My writing has sometimes been critiqued as being blinkered, naive and idealistic. I’d argue with all but one of those charges; the idealistic part. My life was not, as many would imagine, a sheltered one. From a young age, I travelled a lot, met a lot of people, and saw far uglier things than I care to dwell upon. All this resulted in my growing up early, and having what I consider to be a fairly good understanding of human nature.

I’ve always believed the beauty of any art form is its ability to move you, to make you feel. That’s what gives it value, in my opinion. Which is why I often write about love and friendship. I think I write about the world not the way it is, but the way I would like it to be. The way I think it can be. I look for the best in people and try to reach out to it.

Cynicism is easy. It’s easy to write off something, it’s easy to see the worst in someone. Perhaps because the thought of believing in something, only to be let down is too scary for us. Far too often,we assume the worst because we’d rather say, “I told you so”. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t think that’s any way to live. Do you really want to spend your whole life maintaining the lowest of expectations?

I’m not an idiot, I don’t think the world is all flowers and rainbows, but I do believe in the inherent goodness of humanity. I believe that if we hold ourselves and others to a higher standard, we might be surprised by how many rise up to the challenge. Try to have a little faith, look on the bright side... It’s pretty nice!