Answers

No doubt I'm a Top40 music kind of person. I like pop. I like the idea of current music, the ever-changing lists and rapidly replaced chart positions. You may call it "throw-away pop", but to me, every song is delightful in its way, even after a long long time - like the feeling you get when you hear "Love Story" on the radio again after all this time. The charts move, but the songs never get too old.

Lately I've heard some very mellow tunes on the radio - mostly from bands - and I must say they are very soothing to the soul. I've taken this long break to do a lot of soul-searching and self-discovery. I think we all need that time. Some alone time. I'm alone but I'm not lonely.

It has alarmed me actually, after this period of reflection, that so many people have outgrown each other. I realise how much people around me have outgrown me, in ways so fascinating that it becomes almost magical. Maybe I was too quick to judge their characters, or maybe circumstances evolve people. Either way, change is not always bad, albeit sometimes astounding. We all get used to things eventually, do we not? Ask yourself how much has changed over the years, especially your own character. While some things never change (and I am thankful for that), we are nonetheless continually compelled by our environment and other circumstances to change. It shocks me. It makes me think: "Why did I do that?"

But who is to define maturity or success? Who decides who has outgrown who? As to many other questions regarding life, the answer is often yourself.