0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08In the year 2000,
0:00:08 > 0:00:12we filmed a group of seven-year-olds from all over Great Britain -
0:00:12 > 0:00:14a new generation of the 7 Up series.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20What would life hold in store for them?
0:00:21 > 0:00:25We began a journey that would chart their lives every seven years.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31At 14, we returned to film them again.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Do you think it's tough being 14?
0:00:36 > 0:00:38I don't think so. It's not for me.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40You just deal with the odd torment off boys in school
0:00:40 > 0:00:41every now and again.
0:00:41 > 0:00:46You just ignore them because... they'll mature eventually.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Cos girls are girls, there's so many girls in the world
0:00:49 > 0:00:51can mess up your head, especially for a young boy.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55'I love the idea of being married.'
0:00:56 > 0:00:59Just in a wedding dress and everything.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02It'll just be your day and everything. Be real good.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08Now, in the year 2014, they've reached the age of 21.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10I come across very confident,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14but, like, in my head, it's not that at all.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19I feel like I've got something to show for my life up to this point.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23I think you become an adult when you leave education and you get a job.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25That's when you become an adult, I think.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33I want a wife.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37That's what I asked Darren - how do you get a wife?
0:01:38 > 0:01:44I wanted that question cos... so I know when I'm older,
0:01:44 > 0:01:45so I'll get a wife quicker.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49And how do you think you do get a wife?
0:01:49 > 0:01:50I haven't a clue!
0:01:52 > 0:01:55John grew up in Slough, 20 miles west of London.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01When we first filmed him aged seven, his mother and stepfather Darren
0:02:01 > 0:02:04were expecting their first child together.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Mummy, is it a boy or a girl?
0:02:07 > 0:02:10It's too early to tell yet, John.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16I like my dad, I call him Dad cos he's my dad.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22He's taught me basically, like,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24how to look after yourself.
0:02:24 > 0:02:25Taught me...
0:02:25 > 0:02:29He's just sort of helped me grow up in a way.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Just take that strap off of there, jiffy strap.
0:02:39 > 0:02:40What strap?
0:02:40 > 0:02:42The metal one, the joy strap.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45What strap you looking at, mate?
0:02:45 > 0:02:48'I've been working, well, for the same company as my dad for...
0:02:48 > 0:02:50'for eight months now.'
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Was in a bike shop which I was in when I left school,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57I was there for about five years, which was good, but it was
0:02:57 > 0:03:01just sort of...sort of a not going to go anywhere sort of a job.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03Like, it was all right cos I like riding, but it got a bit boring
0:03:03 > 0:03:06and it was just dealing with moody customers every day,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08the same shit, innit?
0:03:08 > 0:03:09Never gets - never changes.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17You spend a great deal of time with your dad. How does that work out?
0:03:17 > 0:03:18It takes its toll sometimes.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22I think we get on a lot better than I thought we would when I took the job.
0:03:22 > 0:03:23I knew it was going to be hard,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27because we're both very argumentative and quite stubborn.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30He's definitely more stubborn than I am.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34I know for a fact he's a lot harder on me
0:03:34 > 0:03:36than he would be on other people.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38I see where he's coming from cos he wants me
0:03:38 > 0:03:40to learn things quicker and he wants to push me harder.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44He knows what he's doing and I do sort of listen, eventually.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47You can get away with a bit more in the way that, like,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49if you fuck up, you've got a few more second chances.
0:03:49 > 0:03:50D'you know what I mean?
0:03:50 > 0:03:53But, yeah, it's all right. He is quite tolerant.
0:03:53 > 0:03:54I mean, I do fuck up a lot.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59I can't remember the last time, like, I referred to him as my stepdad.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01He's been there for so long.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I don't even remember, like, my biological father, like.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06I can't remember him at all.
0:04:06 > 0:04:08I just do not give a shit about him.
0:04:08 > 0:04:09Like, if I saw him in the street,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12I literally wouldn't even acknowledge him.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Like, he's nothing to me but a sperm donor.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18So, like, Darren is my dad. He's my dad.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Yeah, he's cool.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23We argue, but he's cool.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33Mind that wall. Mind that wall.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Oooh! L plates!
0:04:36 > 0:04:39My mum was born in Romanian...
0:04:39 > 0:04:44um...in Romania, but I was born in England,
0:04:44 > 0:04:51so Mummy had to teach me Romanian and Dad taught me English.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56Alexandra grew up in London,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59but her life has always had an international flavour.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03At 14, she was making frequent visits to Europe
0:05:03 > 0:05:05where her father was working.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12So, Alex, last time we filmed, we were in Brussels,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14and now we find you in Paris.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19Tell me about how you landed in this particularly beautiful flat.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24Well, I'm here on my year abroad, so I study in London usually,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and as part of my degree, cos I study French literature,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29I have to do a year abroad.
0:05:29 > 0:05:34So I decided to come to Paris and take a mixture of politics and law
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and things that are vaguely more useful than literature.
0:05:41 > 0:05:47For me, I felt that I would work better kind of in the real world
0:05:47 > 0:05:49and not in sort of a student bubble.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Cos I think that when you leave university,
0:05:52 > 0:05:53sometimes it can be quite a shock
0:05:53 > 0:05:55if you've been on one of these campus universities
0:05:55 > 0:05:58and you don't really know how to function,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00so I thought kind of living in a real-life situation
0:06:00 > 0:06:04would sort of get me used to networking
0:06:04 > 0:06:06and interacting with people who are...
0:06:06 > 0:06:08normal people of different ages,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11cos, I mean, not everyone is sort of 18, 20.
0:06:11 > 0:06:18Mark is 39 and Rika is 28, so it's quite a difference, but I find
0:06:18 > 0:06:21I tend to get on better with people who are maybe a bit older as well.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23I thought loads of candles to fight the smell.
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Yeah, but have you talked to him about it?
0:06:26 > 0:06:30Yeah, I don't... I don't really know.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34If it doesn't stress you, then it's fine, but... PHONE RINGS
0:06:34 > 0:06:35Bonjour.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44I love Paris. There is a very big difference in cultures.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49I like that they take their time to enjoy life more.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Enjoy simpler pleasures.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56At the same time, there's a huge difference in attitude.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59I find people here are slightly more abrupt.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01It takes some getting used to.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I like it because it kind of reminds me
0:07:07 > 0:07:11that I'm going to graduate soon and I have to get myself together
0:07:11 > 0:07:15and figure out what I'm going to do, and I think that
0:07:15 > 0:07:19being in a big city makes you more comfortable with the fact that
0:07:19 > 0:07:23you're going to be on your own and just sort of forging your own path.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31We first met Ryan, aged seven, with his friend Gemma
0:07:31 > 0:07:34at her birthday party in Bolton, Lancashire.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Tell me why you like Gemma.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Because she's beautiful.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45A cute face.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Her mum and dad is nice
0:07:51 > 0:07:54and her house is nice.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59And he thinks... And he thinks my daddy's really funny.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04Yeah. He says, "Hello, big ears."
