Meh

In Commentary, HOME, LIFE by Sam Prance

Sometimes life is shit. Sometimes life is great. And fairly often life is meh.
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I’m not sure when it was I first came to terms with meh. Having considered myself some sort of rainbow unicorn bestowed upon this earth to share my glitter with all those who inhabit it – the prospect of meh at first seemed somewhat mutually exclusive to my character. Glitter doesn’t go with meh. In fact nothing really goes with meh at all.

And yet every now and then meh comes upon us all. At least I think it does – us writers tend to make a habit of generalising things which aren’t necessarily true at all. If meh never hits you – go you. You are a rainbow unicorn bestowed upon this earth. Spread your love and happiness to those around you and continue to be fabulous.

Regardless of whether meh is endemic though – it exists. It could be a first-world problem derived from being exposed to so much that we become not only desensitised to culture but to life itself or it could just be some naff innate human trait bestowed upon us at birth. Whatever it is though – it infects all it touches with its drab indifference and is a general shitpot come to think of it.

Meh is unproductive. Meh is irritable. Meh is bloody dull.

Meh is the feeling you get when nothing you wear feels right. Meh is the feeling you get when you’re trying to think of an example to describe the word meh and nothing comes to you at all. Meh is the feeling you get when you contemplate the meaning of life and you wonder for a little too long whether there isn’t a meaning to our existence at all – pretentious twats in the corner say ‘I’. I.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, however – meh can be cured.

Sometimes all you need to do is see a certain someone to stop feeling meh. Bryan – bless you. Sometimes all you need to do is have a spin of Beyoncé’s secret album and the world changes from meh to sparkle in a mere moment. Beyoncé – bless you. And sometimes all you need to do is get off your arse and do something interesting or different. Self motivation – bless you.

One of the main reasons I decided to open up PTL to everyone and anyone who wanted to write for it is because I was feeling a bit meh. Talking about yourself and your own opinions can get rather dull if you do it for too long but getting other people to talk about their lives, cultural interests and viewpoints is not only interesting but inspiring. It leads you to new experiences and calls on you to consider things you may have never considered before.

These past few months PTL has covered topics from cheerleading to being the daughter of a famous writer and marathon training to transgender life. It’s covered a lot and, in the process, it’s inspired me.

Hopefully PTL inspires you too in some way. And hopefully it stops you from feeling a little bit meh also. Unfortunately, as I write this, PTL is going to be taking a hiatus these next few weeks. Nothing too exciting sadly – most of us PTL Editors have exams to be getting on with. Fun, fun, fun. However, in the mean time – try not to feel too meh. Engage with culture, have a bit of a dance, go skinny-dipping if you’re in the mood.

skinny-dip-1200Some great bums.

We will still be sharing things we like on the Facebook page (procrastinating) and getting ready for our comeback (with a new look) in June – but for now that’s us. So go forth be fabulous – looks like the rainbow unicorn is back. And if you fancy writing or know someone who might want to write something for Prancing Through LIFE – please drop us an email on prancingthroughlife.live.com. We want to share your whatever it is you have to say with the world (wide web).

As always, thank you for reading. We’ve had 40,000 views so far this year, which is not too shabby. Your comments and general acknowledgment of the site bring us PTL Editors happiness on a daily basis. We’re quite easy to please really. Even if you write ‘well that was bollocks’ – your engagement with the site means everything. In fact, if you do actually happen to enjoy the site and fancy spreading the word/inviting people to like the Facebook page – that would be much appreciated…plugging.

I’d also like to take this moment to thank all of you who’ve contributed to PTL so far this year – without you, the site would be nothing. In particular to the Editors: Hannah Beer, Charlotte Dawnay, Figgy Guyver, Beci Moss, Eloise Hendy, Hannah Oliver, Nolwenn Davies and Nick Cordingly. You guys are well and truly ***Flawless.

Now, as per usual I’ve rambled on far too long. Unlike Rose in the Titanic who says I’ll never let you go Jack and then does – what a plonker – I clearly struggle to let go. And this isn’t life or death – this is just a couple of weeks without PTL. A couple of weeks away from the journalistic sphere. Okay Sam – shut up now. Go tweet about the season finale of Scandal and listen to some Madonna…

Love and glitter,

Sam

xoxo

P.S. The word ‘meh’ apparently first came into the English language via The Simpsons. If you’re feeling a bit meh and in need of some inspiration The Simpsons is probably quite a good place to start.

Sam Prance is the Editor of Prancing Through LIFE. He studies French and Italian at the University of Edinburgh. His favourite novel is Cloud Atlas and he has Madonna marathons on a regular basis. He is currently writing this auto-bio in the third person. He will now stop writing this third person auto-bio in order to save himself some embarrassment.

If you’re interested in getting involved with PTL – drop us an email on prancingthroughlife@live.com.

(Images sourced from: www.google.com)