{"id":7732,"date":"2020-06-06T14:14:27","date_gmt":"2020-06-06T13:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7732"},"modified":"2020-06-06T14:14:57","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T13:14:57","slug":"twenty-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7732","title":{"rendered":"Twenty Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLAY HARD, WORK HARD <\/strong><\/p>\n

Twenty Years <\/strong><\/p>\n

2020 has been bizarre. From wildfires destroying much of Australia\u2019s landscape, to floods which devastated much of South Wales to these unprecedented times \u2013 all within a handful of months.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s impossible to forget the pain and suffering so many have unfortunately had to face this year alone, with barely five months under our belts.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t help, however, but contemplate the last twenty years of my life and hope for better days ahead. As dramatic as it seems, I think we\u2019d all like for this year to be done with.<\/p>\n

Twenty years ago, the world was celebrating a new Millennium. The world entered the twenty-first century, and within ten years, leapt to heights not many could predict.<\/p>\n

I was born in May of 2000. Which means I\u2019ll be twenty this month. But what a weird twenty years of life to have lived. Countless events shocking the world, to now, living through a global pandemic.<\/p>\n

People my age have seen so much, and yet our lives are barely even beginning yet. We\u2019ve seen war and terror attacks on our screens; we\u2019ve seen political upheaval (and countless arguments over such upheaval); we\u2019ve seen technological advancements so vast it\u2019s often seen as surprising that I lived through a period of life where I didn\u2019t have an iPhone.<\/p>\n

Twenty years is a long time \u2013 but it\u2019s also not<\/em>. Not really. My life is only now really beginning, but I still don\u2019t have many life experiences. Twenty seems so old, but also so young all in one go.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago. I was announced as the new Editor in Chief of my university\u2019s newspaper. And yet in that same week I was hoping my Mam could ring the doctor for me. It seems so mind-boggling to me that I am gaining these opportunities to advance my career, but I still feel like a child.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an expectation that by twenty years old you should have your life in order. That being in University or having a job or a family should mean that you\u2019re an adult. But it doesn\u2019t feel that way, really.<\/p>\n

It feels a little as though I\u2019m playing House. I know what I\u2019m doing when it comes to Uni and the newspaper, but then, somehow, I still feel as though everything else is a big guessing game.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve seen so much change in twenty years. Enough change that my ancestors would likely feel my twenty years was more than three lifetimes. Twenty years which feel like centuries, but also like no time at all.<\/p>\n

I mean this generally of course \u2013 my lifetime is only so different to that of any other twenty-year-old. But\u00a0these past twenty years have been rough<\/em>, no?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all bad, of course. Although we\u2019ve had some terrible times, we\u2019ve had some advancements, too.<\/p>\n

Opinions are evolving, and acceptance is more readily available. It would be na\u00efve of me to say there is no evil in the world, or that prejudice is non-existent; but it is possible to say that the world has changed for the better and more people are having open discussions and checking their own prejudices.<\/p>\n

Hard topics are being discussed, and topics such as women\u2019s rights and reproductive health; mental health; racial stereotyping; gender norms; LGBTQIA+ rights, and the mental wellbeing of men are reaching new audiences.<\/p>\n

Twenty years ago, it seems unlikely a popular television programme on a big American network, such as \u2018Brooklyn Nine-Nine<\/em>\u2019, would have such open discussion about sexuality, racial prejudice, sexual harassment and even male mental health. The show takes place in a New York police department \u2013 an unlikely background for such open discussions to be had twenty years ago.<\/p>\n

Twenty years ago, the world was a different place. It\u2019s not the first time this has been the case, and it won\u2019t be the last. But it has been remarkable to see. The world still isn\u2019t a great place, but by some means it\u2019s a better place than it was twenty years ago.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know what the next twenty years may bring. I don\u2019t know whether the world will have bettered itself or deteriorated. Honestly, I don\u2019t know if the world will still be here, given the threat of World War III at the beginning of this year.<\/p>\n

Twenty years is a long time in the grand scheme of things.<\/p>\n

I wonder what the children born in 2020 will have experienced by the time they reach twenty years old<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PLAY HARD, WORK HARD Twenty Years 2020 has been bizarre. From wildfires destroying much of Australia\u2019s landscape, to floods which devastated much of South Wales to these unprecedented times \u2013 all within a handful of months. It\u2019s impossible to forget the pain and suffering so many have unfortunately had to face this year alone, with barely five months under our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[274],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-20I","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15248,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15248","url_meta":{"origin":7732,"position":0},"title":"Travelling \u2018What\u2019s On\u2019","author":"Alan Williams","date":"8th March 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"TRAVELLING \u2018WHAT\u2019S ON\u2019 Twenty years ago we invited readers of the magazine to take their copy of What\u2019s On on holidays with them and take a picture of it in its new surroundings. We wish to try the event once again. Please provide a picture with at least a brief\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture14a.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture14a.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture14a.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture14a.png?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture14a.png?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":193,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=193","url_meta":{"origin":7732,"position":1},"title":"Village Whist","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Twenty one players managed to play a full 24 hands, which is no mean feat! First lady was Jenny, second came Gwynne. First gent was Terry, with John second. Due to holiday commitments of all experienced in leading the whist drive, August whist is unfortunately cancelled this year. We will\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10628,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=10628","url_meta":{"origin":7732,"position":2},"title":"Waking Up in a Greek Monastery","author":"Alan Williams","date":"19th November 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"o WORKING IN THE GARDEN OF THE MOTHER OF GOD I am fast asleep when a strange noise wakes me, checking my watch it is 3 am and very dark. I am in a Greek monastery overlooking the Aegean Sea, which laps at the walls one hundred feet beneath my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Monastery.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10742,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=10742","url_meta":{"origin":7732,"position":3},"title":"The Advent Wreath And Candles","author":"Alan Williams","date":"13th December 2021","format":false,"excerpt":". THE ADVENT WREATH AND CANDLES The Advent wreath first appeared in Germany in 1839. A Lutheran minister working at a mission for children created a wreath out of the wheel of a cart. He placed twenty small red candles and four large white candles inside the ring. The red\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/advent-wreath.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8564,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8564","url_meta":{"origin":7732,"position":4},"title":"A Deadly Game Of Catch","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st November 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A Deadly Game Of Catch It was about three o\u2019clock on a chilly morning and I was sitting in some bushes at the corner of a paddy field looking across into China from the Hong Kong side. The border was defined by a tall metal fence with razor wire at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reader's Travel Tales"","block_context":{"text":"Reader's Travel Tales","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=125"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/HongKong.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/HongKong.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/HongKong.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5151,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=5151","url_meta":{"origin":7732,"position":5},"title":"The Ivy Bee","author":"Alan Williams","date":"21st December 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Spotted in early October on some ivy growing near the Village Shop was this bee, the Ivy Bee - our first record in the parish although it has probably been around for a while. Amazingly this bee was new to Science in 1993 and first recorded in Britain in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7732"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7732"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7733,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7732\/revisions\/7733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}