For most of us, Christmas is a time to over-indulge in calorific food and gain 3 stone in the space of 2 days. But it is easy to forget that this isn’t the case for everyone. As part of a University assignment, I pieced together a short radio documentary based around food banks and the need for food this Christmas. I wish to share it with you in the hope that it might raise awareness and increase the number of donations around this happy time of year.
Category Archives: University
Do I look Superhuman?
The first semester at University is promptly coming to a close and for some, the Christmas break has already begun. But for those of you (including me) that are still bogged down with work and assignment deadlines, you’ve just got to think that there is only one more week to go!
It seems to be that as soon as you begin University, there are not enough hours in the day, enough days in the week or enough weeks in the month. There is just never enough time and always something that you should be running around for or frantically completing with minutes to spare. But that’s just the way it goes.
Being a journalism student, we are always on the go. There is always a story to write, or a feature to prepare for or someone who wants your attention – and most of the time it’s all 3 at once! Do lecturers think we are superhuman? I’m sure that if the roles were reversed and we set them 3 deadlines in the space of one week, they wouldn’t be so laid back and chilled out about the length of their to-do list! But being organised is key and quite possibly the only way that you will achieve each of these deadlines with some ease – I said some. I know for me, personally, it has got to a point where my to-do lists are constructed on a daily basis and they each start with “Wake up”. You would think that its common sense and not necessary for a list, but it helps!
Christmas is a busy time of year for everyone, being a student, being a parent, being a teacher, being a doctor. Everyone wants something from you at Christmas time. But why is it not spread evenly throughout the year? Let’s face it, unless you’re the Prime Minister of a country, there is at least one point in the year where things are ‘quiet’ and a little less stressful (although, I’m not sure if the PM is the best example for this now, considering some recent political decisions – but we’ll save that for another day!).
So I suppose that whilst I’m rambling on, the underlying message here is that I’m stressed, and I know you’re probably stressed too. But there is light at the end of tunnel, one week to go and we will be saying goodbye to the first semester. If it means that you have a few late ones because you’re up most of the night working, that’s okay – you won’t be the only one! And so, the more you knuckle down into each assignment deadline, the closer you are to a visit from Santa (that’s dependant on your results though!)
And breathe.
A Day in the Life of a ‘Heat Workie’
“Heat workie.” That’s me.
Taking 2 weeks out of University is usually frowned upon, but when you’re given the opportunity to undergo work experience at Heat magazine, there is no question about it. Oyster cards, stuffy underground trains and impatient commuters every morning are just some of the things that you learn to get used to when it means you’ll be spending your days amongst some of the best journalists in the business.
But when someone says work experience, there is that instant stereotype of tea-making, filing and arranging each and every piece of paper into alphabetical order. BORING! No-one wants to do that for two weeks – I’d rather be at Uni! But luckily for me, that wasn’t the case. Writing articles for the online magazine, transcribing interviews with some of my favourite reality TV stars and being inundated with freebies are just some of the tasks that confronted me on this placement.
Subway, anyone?
Sweet treats!
That aside, the extent to which PR companies go to promote their brands and products needs to be recognised. Treasure chests made from sweets, Pizza Hut Ninjas, Subways, donuts, cakes that are made to look like make-up brushes, and the list is never-ending! Its a case of forgetting all of your diet plans for the next two weeks, as the amount of food placed in front of you is enough to make you gain 3 stone!
The best thing about Heat, is their original, wacky and somewhat ridiculous ways in which they engage with their celebs and interviewees. Take 12 heart-shaped balloons, cut up 12 in-your-face questions and inflate the balloons with the questions inside. Take a wonder to find Nick Jonas and you’ve got all the ingredients you need for a perfect interview! – don’t forget a pin though, otherwise you may struggle to read the questions inside! And so it goes on; quizzing celebrities to discover how much they actually know (or don’t know) about the real world, trying to explain to the TOWIE cast how to play a REALLY SIMPLE game, or playing Snog Marry Avoid with an overly unexcited Lucy Watson. Inspiring!
Stand Up to Cancer was a big campaign for everyone, but for Heat, they took raising awareness to a different level; dressing celebrity dogs in specially-made jackets and littering their photos over social networks. What a great way to support the cause! But hold up, for these celebrity dogs to have these jackets, it means that someone has got put their postman hat on! … And that was me. I took a trip to see Alan Carr, a trip to Ashleigh and Pudsey’s house, all in the name of charity. To say that the two weeks haven’t been an adventure would be the understatement of the year!
