Constance Emilia Lennon was never an optimist.
She wasn't a pessimist either, she just saw life for how it was. She believed that there was always a certain amount of good in people, and a certain amount of bad. Whichever they chose to act upon was their choice, and she believed that their lives would be constructed around that, depending on how they made that choice. So she made her choice, to work as hard as possible, leave school with qualifications, get a job to fund her own life, and apply to every internship and apprenticeship she could to get closer to her dream of becoming a writer. That was how you had to do things in life, that was how the world worked. Maybe she thought that because of her working class background, and growing up working class she saw the people who were humbly grounded in life, surviving to exist without the pretence of progression within society, merely enjoying the life they had, getting by with whatever was to hand. If anything was wanted or needed, it was worked for, it was earned properly and fairly. It was an honest life, and one she admired.
It was a lifestyle that taught her self-reliance, but also how you could count on those around you. Connie was always independent, considering she got her first job the moment she left school in order to pay for her way in the world, but she also knew how to trust those around her, especially her friends. An older cousin, a next door neighbour, a drummer she served a pint to, a boy she met on a bus home from school. An odd mix, but they were her choices of friends, and they were the ones who watched her back whilst she watched theirs.
Except when she moved to London to make her way in the world as a writer, they weren't there anymore. They were off living their own dreams, making music and becoming stars. She'd counted on them for so long, it was jarring to be without them, especially the boy from the bus. Those boys reminded her of everything she thought she knew about life, but the people in London didn't seem to view life in the same way.
There, it all seemed to be about gain, ruthlessly standing on one and other to get to the top, even if you weren't worthy of the outcome of your life. She saw those who were just there because of entitlement, there because someone else other than themselves and their own hard work had paved the way for them. It wasn't like she thought it was, realising that the way she knew the world was looked down on by most, so she had to learn their ways, or at least grow accustomed to them if she wanted to make something of herself.
And she thought she had grown used to the new way she had to live, up until she was reminded of the way the world had once worked in her mind, the reminder being served up by her old friends, now world famous, but still the Liverpool lads she'd grown up with. The reminder of the past brought everything back, who she really was, what really mattered in life, and more importantly, who she loved.
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In My Life - George Harrison/The Beatles
Fanfiction"We grew up together thinking of each other as best friends, but these last few weeks have been like us really getting to know each other, getting to know all the little secrets we kept from each other for so many years" In which Connie Lennon trie...
