21 years and counting...

Bliiiiiiimey, I haven't blogged for aaaaaages. I was provoked into blogging because on Monday, it was my 21^st birthday. It got me thinking about my past 21 years and what the future has in store. I had two birthday celebrations (OK, three if you count the meal I'm going to today). My first was with my friends in Southampton, going out to the pub for a drink (or several) on Saturday night. As I looked around, I realised that a lot of my best friends that I'd made over my last two and a half years in Southampton (including my gorgeous girlfriend) were all sitting around one table. I also realised that I'd actually only made friends with them over the last one and a half years. Look, there they all are, aren't they lovely.

I really feel that, perhaps by coincidence, as I've approached by 21^st birthday, my life has entered a different stage. I'm the happiest I've ever been really. I have a small but loving immediate family, a group of friends who are wonderfully supportive and fun to be around (all in their different ways), a girlfriend who I think the world of, despite the fact that we haven't been going out that long yet and even my degree is going OK. What more could I really want?? Having had a few ups and downs in my life, things are finally where I want them to be and I hope that they'll continue like that for a while to come yet.

I suppose that leads me onto thinking about the future. At the end of the next academic year, me and some of my friends will be graduating from university and entering the real world. I have a vague plan of what I want to do but I think it's very much subject to change and at the moment that actually doesn't bother me at all. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking, what's happened to the moody, cynical Andy that we knew and loved. Weeeeeeeeell, he's still there, I can still be moody and cynical at times but my outlook on life is a lot brighter these days and I think I'm a lot more balanced out than I used to be. So I'm quite happy to raise a glass and toast my first 21 years and look forward to the future.

I got some lovely presents this year as well. I got lots of little presents from Jess which all meant something, especially my stuffed dog whom I have named Rowdy. Jess also came down for the weekend just for my birthday which was actually one of the best presents I could have been given. She also brought me chocolate fudge (what more could I ask for??). A set of oil pastels from Alex will help me complete the artwork I'm currently working on and perhaps encourage me to do more in the future. Mel also got me lots of little things including an album that I can put all the lovely pictures of my 21st in. My family got me lots of things saying about my 21st birthday, alcohol and chocolates (some of which you can see above) which was nice. So a big thank you to everyone who gave/sent me gifts, cards, texts and facebook messages. You really made my special day that bit more special :-)