Being 'Good Enough'

Hello again!

So today I'm talking about a phrase we're all familiar with - being "good enough".

Taken in a more general way, you could look at it within society. However, we all live in very different societies so how can we define who is "good enough"? I'll take the society that I live in to expand.

I guess being "good enough" in my society would be conforming to all of said society's expectations; e.g. go to university, get a good job, get married, have children, obey the law - basically be a good citizen. But not everybody conforms to these expectations, for example people on benefits, those who choose not to go to university and instead do an apprenticeship or something else or those who disobey the law. But why should that mean they aren't good enough? Why should people conform to society's expectations? Expectations which are, quite frankly, expanding into more unrealistic and demanding values. There's a mantra-like quote I've seen recently posted on various social networking sites:

And honestly, I think its absolutely true of the majority of people in society. But why should that mean that they're "good enough" and those that don't follow this aren't??

Looking at this more specifically, many of my lectures in Journalism recently have been repeating the need for extensive work experience in journalism; and I absolutely agree that it is necessary and vital to have if one wants a job/career in journalism, which is an extremely competitive and difficult area of work. What I don't agree with though, is at the end of a presentation given by a guest speaker, he said "You have to be good enough to get a job in journalism". This really annoyed me.

Why?

There are so many people out there who feel they simply aren't good enough when most likely they are! I myself often go through periods where I feel like I'm failing at everything and feel that I'll never be good enough to be a radio journalist/presenter. And therefore, to hear the term "You HAVE to be GOOD ENOUGH" is the most discouraging, terrifying statement I've ever heard in my life.

So, in conclusion, I feel we should, as an entire society - every society in fact - should stop throwing around the term "good enough". While it may encourage some people, I feel that its main effect is one of discouragemen. So many people struggle to get employment and when they don't get work they become disheartened and don't feel "good enough" and get told they need to be "better" or have "better qualities/skills" to get a job. Wars have started before because groups of people believe they're "better" than others; but what gives them the right to decide their group of people are "good enough" to live but another group aren't? So basically, stop saying "good enough" and stop judging people by that term!

Rant over.

Thanks :)

Personal Inspirations

Hello again!

So today I'm talking about my personal inspirations, or rather inspiration. I have so many, both celebrity and personal but there's one very special girl who inspires me.

Now two of my biggest personal inspirations are my parents. They always give me the best advice no matter the problem, they're always there for me and for each other and the rest of the family; I couldn't have asked for better role-models or inspirations. In fact much of my family are inspirations, they're all incredibly strong, caring people. But today I'm talking about one in particular.

Lauren. She's my adoptive auntie, but being closer to my age I see her more as another cousin. She's lived with my grandad and nanny since she was a baby; they took on many foster children before my nanny died, but Lauren is their longest term and still lives with my grandad now.

Now Lauren has multiple disabilities, I don't think I even know all of them but just a few are; autism, blindness (only one eye has partial sight) and issues with walking. When she was just 5 years old, several doctors told our family Lauren, if she lived, would never walk, talk, write or do anything a normal child and growing person can.

And here's why she's so inspirational to me.

Can't walk? She walks, runs and dances! She absolutely loves dancing! Sure it tires her after a while, she can't walk long distances but she's proved the doctors wrong there.

Can't talk? More like struggle to stop her talking! And her hearing is so good, that even with her sat in another room and listening to music, she hears your entire conversation from a couple of rooms away! Nothing gets past Lauren!

Can't write? Her writing may be similar to that of a young child but:

(She signed her name; 16th birthday card)

Might not live? Lauren is now 20 years old. She's planning her future and sure she'll never be out of care, but she's going to have a wonderful life.

I've lived my entire life growing up with Lauren and she, to me, is one of the most inspirational people in my life. She is family to me. And I'm so proud of how wrong she proved those doctors to be! It just goes to show that if you try, you can prove bad judgments about you wrong.

Until the next time,
                             Jess x

University Life!

Hello again!

