Leeds is what I would consider a diverse and culturally rich haven for anyone who describes themselves a lover of the arts. If you are as such then, like me, you will most certainly spend your time feeling like an excited child in this city sized sweet shop. I have spent a number of years here during my studies, opting to stay for the foreseeable future and, given my aspirations to work in music, feel the vitality of remaining plugged into the network of the diverse and innovative creatives that litter the City, of whom are paving the way for a bright and hopeful future for this sprawling West Yorkshire metropolis.

It’s not all flat caps and rainbows however, there is, as you would assume during the creation of rainbows, the inevitability of rain. Like so many of our beloved UK cities, Leeds is plagued with its own take on the problems we face as a country, and as a planet, today. Austerity, the cost of living, difficulty accessing healthcare, crime, political divisions and the rest, all of which we are uncomfortably well aquatinted at this point. I don’t wish to make this political or steer outside of my already widening lane but if I am to make the case for the brilliance of this city and others like it then it is my duty to confront its flaws. The appreciation I have for the so called ‘cultural richness’ must be understood in context, and aspects of said context are some difficult truths to swallow. For the time being, I don’t feel it right for me to discuss certain issues so many people are currently facing as I am not qualified nor have enough experience to justify me trying to offer meaningful and educated solutions. So allow my to steer us back into a lane of which I am more knowledgable. I am a young person. Not just that but a young, creative person and this is a recipe, some would argue, for disaster.

Looking at the problems we face, young people, such as myself, are troubled with the prospect of never buying a house, or are even scarcely able to obtain any capitol for that matter. Its all strangely being overlooked due to the overblown, so called culture war nonsense by which our politicians seem so unnecessarily distracted. Once again, like so many times in history, the most important issues are overlooked in favour of petty squabbles and unjustified outrage at the cost of real lives.

There is a saving grace however, that being art and culture. It sounds rather cliche but it remains true. What young people are lacking in financial capital, they are certainly making up for in an abundance of culture and I believe this to merely be the beginning.

Kaiser Chiefs, Nicola Adams, Cluedo (I'm not joking about that last one, look it up), Leeds continues to offer the world more than it will ever be credited for and for that I thank it.