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Status anxiety

I swam up to a beautiful girl on the beach, and my life changed

If I hadn’t summoned the courage to speak to her, I wouldn’t have managed all the other things I’m thankful I’ve done

1 November 2014

9:00 AM

1 November 2014

9:00 AM

I’m writing this from Portugal, where I’m staying with my old friend Sean Langan. His family has owned a farm in the Algarve for several generations and I first came to stay with them when I was 18. I continued to spend every summer here for the next five years and, together, they represent some of the happiest periods of my life.

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Toby Young is associate editor of The Spectator.

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