Tea Stains and Daisy Chains: personal

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I went to a fireworks display earlier this month, during which the man with the loud-speaker told us to "look up". As we all turned our heads to the sky in anticipation, he added that he's found this a pretty good motto to live by. For some reason, this lighthearted comment has really stuck with me, so much so that I decided to include it in this blog post!

Don't worry, I'm not going to go all philosophical on you and start analysing the meaning of life or anything. No, instead I'm just going to share a bit about what's going on in my world at the moment. (This is definitely totally relevant and related because things are looking up, okay?). I get that this might not be particularly interesting for you as a reader, but I do like to include a variety of posts on my blog, with some offering practical tips and others being a bit more diary-like.

Two weeks ago, it was the first time in probably about two years that I was out every single night of the week. For lots of people my age (and any other age, come to think of it), doing something other than watching TV every evening is no big deal. But considering that pretty much all of my friends are at uni and I've spent most of this 'second' gap year sitting at home with the parents, this was a fairly momentous event.

I started the week by going along to the fifth or sixth session of the Alpha Course. For those of you who aren't sure whether this is a new language or some sort of fitness regime (when I told someone the other week, they replied by letting me know that their friend was doing Tough Mudder...), the Alpha Course is basically a series of talks and discussions about the fundamentals of the Christian faith . You may have seen posters outside churches asking 'What's the point?'; these would have been advertising the course. It's essentially a place where anyone, regardless of their beliefs (or lack of), can find out more and ask questions in a safe environment about God and the church. Having grown up in a Christian family, I've found it really useful being around non-Christians who are staring from square one, as well as those who have a really solid faith. It's been encouraging to hear other people raising the same questions and doubts that I've always had floating around in the back of my mind. Plus, it's free and we get food, so everyone's happy.

During the week, I had training for my new job at a bar in the centre of town. I'm not entirely sure what possessed me to choose an insanely popular and busy bar for my pint-pulling debut, but I'm telling myself that we need a challenge every now and then. I witnessed the throng of 21+'s a couple of Fridays ago, as I had my first weekend shift behind the bar. Beforehand, I was absolutely terrified and was shaking as though I was about to sit an oral language exam (my worst nightmare: why I thought I wanted to do French at uni I'll never know). But when I actually arrived and got going, it was no way near as bad as I'd imagined. Having to remember all the cocktails and being able to serve the different drinks at about one thousand miles per hour has definitely forced me onto a very steep learning curb, but I'm hoping that things will start to be a bit more enjoyable once I feel like I sort of know what I'm doing!

Now that I've got two jobs (and one of them involves ridiculous hours!), I've decided that I want to spend some of my money on getting myself insured on my mum's little KA. For me, being able to drive is literally the best thing ever, so I'm a very happy bunny. It's also great to feel as though I'm a bit more independent and don't have to cycle to the gym in the pouring rain or rely on my parents to come and collect me from work at 2am!

So that's pretty much my life at the moment. Although things seem to have suddenly picked up a bit, I'm still trying to fit in reading, art and writing into my week (not always successfully). But I'm not complaining, because about half a year ago I was doing literally nothing and definitely wasn't happy about it!

Life's good when it's full.

Harriet x

banana moon

Banana Moon's Study of the Student Species

09:33

The other day I was sent an email from a lovely lady called Jessica, who told me about Banana Moon's recent blog post about different student stereotypes. The idea is that their 'study' is just a bit of fun for new freshers to find out (if they've been living under a rock and don't know already) the types of students they're bound to meet when they arrive at university. While I'm not a massive fan of labeling people, I can't really deny that students at school and at uni do tend to fall into certain categories.

I would say that while I was at school, I was probably most like the Super Perfectionist (with hints of Teacher's Pet).

The description of the Super Perfectionist given on the blog is as follows:

"The neatest of all the student tribes, this well-kept creature is likely to be spotted lurking behind once all his peers have left the learning cave, placing papers into files and specially allocated plastic wallets. During feeding times, the Perfectionist may be spotted moving items of food around his or her plate into a particular formation – a far cry from the more unsophisticated members of the University social structure".

I'm afraid to say that I was often the last one out of the classroom thanks to frantic filing, colour-coding, or note-scribbling. I was the one who got stressed if the teacher moved the powerpoint on before I'd finished copying the slide down word for word. Being asked to take notes from a double-page spread in the textbook was one of my worst nightmares, as I felt the need to have every single piece of information written down, regardless of its relevance. You can never be sure, this obscure Swedish case study may seem pointless now, but it could come up in the exam.

I was also one of those really annoying people who cried actual tears if they got a B. Not cool.

So there we have it, I'm a self-confessed Super Perfectionist.

And as for the hints of Teacher's Pet... lot's of hand-raising, no detentions and never not doing the homework. Yes, I'm one of those.

I want to make something really clear though: I think it's so important that we don't base our identities on these stereotypes. When we label ourselves and other people, it can make us feel restricted and it can also give us something to hide behind.

While it's a bit of fun trying to work out which 'student species' you're most like, you don't want to finish your education and realise that you don't actually know who you are, as you've been trying to live up to a certain stereotype. If you'd like to hear more of my thoughts on identity and labeling at school, take a look at this blog post.

Banana Moon are also running a competition for bloggers, giving them the chance to win a tablet and a Banana Moon T-shirt! All you have to do to get involved is write a post about which student category best suits you. This competition is open to all bloggers. For more information, visit this page.

Harriet x

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