Oscar Delissen (23) was raised on his parents’ houseboat in Utrecht. He started his Bachelor of Food Technology in Wageningen when he was 19, which he is currently finishing. In Wageningen, Delissen lives on land, in Rijnveste. ‘Living here is pleasant. Next to the water, but with ducks passing by, rather than rowers.’
‘I love the Dutch language, both written and spoken. I also like to hold presentations, for example.’ Delissen writes for his own pleasure. ‘I wrote poetry for some time. The exciting thing about writing is that you cannot control how your message is received. If you tell a story, you want it to be interpreted as you intended, with your purpose, balloons, and ideas. This is much easier to achieve in a face-to-face conversation than written text because a live conversation allows you to use energy and expressions, as well as interacting.’
Jürgen Klopp
‘These days, everyone seems to have to be opinionated about everything’, says Delissen. ‘In that respect, I feel the words of Jürgen Klopp, the Liverpool coach. He was asked about the coronavirus during a press conference and replied with: “A am a football coach. Ask the experts, and let me talk about something I know all about: football.” I feel the same, so I limit my writing to issues that concern me.’
What issues are those? ‘For example, the challenges of sustainability in practice. You could do all manner of things to be more sustainable: stop flying, eat less meat, short showers, switching off the TV instead of leaving it on stand-by. But what is the most sustainable? You can’t do it all, so you have to choose, but the most effective choice remains intangible. There should be some kind of universal measuring unit for sustainability so that everyone who wants to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle can do so as efficiently as possible.’
Contrast
‘I would also like to write about contrast. You often only realise something’s value when you no longer have it. When you can’t go out anymore, you suddenly miss a drunk night on the town. Or, after a long winter, you are delighted at a 17-degree temperature. At the same time, you would stay indoors at this temperature in the summer. Contrast is a useful tool to help you focus on that which you have, and appreciate it more.’
Read his first blog here.
Oscar Delissen is a bachelor’s student in Food Technology. He lives on Rijnveste in Wageningen.