As I sit here at the ripe old age of 22, having just bought my first ever domain name and set up my first blog, I am faced with the joyous task of actually putting a post up and getting it going. I have many ideas for topics I wish to discuss in the future, but I feel it fitting to commence by briefly introducing myself to any potential readers and outlining my reasons for starting this up. So here goes….

My name is Joel and I was born and raised in North West London. I have recently finished an Integrated Master’s degree at the University of Warwick. I am now back in the capital finally starting life in the big wide world after the years of education that for so long felt like an endless dark tunnel.

Especially as a relative introvert, something I really, really don’t like is that ice-breaker activity where you have to go round in the circle and everyone has to give an interesting fact about themselves. Although I understand the logic and motivation behind it and ironically, have used it myself when I have been an organiser, I dislike how you feel under pressure to come up with something brilliant. Fortunately I have accumulated several examples to save me now. Namely, I have played the trumpet in front of the Queen, I have hitchhiked from Coventry to Berlin, I have organised a mass participation Guinness World record attempt, I have run the London Marathon, I have done an internship in China, I have walked on fire and I have cycled from London to Paris. Most of these will be the inspiration behind future posts. Hobby-wise, I am a keen long distance runner, a former musician, an appreciator of the arts and a lover of travelling and adventure….. There – I hope you found that a lot more juicy than a full life story!

In terms of my motivation for starting a blog, well… I am still in that in between phase after university, trying to properly work things out. I am currently tutoring maths, while exploring a wide range of possibilities for the future. I have always loved writing and even have the aspiration of writing full-length novels. Sadly, the education path I chose drove me away from it for several years. Finally free from the enslavement of studying, I am able to get started again. A blog will be a great way of getting into it. As someone who finds it a lot easier to express themselves in writing than in words, it will also be an effective method of sharing my thoughts with both my friends, family and network, and the wider online community.

So there you have it, me in a very small nut shell. I hope over time, my accumulated posts will be able to portray me much more broadly. For now however, many thanks for reading folks and see you next time.