Falling leaves
Q3 2025
8/25/20253 min read
You may have been deceived into thinking that summer was still in full swing this morning if you went for a run like me. My weather app assuredly states that it is nineteen degrees celsius, and that it feels like nineteen degrees celsius, but alas, I was sweating like a pig running. Furthermore, as if to rub salt into the wound, I barely made it more than 2km.
You see, these past couple of months, I have noticed an increasing trend of sloth in my behaviour, something which has lead me to become increasingly disturbed by the sudden realisation that I will soon be reaching the ripe old age of twenty, and have very little to actually show for it. My habits have grown increasingly impulsive- not in the form of substance abuse or violence- but in ever-more menacing manners, such as that of doomscrolling through YouTube shorts or replacing quality reading time with procrastination, just trying to find that one final valuable video before I actually get started on writing, or studying, or working out etc.
I have to pat myself on the back though, as I’ve been quickly aware, and arguably trying to do something about it, but the device addiction was perhaps this time too great. This morning, that changed, and perhaps just in time for university to begin again! To start, I actually set myself some goals for the year again. The list is called:
“Hier encore: things that I must do before age twenty-one”
And it goes a little something like this:
Keep emergency fund + €1000 extra at all times
Get driving license
Hit the gym (get muscly)
Run 5km everyday, no excuses
Read at least one book per month
Watch one film, and listen to one album weekly with the highest ratings in various languages
Keep website up to date
Pass all classes in university with a grade above a 7(/10)
As you can see, it’s item 4 on the list that I started with today. I wanted to re-establish a daily running habit that I built for a short while earlier this year. Running has been a big part of my life and wellbeing since I was 11 when I started running for Havering Athletics club. Good times. I usually run without a partner, and usually with music, but over the summer I found great joy in running with a partner whenever I could. My best mate James, Makena from the US and ex-olympic ski pro Zoja reinvigorated me of a morning or evening to get out and push myself, and ultimately it paid off well every time.
Nevertheless, I’ve a long way to go to reach 5km, or 10km again. Hopefully with some consistency it’ll be possible within a month or two.
As for the other points, I’m still working on a full list for number 5, but here are the ideas I’ve got so far:
English
Million Dollar Weekend - Noah Kagan
Good economics for hard times - Abhijit v. Banerjee + Esther Duflo
Dutch
De dagelijkse stoïcijnse - Ryan Holiday and Steven Hanselman
Essentialisme - Greg McKeown
Ode aan de Verwondering - Caroline Pauwels
Spanish
Don Quixote de La Mancha - Miguel de Cervantes
French
Jaques Brel, Auteur
30 minutes pour comprendre l’histoire, les fondements et les principes de la République Française
Italian
10 Grandi Raconti Italiani - Penguin Classics
La Montagna Sei Tu - Brianna Wiest (This is an Italian copy of The mountain is you)
German
Die dunkle Seite des Mondes - Martin Suter
Swedish
Omgiven av idioter - Thomas Erikson
Danish
Nordisk Socialisme - Pelle Dragsted
I’m looking to probably expand the German list by one or two more books in the B1/B2 level to help me practice. Let’s hope I make it through all those pages.
As for the films, my list follows, and again I am open to suggestions:
English
“The Pursuit of Happyness”
“Dead Poets Society”,
“A Beautiful Mind”
“The Social Network”
“Good Will Hunting”
“Her”
German
“Good Bye Lenin!”
“Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)”
“Lola rennt (Run Lola Run)”
“Der Himmel über Berlin”
French
“La Haine”
“Amélie”
“Les Intouchables”
“La Grande Illusion”
“La Vie en Rose”
Spanish
El secreto de sus ojos
“Volver”
Mar Adentro
“Y Tu Mamá También”
Italian
“La Dolce Vita”
“Cinema Paradiso”
“Il Postino”
“La vita è bella”
Portuguese
“Central do Brasil”
“Tabu”
“O Som ao Redor”
Please give me some time to get to work on a definitive album list, and in the meantime if you have any suggestions for the best albums of all time (I’m looking for 52 of them in any and all languages), then give me a shout over at alex@rawle.be.
Aside from that all, I guess I’m writing this post to make public my intention to do more, do better, and work to make age 20 the best it can truly be for me. Let’s set ourselves up for success together… why not join me?
See you next time,
Yours,
Alex