Retrospect is a mixed bag. On one hand, laughing at our old slights and misgivings feels great. On the other… it’s a nearly painful experience. I once thought myself experienced enough to give writing advice on this blog. I’ve learned that it was all a front – a way to hide my insecurity and inexperience. My old blog was a joke. I now know what I must do. I must write about who I am. I mustn’t tell other people how to do things because, to be honest, nobody has a clue what they’re doing.
I’m reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah. The book has inspired me to revive this blog in a different way. A much better way. No more writing advice. Just my life as a student, writer, poet, and aspiring editor. Adichie’s book is a brilliant read. I’m reading it for one of my university modules. I’m studying English Literature and Creative Writing at a university in Wales called Aberystwyth.
Quick geography lesson: the UK consists of 4 countries – England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Wales is a country in the United Kingdom. It has its own language and culture. Two weeks ago, I left my hometown in South Wales to attend Aberystwyth University. Aberystwyth is on the western coast of Mid-Wales. Lesson over, back to the post.
University life consumes you. An unsteady balance of studying and socialising, which becomes difficult to maintain as the work rolls in. To stay on top of your work is essentially to keep your head above water. The work is certainly enjoyable… but not all of it is glamorous. Hours spent taking notes and writing. It’s good for me – writing is my passion. But even the most passionate writer gets exhausted from writing this much. Reading is great. But it’s exhausting. Every modicum of energy goes into reading. Student life possesses no concrete definition. It’s the aforementioned balance. The tightrope between studying and socialising. Excessiveness in either category poses a great danger to your life at university. Learning to temper my studies with my social life is no easy endeavour. But it is something that strengthens with experience. And, in the fortnight I’ve lived in Aberystwyth, I’ve gained more insight and experience than my imagination could ever have hoped to conceive.
Partying is an image associated with students… and rightfully so. The bars and pubs and clubs dotted around Aberystwyth – and any other university town/city – are often teeming with students. I don’t drink alcohol. But it seems like everyone else does. So every night out means dancing in a press of drunk partygoers. I am more introverted than extroverted. Introversion isn’t a flaw. I’d prefer it. University life accommodates introverts. Even at parties. Many people are in the same boat as you. Clubbing isn’t my scene. But every once in a while, I love finding myself in a sea of uninhibited students, dancing and singing and laughing. Exhaustion is a fair price to pay for dancing all night. But – as with most writers and artists – I prefer the quieter moments. Peace. Introspection. Creation.
I’m unsure what the point of this blog is. I will share my writing here. But I will also share my experiences. How I see the world. How I wish to see the world. Everyone subscribes to a particular aesthetic. Dark academia is the way of living that I aspire to, and I suppose subsequent blog posts will reflect that.
Dark academia has my heart and soul. I will try and live that way. Just give me some time.
– Iestyn
Iestyn Tudor 
Good luck with your studies and the resurrected blog. Will look forward to your posts.
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