Unlike most university students, I haven't moved to Lincoln from anywhere, I'm a Lincoln girl born and bred. Having decided Lincoln University had the best English and Journalism course for me (out of only four universities in the country offering English - both literature and language -  and Journalism course!) I consequently decided that it would be easiest for me to live at home.

What's home?
Home for me is this:

Living at home I find myself mainly shut away in my room, doing university work of some kind; usually reading. Each day at uni I'll hear more tales of wild nights out, arguments and fun in flats and coping of being away from home from my fellow students. This for me is a MASSIVE con; I feel like I'm missing out on so much, how much of a normal university life am I living? Should I be missing more lectures due to hangovers? Should I be going out most nights only to wake up the next morning and remember barely anything?

However there are some MASSIVE pros to living at home:

• I don't get homesick (although I do get sick of home!)
• I get my meals, ironing, washing etc done for me...although I do help out sometimes, I'm not totally incapable!
• After paying just £15 rent and £10.50 bus money to get to uni, I have £!8.50 a week left over for myself, plus I got an extra bursary so I'm not doing too bad for money

As well as accommodation being a huge part of university life, the workload is. All those university talks about how different the workload and its amount is compared to sixth form certainly weren't lies! And when you have about four deadlines in the same week (not to mention about two books to read for the same week) it gets really stressful! In fact, I don't understand how on-campus students can have this crazy nights out on most  weeknights and still pass their assignments when I barely go out and do university work a lot of time only to feel like I'm going to fail (this is paranoia; my grades so far have been pleasing). 

Despite my qualms I think I did make the right decision in going to uni. My favourite part are probably the seminars; sitting in a room of intelligent, often like-minded people, discussing set texts and debating or adding to our thoughts on them is an environment I feel I thrive in!

Until the next time,
A proud University of Lincoln student :)

Thoughts

Hello!

So today's topic is similar to that of my last one ('Moments in Time'). However, this isn't about memories, it's about thoughts instead.

Like memories, I find thoughts rather curious things as well. Much like memories, our thoughts can be sparked by something we see, hear, touch or even something we are remembering.

We may see something in the street that interests us in some way and draws our attention - an emergency vehicle being present does usually draw one's attention; I personally then wonder what's happened, who the person could be, how they are and consequently create many different scenarios in my head...all of which could be false!

Or maybe we hear something that interests us, for example a musician playing in the middle of town. The music they play may make us think about maybe how much money they earn or if the music is happy or sad or if we recognise the tune.

Remembering things can also be counted as thoughts, not merely because we are thinking about that particular moment, but also because maybe we add to it or think differently about it than it appeared at that time. For example an argument. I always remember arguments like a couple of hours later and then annoyingly think of something else I could have said!

Now a person I worked with at Siren, who has now left, used to get the same bus as me so we'd get the bus together. And one day he said, "Do you ever look at people and wonder what they're thinking? What their lives are like and what they think of everything?" I found this fascinating, because I often do, and I make little scenarios in my head for why someone looks grumpy etc.

I found this quote from Buddha:

Personally, I think it's absolutely true. Our thoughts build up the people we are and occupy us throughout the entirety of our lives. They influence our personality, how we see the world, what impressions we make of people and give us amazing talking points. This post for example, this entire blog even is my thoughts, a talking point about something I've thought about and are sharing with all of you!

Until the next time, goodbye! :)

Moments in Time

Hello again!!

So today I'm talking about memories. They're weird things, memories.
Weird? You're saying.
Yes. Weird. It's weird which things you remember; the good and the bad times. And how much of one thing you can remember - the full event or just a snapshot? Is there a balance between good and bad? I've heard it said before that you remember more bad things than good. I disagree. I think, for me, it's pretty even.

For example, let's take my last break-up. A bad memory, right? Well the pain of losing someone you love quite frankly hurts. For me, it's a strong, terrible pain all over my chest. It's like I've broken my ribs and breathing becomes hard and I feel like I can actually feel my heart breaking. So, in majority, a bad memory.
BUT...
It was a nice sunny day. And he hugged me. And he kissed me one last time. And he walked me home. And basically he was very good about the whole thing. We stayed friends.
So I argue it's more of a bitter-sweet memory. So it's a moment that was, in the end, worth it. A memory worth being in pain over for several months because I'm so grateful now.

