Has there ever been a person, be it in your life or in popular culture, that you have looked at as a bit of a hero? I know I'm not the only person who has found different people that inspires them throughout their life, but I have noticed that this changes in accordance with whatever place in my life I'm at. It must be part of human nature, surely, identifying qualities in those you admire and wishing in part that you possessed those too?
Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not necessarily talking about physical qualities. I know I’m not the only one that has scrolled themselves into a pit of self loathing on Instagram, unwillingly admitting that I wish my appearance were different. But that’s a separate issue altogether. I’m also not referring to physical attraction either. I’m talking about the kind of admiration where you feel a connection to a person, be it through their music, writing, speeches they make or whatever work they do that brought them on to your radar in the first place. Where you have a respect for them as a result of the part of themselves that they put out there. The kind of admiration that comes from hearing a person’s words and feeling like you have the power to do anything if you set your mind to it.
I generally tend to find this kind of admiration through music, although there are a number or writers who I also have the greatest respect for. I’ve also found that since Twitter managed to creep its way into my life, there are those people that I have found an even greater love for as a result of the way they express themselves online. There is something particularly pleasant in finding out that not only do you enjoy the thing they create, but that they also share the same opinions and values as you do. There is one particular writer, Matt Haig, who I began to follow on Twitter not long after I finished reading a book of his which my uncle had recommended (The Humans, if you're wondering). I remember being filled with the biggest sense of optimism that I had felt in a long time upon turning that final page, and I just wanted to find out more about him. I wasn’t disappointed and his voice is one of reason, one I can always rely on to spread some sense amongst the stream of ridiculousness that Twitter can sometimes be.
With music, however, I’m the kind of person that listens to the lyrics of songs. To me, the lyrics of a song are the part that bridges the connection between myself and the music. I like to hear the words and decipher the meaning behind them. I also find myself being caught up by them, especially with a band or musician that I have a particular love for. The lyrics catch hold of me and I cling on, I enjoy feeling the way I do when I hear them. There’s a band that I was introduced to when I was around fourteen. They had not long released their debut album and I was completely taken in by them. I felt like they really captured real life in their lyrics, addressing issues that real people face on a day to day basis. At that age I remember spending any computer time at school searching for a website that hadn’t been blocked that would play their videos to me. But seeing them live was a different experience altogether. I was fourteen the first time I saw them and now, ten years on, I think I can safely say that they were one of the best live bands that I have ever seen.
The band itself actually split up just before reaching a decade since their debut. I was genuinely a little bit heartbroken, and the final time I saw them play live as a whole I cried. They were followed by so much passion and so much love, and that was echoed right back by them. Especially by the lead singer. Throughout the time I had followed the band I had always had so much respect for him. His passion, opinions and lyrics always had me convinced that he was a really genuine guy and I was sad thinking that I would never get to experience feeling a part of that again.
Long story short, that wasn’t the end. After attending a solo anniversary show, I contacted him on the off chance he would help me out with a surprise for my Dad who had introduced me to them in the first place. It was a long shot, but I sent him a letter. It was ridiculously long, and handwritten (the printer was inkless) and I didn’t even expect him to receive it. But he did, he replied and was every bit as nice as I thought he would be.
In November I got to meet him. He didn’t have to; it was pure kindness. All I really wanted to do was show him that I was grateful for the influence that he and his bandmates had had on my life. In return he completely exceeded my expectations.
One of the best parts? He complimented me on my writing. One of the people whose writing (albeit songwriting) I admire, complimented me. Doesn’t get better than that, does it?
