Exams + I’m going on holiday! (Again)

Ahhh man, it’s that time of year when everything is drawing to a close and everyone is just looking

forward to finishing and embracing summer. Only one slight problem, before that can happen, first we must endure and hopefully past the dreaded exams.

Exams are a pain and that’s no lie. They were a pain at school, a pain at College and still a pain at University. Sadly unless you’re clever enough to choose to do a subject which is entirely coursework based and thus avoid exams, then you just have to suck up and deal with it.

University exams do differ massively from A-levels. Firstly, your exam is unlikely to be the only assessment you have for one subject. This means that by working out the scores you got in your coursework, you should be able to go into the exam knowing or at least having some indication of how you have done over all. This is reassuring, trust me. Because even if the exam and the questions asked turn out to be total poo, you know that it’s not the end of the world and even if you fail the exam, you probably will still pass the course. Neat eh?

Like many of my post, I think when it comes to exams is just to be clever and think about it. That might sounds redundant and obvious, but let me explain. Be clever about how much work you’re going to have to do in terms about revising, think about the best revising method which is suited to your learning style. See, it all makes sense now.

So as you can probably imagine, I’m currently in revision mode. I actually want to do my exams and get them over and done with, simply because I am so tired and god damn bored of revision! Once I've finished my exams I am finished for the year! Woo. To celebrate, I and some friends are going to Spain for a week. After which there all going back to London and I am spending an additional few days travelling round Spain by myself... which should be interesting!

I thought I’ll spend a little bit of time relaxing before having commit myself to spending the whole of the summer working full time to financially compensate for my somewhat lavish lifestyle.

So that’s just a little update for now and some advice from my perspective. I’ll check in, in a few weeks. Hopefully I’ll make it through exam season alive and unscathed. Wish me luck, yeah?

Student Union Elections

Hello people, how are you?

Good, I am glad. I am also well. I have finally submitted all of my coursework! However unfortunately I still have exams to revise for, so sadly I am not totally free, at least not yet...

I still am however ridiculously busy still. This week in addition of working, starting revision, I also have family visiting which I have to entertain, fun. But no, that is me just being cynical and harsh; Of course it is nice to have family visiting, just at a very annoying time somewhat.

Anyway, in my previous blogs I have mentioned about the Student Union elections. In every university, the Students Union is a democratically elected body. Elected by students for students. This is the second year that I was involved in the elections. The first I was simply campaigning for my friend's political party, who I actually did think were the best people for the job. This year however I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to run myself as a part time officer. I was elected Volunteering Officer by a majority and I am very happy with this position. As a part time officer, I will have this role in addition to completing my third year of study. What will I do as Volunteering Officer? Well, that is a good question. It is a new role that has only been introduced this year, so I don't really have any predecessors to compare myself to; which is good and bad I suppose. Nevertheless I do have a few things lined up and I am looking forward to getting stuck in.

Student Union elections are a fantastic opportunity to get further involved in your union and make an actual and positive change. It's neither as scary nor intense as you may thing, while having a good political understanding is helpful. The Union will support you by offering seminars and presentations about the elections to give you the best possible chance. Similar to a real election, you have to write your own manifestos, attend and speak at Candidate Question Times (also known as hustings) and have a limited amount of resources, so you have to be clever about the options you make.

To finish off, I would highly recommend getting involved in your Student’s Union. Never ever in your life will you have access to an organisation like this that exists purely for your benefit. So whether it’s working for them, helping run a sports team or the committee, or standing for election, it all benefits you! It gives you skills, opportunities and chances that you’re never get elsewhere in your life.

So it’s been a while….

Hello my friends!

I am so sorry that it has been so long since my last entry, I have literally been swamped! In addition to having to work (to earn enough money to offset my ridiculous expenditure), keep on top of university work (easier said than done), maintain commitments to sports teams, friends and family, and still fit in some sleep is a mighty challenge!