That memory, that moment in time, I remember every single detail about. Our clothes, the weather, where we walked, what he said, what I said, the pain; everything. But then there's other memories I only remember tiny details about...
e.g. Day Out to Skegness with some Friends
I remember it was sunny. We ate hot, fresh donuts. We shook our ferris wheel carriage to scare one of my friends (she's afraid of heights). But that's it. I don't remember anything else.

Which is weird. Why can I remember less of the definitely happier memory?
It's also weird how one little thing in a day can make you remember something, maybe even something you'd completely forgotten about.

For example, putting on one of my dresses reminds me of the first time I wore it; my 18th birthday night when I first experienced a night out. This memory, which happily I remember every detail of (and it was definitely a great memory), is always bought on by that dress.

So, memories are extremely curious, weird and powerful things. And be good or bad, I think you should cherish every single one of them because there's so much we don't remember of good or bad times.

Until the next time,
                             Jess x

Being a Radio Presenter!

Hello again :)

I know I only posted very late last night but as I was doing my weekly Wednesday thing (I'll explain in a moment) I decided I had to blog about it tonight!

Every Wednesday I present No Adults Allowed on Siren 107.3FM, Lincoln's community radio station. Siren FM recently won the East Midlands Station of the Year award, beating Lincs FM and Capital FM! So not only am I presenting at a fabulous radio station, I'm presenting at an AWARD WINNING one!

Being presenter means I'll be the first voice you lovely listeners will hear! No pressure! I started off at Siren as a humble work experience in 2012 and enjoyed it so much I decided to keep going back as a volunteer as much as possible. Volunteering I became a co-host on the No Adults Allowed Friday show, alongside being trained when possible. After learning how to use the needed various buttons to run a show, when needed I became a stand-in presenter for the Friday show.

And now I am a full-time presenter on Wednesdays! No Adults Allowed is a show for 8-18 year-olds (although we get listeners that are adults and who enjoy the show very much) and runs Monday-Friday on the station from 3-5pm. During my show my co-hosts and I talk about various topics in the news that week, but present them so 8-18 year-olds find the interesting and relevant. I also thought up two features Quickfire Quotes and Lincoln Likes which are the cause of many laughs.

Presenting is such an amazing experience, everytime I'm about to go on air I get a buzz of adrenaline. I absolutely love presenting, especially for No Adults Allowed as its such a fun show. I don't think I could ever get tired of presenting! It's given me better skills in confidence, organisation, working under pressure and to a deadline and teamwork. And that's why having such an amazing experience every Wednesday has led me to my desired career of becoming a radio presenter ^_^

Till the next time,
                           Jess x
http://www.sirenonline.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/noadultsallowed
www.twitter.com/noadultsallowed

Interests and Obsessions

Hello again!

I've been planning this blog for the past few days now, so I hope it's rather more interesting than my first :')

Ok, so today I've decided my talking point is interests and obsessions. We all have interests, or hobbies (whatever you want to call them; I'm defining them in this as things that interest us, things that are hobbies etc) and we all probably have a few obsessions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMJI1FHhSe4
The video link is to a lyric video of Marina and the Diamonds 'Obsessions'. Study the lyrics a little, I thought the song was relevant to this, especially the part about the crackers!

Now, to me the line between interests and obsessions is an extremely thin one. And I can prove this, by allowing you all to scrutinise my interests...and obsessions.

I'm deeply interested in books. Reading is a hobby of mine and aside from reading set texts for university (which doing English and Journalism tends to be about 10-15 set texts a term) I read my own books, in my own spare time and I am proud to say I enjoy it! I've have two over-flowing bookcases and a cupboard that's now also over-flowing with books. So yes, reading and books is one of my interests.

