27 Club

Originally, I was going to write about the 27 Club and how I am now 27 and how there are so many people who are, unfortunately, a member of the club. I will still title this post that because I think it sounds cool. I turned 27 years old today. It feels weird saying that. It feels weird writing that. I am closer to 30 than I am to 20. I remember seven years ago when I was hanging out with friends, and us all realising that I was now in my 20s and how strange that felt. It still feels kind of strange. Most of the time, I don’t feel any different to how I felt when I started college. That was eight years ago, in two days.

I don’t want you, lovely reader, to think I feel ancient today and that my best years are behind me. I don’t think that. I am a student of stocism. I have been since the start of 2020. It is one of the only things I can thank the pandemic for. There is a concept in stoicism that most people may have heard before: memento mori. In English, it translates to “remember you will die”. I know, a very cheery concept.

There are many concepts within stoicism, such as Amor Fati, Premeditatio Malorum and Sympatheia. This isn’t a crash course on stoicism. I will stop there. If you are interested, look up Ryan Holiday. That’s your best starting point. Stoicism changed the way I think, and I thank it for that.

Now back to the other depressing stuff. There are many members of the 27 Club who people will know. Kurt Cobain tragically died in 1994. Jimi Hendrix tragically died in 1970. But, for me, there is a member of the 27 Club who always has a special place in my heart. Amy Winehouse tragically died in 2011. She would have been 39 today. Yes. Today. We share the same birthday. The fact that she reached the age that I am now and didn’t last a year is heartbreaking to me. She was exactly 12 years older than me.

Today, I am going to celebrate my birthday with Amy in mind.

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day.