There is one thing, for me, that is the icing on the cake about the whole experience; the by-lines. To see your name underneath the headline for a story gives such a strong sense of achievement. From ‘Who wore it best?’ articles, to ‘The Vamps launching a new online game’, it is your name that is displayed to everyone. Everyone is going to know that you’ve written that. AMAZING!
So take a scroll through some of the ‘Who wore it best?’ articles I have written on the link below.
Dear Fresher
Was your car so jam packed that you were close to having to sit on the roof? Was your mum crying hysterically because her baby was finally fleeing the nest? Did you feel as though you were heading into a world of unknown? Then you must have been off to University!
Whether you’re half an hour down the road, or 6 hours on a plane away from home, moving to University is certainly daunting. So as I enter my second year at Bournemouth Uni, I thought it would be an idea to give you a list of things that the prospectus won’t tell you about going to Uni
First up, I hope you brought your fancy dress box! Anything you thought about throwing away, don’t bother. It will make the perfect fancy dress costume at some point. Being a fresher means that you’re in the firing line for numerous themed events. Obviously the standard ‘Back 2 School’ party was around in Freshers week, so I hope you had a pair of geek glasses and a tie to hand. Accessories are key. Even if fancy dress isn’t your thing, don’t be the spoil sport that makes no effort at all. Wearing a pair of glasses is hardly going to damage your look!
Have some idea of how to turn on an oven, or even a microwave. Nobody’s asking you to be the next Jamie Oliver, however, pasta will soon become repulsive if you choose to cook nothing other than Spaghetti Bolognese. Simple recipes are often on the back of food packets. Stir fry, lasagne, and curry. They’re really not too challenging once you put your mind to it. Obviously Domino’s pizza is perfectly acceptable for hangover days, but every day? You’ll soon come to realise that your student loan won’t fully cater for your hungry belly!
It doesn’t take long to realise that student halls and university bedrooms are the blandest and most boring sight you’ve ever seen. So, if you haven’t already, arm yourself with photos that you can pin up and make your room feel a bit more homely. It doesn’t take long to put your stamp on your new room and photos are a just one way of doing this.
Money is a huge talking point at University. The bottom line is that your student loan will not even cover half of the things you need to pay for. So the best thing to do is try and get a job. Granted, its not always easy, but there’s often ways that you can work around the Uni, as well as venturing out to the town centre. Even the cheapest student deals will begin to seem expensive when you’re down to your last tenner and you’ve got another 2 weeks until your next loan is in!
Being a fresher means that it’s a prime time to sign up to many different societies. But, make sure you’ve got a few excuses up your sleeve and have an idea as to the kinds of activities that you might like to be involved in. If not, you’ll find yourself signing up to societies that you’ve never even heard of and have no intention of ever attending. All the reps are desperate for you to join, but don’t be fooled by the free pens and hard boiled sweets!
Most of all, the best advice that anyone can give you is to have fun and enjoy every second. University is very much a ‘don’t know unless you try it’ kind of thing, but as long as you keep your head screwed on and grab any opportunity with both hands, it will certainly be one of the best experiences you’ll ever have. And as for us second, third and fourth years, we’re really not that scary! So there will always be someone to help you out.
Good luck!
Is it any more than just a game?
Since being at Uni, online dating is something that has become more known in day-to-day life- but is it right?
Match.com, Tinder, Plenty of Fish (POF), eHarmony, we’ve all heard of at least one or two and each day, they are becoming more and more popular amongst students. In particular, Tinder and POF, as they are styled as more of a game than an official dating website. So I guess this raises the question, is it a game? Is finding love a game? For those of you that are less educated on this area of expertise, the art of Tinder is to swipe right if you like what you see, and if they’re a definite no-go, you swipe left and never have to see their sorry little face again. If you’re fortunate enough to get a match, then its your lucky day and you’re all set to live happily ever after. Simple right? For some maybe it is, but a fair few Tinder members have no serious intentions. So to put it bluntly, you’re playing a game with someone before you’re even in a relationship with them – there has to be something wrong here.
For some people, online dating is just a “numbers game” – the more matches you can get, the better you are. No, it’s more a case of the more your ego grows and the more single you become, because let’s face it, nobody wants to be with someone who’s overly arrogant and self-confident. What happened to quality over quantity? Have some dignity, you’re not going to get very far in the dating world if all you’re interested in is getting your points up.
