Where Have I Been

WHERE HAVE I BEEN

Hello dear readers, I hope you're all well and happy and good. It feels like ages since I've done some blogging. Up until the post I did the other day, I just didn't have time to sit down and write a post, let alone think of what to write. All my inspiration melted away somewhere, and instead uni became the juggernaut express, trailblazing at the speed of light with the weeks flying by. There was reading to be done, assignments to write, studies to critically appraise. There was all the extracurricular stuff that needed doing too, and the fun things that make me so happy and fulfilled. Life has felt like a whirlwind the last few weeks. Lots of ups and downs. Iffy moments and really amazing moments. A lot of special things have happened that I will never forget, as has there been the daily slog, where I'm just trying to get through things day by day and stay on top of everything. I guess you could say it's typical life. Life in it's truest form. Where things are never simple, and so much is going on, and it feels like the party never really stops. We just keep dancing down the street day in day out. 

So as part explanation, and whilst I have the time in between end of uni work and start of my upcoming 6 week placement, I thought I'd do a quick post listing some of the things I've been up to recently. Kind of like a heads up, and also so you can rest easy knowing that I haven't been abducted by aliens and am now living a groovy life in Jupiter, speaking gobbledegook. Life hasn't been the most interesting, but it's been brilliant none the less, and I feel like an awful lot has changed in the last few weeks alone. I'm feel stronger, more excited for the future, focused, knowledgeable, loved, appreciative of the amazing people I'm lucky to have in my life, content, happy, confident, and I know that times may be bonkers and crazy right now, but that's life. And I'm okay with that. I wouldn't have it any other way.

-Also on a side note, my blog recently made 40,000 views, so I'd like to say thank you x a million trillion gazillion to every single one of you who has ever popped by to say hello & take a nosey. It means more than I could ever express <3 -

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-Seeing my brilliant, amazing, lovely mum and dad

-Going to Wetherspoons too much

-Drinking G&T (waheeey classy girl)

-Playing korfball matches and spending too much time getting red and sweaty and chatting to opposite team, instead of scoring any goals

-Buying too many clothes in Primark

-Going on the most amazing bar crawl with most amazing people and dancing all night long 

-Doing more dancing, because it is the best

-Walking home in the pouring rain at 3am in the morning with a random guy called Amin and discussing the prices of Tesco vs. Lidl

-PYJAMA DAYS

-Drinking obscene amounts of lemon & ginger tea

-Eating too much peanut butter on toast (the babe of all babes)

-Learning how to play the drum I impulsively bought a few weeks ago

-Singing McFly songs in the shower

-Trying to ward off the mice in our house with cotton wool pads dipped in mint mouthwash (didn't work, cue pest control)

-Baking cakey things that look like turds

-BAKE OFF!!!!!

-Watching Girl On The Train in the cinema (very creepy)

-Wearing my new coat which I love love love, but have since realised isn't waterproof (not great when you live in one of the rainiest cities in England)

-Talking to my sister on the phone most days

-Speaking to someone I haven't spoken to in quite a while and making peace with the past

-Watching the brilliant Honne perform at Gorilla (SO GOOD!!!!)

-Painting pumpkin faces onto paper plates

-Leaving glitter trails wherever I go

-Making Halloween decorations

-Throwing a party for old people in our uni bar (so lovely!) and talking to them all
-Making a 4 hour long playlist full of amazing golden oldies 

-Learning more songs on my guitar

-Doing so. much. uni work

-Critically appraising research papers (ooooh fun)

-Getting hooked on Tim Burton films

-Stressing out about placement and having a lil meltdown, as always happens, but feeling pretty excited about it now!! :) 

-Trying to get better at time management

-Making people laugh 

-Making new friends (wOooOoOOOooOOo)

-Watching Angus Thongs & Perfect Snogging and cringing/ laughing my head off/ wishing I could go back to secondary school again when the biggest problems were 'does he fancy me' and 'how should I do my hair this morning' and 'why is this gigantanormous zit not shrinking'

-Having my oldest friend come up and stay with me

-Drinking cocktails and eating late night maccys

-Going up to Cloud 23 for a nice view of Manchester in all its glory

-Preparing to volunteer at LGBT, helping transgender people to find their true voice

-Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls Gilmore Girls, always

-Trying to read my Bruce Springsteen book

-Painting glass bottles 

-Making lots and lots of lists so that I don't forget things

-Feeling the feels

-Dinner night with some of my old housemates, eating thai green curry and profiteroles and laughing at my friend's mad driving skills

-Speaking of driving, it's officially been one whole year since I passed, and in that time I have driven two times (clearly making good use of all those driving lessons then)

-Enjoying autumn (the best season)
-Doing a bit of role play, as part of my course (you'll be seeing me at the BAFTAs next year)

-Taking Neil the sloth around Manchester with my friend from home & listening to lots of good music

-Planning a christmas party for the lovely old people

-Fangirling when one of the strictest lectures on my course called me Tash 

-Joking around with my friend on the walk to uni and laughing about the silliest of things

-Trying to make cheese sauce that is actually a sauce and not a big gooey blob that envelopes all the other food on the plate (why is it so hard????)
-Reading lots of R.M. Drake poetry

-Accidentally using the male toilets and convincing any guys that came in that they were in the wrong toilet, not me

-Trying to spot Manchester amongst all the roadworks 

-Feeling very happy to be alive, even if life is mad

-LISTENING TO CHRISTMAS SONGS!!!! TIS THE SEASON!!

