I got hold of another person who I haven't seen in a long time. I wanted to just send a casual text to her but I think it’s much more worthwhile to call people up and speak to them properly. Sure, it’s more expensive and more of an effort but a text is just so much colder, uncaring and complacent. This ‘texting culture’ has led to people finding it harder to communicate with one and other. Now you can speak to somebody without really speaking to them at all. It all just seems a bit false and lazy and I certainly fell victim to it. I aim to change that.
That’s the only major downside to London - a real lack of communication. In European cities it’s easy to find a friendly person to chat with and a lot of them even show genuine interest in speaking to you as well as being reassuringly familiar. Speaking to a Londoner is very different. Going up to somebody and just starting a conversation often leads nowhere as people here seem to treat others with suspicion. Obviously not all Londoners are rude or unfriendly but I think it’s generally something that brings down the city.
Today I have learnt that it’s important to positively exploit your surroundings. I underestimated how much I could enjoy going out without a plan and just letting go a bit. I learnt to appreciate London a lot more. I learnt that when you miss the company of a friend, that’s the moment you should get hold of them - it’s not worth risking losing a great mate. And finally I learnt that when you're trying to get hold of said person - you should definitely avoid texting them and ring them instead.
Most importantly, though, I discovered that a mate of mine is a really deep thinker. He’s generally a quiet person but revealed that underneath that he’s just as engulfed in self analysis as the rest of us. I learnt that even those who seem very different to each other are more similar than they may think.