Photo Guy Ackermans Philip Timmers (19), a first-year bachelor’s student, likes gardening and word art. He doesn’t necessarily want the final say, but he likes to have the nicest word.
The first-year student is relatively new in Wageningen and likes the city, although it is small. ‘I grew up in Utrecht, so I am used to a bigger city. Last year, I attended an international school in Denmark, which broadened my perspective.’ Still, Timmers feels at home in Wageningen. ‘My student room is filled with plants. I like to garden and am a member of Wageningen Student Farm. I can hardly wait to wear my summer jacket and enjoy sitting outside with a book and the sun on my face.’
His love for letters is a constant in Timmers’ life. ‘In secondary school, I encountered some really beautiful words that I wanted to write down and remember. Words such as cloud cover, undulating, coddling, macabre and picturesque. My fascination resulted in an app group in which I shared beautiful words with others’, Timmers says. He shared twelve words a week and a poll that allowed people to select the Word of the Week.
Handwritten
Timmers regularly sends his girlfriend, his grandmother and a friend in Amsterdam handwritten letters. ‘A letter has more value than any form of modern communications. Moreover, you contact the person at an entirely different level. I write to my grandmother about events or periods in our lives, and I seek her advice. I exchange letters with my friend in Amsterdam about our childhood fantasies on our future, books and philosophical musings.’
My current favourite word is flippant. It just sounds great, and there is a nice feel to it
Timmers intends to introduce readers of Resource to the wonderous world of words through his columns. ‘It would be great if they start to recognise beautiful words more frequently as well. I like to use bells and whistles and nice words and phrases in my columns. My current favourite word is flippant. It sounds great and has a nice roll in it.
His emails always end with a greeting in line with the content. If he is enthusiastic about something, he ends with enthusiastic regards. If he is working on an assignment and has a question, the recipient might receive arduous regards. When agreeing on a time for this interview or answering the question of when we might expect his first column, he signed off with ‘timely regards’.
Philip’s first column is available here.
