Today I turn 8 years old.
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| The Transition |
You’re probably thinking that you’ve heard of people joking about being 21 again, or knocking a couple of years off their real age, but 8 years old? Who would want to be 8 years old again? Well, I do.
On the 29th of March, 2010 I hit the reset button on my life. That afternoon I went from being a healthy, never been in hospital, never even broken a bone, highly strung business creative to an “I don’t give a #$%^&, I just want to live” cancer survivor. Sure, that kind of realisation doesn’t quite happen over night, but getting told you have a highly aggressive cancer by your doctor, who himself is tearing up just sharing the news, can be quite the eye opener.
While everyone says “life is short”, it’s a very harsh realisation when you find out how true that statement actually is. And once you do come to that realisation, your whole personality and perspective of what’s important changes.
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| Live, Love, Life |
I’ve seen many people go through this change due to various life altering experiences – whether they’re accidents or illness – and from the inside it feels like someone switched on the light that allows you to see “why am I here”. But from the outside, to the many friends and family around us, sadly it often looks selfish and wreckless.
Anyway, before I get too deep, this is what I consider to be the re-birth. While I would not wish a cancer diagnosis on my worst enemy, it was the catalist that turned me into a totally different person. I am no longer highly strung, stressed, and worried about everyone else, I am now cool, calm, and more interested in seeing what the world has to offer.
So happy 8th birthday to me.