Jonathan Currinn
Well, I am Jonathan Currinn. It’s my birthday today, which means I’ve gone out and danced the night away on the dancefloor of one of my favourite clubs. Today, I’m 24, but being on that dancefloor takes me back to when I was much younger.
As a child, I loved singing and dancing, I couldn’t sing at all and still can’t, but dancing came naturally to me. I ended up going to dance classes for a few years, but being the only male affected my confidence and I ended up giving it up as I got older. Regardless, clubbing always takes me back to those days; it’s pretty difficult to get me off of the dancefloor.
I was a very ill child, I don’t remember much of it apart from the multiple trips to the hospital. The fact that my parents didn’t think I’d make it to 10-years-old makes me touched that I’m still here, fighting to live my life and making every day a step towards the life I want. What’s the point in living, if you’re not going to live.
Firstly, I have asthma. As far as I can remember, I’ve had five asthma attacks in my 24 years. I believe this is never taken fully serious, but according to Asthma UK 5.4 million people in the UK are receiving treatment for asthma, and three people die a day from asthma. Secondly, I have a problem with my kidneys, I had a urine track problem as a child which damaged them. I only have one kidney that is fully working.
Thirdly, I have Coeliac Disease. This is a lifelong autoimmune disease caused by a reaction to gluten. According to Coeliac UK, one in a 100 people have it, and there are many symptoms associated with this disease, which is why it’s difficult to diagnose. It is treated by following a strict gluten-free diet for life. This is why you’ve probably seen gluten-free products in shops and on food menus. The chances of developing other autoimmune diseases and life-threatening complications are increased when a diagnosis of Coeliac Disease is delayed, or when a gluten-free diet isn’t followed.
Okay, that’s the dreariness out of the way. I’m still alive, so I live as much as I can, and focus on what I want out of life. Ever since I was young I’ve wanted to go to college and university; that was after I wanted to be a singer and a dancer. I did both those things. I took a Creative Writing and Journalism course at Staffordshire University and graduated in 2015. It was the toughest three years of my life, but I’d so do it all over again, including my final year where I had to submit a total of 35,000 words overall.
Ripping my story to shreds so that it becomes 10,000 words or less… Still creatively amazing though! #CreativeWritingProject #UniProblems
— Jonathan Currinn (@CriticJonni) March 15, 2015
University was the place I truly became myself. Before then I was bullied, badly enough that I couldn’t be who I was. At uni, I came out of the closet; that was my biggest step, one that I will always be proud of myself for doing, and I’d never change it, no matter how much hate I get. I can finally be who I truly am, without being ashamed. Coming out is one of the hardest things ever, more difficult than uni, more difficult than dealing with bullies, more difficult than being gluten-free; but I am grateful that my family and friends accept me for who I am.
Since leaving university, I have been focusing on my career. I have always had a blog called Critic Jonni, which has been going for over five years. On my blog, I review music videos. The inspiration for the blog came after reading an article on how amazing a certain music video was, and I was like “I can do that”. My blog has become much more than what it used to be.
Towards the end of 2015, I started reviewing books for The Coffee House, which then lead on to being a music article contributor to Outlet Magazine. Next was working for Fox and Squirrel Photography, for Birmingham Pride 2016. Then CelebMix came around, which I adore writing for. Then SPECTRUMM wanted me to write articles for them. Now, I’m a part of Fuzzable too.
I also went on to release my final year creative writing project on Channillo. This was a short story series which was my 10,000-word project for university. I then edited it and made it available on Channillo.Other short stories I released was a Twitter story for the Twitter Fiction Festival 2014; and a short story for my Grandad when he passed away, which I published on Facebook.
I know it sounds like all work, but if you want to get to where you want to go, you have to put in the time and the effort. When I’m not working I love going clubbing, but I think you’ve gathered that. I’m also obsessed with music. Inna is my favourite artist in the world, I have followed her career since she first stepped on the scene with “Hot“. I also like Britney Spears, Alexandra Stan, Avril Lavigne, Cascada, Platnum, Steve Grand, JoJo, Carly Rae Jepsen, Imani Williams, and many more artists. Music is practically my life.
I believe the future is exciting for me. I hope that all my efforts to build the career I want, pay off. That I manage to continue being confident, determined and on track for where I want to go. My life will always be ahead of me.
Feel free to tweet me @CriticJonni if you would like to chat to me about any of the things mentioned in this blog post. I’ll be more than happy to chat about anything. Expect more articles from me soon on Fuzzable. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @Fuzzable.