R. M. Drake

R. M. DRAKE

R. M. Drake, real name Robert Macias, is a writer and poet whose beautiful, meaningful, heartfelt literary pieces have quite literally taken over Instagram over the past few years. The incredibly talented writer began publishing his work on the infamous social media site, and his spectacular way with words quickly saw him recognised and acclaimed by fans worldwide. Always signing off his pieces with his mysterious semi-pseudonym, the real identity of this poet extraordinaire was in the dark, something that only added to his body of work and the identity he was readily creating for himself. In a world where we know so much about so many people, a little mystery and otherworldliness is something of a treat. The curiosity and anticipation are unfamiliar and beautiful feelings. 

A former art director and lifelong writer, R. M. Drake now writes full time, and what makes him all the more remarkable, is that he has managed to self-publish his own work, which in part was made possible by the massive fan base he has deservedly acquired via social media over the years. And his work already contends with the likes of Sylvia Plath, Maya Angelou and Edgar Allan Poe in the poetry book charts. R. M. Drake is truly a modern day poet for the masses. Even though we are so lucky to have access to the works of so many highly revered and well established poets from over the decades, poets who we study in school and never forget, poets we remember from childhood, poets whose work infuses popular culture, I think there is something rather special in having a poet who represents who we are in the here and now. A name people will remember for many generations to come.

I personally love R. M. Drake's work because of the meaning contained within his words. I identify with the feelings, moments and perspectives he describes about love, life, relationships, death, and everything in between. He has a special knack at exploring feelings and experiences, and then choosing the right words to perfectly express them. It seems so magical and full of wonder and power. The words are then combined together in such a special and effective way, and what I think I love the most, is that it doesn't feel like R. M. Drake tries to hard. His work isn't abstract, nor is is pretentious or ambitious, trying to be something it's not. When you read an R. M. Drake poem, it feels real, natural, organic, original. Like it was written from the soul and the heart, and that in turn touches my own heart and soul and fills them with life and energy and feeling. It really is something stunning, which is why I'd love to share some of my favourite pieces with you dear readers.

If you want to see more of R. M. Drake's work, just click here!

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BEAUTIFUL PIECES...

How To Recover iTunes Library After An Update

HOW TO RECOVER ITUNES LIBRARY AFTER AN UPDATE

For the last goddam how many years I have been resisting iTunes offer to update to the latest version. I don't really know why I resisted it so much, but anyhow, I put up a mighty good fight until some point yesterday afternoon I must've clicked on the wrong combination of buttons. And next thing I knew, iTunes looked more modern (not so bad) and my whole iTunes library had disappeared off it with no explanation (rather bloody bad). I had no idea how it happened, or why it happened, and as you can imagine I was rather peeved that my iTunes library, which I'd carefully spent 4 years growing to the grand total of 2,107 songs, had completely gone. 

On my iTunes I usually have the setting that means my library gets automatically backed up onto my computer, but for some reason, when I went to find it yesterday it had disappeared with no explanation. The only library I could find was one that had 15 songs I'd bought from iTunes on it. Not great. So the majority of yesterday evening I googled every possible solution known to man, but none of them worked, or the recommended software looked dodgy, or the fact I couldn't even find my original iTunes library was a bit of a problem. The most frustrating thing, was when I plugged my iPod in, it showed my entire music library was there, but I couldn't transfer any of the music back onto my iTunes. What a bummer.

It was only after I accidentally deleted something on my computer and went to recover it from the Recycling Bin, that I noticed lots of songs from my iTunes library were in the bin too. I never would have thought to look there. And I know I certainly didn't put my music there. I also saw the folder which contained my iTunes library in the bin too, and that's when I started to get to suspicious. The long and short of it, is that in my case anyway, it appears that my iTunes update subsequently did something to my computer, causing it to bin my iTunes library. So I thought I'd knock together a quick post with the steps I took to retrieve my poor lil' iTunes library, because if you've found yourself in a similar position, it might just work for you too!

