An Irishman shared his deepest thoughts through colloquial poetry on TikTok, garnering praise.
Andy Leech, from Navan, Co. Meath, suffered from homesickness last year while traveling with electronic dance music artist Le Boum. This musical endeavor focuses on electronic dance music fused with conversational spoken word poetry. Andy’s brother Christy composed the music and he wrote the lyrics.
Andy told IrishStar.com: I got to see parts of the world that I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
“I really love flying, being outside and experiencing different cultures.”
Despite enjoying the thrill of both traveling and performing, Andy said he was terrified when he learned he would be spending Christmas away from home. He said it wasn’t so much his own absence as his realization that Christmas is the time when most of his emigrated friends return home.
Andy, whose TikTok handle is andys.words, said: Knowing that my friends would only be going home to Navan for a very limited period of time while I was out made it a little harder to enjoy the holidays as usual. ”
Fear of missing out (FOMO) led him to express his thoughts on TikTok. He created Missing The Craic, which features evocative language and commentary about being away from home for Christmas, juxtaposed with beautiful visuals from his travels. The last line was, “Sometimes the only reason you leave is to come back.”
People immediately felt sympathy, especially those who were spending Christmas away from home. People who have lived abroad for long periods of time commented that it was very refreshing to hear someone talk openly about feeling lonely. Earlier this year, Andy posted another video for the Le Boum-produced song “Australia,” which went semi-viral.
Andy said: “I really enjoy making TikTok. I guess you could call it poetry, but it really feels like a conversation with a friend.
“As soon as I posted this piece, people were liking it and commenting on it. It was really through the lens of an Irish person living abroad in Australia, America, Dubai, etc. That’s when I saw this work again.”
“I think going home for Christmas and being away for Christmas is a universal feeling now.
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“Even though I wrote it for a specific week in my life, people related to it. It felt really cool when people liked it and sent us really nice messages about it.”
Le Boom has an exciting year ahead of them as they continue their European tour in 2024. Andi’s TikTok followers can expect more thoughts and commentary on travel and immigration in the coming months.
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