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| HAPPY TIMES: The Journalism gang pose before xmas for Unique magazine |
Ellie – I think it’s safe to say that Ellie and I have been down a rocky road in 2011, which tested our previously stable friendship right to the edge, or shall I say, needing emergency CPR treatment! However, the heart hasn’t flat lined and we have a solid foundation which will take something massive to smash it completely. Ellie is one of the sweetest and cutest individuals I’ve ever met and an amazing friend. I know I am very lucky to have her in my life. She is very caring and has always had belief in me and what I am capable of. This year, she seems to be working harder than ever before and by getting two weeks of work placement with two different newspapers, no-one should criticise her dedication towards journalism. If Ellie showed a bit more confidence in herself, she could turn into a top-notch journalist. She also seems far happier this year, especially by being in a loving and very secure relationship with a stable boyfriend. Ellie will never lose her wild side, and I don’t think she should, because it would take away a major part of her personality. However, I will always value her opinion by being so close and I hope we will be able to properly rebuild the trust which admittedly has taken a battering so far this calendar year. What I do know, is without Ellie in my life, it would be far duller, because I love the drama that it comes with!
Farida – I love being around Farida, because it isn’t just the pickles that she can get herself into, almost quite literally! It is the dedication she shows. Farida is a top class writer and has already shown it in abundance. As far as I was concerned, her feature on shoes in Northampton was a class above anything else in the spring edition of Unique magazine. She has all the talent in the world and I know she will go onto bigger and better things. When you throw in the funny arguments with Lauren and the hilarious quotes she comes out with in law, it makes her a complete all-round person. I think Ellie would win the most dramatic individual award, but if there was one for all-round personality, I’d nominate Farida hands down. She won’t stop at anything to get her story, as shown also by e-mailing almost every single media organisation ever for work placement, including a caravan magazine earlier in the year! Although she is going through a host of bad luck at the moment, Farida has the ability to turn it around in her favour and I hope she continues to fight for every opportunity offered to her, because she is going places, big time! Plus, let’s not forget the love for Enrique, Nicole and the Sky Blues!
Shane – I didn’t meet Shane until the start of this year, but he is a funny and great addition to the group. Together with me and Tamika, we can have a load of fun in the Tuesday workshop and he did a very good job as our news editor, or shall I say ‘the leader’ for the xmas edition of Unique magazine. Shane has always helped me out, whenever I need it. He plays a brilliant role with acting, as portrayed by his role as ‘The Maskman’ in a sound demo I had to do for Film Style & Technique. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o4QhG8dFOA&feature=channel_video_title) Shane is an all-round nice guy and I have been very privileged to be in his company this year. The only tip I’d give to him is, start reading the news on a regular basis!
Tamika – Tamika is a stunning individual, a very caring person and has always been there for me this year. In fact, without her, I don’t think I could have survived the year. Not only is it her natural beauty that stands out, but she is a hard worker, who puts in a load of effort and I think it has shone through. Tamika is a fantastic actress (see our Sound Demo) for evidence, always offers a proper opinion on my work and has taken on the role as group leader in the ‘Parking Problems’ documentary very impressively. She even taught me some useful editing techniques, which I didn’t know before, despite my passion for it. She also called me an ‘editing genius,’ which is one of the sweetest compliments I have received this year. I don’t have a bad word to say about Tamika. I want to take the opportunity to thank her for the incredible support she has shown throughout this year, which has been a very challenging at times.
