A couple of weeks ago, I spent the weekend in London and decided to come up with a list of three questions to ask a variety of strangers. It was a scary experience that didn't get any easier, but was also a lot less difficult than I expected. Although some were a bit tentative, no one I asked said no, barre a Policeman who apologised for saying no because he would have had to check with Media Relations. For the remaining 99% of respondents, I asked them to look how they felt, took their picture and then asked them the questions.
Ricky
Ricky was a bartender at the comedy gig I went to. He is studying Creative Direction and Fashion at the London College of Fashion, makes alternative hip-hop music in his spare time and released his 2nd EP the day after the interview. He hadn't had a good day.
"I wish I’d just fucked off and vanished.”
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at least once in their lives, what would it be?
“Stand on stage in front of people because I feel like you don’t know yourself until you’ve done that. I feel like you don’t know how you’re gonna respond to it until you’ve done it.”
What is something you've been meaning to try or do, but haven't got around to it?
“Bit of a hard question when I’ve just finished work... Go travelling! I would love to go travelling. I was going to go to India, like, when I was much younger, yeah yeah, with my mate. He ended up going and I didn’t go cos I couldn’t afford it at the time, but I wish I’d just fucked off and vanished.”
What do you wish you could experience again for the first time?
“Bread. I love the texture of bread, I’d love to try that again.” It then took me a moment to understood what had been said when some other guy working added his answer: “Mayonnaise in the bath?” I guess the comedy club didn't feed their staff enough.
Harman and Tamar
Harman is an aspiring Comedian (Twitter handle: @comedypreet) who was in the front row at the comedy gig I went to and was talked to by the host. After I spoke to Ricky, I wandered to the pub across the road and chatted to him and Tamar.
"Your kid turns around to you and he’s 15-16 and he says that he wants to be a Senior Associate[...]
Man’s going up for adoption."
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at one point in their lives, what would it be?
“Whatever they want. You know how people talk about having people who put them down, or haters? People want you to not go for whatever they didn’t have the balls to go for. I know people who want to be an actor and I’m like, you do that! [P]eople would kill to have my desk job; I get decent money and stuff, but bruv, I’m not satisfied. [W]hen you’re 15-16, when you’re growing up, that’s not the thing you want to do[...] Your kid turns around to you and he’s 15-16 and he says that he wants to be a Senior Associate – you are fucked. Man’s going up for adoption, whatever. And it’s the same thing no matter what."
What is something you've been meaning to try or do, but haven't got around to it?
“Learning another language because it’s another way of being yourself, like you’ve got another personality[...] You’ve got yourself and then you have another way of communicating with other people, you have another way of portraying yourself[...] But I wish I put more time into doing it at least, definitely, more time 100%. Because you’ve got 24 hours in the day, 8 hours doing work, 8 hours sleeping and the other 8 hours learning.”
“I do most things, I’m quite a hedonistic person… Falling in love! Falling in mutual love, that would be my answer to that. No need to expand on that.”
What do you wish you could experience again for the first time?
“I don’t know about first time, but what I wish to experience is a sense of freedom, I feel like nobody experiences freedom anymore[...] Say everybody was able to get paid, let’s say £100,000 per year, yeah, £100,000 per year to do what THEY love, ANYTHING that they love, [...] they’ve got a good standard of living, they’re experiencing life. That, I think, would be a true sense of freedom. Whereas now you’ve got fucking 20-30 year olds who aren’t experiencing that because they’ve invested in a career [which means that] they can’t do whatever the fuck they want to do!
“Mine’s a bit more like, honestly, I would appreciate trying to relive being like, a trainee, like a real beginner in any arena because when you start as a trainee/beginner, you take in ALL the information, ALL the knowledge, all the basics, and from that is where you begin to learn! [I]f I was to go back and do this again with another field, another industry, it would be like, ge-, it would be perfect, it would be genius, it would be perfect. I would do it again, definitely. To be a trainee in another field.”