So just to catch you all up, in terms of uni work it’s been pretty hectic, at the moment it’s just one assignment after another and it’s just so tiresome! But I guess it all be worth it in the end  (or so he says). I am about to do a 4,000 word project on the Chislehurst Caves which should be fairly interesting and I got a first in my politics essay/presentation! If only I got similar marks in all my other courses…

Hockey fortunately hasn't preoccupied much of my time, fortunately we’re coming to the end of the season and not many games left... We did win our last game 22-0 though! Which was quite cool. 

I've also started to learn how to drive! Growing up in London previously I never needed too nor had the excess money to learn how to drive, but I thought I will while at university. Putting my loan to good use at least! And I haven’t seriously crashed or injured anyone yet, so going well!

It’s also election time in my SU, which is very exciting. Voting is very important as is the SU at any University. Details can be found here: http://www.suug.co.uk/elections2014/

Also, not to make you all jealous, I’m going to Rome next Thursday! I and my friend are visiting for a long weekend and I can’t wait. Just to escape the horrors and terrors of everyday urban life and just escape for an isolated weekend. Rest assured I will be posting excessive pictures and tales and such.

Finally, I must apologise again for how long it’s taken me to post another update, I will try and be better! But, because I know so many of you must be worryingly yourself silly, Eric is okay! Eric the office avocado plant is healthy, well, and striving. He even had a play date yesterday with a friend.

I’ll try post another update before Rome, if not, speak to you all soon!

Greetings from Amsterdam and Christmas holiday warning.

Hello again my beautiful people, how are you all? Good, I’m glad. I myself are shattered to b honest. I got back from a long weekend in Amsterdam last night and now spending my day working. Needless to say, I am tired.

Amsterdam though was really cool, the people, the city, the drinks.  It is quite amazing how much Amsterdam as a city differs from that of London. For example, there roads are split into three, one for bikes, one for trams and buses and the other for cars. Bike is by far the most common form of transport and pretty much every single person has one. It’s the easiest and most convenient  way to get around the city. If only London adopted a Dutch attitude to cycling, it would make my life easier and not to mention safer! I and my friends did go to the Anne Frank house, which was very interesting and moving, very surreal as well. We also went to the sex museum which again was interesting but also very, very strange. We all also ate a lot of cake and drank a lot of coffee.

I am quite happy to be home though; my European travels have worn me out. However it is slightly depressing that now I am home I have to work and I still have a 1500 word assignment to do! How depressing, eh? It gets even worse; I still have the majority of my Christmas shopping to do… That I am sure will not be very pleasant nor fun and somewhat quite expensive.

With all of my blog entry’s, I always like to have a useful message, which as of late they haven’t. So Carney’s (yes I did just refer to myself in the third person) useful tip or warning if you take it that way, is o make as much use of the Christmas holidays as possible. Yes it is nice not being at university or school, but make use of the time. While it is always nice to have a lazy day, I am very looking forward to having one on Saturday, it’s also important to be proactive. So perhaps for ever lazy day you have, have a day of work. Or as I like to try to do (and normally fail) is to try and do something every day, whether or not it’s a blog entry like this or replying to email’s, just make sure you do something and not fall into a slum!

And finally, no blog would be complete without a Eric update. He is growing strong and healthy and developing well. He’s tired and stressed as we all are and can’t wait for the university to close for a good few weeks so he can get a nice rest and get some sleep. Hopefully someone will still feed him…

Look below for some pretty photos + Eric.

See you all in 2014, have a fantastic Christmas and a unrememberable New Year!

France and Belgium Battlefield trip!

So I got back from France last night, I spent a few days there and their neighbours Belgium. Despite the hours on the coach it was actually a really good trip. I think the worse part would definitely have to be the singing on the coach, after two minutes it became tiresome and dire, I compensated with putting in my iPod and blocking the world out.

The first day was spent in Belgium and we went to the Mein Gate, followed by the night and two days in France. We visited several memorials and graves, ranging from German cemeteries to British, to French and to Anglo-French cemeteries. We also visited the National French memorial, where over 40,000 people are buried, and an incredible amount of fallen soldiers. It was all an incredible humbling experience and some of the memorials are breath-takingly pretty, however their beauty is bitter sweet given the purpose of them.