Rochelle & Emily – Rochelle and Emily, a brilliant double act who go together as well as Morecambe & Wise, Max and O.B from Hollyoaks and Hamilton & Button in Formula One. They are better known as ‘The Twinnies!’ Without them, I know I would be in a poorer place. The three of us have had some brilliant nights out this year, when we can have a real laugh. Rochelle is a real sweetheart, and I don’t think she has a bad stain on her character. She wants to succeed and show how hard-working she is. Her blog on Tumblr is always full of wit and humour and a fun read. Plus, she seems to have a crush on almost every celebrity bloke around! It was Rochelle’s recommendation for me to go and watch ‘The King’s Speech,’ and I’m glad she did encourage me to watch a film masterpiece. As for Emily, she is a brilliant friend and also a very hard-worker. I haven’t seen much of her this year, besides DTP and the Wednesday nights out at Pennywhistle’s, but she has always been another friend who I can totally trust on and I’m privileged to have around me. Long live ‘The Twinnies!’
Miles – I may have distanced myself from Miles more this year than last year, but I do still think he is a nice bloke. I’ve had no problems with him, that’s for sure, even if others have. Miles has a very strong opinion on many issues, which can sometimes be a real positive thing to have, especially in this competitive industry and it can also backfire. The row with Hilary in DTP at the beginning of the year, which saw him kicked out of a session showed this. Nevertheless, I’ve always got on well with Miles, no matter what others think.
Josie – Like Miles, I haven’t seen much of Josie this year, apart from the compulsory law sessions. However, she is still another close friend and I can always rely on her for support. The work she put in for the law presentation was very strong and I still feel a bit guilty for having not trusted her a bit more with it right at the beginning of the assignment. Josie’s strength is definitely in Photography and I bet she is so relieved she dumped Creative Writing, because it was totally the right decision. Her Photography is stunning and if she follows this path, there is going to be a load of success in it. I look forward to seeing her documentary, because I think it has the potential to be top-notch. Josie puts maximum effort into all her work and has a load of potential to do some bright things, not just in third year, but after graduation.
Lauren – Personally, I wasn’t that close to Lauren last year, but I have found her very easy to get on with and enjoy being around her, especially when it comes to those funny arguments with her partner in crime, Farida. Lauren did some very strong pieces for both editions of the Unique magazine and will say whatever she thinks, without holding back. There are a lot of people who do hold back on saying things, but Lauren isn’t one of those. The way she has been totally honest with Creative Writing in telling Leigh what she thinks of him and the subject has been mightily impressive. The highlight that sticks out in my mind of Lauren this year is the water fight with Natalie during a fire alarm drill on a freezing November Monday evening in law. It was just pure comedy at its finest!
Chris – Chris is another individual who I’ve always got on really well with and is a clearly a fan of Twitter. It was touching to see Shane give him 18p the other day, then for Chris to Tweet what just happened lol! I’ve worked with Chris this year on the ‘Parking Problems’ documentary. Despite a lack of general paperwork from him, he produced an excellent first script, which it made it very easy for me to create the voiceovers for the documentary. Not only that, when the pressure was on and the lack of interviews was galling, Chris went out and in just over an hour, got five interviews with students, which turned our documentary from one with potential, which was likely to end up being a major disappointment into a total success. Not only that, he then didn’t give up with speaking to a security supervisor on the car parking issue last Tuesday. He constantly went back and forth and got the rewards with a brilliant interview in the end. Chris’s strengths are definitely in going out and grabbing the interview required and he also did some good stuff for the xmas Unique magazine too. By being strong in both print and TV, Chris has more of a choice than some in being very strong in two fields of journalism.
Stef – Friday mornings can be a real bummer. Getting up for a 9am DTP session has never been a load a fun, but Stef can provide that fun and entertainment that can wake me up. When I thought about leaving myself three weeks ago, Stef was one of those who I asked what she thought of my situation. She gave me an honest assessment of things, and it was nice to hear it from someone who I don’t always confide in, in retrospect to the usual suspects who I turn to. Like Lauren, Stef is not afraid of speaking out and saying it like it is and with a camera, don’t come near her! That’s not in a bad way, but you don’t want to be off-guard and get caught out by Stef filming you for fun haha! Luckily, I got away with it when I was at my lowest. She is such a fun person to be around and has a real habit of making me laugh and smile. Also, if you want random entertainment, check out her and Shamina’s video called ‘Skins,’ earlier last month, it’s brilliant. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co_L_hm4-ag)
Natalie – To be honest, I haven’t seen much of Natalie this year, but she is still a valid member of the group. The water fight with Lauren in law back in November stands out for me. She also realised how useless Creative Writing was and stopped turning up to lectures from November onwards for that module. Wish I’d kinda done the same lol!