But am I obsessed with reading? I think so. My obsessions with reading span from having to read a book I've started to the very end, even if I absolutely detest it. I simply have to finish it. This I suppose could arguably be an obsession to know the end. So why don't I just read the ending? Because I absolutely HAVE to know the entire thing; start, middle and end. Another obsession with reading I have (this is kind of a rare one, and apologies because it is extremely nerdy but I don't care!) I own EVERY SINGLE (yes every single one) hardback Doctor Who book there is since Christopher Eccleston. The ones that are released in sets of three, starting with the 9th Doctor and Rose and now the 12th Doctor and Clara. I have all them...at least I hope I do. If I don't then I need the ones I'm missing! Anyway, I have them all ordered in release date in my cupboard and if I fancy reading just one, I can't pick that one out the middle, I have to start from the very first one and read them all. That's around 50+ books in total. And I read them all. Within a month or two.

Recent favourite, possibly obsessiveness with books would be The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments series. I am literally in a state of desperation to read the last Mortal Instruments book...which comes out in May. I simply cannot wait that long!!

Ok TV. So that for me is Doctor Who, Spongebob Squarepants, The Simpsons, a bit of Top Gear, and (not so much anymore) Hollyoaks. I'll take Spongebob and The Simpsons for this one.
The Simpsons: I'm pretty sure (aside from the newest series as I don't have Sky :( ) I have seen every single Simpsons episode there is. Several times. That's not obsessive you're probably saying? After watching them only once, or twice, I remember the whole storyline and join in with some of the character's lines. Plus I also do hum the starting music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cOdYyx1oKI) at the beginning of every episode.
Spongebob Squarepants: Likewise with the Simpsons, I've seen all, if not most, of the episodes and many times over. A lot of kids have, right? But I love Spongebob. I have two sets of Spongebob pajamas, I bought the Spongebob movies...I even named the kitchen fish tank fishes after Spongebob characters and got unreasonably upset when they all died (aside from Pearl and Sandy who we still have) even though I never looked after them; that was my dad's job.

Next and oh boy, some of you are going to groan! I'll take the easiest two examples which are the Twilight Saga (I heard you groan!) and the Harry Potter series; both of which I adore the books and the films! There isn't much you couldn't ask me about the Twilight books/films or the Harry Potter books/films. I am a Twihard (hardcore Twilight fan; again I heard you groan) and a huge Harry Potter fan. And ok, I might as well admit a Whovian too (hardcore Doctor Who fan). The excessive, perhaps unnatural and unhealthy information I possess about these three subjects, I think you'll agree, means they are obsessions of mine not just simple interests.

Another obsession of mine...or perhaps its more of an OCD. I love rainbows. Maybe I'll explain in a later blog, but, yeah I love them. So much that if you were to tip each colour of the rainbow pencils out in front of me, I will, I repeat WILL, order them into a rainbow. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. People who add pink into a rainbow, or brown or black, like I cannot explain how much that infuriates me :') so rainbows are just pretty to me, they're kind of an obsession. Rainbow pencils = rainbow order. So yes, the pencils on my desk are in rainbow order. I used to have friends that would mess up my rainbow ordered pencils just to annoy me. It's one of the only things in the world that really annoys me; they MUST be in rainbow order.

So, I've probably made myself look like a complete lunatic but it's not just me that has 'interests' that are borderline-most likely obsessions. Society and the social media have them too. For example, image. Society and the the social media claim that image is in the "public interest of everybody". But I argue that they are obsessed with image, they way we should look and they way we should act.

Think about their 'perfect' people; the stereotypes.
Women: beautiful, wears make-up, heels, tight clothing, big breasts, big bum but a tiny waist, up-to-date fashion and hairstyle
Men: muscles, sculpted, the era of the new "meterosexual" man; a man that is still 'manly' but cares about his image
So basically Barbie and Ken...
And society and social media are obsessed with this! This kind of image is forever in the news, and it influences people highly, making them obsessed with conforming to society's 'perfect' image.

So, in conclusion, my obsession seem a lot less dangerous than society's...

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment :)