Even when I was younger, I thought this and the awe it inspires remains.
That feeling of taking a seat in the dark, clutching popcorn and a cold overly sugary drink – then letting yourself fall into the hands of a director as you step into the world, they’ve crafted in a production is unmatched. Yes, sometimes you may leave a little confused and/or disappointed (as is the case more and more often these days!) but that initial spark of excitement still remains regardless of the outcome.
As an adult in particular, I like that I have a reason to switch off my phone and dive into another world – even if it’s momentary. No distractions in view – just you and the film.
But. But. But.
WHEN DID CINEMAS START GETTING SO EXPENSIVE?? 😭
Going to a cinema in South London to watch The Colour Purple earlier this year, I was dumbstruck at how much I had to fork out. Between my friend and I, we paid £60.00 overall – half spent on the tickets and the other was the total expense for food. The price almost made me sick. It’s interesting this has become the case, considering that cinema, in my mind anyway, has always been a cheap form of entertainment for the masses.
And I’m aware many cinemas had a very tough time during the pandemic, so I wonder if this inflated pricing will compensate for this loss and slowly build back their status. Yet, it sucks they have to do this at the customer’s expense. These days even if it’s a film I know I would enjoy, I have to question if I really want to splash the money to do so. Or am I happy to wait a year before it’s shown on TV, or wait a few months until it inevitably hits streaming platforms?
This ranting post was inspired by me looking online recently at tickets to watch a film and being quoted nearly £20.00. Keep in mind if you buy snacks (sometimes sneaking them in doesn’t work!) you’re looking at spending around (£10 -12 more.) As you suspect – I looked at the price, blinked, and then closed the tab again.
Looks like the cinema won’t be seeing me for a while then.
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Are you a cinema lover? What was the last thing you saw?
I guess for me personally I still feel like my 18-year-old self at times. To explain that further, when I turned 19 I felt no different than I felt when I was 18; this feeling happened pretty much every birthday until next thing you know – BAM, you’re in your 20s. Yes, you’re technically an adult and everyone is treating you as such but your mind is still in the teenage zone and not ready to adjust. The only way I can describe the feeling is like when as a child you were prematurely pushed down the playground slide before you felt ready; usually by an impatient child crouching behind you. The things that make being an adult hard can’t really be pinpointed or reduced to one thing so I’ve placed five I’ve thought of below. I can guarantee you there is more than five but since I’m writing a blog post and not a book, five it is.
1. Fending for yourself.
Love makes the world go around and so does money – and you start to understand that more as you grow. The inadequacies of the education system coupled with traditional financial institutions leave one very confused adult. Three areas to master are; spending -making wise purchases, budgeting – looking for opportunities to help you spend less and saving – putting money aside for a certain goal or future rainy day. Key to mastering these areas in self control – something we can have in droves and at other times not have at all. It’s especially hard when your#’re about to purchase an item on a website’s check out and have to ponder the question ‘do I really need this?‘ – trust me, I’ve been there way too often!
To avoid your mind scrambling I recommend getting a ‘money manual’ a go-to guide explaining some finance basics that you can keep in reach on the shelf; mine is Money: A User’s Guide by Laura Whateley.
Especially when you’ve never had a full-time job before – the world of work can be quite confusing to navigate. From job applications and interviews to steering through office politics, difficult colleagues and performance anxiety on the job – it can all be very daunting. I remember reading my first payslip and thinking ‘what does this evening mean?!’ On top of that, there are the indirect things linked to work like figuring out your ‘personal brand’ and networking which aren’t exactly necessary but are advised. These are things no-one properly talks about in-depth, or they expect you to get used to such concepts very quickly. The truth is, that it can definitely take some time – and a lot of googling!
3. Balancing Self-care with other’s needs
This is one of the never-ending tightropes we have to walk in life. I’ve written in the past about listening to others and how caring for others is linked to our self-care; this is because as a Christian I believe that loving others as much as you love/care for yourself is very important.
That being said, don’t lose yourself in the process. Seek to help others but do so whilst being rooted in an unshakable sense of self-worth. One way this might manifest itself is by you demanding your time be respected; yes, you’re giving it freely but that doesn’t mean you should be taken for a fool. Additionally, find those that will pour into you when you feel your most down – there’s nothing better than receiving some TLC from close friends when you’re at your lowest. Because yes, it takes a village to raise a child but it also takes village to keep an adult sane!
4. You need to figure out who the hell YOU are
Adulthood undeniably forces you to face the question of personal identity upfront. What are your passions? What makes you tick? What are some life long goals of yours?
Some people may find that their childhood has helped them to answer these questions very clearly. But for what I expect is the majority, it takes a lot of trial and error experiences to properly know these things. Passions and goals have a habit of even changing over time which is why you may meet people in their 40s or 50s who still may not know what they want to do with their lives.
For me, my identity journey has involved embracing what it means to be black, a woman and a person of faith. Society talks very loudly – all it takes is a 30 minute scroll through Twitter to feel like my brain is going to scramble from subconsiocusly absorbing eeryone’s thoughts! Making it a daily point to take a step back and look upwards instead of outwards or inwards is important.
5. Confrontation becomes unavoidable
When I was younger my mum would happily march to my school when she thought anything or one was getting in the way of me having a positive educational experience – i.e incidents of bullying.
Adulthood still has its bullies – they have similar traits but just look different. They’re often people with little regard for others, who have unchecked previlege and are in a position of authority in some form. Although my mum is very much around, I know she can’t fight my battles for me anymore – I have to confront problematic people head on. The need for necessary confrontation will likely psotively correlate with age as you realise the growing importance of accountability and proper communication. It cna make all the difference if you are able to say – whether to a partner or manager etc – ‘You doing [x] makes me highly uncomfortable so please stop’.
I’mby no means a master of confrontation so envy those that are. One thing I do know is that it has to be done with tact – there’s a right place, time and way to do things so it is worth covering these bases before jumping on the confrontation train!
TheArtofChatter 