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001. As soon as you notice your iTunes is missing, open up your Recycle Bin 

002. Click 'restore all items' and wait till everything has transferred

003. Click on your 'Music' folder in your 'This PC' folder

004. Click on your iTunes folder and see if your library is there, and if the file name includes a date/ time before the iTunes update happen (eg. iTunes Library 2016-10-08), OR see if a new folder appears in your 'Music' folder with your iPod's name (mine is called Vi, and after transferring back from my recycle bin, a folder re-appeared called Vi)

005. To check if it's the right iTunes Library, quit iTunes, then hold the 'shift' key while you click on the iTunes library file

006. A box should come up allowing you to 'choose ipod library'. Select this option and then a new box will open up, allowing you to select an iPod library from wherever you may have it stored.

007. Fingers crossed, your old iTunes library should be restored!!!

Good luck, and I hope this helps :)

Let's Celebrate Variation

LET'S CELEBRATE VARIATION

The other night I watched the absolutely brilliant Sally Phillips documentary on BBC2: 'A World Without Down's Syndrome'. I was intrigued to watch it predominantly because as a student Speech & Language Therapist, the Down's Syndrome community is one that I could potentially be working with at some point in my career. Up until very recently, this week in fact, I didn't know very much about Down's Syndrome. Only the occasional thing here and there. By chance I have been looking more into the condition as part of a course project, and in the upcoming weeks I will be taught about how developmental conditions such as Down's Syndrome, are managed from the Speech & Language perspective. Therefore I was really interested to find out more about Down's Syndrome, and see it from a different perspective. Before sitting down to watch Sally's documentary, I assumed that it would simply be about the new non-invasive Down's Syndrome screening test and the pros and cons for it, as well as what life is like for individuals with Down's Syndrome and their families. And whilst it was all those things, and it presented the screening debate in an interesting and fair manner, what I wasn't expecting, was for for the documentary to raise such prominent, important and thought provoking issues about society in general. In particular how we respond to variation and differences in mankind.

Until this documentary, I didn't realise how very much needed this type of discussion is. I didn't realise how advanced the art of screening has become, and how we can now account for so many different genetic variations and predict them well in advance. I didn't realise how readily available screening is becoming, nor did I really consider the ethical implications of it either. I didn't realise how powerful it could potentially be, for in spite of the benefits screening may bring, such as advanced warning of conditions that we could later develop in life, it's alarming to think that screening during pregnancy essentially affords us the right to choose who gets a chance at life and who does not. It effectively allows us to play the hand of God, a scary thought to say the least. And lastly, I didn't realise how the general consensus amongst the medical professions is that variation is a negative, and that so many professionals in positions of authority, ideally believe that variation should be avoided at all costs. 

Whilst I fully understand that being able to make an informative and educated choice is always a good thing, as is it important in the modern day, patient-focused NHS, I think there's a problem when that information is presented in a biased way, whether intentional or not. Even in a lecture today, someone raised the issue of how we as professionals can unintentionally project our own beliefs, assumptions, feelings and ideals onto the people we are working with, and we don't even realise we're doing it. And when you're in a position of trust, as are most healthcare professionals, we don't realise the influence that we can have over the people we work with, nor do we realise how our perspectives can be clouded by our own assumptions. Even if our advice is coming from a good, caring, well-meant place, which in most cases it is, it can be very difficult to separate our beliefs from those of the patient. What we view as a negative may be a positive in the eyes of another. What we view as an obstacle may be nothing of concern. What we view as important may merely be a speck in the horizon. As a professional, people come to you for help, advice, guidance, support, and I think we have a duty to not only do all those things as best we can, but to do so in a fair and unbiased way. It's not really possible for a patient to make their own informed decision if we're preempting a particular outcome from the very beginning.

Likewise, I believe that the media has an awful lot of responsibility with regards to how it translates and transmits healthcare-related news too. With outlets such as television, radio, newspapers and the internet being many people's first port of call for finding new information, a lot of what we know and understand about the world comes from these sources. And unless we've got experiences or knowledge to suggest otherwise, it's incredibly easy for us to believe and trust so wholly and unquestionably in the things we are being told. If we are told that a new study says drinking four glasses of orange juice a day will prevent us from developing cancer, we will believe it, even if the reality is that the study only found a slight positive correlation, or its methods were flawed to begin with. We don't know any better. We aren't the experts. We just do what we're told and we rarely stop to question it. And if the media hail a new screening test that will detect Down's Syndrome with 99% efficacy, as a brilliant, amazing, win for science and modern medicine, then we will subconsciously believe this is true too. We will automatically view it as a positive, even though we haven't stopped to think about the other side of the story, and what that might tell us.