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Born three months prematurely, Ryan has cerebral palsy,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13a condition affecting speech and mobility.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16It's really just to have an image in your head about what it would
0:08:16 > 0:08:20look like when they went to war in 1914, OK?
0:08:20 > 0:08:24When I was seven and they filmed me, they asked me what are my wishes.
0:08:25 > 0:08:31And I said, to jump. And now I can jump.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34But with some other things...
0:08:34 > 0:08:38like I can't do what, like, other people do,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40and that just frustrates me.
0:08:40 > 0:08:46If I had a chance, I would rather not be disabled.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54Because I was 14 last time,
0:08:54 > 0:08:58it was just like I wasn't as good on my feet,
0:08:58 > 0:09:03lost my balance quite a lot, and now I've got a bit better walking.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09I mean, sometimes I do feel like I struggle with things,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12but, like, I try and do things at my own pace.
0:09:13 > 0:09:19I'd say I'm a lot more independent since last time.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28As soon as I passed my test, it felt so good.
0:09:28 > 0:09:34Just brilliant. Very, very good. I love driving. I love it.
0:09:37 > 0:09:43I didn't have to rely on anyone taking me to college, trading.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47I could just be...hop in my car and go places,
0:09:47 > 0:09:52and it gives everyone a break and it gives me
0:09:52 > 0:09:55my own independence,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58and I just love the fact of that.
0:09:59 > 0:10:07Well, I'm at university at the moment. I study sports studies.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10I'm in my third year when I go back at the end of this month.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12Hello, how you? All right?
0:10:12 > 0:10:13Yeah, I'm not bad.
0:10:13 > 0:10:19I work at Bolton Arena. I'm a sports coach there.
0:10:21 > 0:10:26Mainly, I work with a group of people who've got Parkinson's Disease.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31What you doing today? Your usual?
0:10:31 > 0:10:3328, yeah.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37I love, love, love working with the Parkinson group.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42They're such a good bunch of people, what, despite what they've got
0:10:42 > 0:10:46wrong with them, they can take everything in and, like,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49try and do it as fast as they can on it.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Don't hardly give up. Don't hardly give up.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55I just think that's great. That's absolutely brilliant.
0:10:55 > 0:10:56Love to see that.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Do you think you're luckier than other children?
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Well, all children are the same, though.
0:11:06 > 0:11:12We may not be the same on the outside, like, look the same,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15but we're the same in the inside.
0:11:17 > 0:11:23I always wanted to study at the university that I'm at
0:11:23 > 0:11:26so I chose to come to Paris and to do that.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30I have friends that are going to Martinique, to Quebec,
0:11:30 > 0:11:33to Switzerland, even, all kinds of places.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42You've been privately educated. How do you look back on that?
0:11:42 > 0:11:44I'm incredibly grateful
0:11:44 > 0:11:47to have gone to my secondary school that I went to.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52I honestly think it's one of the best schools in the world.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59Because it was the first girl's school in the UK, they do
0:11:59 > 0:12:03sort of drill it into you, the whole sort of feminist history,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06and I think that when you compare yourself,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09you meet other kids from other schools and you see, hang on,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13there's something a bit different here of the way that we're thinking.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Obviously, when I was at school, there was just so much pressure
0:12:20 > 0:12:22and stress and we were all kind of hating it,
0:12:22 > 0:12:27but everyone who has gone to my school has come out thinking
0:12:27 > 0:12:32that we have been told we can do whatever we want with our lives.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36I just have to be smart enough about how I go about it,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39but the world is my oyster.
0:12:39 > 0:12:44I hate books. Still have to read them at school, though.
0:12:48 > 0:12:54If somebody held up the best book in the world and a television,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58yeah, a great big, big television, I would take the television.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01I know it's a big TV, but I don't watch it much.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04If I've got people over, normally just sit
0:13:04 > 0:13:08and chat really or listen to music.
0:13:10 > 0:13:15I read, like, I like true crime. Love me gangsters and stuff.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18I'm not one to sit and read, like, fucking Harry Potter or something.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Couldn't think of anything, like, more boring.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23I'd rather be on my bike than read a book.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25I'm not an indoorsy person.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Well, I moved out when I was sort of 18.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32From there, really, I just didn't have anyone to answer to,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34just answer myself.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Go to work on time, come home, pay my bills,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39and I enjoy the rest of my life.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41I don't like relying on people, if I can.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45Given everything on a plate, like - where's the achievement in that?
0:13:48 > 0:13:51How important do you think it is to have money?
0:13:51 > 0:13:55Really important cos you can't get nowhere without money,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58unless you've got money you can't do anything.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01What would you do with your first thousand pounds?
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Er...
0:14:03 > 0:14:08Probably buy my Stringfellows membership, something like that.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Would probably blow it on something proper stupid.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18I've learnt that money does come and go and you're better off
0:14:18 > 0:14:22to enjoy yourself and work hard, get your money and go and enjoy it.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25I just spunk a lot of money,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28but it doesn't, like it doesn't rule my life.
0:14:28 > 0:14:29I like having money.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Money to me is like a ticket to do something.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Money to me is a ticket to get somewhere in life.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37It's a ticket to saying, I'm going on holiday,
0:14:37 > 0:14:42or...I don't think I want to be saving it or a mortgage.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44I'm not bothered about that at all.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46All I want to do is just enjoy myself.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49If it means having no money in the bank, then so be it.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02I used to ride, like, a jump bike, then I was too big,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05so I got a BMX.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Yeah, it's either working or riding, really.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14It's like a getaway.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Like, when you're out on your bike, nothing else bothers you.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20It's like, leave problems at home, get on your bike, don't have
0:15:20 > 0:15:23to speak to anyone if you don't want to, but wherever you go there's
0:15:23 > 0:15:27always like people there, so you've always got your friends with you.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Friendship's, like, a massive part of it.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32You don't just ride with anyone, really, you always go riding
0:15:32 > 0:15:35with your mates and you meet people along the way sort of thing.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42I look it as my...my sense of freedom
0:15:42 > 0:15:46and just the way I chill with my mates.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54Shoreditch in east London.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57Orala is on her way to perform at an open mic night.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Good evening!
