Wherever I go there seems to be change in the air. The election of Obama has been heralded as an opportunity for change and the economic crisis which is diligently sweeping the globe means change, no matter how painful, is inevitable. People are viewing these changes as an opportunity to shake off the immoral excesses of the past, to be more frugal and to prioritise what is really important. Perhaps that will be the good thing to come out of the recession; people will be less consumer obsessed and maybe more peaceful in heart and soul. We'll see...
Change is also in the air for me as I start to think about CVs, applications and ultimately JOBS. Ahhhhh. I don't want to leave university. It's such a comfort to me (you really do live in a better world, I think, at university). The formative years of my life I feel are numbered and now I must resign myself to growing up and having to shave every day. BOO HOO.
On a lighter note, it would be nice to have my own money. But then there's the debt to pay.
I have decided that denial about my terrifying amount of debt is the best policy. I often run away from banks, arms flailing, screaming for salvation. I dance around my room like a crazed lunatic to loud music all just to drown out the grinding noise of my financial ball and chain that I will no doubt be wearing until I draw my pension.
No. No no no. Stop being pessimistic. It will all be fine. If not I can be one of those Hari Krishnas that chant up and down Oxford Street, they seem incredibly enlightened.
I've never been good with change you see. I don't think many people actually like it but it is nevertheless a part of life. It's just daunting to be in a situation where you feel like such a novice in everything you do. After 4 years at university I can claim to be a professional student. I know how to make mismatched clothes work, how to drink before lunchtime and how to talk endlessly and with authority about really, a load of crap. But now it's different - the grown up world beckons and my only solace is that I have some office experience (as long as we forget that I broke the new £400 shredder). Oh, and I make a stellar brew.
My sister gave me some sound advice about broadcast journalism this week that can be applied to anything. She told me to really believe in myself and to let it come across in who I am. I know you may think it a bit cliched and flaky to say 'Believe in thyself' but how many of us actually do? If ever my confidence in something is tested I notice a marked difference in my performance at any task. I am less motivated when this happens and as a consequence do worse. Therefore I think it is very important to believe in yourself, even in the smallest things you do.
I went for a walk in Stanmer Park today, a rolling country park by campus with woods and sheep. As I walked the ghosts of my university past were following me. It was a little personal time to remember just how great these years have been. At university you discover who you are, you wear dodgy clothes, you drink awful concoctions. At university you wake up more than once in a hedge (or perhaps in a field freezing cold with a stranger's coat and a very curious cow circling you as happened to one friend). At university you get up at 11.00 on a Monday and have meals the wrong way round. You have the freedom here to express who you are and meet people from all different backgrounds. It may not be for everyone but it was certainly for me, and I'll cherish the memories always.
I'll leave it there for now cause I've got some dodgy clothes to dig out and a party to attend! I wonder where I'll wake up next...
Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
A New Blog, A New Age?
Hello, bienvenue. Come, sit down and warm yourselves by the fire. It's very cold out there and you must be in need of some of my famous hot-chocolate (with added brandy to cajole the heart and cinnamon to warm the soul). The cold can bring the desire for hibernation so while you're making yourselves comfy why not grab a duvet and wrap yourselves up nice and tight? Don't worry about spilling your chocolate, they're primark duvets. What was that? they're not goose down? I know, you must be very disappointed but my mother is allergic you see...Now, are we all sitting comfortably? Yes, I'm sorry about the dog, he tends to do that. Just keep your legs and arms folded and such embarrassing situations will be avoided. Now, I think I can begin...yes? Yes.
For those of you who often sat on the edge of their seat waiting for the next installment of my Spanish blog, well here's a new one to get your teeth into. I hear some disheartened cries from some of you for I neglected to finish the Spanish blog. However, times have changed and too many things are happening for me to sit idly by.
Yesterday saw the inauguration of Barack Obama, 'that skinny guy with the funny name'. Well believe it or not he is president of the United States now and it seems that some people are still in disbelief. An African American campaigner interviewed yesterday for BBC News said she would never have thought this day possible in her lifetime. She explained that she had been a prominent campaigner alongside Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights struggle in the 1960s. Then the persecution was enshrined in law and a seemingly daunting fight against an entire system of bigotry was propelled by an unwavering faith in many that Luther King's dream would come true.
Jump back to January 20 2009 and watch with the millions in Washington as they witness an historic day. Has the dream come true? For many African Americans, simply seeing a black man in the White House is a dream come true. But, as the tone of his speech made clear, these are not easy times. It was a somber but ultimately optimistic speech encouraging Americans to take part as citizens in 'rebuilding' America. Many around me seemed disappointed with the speech, saying that they had expected something more inspirational. Much like a souffle gone wrong, it began promisingly but then went flat. The right-wing media seems to draw a consensus on this opinion. An article in the Telegraph thought it amusing how the democrat/liberal press were trying to 'put the best spin on a strangely flat speech' while Fox News bemoaned the lack of rhetoric or soundbites.
The Financial Times however had something positive to say describing how it inspired and roused hope among a population that is fearful of the future.
