This is Christopher McCandless, a 24 year old college graduate who left behind everything in order to fulfil his romanticised view of how to live life. However 112 days after he walked ‘into the wild’ hunters found his decomposed body in the ‘Magic 142’ bus where he had set up camp.
He believed “so many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in the reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure.” McCandless is often criticised as being ignorant, ill prepared and idealistic when it came to the realities of life in the Alaskan wilderness. However having just finished reading his story I find it hard to side with this view of Chris. I, in a way, admire his determination to break the stereotype society has given us and live as he sees right. It obviously takes a lot to leave and live off the land, as nature intended. I am about to watch the film adaptation of his story and hope it does him justice. Only downside is that Kristen Stewart is in it and I’m not her biggest fan. Hope she acts a whole lot better than she does in Twilight, just sayin.
‘There’s something about home towns that you never can escape, the triumphs and the tragedies, the tawdry little fates, the welling of nostalgia, the feeling kind of strange, because despite the little changes, yea this place still feels the same.’
I could not relate to these lyrics more at the moment.
I’ve been a massive Frank Turner fan for years now and have listened to each new album with an open mind and am yet to be disappointed. He is, in my opinion, one of the best modern day lyricists going. I first listened to his newest album yesterday as it’s being streamed here and my love for it grew through each listen. It differs in its style in comparison to his previous work but is amazing none the less.
Come August Frank will be the artist I have seen live the most as I get to see him twice in the next few months! 7th July - Whitley Bay Playhouse 26th August - Leeds Festival
Although I am a strong believer of the saying ‘don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time’, having read the declaration of Thomas Silverstein who faces life imprisonment (in a US prison therefore life actually meaning life) for killing an officer has changed my perspective of the prison service. He has spent a gruelling 28 years in solitary confinement, with no human contact, no natural light and limited space. He writes ‘not a single one of the thousands of days I have been here has gone by where I have not regretted the actions that brought me here’ and ‘it is not only because of my confinement that I feel this regret. I feel this way because I know what I did was wrong. I have become a person who recognizes and respects the value of the life of another.’
Throughout his 28 years he has received some of the worst prison conditions experienced by any inmate in history. During his time he has not affiliated with any prison gangs, portrayed violent behaviour or ever been anything but rule abiding, however his conditions have never changed.
I do believe that if you take a life of another, your life also should be taken of you, however not to this extent. The conditions Silverstein faces are inhumane and primitive. The aim of the prison service is not to inflict torture upon its inmates but is a place where prisoners are to be treated and examined in order for them to face the consequence of their actions.
For the past few months now I have been looking into the prison service and have been researching the requirements needed to join. After I complete my degree my plan is to take a year out to travel the world with my best friend, to see the places I have always wanted to, as I may never again get this opportunity. After this gap year I am strongly considering a career within the prison service as this is available to me through my current degree course and the joint course I may have the opportunity to change to in my second year of university.