0:16:01 > 0:16:06When I write a song, it's sort of like a manifestation
0:16:06 > 0:16:12of an emotion of mine or a thought of mine or a situation of mine.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17My songs give me so much joy, like, even if it's a sad song or whatever.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20All right, next on stage, make some noise,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24make her feel very welcome, give it up for Orala J, please.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Do you feel British, Orala?
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Yeah, cos I did come from Britain
0:16:35 > 0:16:37but I have the blood of Nigeria.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43I don't know that that means but that's what my mummy says.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Orala, aged seven, had never visited Nigeria.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55She lived with her mother and siblings in Hackney, east London.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58My brother's got the same dad as me but I haven't met my dad,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00my real dad.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04And I've got a stepdad that's living with me right now.
0:17:04 > 0:17:10I don't know my real dad because he left before I was born.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13I was in year four and, like, we went to Nigeria
0:17:13 > 0:17:18and I was staying at my auntie's house and, like, they took me
0:17:18 > 0:17:21and my older sister and my older brother into a room
0:17:21 > 0:17:23and there was a man sitting in the chair
0:17:23 > 0:17:25and my auntie was like, "This is your dad."
0:17:25 > 0:17:28I was like, "What?"
0:17:28 > 0:17:32- It's somewhere else down the line. - Down the line!
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Oh, Lord have mercy!
0:17:34 > 0:17:35Quit while you're ahead, Dad!
0:17:35 > 0:17:38When we filmed Orala at 14, that man,
0:17:38 > 0:17:42her biological father, had just come to London to live with them.
0:17:42 > 0:17:48When my biological dad came into the picture, he was never a father to me.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52He was just like a parasite that kind of sucked all the life
0:17:52 > 0:17:54and energy out of my family.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59So it got to the point where I just couldn't stand to have him around,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03even though, like, he's my biological dad.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Like, he never tried to be a dad to me,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07he never took an interest in my life.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14# Summertime... #
0:18:14 > 0:18:17He only, like, kind of appeared interested
0:18:17 > 0:18:18when people were watching,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20like when his friends were around.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23Then he'd be like, "Oh, look at my talented daughter.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25"Oh, look, she sings, oh, she's so smart."
0:18:27 > 0:18:33I never felt like I have to pretend to have a type of relationship
0:18:33 > 0:18:35that I don't have, if that makes sense.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42So when he left, literally, me and my older sister celebrated.
0:18:42 > 0:18:46It sounds terrible, but it was sort of like finally this fog,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49this shadow that was over our family has been lifted
0:18:49 > 0:18:52and there were no...there was no sadness that day.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54There was joy.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58Our Father we've come to worship you.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02We've come to say Lord, you are the king of our lives.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04You are the king of kings.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09From a young age, we had a very close relationship with God.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12You know, I had my mum and then I had my faith.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17So I never felt the absence of a father figure because, like,
0:19:17 > 0:19:21how we were raised was that really and truly God is our father,
0:19:21 > 0:19:23like, our heavenly father type thing,
0:19:23 > 0:19:27and he kind of just provides everything you need.
0:19:31 > 0:19:37# I can see clearly now the rain has gone. #
0:19:37 > 0:19:43At around 14 or 15 I kind of decided to kind of pursue it on my own,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47like, to learn what, you know, a relationship with God is.
0:19:47 > 0:19:54So I did, and it just got stronger and stronger and stronger.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01There are certain things that I don't even have to worry about.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06I just feel so secure in my life now, in my future.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09Like, even though I don't know what it's going to entail,
0:20:09 > 0:20:14I'm not scared about it because I believe God is orchestrating things
0:20:14 > 0:20:16so that I'm going to have a great life.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Mum and Dad split up when I was in year 11.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32It just wasn't right.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37He's... It's hard to explain, really.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42He's... I don't see him now. Don't know where he is.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48When he was in my life, he was a good dad to me.
0:20:48 > 0:20:55Me and my dad were really close even when my mum and dad split up.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00And then he met his partner and we sort of, like, drifted apart.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03We'd fall out quite a bit over stuff.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07When he first disappeared, I was very upset.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12I was like, how can you and Dad do that?
0:21:12 > 0:21:20But you soon realise not to be immature, no point in getting upset.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25No point. I'm dealing with it fine.
0:21:28 > 0:21:34I just feel like I can't go down the route of, like, my father,
0:21:34 > 0:21:40like... I've got to be higher,
0:21:40 > 0:21:44be the total opposite of him.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50It's been a tough year.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57My grandad, he died of asbestosis.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59I remember he was like a father figure to me,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03he was, like, always there for me.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Always did stuff with him.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07And if you go down to the next one....
0:22:07 > 0:22:09- Yeah?- Look at the ducklings!
0:22:09 > 0:22:16Because he was working with asbestos, he was diagnosed with asbestosis,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19which is a form of cancer in the lungs,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23and it was incurable, unfortunately.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27And he still kept his sprits high.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31He was still positive he would overcome it.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40- Hello, lovely.- Are you OK?
0:22:40 > 0:22:43- I'm fine, are you? - Yeah, thank you.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Are you hungry?
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Yeah. I am starving!
0:22:52 > 0:22:54You're always starving!
0:22:54 > 0:22:56I know! I know I am!
0:22:58 > 0:23:01When are you back at uni?
0:23:01 > 0:23:04I'm back on the 30th September.
0:23:04 > 0:23:078,000 words dissertation, I've got to do.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Well, don't leave it to the last minute.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11No, I never do.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12You did last time.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14Yeah, well, I did.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Yeah, you did, you did.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29It was really special up here for him. He loved it.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35The family scattered his ashes on here,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39cos he absolutely adored this garden.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43Doesn't feel real now he's gone
0:23:43 > 0:23:45because he was such a big part of my life.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Feels weird.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Tell me what it's like to be an only child.
0:24:10 > 0:24:16Well, it's quite nice, actually, because you don't get bossed around.
0:24:16 > 0:24:23Or you don't get, "Mummy, Alexandra said something rude to me,"
0:24:23 > 0:24:24or anything like that.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31My mum and I, our relationship tends to improve
0:24:31 > 0:24:34the more distance there is between us.
0:24:34 > 0:24:40She has a very set idea of how she wanted to bring me up.
0:24:40 > 0:24:49Well, I think my mum was incredibly strict in my...my freedoms in my
0:24:49 > 0:24:54teenage years, which I mean, I credit a lot of my discipline towards that.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01We're both quite headstrong, and if there is a certain way
0:25:01 > 0:25:04that we want things to be done, we will clash on that.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07I mean, when I've been home in the past,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10just on holidays, like, we do argue.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12I think it's normal, though.