Watching Sally's documentary was a particularly poignant and alerting watch for me, mostly because it got me thinking about the job I am training to do, a Speech and Language Therapist, and how in some respects I am essentially becoming part of the machine that tries to suppress and correct variation instead of celebrating and encouraging it. Obviously there are some client groups I may work with, for whom this is not the case, and the need to help them is for health reasons, such as those with laryngeal or swallowing problems, or to help establish effective means of communication, however basic, and help them discover or rediscover their voice. A lot of Speech & Language Therapy does come from that all important heart of helping people to communicate effectively, because communication is essentially what makes the world go round. But things like Sally's documentary do make me question if my future career will merely see me feeding into the system that views these wonderful, beautiful, inspiring variants of life and normality as disorders, impairments, difficulties, things to fix, problems to solve. If my career is basically helping people to become 'normal', whatever that may be, and build them up so that they meet society's expectations of what is acceptable. Will I just be helping to make the existing problems with society's outlook worse, even when that's the last thing I want to do? Will I be re-enforcing the idea that the people I work with are lesser than everybody else, that they won't have the same quality of life, that they need to change who they are and suppress the very things that make them unique and so wonderful? 

When I helped out at a stammering convention back in September, a talk I went to highlighted that all important question: who is it that really has the problem? And with regards to quality of life, during our training we're taught to see the communication impairment as the problem, it's the individual who has the problem, when what if in some cases, it's actually society's reaction to it, that's the real problem? The lack of understanding, the lack of acceptance, the lack of adaptation and accommodation, the lack of support and education, the lack of opportunities, the lack of kindness and consideration and humanity. I think it's so hard for us to view things from that perspective, because it's hard for us to understand the gravitas of such a fundamental, devastating human error. It goes beyond our comprehension, and the way we have been raised to view and process the world around us. It's easier to shift the blame somewhere else instead of stopping to take a long hard look at ourselves both as individuals and as societies. But similarly, at the same time I understand that it's such a difficult topic to talk about because of its complexity, and how their isn't really somebody to blame, a scapegoat to pin everything on to. It's easy to understand both sides of the story, both sides to the argument, so I guess the most important question is this: where do we go from here?

Referring back to Down's Syndrome in particular, this documentary reminded me that these people are so much more than the labels placed upon them, and how a variation from the 'norm' doesn't mean they are any less than any other human being, nor does it mean their quality of life is any less either. We all make up a huge melting pot of variation amongst us, it's just sometimes our variations, the things that make us unique and brilliant and who we are, are more distinguishable and noticeable than others. It reminded me that as a healthcare professional in training, I need to make sure I always see the person at the very heart of everything, not the label or the diagnosis, and how I always see them as my equal too. How I need to use my career to help people live the kind of life that they want to lead, irrespective of anyone else. In the healthcare world it's so easy to formalise things, dehumanise things, and become detached from the all important emotional, real, humane core of everything. And when that happens, that's when I think we can really learn a thing or two from the very people we're trying to help. In our society we are cultured to strive for the norm, for perfection, for acceptance, for validation, for authority, for status, for superiority, even though these things are unachievable, unimportant and with regards to the norm and perfection, don't even exist in the first place. They're just guidelines we're initially taught to help us make sense of the world. And in striving for these things false ideals, we end up losing our perspective on what really matters in the first place. We forget how to be good people.

Those deemed 'different', 'impaired', 'disabled', 'disordered', 'weird', 'imperfect', 'ugly', 'stupid', are in fact some of the most inspiring, incredible, beautiful, wise, wonderful, humble, good, kind, strong, best people you will ever know. To even be able to meet people like them, let alone work with them, is such a blessing, and to think that every day I will get to work with the best people society has to offer, makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world, as does it motivate me to carry on slogging away at my degree. To see how these people overcome adversity day after day, how they carry on with a smile, even when times get tough, how every day they go out into a world that struggles to understand, accept and help them, how they touch the lives of those around them so effortlessly and beautifully. Even though in theory I will be the one to help these people, they will be helping me in return and perhaps more so. Their strength, resilience, hope, goodness, kindness, acceptance of others and of themselves, their outlook on life, all these characteristics that make a good human being, they have by the bucket load. They are the people we should be learning from. And that right there is why I think variation is such a core, essential, key component of life as we know it. 

Not only does variation keep our species thriving and evolving and adept in the physical sense, I also think our perspective towards variation, and how we deal with it and approach it, is the very thing that helps us to evolve into good human beings. It nurtures our humanity and it has a knack of bringing out the very best in us too. Variation makes us human. How we respond to it is what makes us humane.Variation is the core power behind life and existence. It's what makes it possible in the first place, a key principle, and it's such a wonderful, incredible, eclectic and unique concept. And I think the only reason why mankind resists it, or on the converse, tries to gain the upper hand over it, is because sometimes we can't quite comprehend its magnitude, or how it is the one thing we have, up till now, been unable to fully control. Us humans struggle to understand differences, even though they are our maker, and we to accept the unknown and uncertainty. You only need to look at history to tell you that. It makes it harder for us to make sense of the world we live in, and ourselves as a species within it. But the older I get, the more I realise how important and treasured variation is. We get sucked into that cloying us vs them mentality, yet the reality is that none of us are the same. There is no right or wrong. There is no perfect or superior human. We all look different, sound different, walk different, talk different, view the world different, act different, think different, have different strengths and weaknesses, perfections and imperfections, potentials and limitations. We are all flawed. We are all an asset to this world, and that is because of our uniqueness. There is nobody else like you. Nobody else like me. And being a good human isn't dependent on how 'normal' or perfect you are, nor is having a good quality of life and enjoying your life, dependent on being 'normal' either. Anybody can be a good person, and anybody can live an incredible life, with the right support, help and care.

