The Art of Becoming Cultivated: An Introduction

"Cela est bien dit, répondit Candide, mais il faut cultiver notre jardin"

Candide, Voltaire

I have to regale you with a recount of this pretty lovely date I had about two months ago. I went along to RU-CO to meet him whilst he was here on holiday. His name was Leopold, 22. With perfect shade of blond hair (composed in such a perfect coiffure he could have made Chuck Bass blush with inadequacy), effortlessly natural tanned skin, and the sort of piercing blue eyes are either contacts or confirmations of the best genetics in the human race. Add to this a perfectly tailored Bottega Veneta suit and it's safe so say i was in love already. I saw him, recognised him from his Grindr picture, and honestly almost swooned there and then

Honestly I was expecting the usual self-absorbed sort of utterly contented helium-head that was the typical result of years of getting away with anything for the simple reason of being that supremely good looking! So i decided to settle for the aethetic pleasure of his company and if anything else came along it would just be an added pleasure. WELL, to say I got the shock of my life is an understatement. Not only was he absolutely lovely to talk to and down to earth, he also proved to be probably one of the most supremely accomplished men i've ever met. And as amazingly sexy as this was (i assure you i wanted to steal his passport and keep him here), I also felt myself becoming unnderved through the dinner,

What Leopold's story basically involved is progressing through high school in the small beautiful town of Spa, Belgium, and coming out at the age of fourteen, and then working on a quiet assertive mission to alter the mindset of the gay stereotype they'd all assumed of him. He trained in a club team for Rugby, which gained him the respect of his peers (a slightly outdated notion for doing it considering it's Belgium but whatever), but also excelled in Ballet and Polo (taking the train each weekend to the Antwerp Polo Club to rent a horse for the afternoon and practice). He then finished high school and went on to the London Business School before now joining a Stock Brokerage firm and now commanding a large office with a secretary. A house in London and one back in Spa. As scary as it is that a 22 year old has accomplished this much already, it's not even those things that surprised me. He told me that while he was studying in London, he was working two jobs and as well as putting himself through higher education, he was finding time to take short courses on the history of art, theatre and opera, continuing ballet classes and learning two languages, in addition to the three he speaks fluently! All of those extra-curriculars have continued through to his current 9-5 job. I am seriously lost for f#*@ing words by this point. The incessant thought persists, could he be lying about it....but it's not possible. He's staying at the Grand Hyatt, is wearing a BV suit, John Lobb brogues and a Vacheron Constantin masterpiece of a watch. As well as that, he can easily tell me everything about language, travel, every detail of those sports, as well as his favourite sopranos and explaining his love for ballet. It's obvious that he's intelligent and seriously accomplished.

Let's do a quick run through in case i'm losing you:

22 year old guy

-European insanely hot piece

-Plays Polo and Rugby

-Trains in the Ballet

-Plays the Piano and the Saxophone

-Languages

• English

• French

• German

• Arabic (currently studying)

• Russian (currently studying)

-Often attends the opera,

-Finished High School and Uni with a successful job as a Stock Broker.

- Two homes

-Still finds time for gym and a social life

20 year old Matthew

-I'm not going to even try and compare here, it'll be utterly pathetic

So it's not even the job success or material possesions he's accumulated so young that i'm focusing on, not really anyway. What I'm shocked about is the possibility that he can juggle it all, and then also that he's fit in so many different categories just for self-improvement, to genuinely just enhance his life.

This is something i've been wondering for quite a few years, more frequently since that date though: how exactly am I meant to cultivate myself in today's society?! I also know that i didn't feel up to par that evening in comparison, There just seem to be so many different avenues that need years and years of immersion for one to be truly considered cultivated. This includes but isn't limited to, Music, Literature, Film, Theatre, Travel, Languages, Hobbies, Sports, Strength of Conversation, and probably hundreds more that haven't even occured to me yet. Basically I feel like this thought process has spurred on my want to become a cultivated being and all-rounder, taking it from desire to actual action. It's the decision i've made that will take effect in 20 or so days when my University Panel Assessment is finally complete. My hope is that i'll be able to infuse them into my life and eventually into my schedule so that I can be one of those people who somehow juggle it all. Soooooo i'll start off making weekly posts on different things I try, classes I take up, or events that I attend that I feel are cultivating me into a gentleman. If it dosn't end up sounding too tedious you guys should give them a try too.

So many apologies for not posting in over a week, I promiseee after uni wraps up i'll be tons more regular xx

(Renoir's portrait of Edmond Maitre, the musician)

#theartofcultivation