Our next #throwbackthursday blog comes from one of our newest team members, communications manager Harry Loney.
Looking back on 2013
Way back in 2013 or, as I like to call them, the good old days, I had recently moved back to Edinburgh after a decade or so in Leeds. More excitingly, I’d found myself a woman and we’d not long been married. So, 2013 was already off to a good start. I’d begun a new job as a communications officer at Heriot-Watt University. I got to go to Dubai a couple of times through work (which mainly consisted of me diving from shadow to shadow outside because that place is hot for a fair skinned Scot) and I also got involved in communications and marketing for start-ups and entrepreneurs, which would later inspire me to turn freelance myself.
We had a dog called Sprocket (the best dog in the world, by the way) and, back then, it was just the three of us enjoying everything the Scottish capital had to offer. Responsibilities? They were something old people had – I was a young man hungry for success. I was also hungry for chips and if I wanted to leave the house on a whim to buy said chips…that’s exactly what I’d do. We’d also just had Virgin installed in our flat and it came with the mind-blowing ability to pause and rewind live shows. This, I thought, was what life was all about.
What I’ve learnt since
Fast forward ten years and here I sit with a mortgage, two kids and fading memories of the last time I had five minutes to myself. Chips come frozen in bags and going out on the town means a dash to the chemist to pick up some Calpol. I guess all this makes me old, but if that means I can wear slippers without shame and enjoy watching Bluey, I’m cool with it.
If I could somehow impart some wisdom to my 2013 self – perhaps via a floating ghostly head appearing unexpectedly at an inopportune time – it would be this: ‘Chill.’
As simple as that. There’s so much pressure on people these days to follow a route through life that goes a little like: born > school > job > marry > buy house > have kids > retire/die (whichever comes first).
Whilst all of this is fine, and in many ways sensible, it’s stripping the fun away from being alive. Go and see the world, even by doing something as simple as getting on a bus whose destination you don’t know. Don’t worry too much about the career ladder, just enjoy time with your friends and make memories. Do what makes you happy so long as it won’t land you in jail.
I prioritised my family and since joining Sorted in 2022, I’ve been able to continue with this precious work/life balance. Instead of being shut away in an office only seeing my kids asleep at night, I’m here spending time with them and my wife (she’s still my wife!). I’m watching my kids grow and being there for their milestones, all the while still getting to write blogs, articles and documents for a range of interesting clients. This is pretty perfect.
The next 10 years
It’s hard to tell where I’ll be in 2033. By then, the Democratic People’s Republic of Scotland might be wiping the floor with other countries in the World Cup. We could be so rich in oil reserves from the North Sea that we’re bathing in it, and maybe I won’t need a job because the streets will be paved with golden ingots prised from the teeth of non-believers.
Alternatively, I hope to still be writing, as that’s what gives me joy. Perhaps I’ll have written my novel by then. Or it might still languish on my ageing laptop, daring me to type some more words only for my trembling fingers to delete them moments later soaked in tears of regret.
By 2033, it would be nice to be able to sneeze without doing my back in. I’m looking at you, medical researchers. Please prioritise this.
As for the comms world more generally, I think the next ten years will be intriguing. As I type, the rise of ChatGPT and AI means that more and more online writing can be done by machines. It’s not there yet, but machine learning is happening fast and before long it could do a lot of writers out of jobs. Of course, if you want specialised, personalised and creative writing I think we’ve got some time left yet.
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