So I guess it's time for us as people, and as a society, to start to question our mindsets, question our approaches, question our opinions and beliefs, and why we formed them in the first place. Of course we are all entitled to our own opinions, and of course many of them stem from valid reasons, but I think there's a fundamental problem when we let those opinions stem from our fears and preoccupations, and when we let those opinions give us permission to dictate the premise of who should be allowed to live and who should not. Variation is nothing to fear. Variation is not a mistake or an error or a problem. Variation teaches us about the world, life, ourselves as human, and who we are as individuals. Variation makes life possible in a multitude of different ways. Variation makes us unique, and it makes us who we are. Variation is something we have already learned to cope with and are still learning to cope with, and things as a whole are getting better. Acceptance of variation is on the rise. As a society, even though we have our problems, some more pressing than others, and no we aren't perfect, it fills me with immense joy to see how the views of my generation have already altered from those ahead of us. We're more open minded, understanding, accepting, and we embrace variation in whatever form it may present, and we will carry those characteristics forward throughout the rest of our lives. The future looks promising, or at least from where I'm standing, and things really do have the potential to get better. At this point in time, as a species we're developing in more than one way: we have our scientific discoveries which will lead us into unknown territory, and we have our emotional development as society and individuals, which will also lead us into unknown territory. Both can change mankind as we know it, and I don't know about you, but I certainly know which one I prefer.

How To Cope With Uni

HOW TO COPE WITH UNI

The other day, I happened to read an article that highlighted how students are more likely to develop depression, anxiety and heightened stress during their time spent at university. Due to numerous pressures including exams, dissertations, assignments, social life, love life, extra curriculars, family, money, -insert anything you could possibly think of in the whole wide world-, the likelihood of experiencing a meltdown akin to an erupting Mount Vesuvius is sky high, and unsurprisingly so too. And I think the worst thing of all, is that you're completely and utterly unprepared for it when it happens. Whether you're coming into uni straight from college, after a gap year, or entering as a mature student, the one thing no-one ever seems to tell you about uni is that it is hard, with a capital H A R and D. You hear about how it will be the best time of your life, how you will make so many friends, how awesome it is moving to a new city, being independent, living in a house, how much fun the societies and nights out and house parties and socials are, how student loan is like a triple kiss from God and how you will go straight into employment with your 1st class honours degree because you're such a clever clogs and all round super crazy amazing person. And yes, all those things are likely to happen and you really will have such a ball, but the degree itself, the one thing people always forget to mention, is often one of the most difficult things you will ever do. And that in turn, means that things are not always hunky dory, and the most important thing to remember is that that is okay.

Now that I've begun my third year of madness, and my poor brain tries to figure out just how I'm going to survive yet another year, and comprehend how I even made it this far in the first place, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the overall uni experience, warts and all. Share some of my own advice regarding how to cope with it, so that we can all save that Vesuvius eruption for another day. I think one of the most important things to recognise about uni, is that it is very much a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly. When you first start, particularly if you've moved away from home or you're having to travel to the moon and back just to make it into uni every morning, the first thing you realise is that your life is essentially thrown up in arms. It's like uni blows a whirlwind your way, and suddenly everything you ever knew is up in the air, and it takes a while for it all to settle back down again and for some kind of normality to resume. You need to make friends with all these strangers. You need to figure out how to get around campus. You need to work out how to use your student card and how to even get into the library, let alone take out a book. You need to get used to living in your new home, get used to your new city, get used to not living with the people you love and know best. You need to start looking into those extra curriculars to pimp your CV. You need to learn how lectures work, how to use the online learning platforms, how to write uni standard essays. You need to get your head around referencing, the actual stuff you've come here to learn, and the fact that journals are no longer diaries featuring word vom about all the boys you're crushing on. 

It's a lot to stomach in one go, and even when you finally get the knack of it all, which may be half way through first year, or half way through second year if you're me, it still doesn't really get easier. Just when you find your footing, the content gets harder and the demands placed upon you increase. And alongside that you have grown up problems to deal with too, like shooing out rogue slugs in the downstairs bedroom, berating the local council for sending you a tax bill, stressing if you have enough money to pay your rent, a fridge that thinks it's a freezer, talking to the police about a car that got smashed by burglars the other night, and regretting the alcohol and cheese toastie induced messages you sent at 4 in the morning to that guy you like. And you sometimes find yourself wondering if you should just quit while you're ahead and pursue a career as a toilet paper distributor in a local nightclub instead. You wonder if all this is really worth it at the end of the day. You wonder if this is what you really want. Who needs that naff graduation picture hanging in the downstairs toilet anyway, right? You question if you're actually clever enough for this uni malarky, and if the fact you made it to third year is just sheer luck. You look at everyone else and wonder how they have it so easy, how they haven't exploded yet, how they're managing to maintain their social life and relationships and cracking fashion sense and all round sanity. It's like the uni gods tapped everyone with the magic wand of success and good fortune, but then they got swayed by the £1 pizza deal at Domino's and they forget to send some magic your way too. That's what it can feel like sometimes, but the important thing is that it isn't like that all the time. 