Trying to gage the reaction of cynical British university students is perhaps best summed up in quoting someone who turned to me half way through the speech and growled "what a load of bullshit". Perhaps it's a British thing - we don't go in for all that inspirational patriotism like the Americans do. They lap it up, but at the same time there is something admirable in the faith and belief that has been stirred among Americans. I can hear the voice of the cynics now "they're just naive" they shout and they'd probably say that the American Dream is just an illusion. However, since the inauguration of a black president, there is certainly a renewed enthusiasm in it.
Still, Obama comes to power with his work cut out. I watched Panorama last night where a BBC journalist travelled across America meeting people who can't afford health care. A third world charity sets itself up in rural Kentucky so that thousands can queue for hours in the cold just to see a doctor. 23 thousand Americans die a year from lack of basic health care and it is one of Obama's aims to reform this apparently unjust industry; something that could cost 3 trillion dollars.
It seems though that Americans are divided over this issue. Not since the 1920s has there been such a large gap between rich and poor. Those who can afford it have the best health care in the world, but the rich fear that if the health care industry is reformed, their access to quality care will suffer. They cite Britain's NHS and its long waiting-lists as an example.
However, for many millions of Americans, the need for access to basic health care seems to outweigh the argument of the wealthy. Panorama interviewed a woman in need of a lung transplant to treat her cancer. It's expensive, she is poor and lives in a trailer with 5 children. If she doesn't get the operation soon, she will die. It seems unfair that a woman should be denied a chance to live simply because she cannot afford treatment and the taste you're left with is all the more bitter when you remember that this is the richest nation on earth, but rich for a few it seems...
The New Age that Obama promises is a fairer age, where diplomacy takes precedent over aggression. If anything good should come out of this election, it is the hope that America will be seen as a force for good in the world again. Yet as I write this, that cynical voice in my head starts up again. Que sera, sera.
For those of you who often sat on the edge of their seat waiting for the next installment of my Spanish blog, well here's a new one to get your teeth into. I hear some disheartened cries from some of you for I neglected to finish the Spanish blog. However, times have changed and too many things are happening for me to sit idly by.
Yesterday saw the inauguration of Barack Obama, 'that skinny guy with the funny name'. Well believe it or not he is president of the United States now and it seems that some people are still in disbelief. An African American campaigner interviewed yesterday for BBC News said she would never have thought this day possible in her lifetime. She explained that she had been a prominent campaigner alongside Martin Luther King during the Civil Rights struggle in the 1960s. Then the persecution was enshrined in law and a seemingly daunting fight against an entire system of bigotry was propelled by an unwavering faith in many that Luther King's dream would come true.
Jump back to January 20 2009 and watch with the millions in Washington as they witness an historic day. Has the dream come true? For many African Americans, simply seeing a black man in the White House is a dream come true. But, as the tone of his speech made clear, these are not easy times. It was a somber but ultimately optimistic speech encouraging Americans to take part as citizens in 'rebuilding' America. Many around me seemed disappointed with the speech, saying that they had expected something more inspirational. Much like a souffle gone wrong, it began promisingly but then went flat. The right-wing media seems to draw a consensus on this opinion. An article in the Telegraph thought it amusing how the democrat/liberal press were trying to 'put the best spin on a strangely flat speech' while Fox News bemoaned the lack of rhetoric or soundbites.
The Financial Times however had something positive to say describing how it inspired and roused hope among a population that is fearful of the future.
Trying to gage the reaction of cynical British university students is perhaps best summed up in quoting someone who turned to me half way through the speech and growled "what a load of bullshit". Perhaps it's a British thing - we don't go in for all that inspirational patriotism like the Americans do. They lap it up, but at the same time there is something admirable in the faith and belief that has been stirred among Americans. I can hear the voice of the cynics now "they're just naive" they shout and they'd probably say that the American Dream is just an illusion. However, since the inauguration of a black president, there is certainly a renewed enthusiasm in it.
Still, Obama comes to power with his work cut out. I watched Panorama last night where a BBC journalist travelled across America meeting people who can't afford health care. A third world charity sets itself up in rural Kentucky so that thousands can queue for hours in the cold just to see a doctor. 23 thousand Americans die a year from lack of basic health care and it is one of Obama's aims to reform this apparently unjust industry; something that could cost 3 trillion dollars.
It seems though that Americans are divided over this issue. Not since the 1920s has there been such a large gap between rich and poor. Those who can afford it have the best health care in the world, but the rich fear that if the health care industry is reformed, their access to quality care will suffer. They cite Britain's NHS and its long waiting-lists as an example.
However, for many millions of Americans, the need for access to basic health care seems to outweigh the argument of the wealthy. Panorama interviewed a woman in need of a lung transplant to treat her cancer. It's expensive, she is poor and lives in a trailer with 5 children. If she doesn't get the operation soon, she will die. It seems unfair that a woman should be denied a chance to live simply because she cannot afford treatment and the taste you're left with is all the more bitter when you remember that this is the richest nation on earth, but rich for a few it seems...
The New Age that Obama promises is a fairer age, where diplomacy takes precedent over aggression. If anything good should come out of this election, it is the hope that America will be seen as a force for good in the world again. Yet as I write this, that cynical voice in my head starts up again. Que sera, sera.
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