BELLSPIRATION CLUB - Michael Clark: I put a guitar in my hand and all of a sudden my confidence jumps up! (Part 3/4)

1) Hi Michael :) You made a YouTube channel a few months ago, right? How it all started? What content can we find there? Is it hard to edit the video and how much time you need for that? How does it feel to be a Youtuber?

Yes, that is right! With lockdowns and everything else in this last year, I decided it might be a good idea to put my energy and focus into something creative. It’s also been hard to connect with people physically during these times, but when people watch my videos and just hear and see me talking to them, it makes me feel like we’re more connected. I have a mixture of content on there; I started off with several musical performances, and a book review video, and recently I have been focusing a lot on playing two of my favourite videogames while I just talk to the camera about myself, my week and my thoughts. These are very relaxed conversational videos, and even though I don’t have many people watching, it is a nice way to share a little bit of myself online. I have good memories as a child of playing videogames with my brother and my friends, or sitting watching them play, and to a certain extent I feel that same way when I record these videos. I also just generally love fantasy books and games - for example, my channel name (MichaelOfRivia) is taken from the Witcher games and books by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Besides that, I think that one of my favourite series to record has been a set of geography videos I have done, where I talk about my travel experiences as well as some geography facts about those places. I love doing the research, showing my own photos and just talking about my experiences when I've been in those places. Having lived for one year in Spain and two in Bosnia, I feel I’m in a unique middle ground where I’m certainly not a native and still very much a foreigner, but I don’t feel a complete outsider either because of the time I have spent and my attempt to make friends and be immersed in the culture.

2) Music! You and I met one evening of poetry where you played with a band :) When you entered the world of music? Can you share a bit about yourself as a musician?

Music is probably one of the things that is just an integral part of who I feel that I am. I have a musical family as my dad plays the clarinet, my mum sings and taught me guitar as a child, and my brother plays the drums. I did play some clarinet and things in school too, but I think it was easier to practice my guitar playing, firstly because I enjoyed singing along and learning my favourite songs, but also I found it helped me gain some popularity with the girls at school! Of course nowadays I play because I love it and not for popularity, but as a teenager, it was probably a factor. I have then been involved with my church music group for a number of years, and while living in Sarajevo I played at the church there too. I also performed musically at some events at the cathedral in Sarajevo, a charity evening, and a poetry event which is where I met you! One of the things I love about music is that it is a universal language, and whenever I have felt anxious in a new group of people, it gives me a way to connect and make new friends. Despite my travel experiences, I can sometimes be shy around new people, but put a guitar in my hand and all of a sudden my confidence jumps up.

Of course, as well as playing music, I also love to listen to it and find that it can be a way to express my emotions, whatever I’m feeling. My favourite bands and songs change on a daily basis, but in general I think The Used, The Pretty Reckless, All Time Low and My Chemical Romance have probably been some of my favourites for the longest time. While this kind of Alternate-Rock is my favourite genre, I do however listen to a broader range of music nowadays, such as classical, folk and some pop.

3) You, also, speak a few languages, right? Tell us more about those languages and your passion to learn them!

As well as music, foreign countries and languages are also something I've been interested in since a young age. I remember when I was 7, my local football team qualified for European competition, and were drawn against a team from Liechtenstein, at which point I went and learned everything about that country! There was also a person in my church who worked with asylum seekers, and once I went with him to an event where I made friends with a Turkish boy my own age, so later I bought a Turkish phrase book that I could say some words to him the next time. As I got older, I studied French and Spanish in high school, and while many people in the UK don’t enjoy these classes, I loved it. Sadly British people are not known for learning other languages, but I do believe it is so important in the world, and so helpful for a person’s understanding of other cultures and points of view. Anyway, after school I studied both those languages in university, living for a year in Spain during that time before my two years working in Sarajevo where I studied Bosnian language. In addition to that, whenever I have travelled in Europe, I have always made the effort beforehand to learn some basics and important phrases of the language, because I feel rude if I go into someone’s country and just expect them to speak English. I did also have a polish girlfriend once, and had to learn a little bit to speak with her parents! However, I would say that I am fluent in Spanish and Bosnian besides my native English, and I have moderate French that I am very keen to improve so that it can be the same level as my other two languages.

I think learning other languages isn’t just helpful for travelling and communicating, but opens you up to whole other worldviews. Sometimes our western English-speaking culture can be very dominant in our lives, but many people don’t see the world entirely the same way, and you can’t really understand how they see things without knowing their language and culture. I know some people find learning languages very difficult, and that is okay. There are things I'm definitely not good at, and for some people languages just don’t stick in their brain. But I would encourage people to make some effort if they can, at least to try and learn another language. I would also encourage people to travel (when the pandemic is over and it’s safe!), and not just to a tourist resort or beach with other foreigners, but properly in the cities and real local areas. Getting to see the history and culture of places outside our own little circle helps to be more empathetic and understanding when we meet people who seem different to us. 

4) Follow Michael:

Fb: https://www.facebook.com/MichaelOfRivia26/photos

IG: https://www.instagram.com/michaelofrivia26/

YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_1XeuI5iUSsN3z3WRimviQ