Although university may be hard, and the degree itself will push you to your limit and then some, and you may have the occasional freak out or melt down, and things may not always go your way, all this is just one side of the story. The other side, as it turns out, is actually pretty okay. There's all the fun, wonderful, joyful, special, unforgettable, crazy moments that help make everything feel worthwhile. Motivate you to keep on going. Make you feel happy and proud and content. The obstacles you overcome. The successes you earn. The battles you face. The people you meet. The experiences you collect. The way you move closer to your end goal every single day. There's a reason why people are so eager to go to uni in the first place, and there's a reason why the majority make it out at the other end in one piece, clutching their degree certificate and and happy dancing their way on to the podium.

So until that day comes (which it will), what can we do to make it easier for ourselves? How we can survive the ups and downs, and make it to the end of our degree in one piece? How can we cope with everything? How do we keep the juggling act afloat and in motion? Is it even possible? If I'm being honest, I don't think there's ever a perfect answer to these kinds of questions, and naturally as I've only just begun 3rd year (even though I feel like I've been at uni for a million trillion years), I don't quite have all the answers either. But I have experienced enough to know what works, what doesn't work, what's okay, what's not okay, and how to get through the more trying times and get the most out of the whole uni experience. So I think that's a pretty good start. And if even one of my tips helps you, even just a smidge, then it's so absolutely worth it.

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MY TOP TIPS

001. Laugh
 LAUGH LOTS. LAUGH WHEN YOU MAKE A TIT OF YOURSELF. LAUGH WHEN SOMEONE MAKES A TIT OF THEMSELVES. LAUGH WHEN THINGS GO TITS UP. LAUGH OVER SILLY, WONDERFUL, STUPID THINGS. LAUGH AT FUNNY WORDS. LAUGH WHEN YOU HEAR SOMETHING RIDICULOUS. LAUGHING SOLVES A MULTITUDE OF PROBLEMS.

002. Keep Up

TRY AND DO YOUR NOTES AND ESSENTIAL/ RECOMMENDED READING ON THE SAME DAY AS THE LECTURE (ie. do it as you go along instead of letting it all pile up and subsequently having a cataclysmic meltdown).

003. Talking to non-uni people

REGULARLY TALK TO PEOPLE YOU KNOW WHO AREN'T AT UNI, SUCH AS FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS, PARTNERS ETC. THEY'LL MAKE YOU REALISE THAT THERE'S A WHOLE WORLD OUTSIDE OF UNI, & THAT THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN UNI TOO (basically help you regain your perspective).

004. Talking to uni people

REGULARLY TALK TO PEOPLE WHO AREN'T ON YOUR COURSE. IT WILL MAKE YOU REALISE THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE IT TOUGH TOO, AND THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE. IT ALSO HELPS YOU PUT YOUR OWN PROBLEMS AND STRESSES ASIDE, IF ONLY FOR A LITTLE WHILE.

005. Use the printer

PRINT OFF THINGS FROM LECTURES, INSTEAD OF WRITING EVERY SINGLE THING= SAVES A LOT OF TIME & STRESS

006. Academic Adviser

MAKE REGULAR APPOINTMENTS WITH YOUR ACADEMIC ADVISER. IT HELPS TO KNOW THAT THERE'S SOMEONE THERE YOU CAN TALK TO AND WHO CAN SUPPORT YOU. 

007. Bug Lecturers

EMAIL LECTURERS IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, UNCERTAINTIES OR WORRIES THAT ARE BUGGING YOU, EVEN IF YOU THINK THAT DOING SO WILL MAKE YOU LOOK STUPID OR WEAK OR ANNOYING. THEY GET PAID TO HELP YOU & THEY WANT TO HELP YOU & SEE YOU SUCCEED, SO MAKE THE MOST OF THEM.

008. Exercise 

DO EXERCISE, EVEN IF IT'S JUST WALKING TO AND FROM UNI. IT CAN HELP TO COUNTERBALANCE THE MENTAL & EMOTIONAL DEMANDS WITH PHYSICAL DEMANDS, AND NOT ONLY DOES IT HELP PROVIDE A HEALTHY EMOTIONAL OUTLET, IT ALSO HELPS YOU KEEP FIT.