0:25:13 > 0:25:19I find myself now understanding why my mother acted in certain ways
0:25:19 > 0:25:21that she did and going back and thanking her for that
0:25:21 > 0:25:25and actually behaving in ways that she wanted me to behave when
0:25:25 > 0:25:29I was going through the rebellious years of being a teenager and then
0:25:29 > 0:25:33now realising, ah, OK, I understand why she wanted me to do that.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37So that's kind of become part of my character now.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46The Moslem community in Glasgow was home to seven-year-old Asif.
0:25:52 > 0:25:57A big part of Asif's childhood was the daily study of the Koran.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03Koran gives a set of rules we must follow.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07I'm not allowed to drink alcohol. I'm not allowed to smoke.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12I'm not allowed to go to discos, not allowed to have a girlfriend
0:26:12 > 0:26:16and I'm not allowed to dance with girls.
0:26:19 > 0:26:2214, I didn't think for myself.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25I was making sure that everybody else was happy.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29I felt like what I wanted wasn't important, and what I wanted
0:26:29 > 0:26:32in my mind wasn't important, the goals that I wanted to achieve
0:26:32 > 0:26:34was what other people wanted.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39The 14-year-old is just not me.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44I don't know, I was a bit like a puppet as a kid.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Like it was just like, "Asif, you need to do this, off you go, go."
0:26:52 > 0:26:55I went to mosque and that expectation was there,
0:26:55 > 0:26:58you know, why is he not going to mosque as he grew up?
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Like, I still pray but, like, I don't... I seldomly go to mosque.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03I'll go to Friday prayer, but you know people are like,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06why is he not going three, four times a day any more?
0:27:08 > 0:27:12They expect you to act a certain way and then if you don't conform to it
0:27:12 > 0:27:15then people sort of shun you, they don't speak to you, like,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19it's not the religion, it's the culture, like the way the people are.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23It's like if you're not doing a certain thing or in a certain way,
0:27:23 > 0:27:24then you're just shunned.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32My mum and dad are from, like, a different generation.
0:27:32 > 0:27:33We don't always see eye to eye,
0:27:33 > 0:27:37and cos I'm grown up I don't always agree with what I'm told.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42So I feel like I'm going through that phase of like when most
0:27:42 > 0:27:4416- or 17-year-olds did it at school,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47but I'm doing it now, like, making my own choices.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51And I'll make my mistakes, but I want them to be my mistakes
0:27:51 > 0:27:53and not anyone else's.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57Me going to uni, I feel like, even though it's a different culture,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59it's not necessarily wrong.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03After finishing college,
0:28:03 > 0:28:08Asif gained a place at Paisley University to study law.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11I feel like a lot of my friends that are Asian, they feel like,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14oh, well, we'd rather just stick with the one group.
0:28:14 > 0:28:20Not like... Not mix, and I just think they're another person.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22I just...I'm interested to hear what they say
0:28:22 > 0:28:26and let's have a good time, like, why does that matter?
0:28:26 > 0:28:29Things that are wrong are actually brought before a court.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33The persons are actually convicted. So you've got the ...
0:28:33 > 0:28:36The challenge that Asif faced at the age of 13
0:28:36 > 0:28:40was when he was assessed as being dyslexic.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45Other people within the culture told me you shouldn't let people know.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50Like, that you have got this thing,
0:28:50 > 0:28:53because, like, people look at you in a different way.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56When I was at school, like, I could feel like my friends
0:28:56 > 0:28:59getting involved with stuff and getting places,
0:28:59 > 0:29:01but cos I was dyslexic,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04I don't think it really held me back, but I felt like people
0:29:04 > 0:29:07thought I wasn't capable, so then I thought I wasn't capable of it.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09But then I used to get the grades but then I wouldn't...
0:29:09 > 0:29:10like, I would be like, oh,
0:29:10 > 0:29:14I didn't believe, like, I was deserving of them.
0:29:14 > 0:29:18The first stuff was easy, this stuff I don't even remember doing it.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Then you're made to feel ashamed of it,
0:29:20 > 0:29:23so you don't really tell what your needs are.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26But now I realise it's nothing, it doesn't really matter.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30I put an A and a C in a different way - what's the big deal?
0:29:30 > 0:29:32We've got spell check.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35Do you want to know a story about my family?
0:29:35 > 0:29:38Do you know why my daddy isn't here?
0:29:38 > 0:29:41He moved away, because they were
0:29:41 > 0:29:44arguing too much. So, he just moved away and lived...
0:29:45 > 0:29:48..and lived with HIS mummy and daddy.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52And that made me very sad.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56Smile! Pretend! Look happy!
0:29:56 > 0:29:59What relationship do you have with your father now?
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Well, he moved out when I was four
0:30:02 > 0:30:04and he actually passed on when I was nine.
0:30:07 > 0:30:08Yeah.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18What effect do you think that that has had on your life?
0:30:20 > 0:30:26Well, one thing was, I never really got to speak to him
0:30:26 > 0:30:30an awful lot after I... after he moved out.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37You know, when him and my mum split up.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45Now, you're going to have a heart attack!
0:30:45 > 0:30:47THEY LAUGH
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Oh, Jaysus!
0:30:51 > 0:30:53'I finished my A levels,
0:30:53 > 0:30:57'went and spent two years at Belfast Metropolitan College
0:30:57 > 0:30:58and studied software engineering.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01I made a lot of great friends there.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06Then, I went down to Queen's University, Belfast,
0:31:06 > 0:31:08'and I'm doing computer science.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10'It's always been somewhere I wanted to go to.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12'One of the best universities.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16'I'm quite happy there. Really enjoying it so far.
0:31:16 > 0:31:18My mum will probably kill me for saying this,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22but she was always a pushy parent. I mean that in the nicest way possible.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24"You have to go here. I want you to go there.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26"That's a good school, you have to go there.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30"I want you to go to university, you have to. I didn't, so you have to."
0:31:30 > 0:31:32Probably not a bad thing, looking back.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37I meant to post that on your page today, so I was like...
0:31:37 > 0:31:40It's a lot of money and those are the only the ones that you remember
0:31:40 > 0:31:41to get stamped.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45'I left home, first, last year, with one of the people
0:31:45 > 0:31:47'I currently live with and two other people.'
0:31:47 > 0:31:51It probably wasn't as big a change for me as it might have been
0:31:51 > 0:31:53for most people, because I'm moving within Belfast.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57What amount of money did we work out that you've spent on...
0:31:57 > 0:31:59200 quid for a T-shirt.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02'I just knew that I had to do it, at some point.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05If I didn't, you know, get it over and done with, make that first
0:32:05 > 0:32:09initial step of getting myself out the door, I might never do it.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13With your new hipster haircut. Who do you think you are - Morrissey?!