Joshua
A Jamaican guy who I saw sat outside the bus stop smoking a cig. He turned out to be my bus driver and is apparently 47 years old. I still don't believe that he's in his 40s.
"I would love to fly a plane.
Never got around to doing that.”
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at one point in their lives, what would it be?
“Love each other. It is one life. We should all live as one and only love can bring the world together. Only love.”
What is something you've been meaning to try or do, but haven't got around to it?
“Fly a plane. Like a full plane. Ever from the youth, I would love to fly a plane. Never got around to doing that.”
What do you wish you could experience again for the first time?
“Youth. With the knowledge I have now, if I could experience it again, I would be a different man. Maybe I get to fly the plane then. You naa I mean? But yeah, youth, I’d love to experience youth again. Cos I’m a big man now and I’m 47 years old. To experience youth again would just be amazing. What is it you’d do differently? Maybe, taking more education, definitely. Education is knowledge, it’s key.”
Eddie (and friends)
Part of a Ghanaian group called Fanti Acrobats International performing on the South Bank. He’s the guy in the middle of the picture.
"...focus and do what you want to
do and be happy in your life.”
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at one point in their lives, what would it be?
“Everybody should be nice to everyone.”
“Okay. This is similar, but what I would say is that love your neighbour as yourself. What you don’t want me to do to you, don’t do it to me. We need to be justice to each other. You understand? If you have that in your mind, if you have that love in your mind, you never hate your brother.” “There will be peace.”
What is something you've been meaning to try or do, but haven't got around to it?
“We all regret one thing at a point. A point we regret in our lives before, which we need... we wish we could renew it, but it’s already passed. We can’t go back to do it again. You just focus what’s in your head, what’s in your mind, in your heart and then concentrate and do it[...] Everybody want to be happy, so regardless whatever happened, whatever will happen. Just, either good or bad, when it’s bad it’s a lesson, when it’s good it’s a lesson. Do you understand? You always learn. Focus your mind and learn, and focus and do what you want to do and be happy in your life.”
What do you wish you could experience again for the first time?
“To start afresh, so that I can do… the things which I regretted, I wouldn’t do it again. The bad or the things which I regretted, I wouldn’t repeat it again. You understand? So, I wish, I was very little, so that I will be *inaudible*, they will feed me and then they will take me to sunny places, interesting places, and I enjoy it. But now, I’m old enough to take care of myself and look after my family. So, regardless, I have just accepted the way I am now and move on because that wish, you cannot get it again.”
Matt
At South Bank skate park, sitting down and on his phone. He then started speaking on his phone and I waited ages for him to hang up because I wasn't brave enough to grab anyone who was skating.
"Everyone’s staring at their
fucking phones, not looking
where they’re going."
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at one point in their lives, what would it be?
“Get rid of their phones. Everyone’s staring at their fucking phones, not looking where they’re going. I know I can’t talk, I’ve got two phones, but… It’s funny you know, I’m complaining about phones and I’m on my phone.”
What is something you've been meaning to try or do, but haven't got around to it?
“Yeah, uh, beat the shit out of my old boss. I’m just at the point where… He hacked our Facebook. Yeah… long story. I probably shouldn’t say this…”
What do you wish you could experience again for the first time?
“Fucking my ex-girlfriend again cos she’s well hot.”
Claudia und Tanya
Two German tourists at St. Paul’s Cathedral. They were discussing in German whether they should answer my questions, not realising that I'm half German. But it's okay, I thought they were speaking Danish initially...
"Backpacking alone.”
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at one point in their lives, what would it be?
“I’d say travel. I’d say you should go travel.”
“I think also, like, it’s good to see many places in the world.”
What is something you've been meaning to try or do, but haven't got around to it?
“Yes. Swimming with sharks. Where would you do that? I think in Tunisia or Africa.”
“I guess I would say like, backpacking in New Zealand, or like, somewhere East in the world. Backpacking alone.”
What do you wish you could experience again for the first time?