009. Word Vomit

WRITE DOWN ALL THOUGHTS ON YOUR HEAD ONTO A PIECE OF PAPER. EVEN IF IT'S UNINTELLIGIBLE, THE MERE ACT OF WORD VOMITING YOUR THOUGHTS & CLEARING OUT YOUR MIND DOES ABSOLUTE WONDERS.

010. To-do lists

MAKE LOTS OF TO-DO LISTS, THEY'RE VERY USEFUL, EG: WHAT YOU'RE DOING EACH DAY & WHEN, RANDOM ODD BITS YOU NEED TO DO, THINGS YOU NEED TO BUY, ASSIGNMENTS/ ASSESSMENTS/ EXAMS THIS SEMESTER, THINGS YOU NEED TO DO FOR UNI THIS WEEK, UNI WORK YOU WANT TO GET DONE TODAY. IT HELPS FOCUS YOUR ENERGIES IN THE RIGHT PLACES, HELPS YOU PLAN YOUR DAY, HELPS MOTIVATE YOU BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY ACHIEVED, AND IT HELPS YOU KNOW WHEN TO CALL IT QUITS & JUST RELAX.

011. Relax

ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU SCHEDULE IN RELAXATION TIME EACH DAY, EVEN IF IT'S JUST AN HOUR. AS UNI GETS HARDER, IT'S EASY TO DISREGARD RELAXATION AS BEING A WASTE OF VALUABLE TIME. THIS IS NOT TRUE. IF ANYTHING, RELAXATION BECOMES EVEN MORE CRUCIAL, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING. WHEN YOU'RE RELAXING, DO SIMPLE, EASY & FULFILLING ACTIVITIES SUCH AS WATCHING A TV SHOW, BAKING, SLEEPING, SHOPPING, DRAWING, PLAYING MUSIC, SINGING, PHOTOGRAPHY, GOING FOR A WALK. 

012. Deep Breaths

ANY TIME YOU FEEL THE PANIC AND ANXIETY AND FEAR RISE, STOP. TAKE A NICE, LONG, DEEP BREATH. CLOSE YOUR EYES FOR A MOMENT. CLEAR YOUR MIND. FEEL THE AIR FILL YOUR BODY. AND WHEN YOU WAKE UP FROM THE MOMENT, TELL YOURSELF THAT EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY, BECAUSE IT WILL BE. 

013. Keep Up

KEEP UP WITH THE THINGS THAT YOU ENJOY AND THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY, EVEN IF IT'S HARDER TO DO SO- DON'T LET UNI TAKE OVER YOUR LIFE OR GET IN THE WAY. IT WILL HELP YOU TO FEEL FULFILLED AND SANE AND LIKE YOU'RE YOU AGAIN. 

014. Time Out

IF YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A BIG WORKLOAD AND IT FEELS LIKE YOUR BRAIN AND BODY ARE GIVING UP ON YOU, TAKE A BREAK. STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING. GO FOR A WALK. GET A DRINK. LISTEN TO SOME MUSIC. TALK TO SOMEONE. MAKE SOME FOOD. GO OUTSIDE. LEAVE IT AND COME BACK TO IT LATER. EITHER WAY, JUST GIVE YOURSELF CHANCE TO BREATHE AND RELAX AND REFOCUS AND RECHARGE THE OL' BATTERIES. IT HONESTLY MAKES SUCH A MASSIVE, NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCE.

015. Think Back (Get Some Perspective)

WHEN EVERYTHING FEELS TOO OVERWHELMING AND ALL CONSUMING, THINK BACK TO TIMES IN YOUR LIFE WHEN THINGS WEREN'T THIS WAY. HAPPY MEMORIES. HAPPY TIMES. GOOD THINGS. THINK BACK TO PREVIOUS DIFFICULTIES YOU FACED, AND REMEMBER HOW YOU OVERCAME THEM. REMEMBER HOW FAR YOU'VE ALREADY COME AND HOW HARD YOU'VE ALREADY WORKED TO GET TO THIS POINT, AND REMIND YOURSELF THAT YOU DESERVE TO BE HERE AND THAT YOU ARE MORE THAN CAPABLE OF PASSING YOU WILL PASS THIS BLOODY DEGREE. THESE TIMES WILL PASS, AND YOU WILL GET THROUGH THEM, AND YOU WILL HAVE YOUR PICTURE WITH THAT STUPID MOTORBOARD AND SCROLL.

016. Don't stress about getting the top grades

TO PASS UNI IS A MIRACLE IN ITSELF, BECAUSE SURPRISE SURPRISE, UNI IS HARD. SO ALL YOU CAN REALLY DO IS JUST TRY YOUR BEST, AND IF YOU PASS, THEN WELL DONE YOU, YOU CLEVER CLOGS. IF YOU GET A HIGH GRADE, WELL LET'S CRACK OPEN THE PROSECCO AND PARTAY, AND IF YOU DON'T PASS, DON'T GIVE UP OR TURN ON YOURSELF. WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU TRY AGAIN, TURN THAT WEAKNESS INTO A STRENGTH, SEEK HELP AND SUPPORT, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. AND REMEMBER THAT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WILL BE WILL BE, AND IF YOU'VE TRIED YOUR BEST THEN THAT'S REALLY ALL THAT MATTERS.