We were also able to go the site of the Somme, again that was incredible but we were also able to go into persevered British and German trenches and it was shocking to see how close they actually were to each other!

It was also very interesting, the difference in the memorials and the cemeteries. For example, the difference between French and British cemeteries, the length and the effort the British went too, to honour their dead despite harsh opposition and a troubled economy.

In the night we went for meals, I had some mussels, they were nice. They hotel was also nice and the drinks cheap. I was very happy. Not as happy as when we went to the local French supermarket and I was let loose on the BN’s, Lays and the ridiculously cheap alcohol (it’s the simple things in life).

All in all it was an amazing trip, and one I would recommend. It was organised by the History department, for a reasonable price. It was a complex itinerary and must have been a hell of a trip to plan. However to all of the lectures and staff credit it was a smooth and very slick operation. I would just like to say how grateful I am for them organising this trip and giving me the opportunity to go and to be able to see how amazing and humbling things that I would not be forgetting in a hurry.

Tomorrow I go to Amsterdam! This time with friends, not the university, if you, my glamorous readers can control yourself until my return I shall give you the pleasure of another blog.

Have a good weekend. 

Assessments.

So I’ve been pretty snowed down recently, with work, university, more work and trying to have a social life, it’s all been pretty packed!  It’s quite frustrating that all my assignments have all seemed to come at once but that’s just life. It’s even more frustrating that I’m in my second year now so it does all actually count towards my final degree!

But things are going well though! I am looking forward to Christmas, just chilling out, relaxing, not actually doing anything with myself… Should probably start shopping for presents for my family…  Any suggestions for presents for my Mum or Sister please in the comment section below (like seriously, I have no idea!).

But I did go and see the Hunger Games: Catching Fire a couple of days after it came out and it was awesome! It was even better as I saw it at the Sky Superscreen, which is massive! It was sooo cool and the movie was sooo good! And really looking to the next couple of weeks as well, Belgium next week and then Amsterdam not a few days after, should e really good! (Albeit devastating to my bank account, which again might seriously affect the quality of my Christmas presents…).

So as ever in all my blogs I like to offer a bit of useful advice, not that I ever take my own that is.  But I would just like to say in terms of assessments, coursework etc, it’s always better to be on top of things. Don’t be ignorant or ignore the amount of work you have to do, be realistic and force yourself to sit down and do it! The hardest part of it is making yourself start, once you’ve done that it will get easier.

Sooo yeah, that’s pretty much it, will blog again in a couple of weeks with pictures from my travels!!

Bye bye!

P.S. Eric update: Eric is currently alive. 

What else can a university offer?

Woo! It’s time to get excited for I have wrote another blog…

As ever I like to have a useful message in my blogs (rather than me just rambling), in this one it’s student employment. Employment while studying is extremely important, or at least I think so. It has several benefits, no only does it earn you money it also stops you spending money as well (as you spend your time working). You also get to meet new people, get new opportunities and have a laugh.

There are numerous benefits to working while studying, there are also many more for working within the university/Student’s Union. For example as I work for the university, I get access to new and exciting opportunities. I did a First Aid certificate last year and got paid too! I also do work for my Student’s Union which is good, even better as I get 20% discount on food in the SU and free entry into our night club. Honestly I love life every time I use my staff discount to get food at the SU.

Working while at University also sets you up for later life, in the sense it allows you to gain skills, make contacts and learn things that will make you more employable.

Not to harbour on about the University of Greenwich , but they are really good for that. We have a whole department dedicated to student employment, not only finding them work but helping them prepare for work in terms of practising interviews and checking your CV etc.

So my word of advice is that when you are looking at Universities, look at what else they can offer you in terms of employment in the future and while studying, not just the UCAS points and where the uni is ranked.

Hope that’s helpful!

  

P.S.: Eric update. He got himself into a bit of bother the other day. Sadly his lady plant friend broke Eric’s poor little avocado stone heart. To help Eric through this difficult time we have swapped his water drip for a vodka equivalent.  We hope he makes a full recovery soon.