Today I've mainly been feeling old.
I lived in Cardiff for five years as a student and one of the things I loved about the city was the shops, pubs, bars, clubs - well in all honest all of it! In between lectures in the engineering buildings on Newport Road I would sneak out and wander into town. When I got home of an evening I'd wander the streets of studentville to see what they was to see and do. I never worried about the crowdeness or dirtiness of it in fact I relished in it!
Today I went to Cardiff with my parents and whilst there I met up with Claire. We wandered those same city streets but instead of loving it I felt disappointed in the unswept streets of student land. We got into the city centre - I hated the overcrowdedness of it.
Has Cardiff really changed that much though? Admittedly it has seen its popularity sore due to the Millenium stadium and various other new attractions opening there. However, at the end of the day it is very much the same city that I left and the only thing that has truly changed is me.
When I left Cardiff I was a 21 year old convinced that I could single handedly change the world. I've now been out in the world for seven years and I've realised that however, hard I try I am not going to make a huge impact on the place!
I am not disappointed in this - in fact far from it. I have a job and girlfriend I love and neither of those were the case when I was in Cardiff. I even can say I like myself and to me that means far more than feeling part of those mean city streets.
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