My feeling is that writing is, for me, a pathological condition. That could sound like a mystical experience, and it may be a mystical experience, but I have learnt just to go with it.
What I've learnt is to be in the now. It's something my mum has always said to me, and when I read a book called 'The Power of Now' by Eckhart Tolle, I realised just how important it is.
Sadly, I've learnt that prejudice still exists in parts of the entertainment industry - I did an interview with a magazine once, and the journalist quite openly said they wouldn't put a black person on the front cover because the magazine wouldn't sell.
While I was playing football in the U.S., I learnt to play the guitar, and I'm picking it up again now.
Oh! Most miserable wretch that I am! Why have I not learnt how to swim?
I've learnt so much over time and with the experience that I've gained. You can't please everyone.
I've learnt so much from playing football: I love football, and that's what I do. I enjoy myself, and I'm just trying to be happy.
I grew up thinking that it's okay to be sad, angry, and express your emotions. I have also banged doors and fought, as I have seen my mom do that when she would fight with my dad. Everything that I've learnt is from them, so I've never struggled to express myself.
From the beginning, I've had to juggle and weigh the silly things people say - and I've learnt that they're meaningless, and they're mostly inaccurate. So I don't worry about it, because there's nothin' for me to deal with.
I can say the one good thing is for every year where I grow up, I am kinder to myself, and I would say to the younger version of me, 'I love my body, and I have learnt to stop looking in the mirror at the things I want to change.'