0:32:13 > 0:32:16'Both my house mates are studying'
0:32:16 > 0:32:19music technology, both at Queens, with me.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22Jamie, this looks very morbid. That looks like a noose.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25- I thought that, as well. It actually does.- That is a noose.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28'She plays in a band. I've known both of them for,'
0:32:28 > 0:32:32you know, a couple of years, like. I mean, we've always got on very well.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Jamie, how many times have you seen the band?
0:32:35 > 0:32:37Too many. Too many.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41'We've seen them more times than some of the members of the band have!'
0:32:58 > 0:33:02Cos my auntie was telling me there was, like, iron in Guinness and all.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05I really wish you hadn't said that, because now I can actually taste it.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07SHE LAUGHS
0:33:07 > 0:33:10You know, having left home, do you
0:33:10 > 0:33:12enjoy your independence now, as well?
0:33:12 > 0:33:17Yeah. And I think I value it. I mean it is,
0:33:17 > 0:33:21'it's important to have people there to help you out when you need it.'
0:33:21 > 0:33:25But I like to be able to stand on my own two feet, to some extent.
0:33:28 > 0:33:29Hey!
0:33:31 > 0:33:35- Do not bring those dogs near me. - Asif, they're not alligators.
0:33:37 > 0:33:38No, please don't!
0:33:38 > 0:33:41'I met my friends at college.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45'I was quiet at the beginning, which is surprising and then we just
0:33:45 > 0:33:49'started talking about stuff, like music and that, and then I became
0:33:49 > 0:33:51'super-loud and they became quiet.'
0:33:51 > 0:33:52It's going to bite me.
0:33:52 > 0:33:56'Sometimes, they give me confidence that I didn't have in school -'
0:33:56 > 0:34:00"You can do it. You're OK.
0:34:00 > 0:34:05"You've got a brain. Your opinion's useful."
0:34:06 > 0:34:09What are you going to do if Simon Cowell hears you?
0:34:09 > 0:34:12THEY SING ALONG TO RADIO MUSIC
0:34:12 > 0:34:17- What are you doing after this year? - Get a job, like a normal person.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19I may apply for a paralegal job.
0:34:20 > 0:34:22You should get that sorted.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28MUSIC PLAYS
0:34:28 > 0:34:31# I'll take somebody on! #
0:34:31 > 0:34:33SHE LAUGHS
0:34:33 > 0:34:34I get the feeling
0:34:34 > 0:34:37from everybody that you like music.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41Mum wouldn't be too pleased about this one.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44She think it's all the devil's music. Yeah.
0:34:44 > 0:34:51I mean, I listen to Top 40 music, just like any 21-year-old person.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54HE SINGS ALONG TO MUSIC
0:34:54 > 0:34:55What do you listen to?
0:34:55 > 0:34:58'You really going to ask me what I listen to?!
0:34:58 > 0:35:01I told you, Top 40. Basically, Rihanna.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03HE GIGGLES
0:35:03 > 0:35:06- God.- Why are you laughing?
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Because it's... It's cringy.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12People are going to be like - Asian guy liking Rihanna.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16Come on. It's not very manly!
0:35:20 > 0:35:23'The job at Relay has been great.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26'They offered me an opportunity there to start in July.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31'Really enjoy it and they asked me to stay on
0:35:31 > 0:35:33'and they've been really helpful, in terms of letting me'
0:35:33 > 0:35:37fit the work around university and around other things.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41'It's software development. Computer programming.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44'Maybe it doesn't sound like the most exciting thing.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47'It's not much to look at, because it's, you know,
0:35:47 > 0:35:52'it's a real sort of mental thing. But I do really enjoy it.'
0:35:52 > 0:35:55I mean, in a way, I think it's creative.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58It's almost like, it's almost like a kind of art, maybe,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01because you are creating something.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05So, you chose to live away from home.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Does that put a financial pressure on you, at all?
0:36:08 > 0:36:12'Even when I lived at home, I would always try and contribute something.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15'It is always going to be more expensive living away.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18'If you're careful enough with the money that you've got,
0:36:18 > 0:36:22'you can do OK. The student loan helps a lot.'
0:36:24 > 0:36:26Do you worry about money?
0:36:27 > 0:36:30In truth, no, not really.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35'And I don't particularly want to be rich, anyway.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37'It wouldn't really make an awful lot of difference to me.'
0:36:37 > 0:36:39It would be wasted on me.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42Follow the leader, Jamie.
0:36:42 > 0:36:46'What I do value, I value my friends and I do value my family.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49'My brother is a great musician, as well.
0:36:49 > 0:36:55'He's a fantastic guitarist. He's currently studying music in Bangor.'
0:36:55 > 0:36:58He's getting on really, really well there.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01I know that, and really, really proud of him. I really am.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04And I'm glad that it is working out for him.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07OK, salsa. Oh, OK.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14'I never feel alone, because I have such a loving family. One thing
0:37:14 > 0:37:19'I've really grown to appreciate is the fact that, with my family,
0:37:19 > 0:37:23'they get me, they understand me. Well, they understand me
0:37:23 > 0:37:26'more than most people do. We just support each other and we're
0:37:26 > 0:37:29'just there for each other. They are, literally,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32'they're my best friends and I'm their best friend.'
0:37:34 > 0:37:35I love this!
0:37:35 > 0:37:41# The time of my life And I never felt this way before... #
0:37:41 > 0:37:42I love this!
0:37:42 > 0:37:46'They, kind of, take every sadness of mine
0:37:46 > 0:37:50'as theirs, and every success of mine, as theirs.'
0:37:50 > 0:37:54THEY LAUGH
0:37:54 > 0:37:58So, you spread the bacteria out across the plate.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01Remember, what you're trying to do is take a concentrated load
0:38:01 > 0:38:04of bacteria and, basically, just dilute them round the plate,
0:38:04 > 0:38:06so you end up with single colonies.
0:38:06 > 0:38:11'I did biology, chemistry, maths and physics. I'm interested in medicine.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14'I'm interested in diseases. I'm interested in the human body.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17'I'm interested in how things work'
0:38:17 > 0:38:21and I never knew that that's what the degree biomedical sciences is.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24I never knew that it just, kind of, perfectly, kind of, sums up
0:38:24 > 0:38:26everything that I'm interested in.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32'Reading is great, because my university's there
0:38:32 > 0:38:35'and that's about it.
0:38:35 > 0:38:41'I'm cool with the quietness, cos I don't really like going out'
0:38:41 > 0:38:44and, kind of, drinking and going to pubs and stuff.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47And that's, sort of, the scene that is the norm at uni,
0:38:47 > 0:38:51so I don't really enjoy that, because it's not what I do, really.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54Hi guys! So, I'm back with another video.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57I'm back. So, I'm going to quickly do my hair.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01I'm going to do some swing dancing, so I'm just going to show you
0:39:01 > 0:39:03what hairstyle I'm going to do and, yes...
