One minute you’re spending your days eating 2-minute noodles out of one of the three bowls that you have in your flat, the next you’re being asked to consider what the future holds.
And though one should be constantly asking what the future holds, as is life, it certainly feels a lot more pressing than it once did for myself and the other couple of thousands who trotted onstage a few weeks ago to shake hands with the new chancellor.
The beauty of being young is that you’re idealistic beyond all faults.
Any system can be changed with the power of mind, and there are constantly evolving ways to change the state of the world.
In my columns I have been a chief example of this, advocating for solutions which err on the side of hopefulness rather than reality.
It’s not to say any of these things wouldn’t happen but they would require a few things to go really really right.
I think it’s important to have this space for idealism in our society.
Yet it’s impossible to say what getting a job will do to the noble value, for me and thousands of others.
The ostensible reality is that having a job seems to require an out-in-out sacrifice of this idealism.
For one to get into positions of power which would allow for real change to be made, you’ve detached yourself so far from your roots that you no longer have any inclination as to what you would want changed.
I always wonder why politicians seem so completely lost for ideas.
Perhaps this is it, they have lost what they originally had.
Maybe they have lost their purpose which only the far-flung idealism of youth can bestow.
What worries me more is that how my life, and the lives of many others, will change over the coming months will have a direct impact on my beliefs.
If you are consistently acting in a way which contradicts your beliefs, something has to eventually give to make the two consistent.
I’m worried that, in a world where it can be so tempting to take the easy road, my own values will fall in line with the way I’m acting, rather than my actions falling in line with my values.
If this is the case, which I propose that it is for so many.
Knowing this, it seems that this next period of my life will be more important to the formation of my identity than any other.
I have had an opportunity to shape a set of values and beliefs within the turmoil, are they really about to be scrapped in favour of the future?
Maybe this is all a bit melodramatic for your liking, but I think it’s important to consider idealism in a time of such sincere cynicism for the future.
On another note, it’s gutting to see Rhythm and Alps have lost their testing stations.
Surely, the second biggest music festival in the country around the New Years period is deserving of at least some protection for their attendees.
It is my first year not going to Rhythm and Alps after three years of attendance and I can’t say I’ll be upset to miss it.
Last year they put in place a system wherein you were not allowed into the tenting zone if you didn’t have a tenting ticket.
Though I will admit there was a certain rush in trying to bypass security with a confident strut and by half-turning your wrist band over in attempts to fool them, it completely divided our group of friends who had planned to spend the night together.
It makes sense to have a system such as this in place, but at 3pm, no-one has the intention of sneaking into the tenting zone to sleep.
In the sheer chaos that are music festivals, people need a tent site to return to in order to re-group, get some water (or more drinks) and generally clear their heads.
Anyway, the reality is that having music festivals is a lot safer than not having them, but these two features rub me the wrong way completely.
I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and will enjoy the New Year.
I for one started my Christmas day finishing up this column, so hopefully the rest of the day will be somewhat more relaxing. Have a good one team.
• Hugh Askerud is a local and student at the University of Otago, majoring in politics and religious studies.
