Ed does the AA This the account of Ed Powell, a man in his 20s exploring SE Asia and Auckland. My moto - "Bringing the world together, 1 step at a time"

So let me begin by saying a couple of things.... Firstly, I have exactly 5 and a bit days left in Cheltenham before I depart back to the land of the free that is Somerset - more precisely Bridgwater (or sesswater for those who inhabit it), Secondly, before you read any more of this, go to your itunes and select one of the following tracks Michael "what happened to my face" Jackson - Man in the mirror or Dire "put your head band on" Straits - Brothers in Arms. My reasoning for this is that this article is deep, so hit play and enjoy. Now I've started to clean my room out and I start to dig up a few things that get me reflecting on the 5 years that I have been here. The first thing that I dig up is a photo album that my old housemates of Winstonian road created. Its titled "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and it displays some of the antics that I got to up in my uni days. Pictures range from battle of the band competitions (which I still am recovering from now - we should have won!!! Ahh the riots that followed) to images of themed nights out and various dance manoeuvres that have been created over the years. Its strikes me that in such a small period of time people change – physically that is, we were all so fresh faced back then – also skinnier. It also reminds me of what an adventure we were all on, and how we felt we could take on anyone - especially chavs. I keep finding mementos too. Whether it be a 5 pint beer card which I got for winning the pool competition, various Quench publicity that I keep or even the winners medal I got for winning the go-karting at Mark C's stag do (Ed R its ok, you stick to 2 wheels, I'll stick to 4) - I kept it all. It's not till I get round to the dusting part of the cleaning phase that I realise my mirror needs a clean. I get the cloth and polish and start to give it a wipe. Here comes the cheesy part - I clean the mirror and realise that when I leave Cheltenham that’s it, I'm starting fresh and the old Ed will start a new challenge. A new beginning and new people that will not have a clue who I am or what I'm about that will look at me and see me as someone new, not the Ed they new at Uni or in the pub or giving his realistic opinion on a subject. So when I look in this mirror I'm cleaning, I see the future looking back at me, not the Ed of now. So I go to the local beer garden (The Railway - make sure you're all there on Friday 25th) and chat and chill with friends bantering about stuff and using the body's anatomy to stress points and opinions - mainly the genitalia (use your imagination) - and head back to the house after only one beer (that's rare) and go up to my room. Its now that I realise that the mirror I had cleaned prior was actually not that clean, but smeared and still dirty. Two things I learn from this is that a: I'm crap at cleaning and b: no matter where I go next, the effects of my friends, the memories I have obtained, the nights out I can't remember, the battle of the bands that I should of won, the episodes of the West Wing that were life changing and the long term relationship I was in (plus much more other stuff) will stay with me wherever I go. No matter where I go and situations I am in, the man in the mirror will remember everyone and everything because even though you're not with me in A & A, you ALL will never desert me, my brothers in arms. That’s it for now, what’s next.. Ed