Nevertheless, Tinder, along with a few other dating sites/apps are seen as a laugh to some people and argue that if you go in with no intentions, then nobody will get hurt and nothing will ever come of any ‘matches’. For students and other young people, less serious dating sites and apps are seen as a way of meeting new people and making new friends. In this instance, there is no harm in making new friends and wanting to meet people within the area that you live in. Thinking from another perspective, there is only so much that Tinder or Match.com can do, it’s also about your actions away from the screen and whether you are actually able to string a conversation together or whether actually you are the ultimate keyboard warrior of your era. Being aware of your own safety is a given but I won’t go into that (you come to Uni to get away from your parents, not to be constantly reminded to be safe and not talk to strangers!)
It’s free, so why not? Why pay for a site such as Match.com when you can amuse yourself on Tinder for free? Well, this in itself raises another imposing question. Why put a price on love? Why should you pay for some sites and not for others? Among students, being on a budget as it is, paying for online dating is a completely unheard of. Adults, however, are more inclined to pay for online dating as they believe they are ‘too old’ to find love ‘naturally’ (NOT my opinion). It is for this reason that I believe Tinder and POF are more common in the student lifestyle and not so much the others.
So, I know there will be a number of you reading this, shaking your head in disagreement with the underlying negativity that trails through this post, BUT this is definitely not the case. Being someone that, in the scheme of things, can be seen as fairly uneducated when it comes to online dating, I feel that it is a concept that poses many controversial questions that could be impossible to answer, but nevertheless, are interesting to pose in the first place.
There ‘aint no party like an S Club party!
There ‘aint no party like an S Club party – and that was certainly the case for Bournemouth last night! Oh goodness, I can already tell that this is going to be a lot more difficult than I thought because all I want to do is stand up, with my best vocal performance and sing “SSSS Cluuuuuuuuub” but nevertheless, I’ll give it my best shot and attempt to retain my excitement.
Partying in the church (this is the nightclub, Halo, previously a church but now home to one of Bournemouth’s busiest student nights) with childhood FAVOURITES S Club 7 is definitely one of my better ways to spend a Thursday night. But before you get as excited as I did, only 3 members actually turned up. Unfortunately, Rachel Stevens is far too ‘big time’ for us students and as for the others, well Hannah’s tied up in some TV programme with dinosaurs (Primeval I believe it’s called) and the rest, I’m not even sure what their excuse was but it certainly was not good enough! With only 3 others remaining, it was a good job Jo, Bradley and Paul were up for showing off their best moves to the funky, funky beat (see what I did there?!).
So as students poured in, it certainly didn’t take long for the club to become crammed filled with excitable 90’s kids. Barely being able to raise your left arm in time to shout “Reach”, a front row spot, for me, beat all the hustle and bustle. You might have expected that over the years, since S Club were at their prime, the vocal ability may have dipped just slightly but this couldn’t have been further from the truth. Their ability to work the crowd is still phenomenal as there was not one single person that didn’t have their hips going and their arms raised up in the air – and yes, even the bouncer was reaching for those stars.
S Club partying in the Church!
Reach!
“I’ve never had a dream come true”
Left to right: Paul, Jo, Bradley
Most of us will remember S Club for their party anthems with the catchiest beats. This is clearly the reason why I’ve had the entire set list in my head for the whole day and probably starting to annoy people with my sudden outbursts of “SSSS Cluuuuuuuuuub!” However, sooner than hoped, it came that point in the set where the slow, tear-jerker’s were up. ‘Two in a Million’ and ‘Never had a Dream Come True’ brought the church down a notch as the fist pump quickly transformed into a swaying of both arms. It’s always a guaranteed crowd pleaser and there’s always one that can’t contain their emotions (may I just point out, this was not me!) Whether you sounded like Celine Dion or the strangled cat in your neighbour’s garden, there was no holding back when it came to these power tracks. It’s always the best way to round up the night, belting out some of the ultimate classics from your childhood favourite band surrounded by all your friends (look at me getting all cringe!), but it honestly is the truth.
So after last night, I’m calling for a huge S Club 7 reunion, with all members making an appearance (and yes, Rachel, that does mean you too). Who’s with me?
10 things you never thought you were capable of before you came to University
So as we rapidly approach the Easter break, it makes you realise how quickly this first year at University is really going. We’ve gone almost 7 months without Mum and Dad and have had to find that independent human from deep within us. So I’ve compiled a Top 10 of the things you never realised you were capable of before you came to Uni.
