On 31st December 1998 I met a guy called Macey from the year above me at school. I go on to talk about Macey for 116 of the 365 days of 1999. If I heard he was going out, I would go out, I would sit at home imagining he would call my landline, despite him not having my phone number, I learnt his lesson plan and knew that when I walked along the school path between my Psychology and Art classes I would pass him. Every time I would prepare myself to look up, lock eye contact and smile, it’s a simple concept, it makes you look more attractive, but, every time I would fail.
Macey plays a big role in this story, but this is really all about a 17 year old who wants to be noticed, I wanted people to call me pretty, I wanted people to describe me as fun, I wanted people to recognise how hard I worked, I wanted to be rewarded with the role of house captain for my sporting achievements, I wanted to be patted on the back for organising a charity fashion show, and embarrassingly I wanted people to notice my family's wealth.
As I’m 17 I am lazy and use the word ‘cos’ instead of ‘because,’ my writing is quite chaotic and I am also very unaware of my white privilege. I was brought up in a white middle class area, a bubble of security. I’m ashamed to say I thought it was normal to live in a semi detached house, to have annual family holidays, to never have to think about where the next meal was coming from. When I went to university I began to understand that this was not the case, but it still took me a good 10 years to really start to unpick this. I’ve learnt from friends I’ve met along the way, I’ve learnt from reading, listening, following activists and I still have a lot to learn.
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Key Characters:
Macey - My school crush
Beth - My best mate
Lily, Holly, Georgie, Ashley, Erica, Susie, Ben - Some of my oldest friends
Polly - A friend at school
Mum, Dad - Family
Annabelle - Macey’s school crush
Kev - Another school crush
Locations:
Wetherspoons Cheadle Hulme
https://www.greatukpubs.co.uk/kings-tap-cheadle-hulme?utm_source=google&utm_medium=local_seo_gmb&utm_content=website
Governors House
https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/cheshire/governors-house/
Zest, Wilmslow
Now closed down
Surrey Institute of Art & Design
https://www.uca.ac.uk/
Bar Med, Manchester
Now closed down
Pizza Express
https://www.pizzaexpress.com/
Renaissance
Now closed down
Cultural References:
UCAS
https://www.ucas.com/
Entertainment References:
Saving Private Ryan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saving_Private_Ryan
Shakespeare In Love
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_in_Love
There’s Something About Mary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There's_Something_About_Mary
Prince, 1999
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_(Prince_album)
S Club 7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_Club_7
Five
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_(group)
Seven
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_(1995_film)
Robbie Williams
https://www.robbiewilliams.com/
White Men Can’t Jump
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Men_Can't_Jump
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
https://open.spotify.com/album/0JwHz5SSvpYWuuCNbtYZoV
Gatecrasher
https://www.gatecrasher.com/
Kylie Minogue
https://www.kylie.com/
Ally McBeal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_McBeal
Now and Then
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_and_Then_(film)
Diary, She Wrote was produced by Liz Beardsell in partnership with Bird Lime Media with original music by Ethan Illingworth