0:39:03 > 0:39:06'I spend a lot of my time at home. Like, I spend a lot of my time
0:39:06 > 0:39:09'in my head, thinking about things. I spend a lot of my time
0:39:09 > 0:39:14'on my computer. I'm always doing something, even if it's blogging
0:39:14 > 0:39:18'or music or creating a new product, or cooking.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20'I'm always doing something.'
0:39:20 > 0:39:23MUSIC PLAYS
0:39:28 > 0:39:31All right, guys, so that's it.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35This is how the hairstyle came out, so let me do a quick 360.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37If you guys have any questions, let me know,
0:39:37 > 0:39:40and I'll see you in the next video, which, hopefully, will be soon, OK?
0:39:40 > 0:39:44So, bye, bye! Bye-bye! Mwah! Bye.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50'Sex without love is a waste, man. It's a waste and, like,'
0:39:50 > 0:39:54I don't believe that 14-year-olds can feel, like, the intense feeling
0:39:54 > 0:39:57of love. Like, fair enough, you have a crush
0:39:57 > 0:40:01or you have, like, 14-year-old love, yeah, but you don't have love,
0:40:01 > 0:40:02kind of thing.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06MUSIC PLAYS
0:40:06 > 0:40:10'I don't have a boyfriend at the moment.
0:40:10 > 0:40:17'When I was 17, I decided that I am not going to just date
0:40:17 > 0:40:22'for the sake of dating. I saw a lot of people that couldn't function,
0:40:22 > 0:40:25'like, or couldn't be happy without being in a relationship
0:40:25 > 0:40:29'and I just didn't think that that was healthy, I guess.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33'I was like, "Unless I really, really like someone,'
0:40:33 > 0:40:36"I'm not going to date anyone. Before then, I had a few boyfriends,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38but they weren't... They weren't, like, serious.
0:40:42 > 0:40:47'So, now I'm 21, I still haven't met anyone that
0:40:47 > 0:40:52'I really wanted to date and I just don't feel the need for it.'
0:40:52 > 0:40:55I'm not closed off to love. It's just that it will happen
0:40:55 > 0:40:59when it happens and it's not something I actively search for.
0:40:59 > 0:41:04Do you think that the man that you might end up marrying
0:41:04 > 0:41:05would have to be Christian, as well?
0:41:05 > 0:41:09Christian, yes. Definitely.
0:41:11 > 0:41:17Definitely. Just because it's such a big part of my life. Yeah.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20That's the one thing. It doesn't matter what colour he is,
0:41:20 > 0:41:25it doesn't matter, like, what politics, what job,
0:41:25 > 0:41:28but Christian is my only deal-breaker.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32FRENCH RAP MUSIC
0:41:39 > 0:41:44- What? He's Romanian? What's his name?- Andreas.- OK.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Oh, my God. You have to introduce me.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50'I do admit that it's slightly strange growing up in an
0:41:50 > 0:41:53'all-female environment and then, once you leave, or maybe around
0:41:53 > 0:41:56'the ages of, sort of, 14, 15, you don't really know how to act
0:41:56 > 0:42:01'around boys. I remember those were an awkward few years for me
0:42:01 > 0:42:05'and all of my colleagues, but when you leave, it's fine'
0:42:05 > 0:42:07and you realise that everyone is probably just as awkward
0:42:07 > 0:42:11as everyone else and you all just get thrown into life together
0:42:11 > 0:42:12and figure it out.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16You're not in a relationship. And this is what he said to me,
0:42:16 > 0:42:20"I'm getting none of the benefits of being in a relationship,
0:42:20 > 0:42:21"yet feel I'm in one."
0:42:21 > 0:42:27'To this day, I still tend to socialise with my close group
0:42:27 > 0:42:28'of girlfriends.'
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Not that I have anything against socialising with boys,
0:42:32 > 0:42:35but I think boys at this stage tend to have their minds somewhere else.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40If you're seven and you are a little boy, it's like, if you're not
0:42:40 > 0:42:45really nice, you don't really understand about girls.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53'I do have a boyfriend at the moment and we've been together for about
0:42:53 > 0:42:58'one and a half years now. He's in London at the moment.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01'We probably see each other once every five weeks,
0:43:01 > 0:43:06'but for me, my priority here is to really make the most
0:43:06 > 0:43:08'of my time as an Erasmus student,'
0:43:08 > 0:43:13so in my studies, but also in going out, socialising with my friends.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17Just really... And he knows that. I mean, I've made that clear.
0:43:19 > 0:43:25'This is my time now, to use it to the absolute best,
0:43:25 > 0:43:27'sort of, potential that I can.'
0:43:28 > 0:43:32He's important to me, but he knows that that's my priority,
0:43:32 > 0:43:34so that will come second for this year.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45You talk a lot about, you know, partying and everything.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47Tell me about your social life.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49'If I do go out, I like to go out properly.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52'I don't go to a shitty little nightclub in Windsor.'
0:43:52 > 0:43:55If I go out, I go to London or go to Bristol.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57I got to, like, a big party. We do it properly.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03'Well into my hip-hop. Like grime, old grime.
0:44:03 > 0:44:07London is massive for, like, drum and bass and dubstep.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11HOUSE MUSIC PLAYS
0:44:14 > 0:44:18- What kind of scene is that? - If you go to a drum and bass rave
0:44:18 > 0:44:20with the hope of meeting a bird, you've got no hope.
0:44:28 > 0:44:32'It's a sweaty place. Like, you don't not dress up,
0:44:32 > 0:44:36'but if I go to a rave, I'll probably go in a pair of shorts.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41'It's just, go there, have jokes and go with your mates and dance about.'
0:44:45 > 0:44:48And is there a big drug culture at that scene?
0:44:48 > 0:44:52There's a massive drug culture there. Yeah, it's huge.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56- What drugs?- It's pills and stuff like that, really.
0:44:58 > 0:45:03You must know. Can't not know, can you? It's, like, massive!
0:45:03 > 0:45:08SHE SINGS
0:45:11 > 0:45:14'One of the things I don't do is'
0:45:14 > 0:45:19pre-marital sex. I don't believe in sex outside of marriage, for me.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23'That's one of the ways I try to live my life for God,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27'as opposed to for myself, if that makes sense.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30'So, it's something that we were brought up with,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33'but, I mean, it wasn't something that, kind of, was real to me
0:45:33 > 0:45:35'until I was a teenager'
0:45:35 > 0:45:38and that's because that's when everyone started having sex
0:45:38 > 0:45:42and then that's when I actually had to decide what I thought about it.