“I think two things, is that okay? First, my tenth grade because like, my school was awesome, I loved my class, I think the tenth grade and my exchange year in America.”
Linda
Traveller from New York who was sat next to me in a restaurant. She was nervous about the picture, but I managed to convince her.
"I’m on my way."
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at one point in their lives, what would it be?
“To quit their job. If they don’t work for themselves, to work for themselves.”
What is something you've been meaning to try or do, but haven't got around to it?
“Travelling to better places. I’m on my way… I don’t know, learn Spanish better, I guess.”
What do you wish you could experience again for the first time?
“College. It was called UTE Austin, it’s pretty fun. Be a beginner in all the subjects and just learn a lot.”
Dalian
Dalian and Fabian - it was fate. I met him in the bar where there was a free gig happening and then spent the whole evening together. He lives up in Cambridge and works at a uni there, just not the proper one.
"Just let people be themselves.”
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at one point in their lives, what would it be?
“Not to criticise other people[...] Just let people be themselves.”
What is something you've been meaning to try or do, but haven't got around to it?
“Go see my family in Barbados – because I’ve only just got a passport. Literally last Monday. Haven’t yet got around to going to seeing them… yeah, it’s one of those. Especially cos it’s fucking expensive though. It’s over a grand for a return, it’s a hefty fee.”
What do you wish you could experience again for the first time?
*Instant response* “First time with Holly, my girlfriend. So, I’ve never had like a one-night stand or anything, but like, I mean we, we kind of, like, from the first date, kind of, hit things off. It happened the first date kind-of-thing and it was just like, yeah it was an experience so - big one. So…"
Kate
Kate is an Australian nurse that was staying in the bunk above me. Being a nurse sounds like both the most amazing and most terrible job a person could do. They're incredible.
"...when you’re a kid, everybody is
always checking on you and as
you get older, like, you have to start being the person that checks on them..."
If you could convince everyone in the world to do one thing at one point in their lives, what would it be?
“I think like, just, like, complete one act of kindness and expect nothing in return from somebody else. Because I think it sets a precedence. Like, if you tell people to just do stuff and not expect anything back, then it like creates - it’s a ripple effect as well. So you do something nice to somebody and expect nothing in return and then they go on and do something else nice to somebody, it just improves everyone’s mood. So like, you may think you’ve only improved one person’s day, but you could’ve in effect affected 100 people’s days, because that person’s then gone on to have a better day at work and all those people that have interacted with that one person have had a better day for that reason. Ripple effect.”
What is something you've been meaning to try or do, but haven't got around to it?
“Call my grandparents, like visit my grandparents, yeah. They live in Sydney, so it’s like, umm, it’s only like an hour and a half flight. Well, my grandpa lives in Melbourne, but it’s… Like I know I should do it, but it’s a matter of taking time off work and making the time and creating the funds[...] I think I’m gonna regret not making more of an effort when they die, you know[...] I think I’m at that age where you transition from being the child to being the adult. Like, when you’re a kid everybody is always checking on you and as you get older, like, you have to start being the person that checks on them because they’re getting older and you’re gonna have to be there for them, which is a hard lesson to learn at 25. It’s not a lesson, it’s just like a life transition, like, you might understand.”
What do you wish you could experience again for the first time?
“I mean like it would be lovely to have a youth again with all of the knowledge you have now, but I’m not sure I’d make anything – I would not - I don’t think I would do anything differently anyway. Probably I would! I think I’d like, like, going to my first music festival again. Cos I think, like music is such a big part of my life. I mean, music festivals are obviously a coming together of like-minded people. And I think your first one is always ‘oh my gooood, this is insane!’”
Thank you for reading all of that! I guess by the very fact that you're reading this sentence, you found this just as fascinating as I did. I loved hearing how different people interpreted the same questions in different ways and the thing that I got most from this was to be brave enough to experience as much as possible. Just go for it.
Happy voluntravelling,
The Voluntraveller