017. This isn't everything

IT'S VERY EASY FOR UNI TO TAKE OVER YOUR ENTIRE LIFE AND WHILST THAT MEANS YOU DO MORE UNI WORK, IT ISN'T VERY GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH & GENERAL ENJOYMENT OF LIFE. OF COURSE YOU WANT TO GET GOOD GRADES AND GET YOUR DEGREE AND FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT THIS ISN'T EVERYTHING. THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN UNI. THERE WAS A TIME BEFORE THIS. THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF TIMES AFTER THIS. LIFE HAS A FUNNY WAY OF WORKING SOMETIMES, AND REALISING UNI ISN'T EVERYTHING CAN HELP YOU TO THINK MORE ALONG THE LINES OF 'WHAT WILL BE WILL BE' & 'EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON' & 'IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY'.

018. Treat yourself

GIVE YOURSELF DAYS/ EVENINGS/ MORNINGS OFF AND JUST HAVE FUN. DO WHATEVER YOUR HEART DESIRES. PUSH EVERYTHING UNI RELATED TO ONE SIDE AND GET OUT THERE AND ENJOY YOURSELF.

019. Time Management

ONE GOOD TIP I LEARNT FROM MY FRIEND IS TO TREAT UNI LIKE A 9-5 JOB, WHERE YOU DO YOUR WORK WITHIN THAT TIME FRAME AND THEN AFTER THAT YOU STOP, SWITCH OFF AND RELAX. OBVIOUSLY SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T QUITE WORK LIKE THAT, AND THERE ARE PERIODS OF TIME WHEN YOU WILL HAVE TO DO SOME 'OVERTIME', BUT IT'S A PRETTY GOOD RULE OF THUMB. ALSO USE SPARE TIME TO PLAN AHEAD & GET AHEAD OF THE GAME, EG. START ON ASSIGNMENTS EARLY, MAKE REVISION RESOURCES, DO NEXT LECTURE'S EXTRA READING. 

020. Positive quotes

IT MIGHT SOUND NAFF, BUT WRITE INSPIRING QUOTES & COMMENTS ON PIECES OF PAPER AND STICK THEM AROUND YOUR ROOM. THE BEST PLACES ARE THE WALL YOU FIRST SEE WHEN YOU WAKE UP & WHEN YOU GO TO BED, AND THE WALL YOU SEE WHEN YOU'RE DOING WORK IN YOUR ROOM.  ALSO STICK UP PICTURES OF THINGS YOU LOVE & WHICH MAKE YOU HAPPY. ALL THESE THINGS REALLY DO HELP YOU TO FEEL MORE POSITIVE, PEACEFUL, ASSURED AND MOTIVATED. TRUST ME.

Ryo Takemasa

RYO TAKEMASA

The other day I was walking around the Northern Quarter and I popped into Magma, which is stocked full of gorgeous publications and arty illustrative pieces. Now I love absolutely everything in that shop, and I could happily spend millions of hours looking at every little thing instead, but on this particular occasion I was instantly taken by these gorgeous prints done by the Japanese artist Ryo Takemasa. The 'Cities In Seasons' collection has been created by Ryo especially for Magma, and depicts major cities across the world in Ryo's gorgeous, textured, signature illustrative style. They're so beautiful and immersive, vibrant and exciting, modern and refreshing, as is the rest of Ryo's work.

Ryo is based in Tokyo and has been a freelance illustrator since 2010, having graduated from Musashino Art School. I personally love his style because it seems to depict the world in such a wholesome, dreamlike way. It's like real life undergoes a metamorphis under Ryo's artistic vision, and comes out the other side as a perfect fantasy. Through his work Ryo highlights those most simple and often mundane of scenes, and presents them to us from a completely different perspective. He picks out key colours and blends them in a harmonious and succinct palette. He deftly defines lines and shapes, and manipulates the geometry of the image to bring it to life, so effortlessly transforming 2D into 3D. He captures that feel of natural light, he incorporates texture so prominently and expertly, and he has a special way of highlighting the little pockets of beauty that lie waiting to be appreciated in the world around us. 

I adore illustrators like Ryo for the way their artwork makes me feel. The memories it triggers, the feelings it ignites, the way my heart feels blissfully content, the sensory stimulation it evokes in my brain. The way it makes me feel excited to be alive, and encourages me to try and see the world in a different, more pleasing and meaningful manner. To me, there really isn't anything better.

ALL ARTWORK BELONGS TO RYO TAKEMASA, & YOU CAN FIND MORE LOVELY ARTWORK HERE

http://ryotakemasa.com/

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ARTWORK