0:45:43 > 0:45:50'It's not something I talk about, but in instances where it has come up,'
0:45:50 > 0:45:54people are like, "What? How old are you?" And then, I'm, like, "21."
0:45:54 > 0:45:56"And you've never had sex?" "No."
0:45:56 > 0:45:59And then, they just freaked out. Like, completely freaked out.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02And it's like, "Why does it affect you so much?
0:46:02 > 0:46:05"It's not you. It's me. It's not you."
0:46:05 > 0:46:11Always got a girlfriend at school. But she's probably going to dump me.
0:46:11 > 0:46:16She's got fed up with me already. I've only had her about...phew...
0:46:19 > 0:46:21..a month. That was it.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25And she's getting to the stage to dump me.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28What about girls, though?
0:46:28 > 0:46:29What about them?
0:46:31 > 0:46:33What about them?!
0:46:33 > 0:46:38- I mean, do you have an interest in girls?- Yes. I'm not gay!
0:46:38 > 0:46:42'I love being with my mates, but I also like classy girls
0:46:42 > 0:46:47'and linking up with them. Quite confident with them.'
0:46:47 > 0:46:49And what do you think you look for in a girl?
0:46:49 > 0:46:53Don't know. Good looks. Good looks, good body.
0:46:53 > 0:46:57HEAVY ROCK MUSIC PLAYS
0:46:59 > 0:47:01- You got a girlfriend now, have you?- Yes.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04Tell me a little bit about Marie.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09'She's French. Studying film production
0:47:09 > 0:47:12'at South Bank Uni.'
0:47:12 > 0:47:14- He doesn't wait long, does he? - Huh?- You didn't wait long.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18'We're quite happy to just go out and just chill. Do basically nothing.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22'We went to the Ministry of Sound and next day, just walked round London.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24'It's cool just to have someone to do that with.'
0:47:24 > 0:47:28I'm a wing man - just someone to go along with, someone to be with.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31"Oh, I want to go to London, like, shopping." Yeah, she'll come.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37'Maybe like, in the future... Like, kids and marriage, that's like
0:47:37 > 0:47:42'not even, at all, in my brain. Does not bother me one bit.'
0:47:42 > 0:47:45So many people I went to school with have got kids and like, yeah,
0:47:45 > 0:47:48they're obviously happy but I think, if that was me,
0:47:48 > 0:47:51I'd be pissed, cos that's just the end, isn't it?
0:47:51 > 0:47:54You can't go out and party all night and ride, if you've got kids,
0:47:54 > 0:47:58can you? That's it. That's it. That is your ball and chain.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02Are you not interested in having a girlfriend?
0:48:02 > 0:48:04Oh, no!
0:48:07 > 0:48:09Yeah. If I like a girl,
0:48:09 > 0:48:14then, yeah, if she likes me, then, yeah.
0:48:19 > 0:48:21How do you approach a girl?
0:48:21 > 0:48:22Oh, lord!
0:48:25 > 0:48:31Ask her, like, what she likes doing.
0:48:31 > 0:48:38Ask her..ask her what she has, like, for tea.
0:48:38 > 0:48:43And, eventually, once you get her,
0:48:43 > 0:48:48once you get to know her, ask her out
0:48:48 > 0:48:50and, hopefully, she'll say "Yeah".
0:48:51 > 0:48:54GENERAL HUBBUB
0:48:54 > 0:48:58I think we are, literally, the youngest people in this room.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01- Oh, I'm not. You two are. - I don't know.
0:49:04 > 0:49:05Yeah, probably are.
0:49:05 > 0:49:06ALL LAUGH
0:49:06 > 0:49:11Oh, hang on a minute. To your right, to your right, to your right.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Some young ladies have just walked in. Yeah, he's seen him.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17- Go and talk to them.- I think you should go and give it a shot.
0:49:17 > 0:49:20- I'm not even drinking. - It doesn't matter!
0:49:22 > 0:49:26- How are you? All right?- I'm not bad. You?- I'm good.- Good to see you.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30- What are you doing now?- I'm at uni. - Are you at uni? What are you doing?
0:49:30 > 0:49:34- I'm doing sports studies.- Are you? You've always been into sport.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37- Do you like it?- Yeah, I love it.
0:49:37 > 0:49:43- Well, I'll leave you to it. See you later. Bye.- See you later.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45Go on. Out of ten. what are you going to give her?
0:49:45 > 0:49:50- Out of ten, out of ten.- Shut up! - Come on. Out of ten?- Eight.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52- Eight.- Eight? Ooh!
0:49:57 > 0:50:00- It's just down here, isn't it? - Yeah, turn left.- All right.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04'I have been a member of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
0:50:04 > 0:50:05'about a year or two now, I suppose.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09'I've always found politics interesting growing up,
0:50:09 > 0:50:14'but I think, just because of the situation in Northern Ireland,
0:50:14 > 0:50:19'it's quite unusual, and I do think'
0:50:19 > 0:50:21things have got a lot better, certainly, don't get me wrong,
0:50:21 > 0:50:25things have got a lot better, but I think that we still have
0:50:25 > 0:50:27an issue with sectarianism here.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31Do you ever hear people talk about religious differences?
0:50:31 > 0:50:34Do you know what the difference is between Catholics and Protestants?
0:50:34 > 0:50:36No. What is the difference?
0:50:38 > 0:50:41'Of course, people will still attempt to label you as one or the other,
0:50:41 > 0:50:44'but I don't feel that either applies to me,
0:50:44 > 0:50:49'because I was not raised either way, which, I guess, does put me in
0:50:49 > 0:50:52'a definite minority there, because most people would have leanings
0:50:52 > 0:50:55'one way or another. I do not.'
0:50:55 > 0:50:56DOG BARKS
0:50:56 > 0:51:00You have to be so careful they don't jump and try to catch your fingers.
0:51:00 > 0:51:01- I know!- Yeah.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04'It troubles me the idea that somebody,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07'just because their background would be Catholic or just because
0:51:07 > 0:51:10'their background is Protestant, that somebody would hate them'
0:51:10 > 0:51:13just for that. If you were in a place without religion,
0:51:13 > 0:51:16with race, I think it would maybe be easier for people to understand
0:51:16 > 0:51:20why sectarianism annoys me so much.
0:51:20 > 0:51:25If somebody said, in England, in this day and age,
0:51:25 > 0:51:30"Oh, you can't go to that school, that's a school for white children,
0:51:30 > 0:51:35"you're black," there would be outrage and there would be outrage
0:51:35 > 0:51:38and quite right that there would be outrage.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43But it almost seems OK, to some people, to say something
0:51:43 > 0:51:45like that here, in Belfast, in 2013.