- Cooking – there’s no way around this – you have to eat. But it’s amazing what adventurous concoctions you can create when only given some chicken and rice. Mum would always save the left overs from dinner and we’d question as to who would ever eat yesterday’s food, but you come to realise that every scraping counts and that you can box up absolutely ANYTHING! Spaghetti Bolognese has never tasted so good and well, let’s face it, there’s always someone who thinks they can cook like Ramsey when really their cooking skills are as useful as a chocolate teapot.
- Cleaning – to most, Detol spray and a dish cloth were a new life form when they came to Uni. Having to clean up after dinner really makes you appreciate having a dishwasher when you go home! But I guarantee one thing you never realised before Uni, and that’s how well and how quickly you can tidy up your kitchen and lounge after last nights ‘prinks’. To any adults reading this- ‘prinks’ is an abbreviation of ‘pre-drinks’ – something us students do before we go on a night out (you don’t want to know any further details). It’s amazing what things you throw into a bin bag, things you didn’t even know were in your house the night before.
- Washing – as much as we would like it, Mum doesn’t come and do our washing for us once a week – it’s down to the washing machine (if you can work it) or the laundrette downstairs. So you’d never have thought that you could make those jeans go a day further without washing them, or creating outfits that you’d never worn before because your best top is amongst the pile of washing in your basket. And as you’ve limited yourself to one wash a week (as it’s such a painful operation), jumpers can definitely been worn more than once before needing to be cleaned. Say goodbye to putting things in the wash because hanging them up was too much of an effort!
- Putting the bins out – sorry boys, but this is a MAN’S job. No woman should have to strain herself by lifting a weeks’ worth of rubbish from the bin, down the corridor and into the outside bin. Just no. So for most girls, this is something that has benefited them since coming to Uni, but as a boy, I bet you’d never have realised how much rubbish you actually consume over one week. And if you miss the waste collection day you are SCREWED because there is just TOO much rubbish that the bin will eventually overflow.
The Art of Procrastination - Procrastination – to most students in their first year, procrastination becomes their second name. You know you’re trying to put off work when you opt to wash up or do the hoovering instead of the 3000 word essay that’s due in tomorrow. I bet you never thought you’d take on the tedious task of rearranging documents on your laptop as an alternative to actually doing the coursework that’s right in front of you.
- Ironing – who would have thought you could go 6 months without ironing a single item of clothing?! Well you can, as I’m sure you have found out. The new alternative to ironing is most definitely using the hair-dryer. Give your top a quick blast before you go to Uni and jobs a gooden’. So when you, along with all your other house mates, turned up on moving in day with an iron and an ironing board, I can tell you’re now regretting the decision to bother with this in the first place. Don’t worry though, there’s always next year to give it a go (never going to happen).
- Making things last longer – this is more aimed at the girls, but make-up. We all know it’s expensive, even boys realise this, but it has never been clearer that you are a student when you get angry that you’re lecture is cancelled as you’ve wasted a whole face of make-up on a day when you don’t even need to leave the house!
- Creating games out of day-to-day essentials – I know that for me, personally, I never thought I would get bored during the day as I just assumed I would be tied down with work. But it is clear that you need to take a break from studies and what better way to do so than a game of ping-pong using 2 frying pans! Or a game of football tennis (not even too sure what this is but it definitely happens in my house) played on a court made of string and plastic bin bags in the garden? I don’t think we can ever be blamed for a lack of imagination, after all, it takes a lot of skill to be able to limbo under a piece of string that has been tied between 2 door frames!
- Catch up TV – TV license? What’s one of those? It’s safe to say it’s a shock to the system when you are able to go home and watch TOWIE on Wednesday rather than a Thursday as you’ve had to readjust your TV guide to the catch up timetable on ITV Player! TVs may as well not exist at Uni as most of us just watch on our laptops anyway. Catch up TV is the best way to spend a hangover day but most of the time you know what is going on anyway as you’re a day late and everyone else has kindly posted the episode over Twitter and Facebook. PLOT SPOILER!
- Living away from home – So the last one is simple. Moving to Uni is simply moving house, but by yourself. It’s a scary thought at first but it’s something that is fairly easy to adjust too. Living independently gives you the chance to see how bad your cooking really is, and that you really don’t know how to work a washing machine and that ‘cleaning fairies’ don’t actually exist.
So as you’re reading through laughing and nodding because you know this is exactly like you, then it’s safe to say you’re not alone. Everyone gets to a point during the term where they think their entire brain is about to explode or that they are on the verge of a mental break down so, if that’s currently you, just remember that you’re going home in a couple of weeks for the Easter break!
katiemallalieu 