James – Honestly, I’ve never always got on really well with James, but I still respect him and he played a significant role in the group-based law presentation before Christmas. It sounds like he is working hard on his documentary too and like Chris, has no fear in making the phone call or going out to get the interview he needs to strengthen his work. However, I don’t think turning up late for a load of Hilary’s workshops made him very favourable with Hilary!
Shamima – Aww, Shamima is a real sweetheart and has a heart full of two places, Northampton and Birmingham. I think she is the most dedicated party girl on the course, though Lauren and Ellie would give her stiff competition. If anyone has had it tough this year, it is Shamima. She has had to go home back and forth this year, due to illness and it must have been hard for her to try and keep up with the fast pace of the excessive workload. At Christmas, I doubted whether she would return, but I never should have. Plus, when things aren’t going right, she can get rather angry, which she showed in the workshop last week. Aside from the constant Facebook rape statuses that regularly appear on my News Feed, I had the privilege of interviewing Shamima for a workshop task earlier in the year. I found out a lot more about her and I opened up to her, which is something I didn’t think I could do. Together with Stef, they are a very popular double act and go along together like chalk and cheese. The course needs people like Shamima, so we are all lucky to have her around.
Rheannon – Like Natalie, I haven’t seen much of Rheannon this year, along with Robyn and Amanda. However, Rheannon was another individual who I opened up to when I had another tough time at the end of January. She said to me “one bad week doesn’t even come close to the positive weeks you have had. Think about it, you attend all your lectures, so your initiative mark is going to be perfect and you work so hard, it’s an inspiration to the rest of us.” It was quite possibly the sweetest thing someone said to me all year and it was a very nice surprise that made things massively better.
Tom – I haven’t spoken to Tom too much, but he is a good guy who again, you can’t say a bad word about, despite supporting Manchester United (boo!). So, rubbing it in at Liverpool’s recent Premiership success against United at Anfield was nice to do in the following Tuesday workshop. If they pull it out, he and Amy could have a brilliant TV piece for ‘Employability Week,’ and I hope they do, because they showed a lot more commitment than for example, me with a rather crappy radio piece.
Nicole – In similar regards to Shane, I only got to know Nicole this year, but she is such a nice person all round. She works very hard and keeps herself to herself. Some don’t recognise Nicole, but that’s because she prefers to get on with the tasks in hand, rather than be in the thick of the action. She is always willing to improve and having read and proofed both of her pieces that got into Unique; I know she can be a very successful journalist.
Amy – Amy is in both my workshop group and in Creative Writing. Although I don’t see much of her, she can pull some very strong pieces out of the bag. Whilst Farida’s shoes feature was the best piece in Unique spring edition, Amy’s piece on the homeless over the festive season for Unique xmas edition was simply fantastic. Amy has the ability to produce the unexpected, which is a good thing, because it can be seen as a real bonus to many employers, almost like a wildcard entry at a major sports tournament. Plus, she is also a funny character and the new red hairstyle really suits her too!
The rest of you – I couldn’t mention everyone unfortunately, otherwise I would go on for hours. However, you are all amazing people with various qualities which make you tick. Even I have to acknowledge the contribution and eccentric attitude of Jonathan! (Gulp!) I wish you all the best; I know you can all succeed in these remaining weeks. Remember, the summer isn’t far away now, and you all can lookback on with pride and satisfaction if you conquer this year, which has had its challenges for all of us.
See you all at Uni, take care everyone
Simon
xxx