0:51:45 > 0:51:49And that is wrong. And it's absolutely wrong.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51SHE CHAPS LETTERBOX
0:51:53 > 0:51:57Hello, very pleased to meet you. I'm Anna Lo, MLA for South Belfast.
0:51:57 > 0:52:00- What a day!- 'To be honest with you,'
0:52:00 > 0:52:03I don't want to become involved in politics,
0:52:03 > 0:52:07but I'm also not going to sit on my backside and do nothing.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09And if I don't go out there and do something,
0:52:09 > 0:52:12I think I'm a part of the problem.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16I think being involved with a party like Alliance is a good platform
0:52:16 > 0:52:19to try and change things here.
0:52:19 > 0:52:20Ready?
0:52:20 > 0:52:22WHISTLE BLOWS
0:52:22 > 0:52:27'I love playing sport and then I found a sport that I was eligible
0:52:27 > 0:52:30'to play, called wheelchair rugby.'
0:52:30 > 0:52:34And, instantly, I feel in love with the sport.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37Anthony, out. Danny.
0:52:37 > 0:52:38Josh.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42'Basically, last year, I got selected to go
0:52:42 > 0:52:49'to a screening camp for the GB talent squad,'
0:52:49 > 0:52:54which is, basically, a development squad leading up to Rio.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00'I really want to get somewhere in this sport,
0:53:00 > 0:53:04'so I train five times a week. I have, like,
0:53:04 > 0:53:09'a strength and conditioning coach. I have, once a week,
0:53:09 > 0:53:13'a two-hour session, down in Leigh, which my mum runs.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15'She teaches fitness.'
0:53:15 > 0:53:20OK, well done. Half court. Space line, please.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22'To play the sport, to enjoy the sport and to,
0:53:22 > 0:53:26'ultimately, hopefully,'
0:53:26 > 0:53:28go to the Paralympics.
0:53:30 > 0:53:31I'd love that.
0:53:31 > 0:53:34Be like the icing on the cake for me, that.
0:53:34 > 0:53:36Be absolutely superb.
0:53:36 > 0:53:43Just that whole lifestyle of being an elite athlete, be just great.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45Be just fantastic.
0:53:45 > 0:53:46And now, as fast as you can.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30'I have to make a choice between my career and fulfilling
0:54:30 > 0:54:34'professional goals and having a family.'
0:54:34 > 0:54:37'You are only here for a certain amount of time
0:54:37 > 0:54:41and, when you're old, I think, family is what surrounds you
0:54:41 > 0:54:45'and having people around you, that's the most important thing.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49'But I'm also conscious of the fact that, in my early twenties,
0:54:49 > 0:54:53'I just want to have this drive to be successful. I think for the next'
0:54:53 > 0:54:5610-15 years, I'll probably be, sort of, going crazy,
0:54:56 > 0:54:59trying to accomplish whatever goals I decide to.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07'I feel I'm doing a lot better than a lot of other 21-year-olds.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10'Got an all right job, got a good bunch of friends,'
0:55:10 > 0:55:13got, like, my calm. I'm pretty happy, like.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15Got my own place. Can't really moan, can I?
0:55:18 > 0:55:22'When I went to Marie's uni, it, sort of, like, opened my eyes.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24'I, sort of, partially wished I went to uni.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27'I don't know if it was just the education or just cos I like
0:55:27 > 0:55:30'that sort of life. I feel I missed out a little bit there.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33HOUSE MUSIC PLAYS
0:55:33 > 0:55:38'But when I was at college, after a while, I though, "I just don't want
0:55:38 > 0:55:41"to be doing this any more. I want to be making some money.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43"I want to be an adult, not sat in a classroom.
0:55:43 > 0:55:46'Even if you're at uni, in my eyes, you're still a kid.
0:55:46 > 0:55:49'You're still going to lessons. It's not a childish thing,
0:55:49 > 0:55:51'cos obviously you get a degree and stuff, but I think'
0:55:51 > 0:55:55you become an adult when you leave education and you get a job.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57That's when you become an adult, I think.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15'When I finish uni and graduate and if I get a job somewhere.
0:56:15 > 0:56:19'I want to go to London. Maybe move to the United States.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22'I don't think I want to live in Glasgow any more.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27'It's a big world out there and I want to explore stuff.'
0:56:29 > 0:56:32Does that clash, at all, with any sense of expectation of what
0:56:32 > 0:56:33your family would like for you?
0:56:33 > 0:56:39'I think they'll maybe want me to get married and stay in Glasgow,
0:56:39 > 0:56:41'but I don't want to.'
0:56:41 > 0:56:47My family want some stuff, but I'm not like... I don't know
0:56:47 > 0:56:51if I really will be able to live up to that expectation.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58# The space between
0:56:59 > 0:57:02# You and me
0:57:03 > 0:57:06# When you call me... #
0:57:07 > 0:57:11'I think, now, I'm at that point where I don't feel
0:57:11 > 0:57:14'obligated to live up to anybody else's standards but my own.'
0:57:14 > 0:57:18# The day that you're alone... #
0:57:18 > 0:57:20I think I had, like, the type of realisation a few years ago,
0:57:20 > 0:57:22where it was, sort of, like,
0:57:22 > 0:57:26"Do you know what, only you live this life."
0:57:28 > 0:57:31# It's poetry
0:57:34 > 0:57:38# In the space between... #
0:57:38 > 0:57:40'Like, this life in this body, only you live it.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43'Other people, they have opinions about it,
0:57:43 > 0:57:46'but they don't have to live with it.'
0:57:49 > 0:57:51Thank you very much. And thank you to the band!
0:57:53 > 0:57:54You guys - seriously!
0:58:05 > 0:58:08In part two, we'll meet the other children
0:58:08 > 0:58:10whose journeys we began at the age of seven.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12What would you do in Hollywood?
0:58:12 > 0:58:14Be a star.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18'I can imagine myself watching TV, Match Of The Day,'
0:58:18 > 0:58:23watching England. I can see myself in that centre-mid position.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25'I want to get to the Olympics'
0:58:25 > 0:58:26in 2012.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29'God's in charge of every country'
0:58:29 > 0:58:32in the world. He's king of the world, him.
0:58:32 > 0:58:36'When I was younger I wanted to be an archaeologist,
0:58:36 > 0:58:38'only to find out later on that I was scared of corpses.'
0:58:38 > 0:58:41Tell me how you get on at school.
0:58:41 > 0:58:45It's really good. It's cool. Yeah, man. Whoo-hoo!
0:58:46 > 0:58:49Phew. Now that is a different story entirely.