By Simon Wright (Personal piece)
SOMETIMES, I do wish that my life was just a bit quieter, or if that can’t be the case, a week where relatively little happens in it. I guess I’m in dreamland here!
Another week, another mixed bag but it did involve a trip back home for a couple of days to my homeland of Milton Keynes. I couldn’t wait to get away from it all and it turned into a productive 48 hours. Not only did I watch one of the classics in film; The Lion King, I felt I made significant progress in regards to my dissertation. In fact, I’m technically 20 per cent through my 5,000 word quota, which is very satisfying. It hasn’t been proof-read by anyone other than me, nor content has been checked by my supervised tutor yet, but to say substantial progress has been made is very true. My target to have the dissertation nearly complete by the end of January is well within reach.
Being at home for a couple of days rocked too. I do like my independence, so my accommodation in Northampton works out well, but it is also nice to go home and be guaranteed a hot shower, not having to cook for just you, be certain of a decent internet connection and so on. Home comforts will never go away from me and with the lack of activity around University so far this year; it looks like something I might be doing a bit more often as the year progresses. Certainly it is something more to think about if I get more of my work done in this area.
I had to getaway and at the right time too. I had several run-ins with Uni course mates between Sunday afternoon and Monday evening, all minor disagreements it has to be said but by the time Monday evening came around, I had enough. It didn’t matter how I reacted, how I felt, what I decided to do, everything seemed to backfire on me and for no good reason. If I’ve done something wrong, I will be the first one to hold my hands up and say sorry. I don’t feel I have had to do that in the past seven days, yet can’t help but feel almost like public enemy no.1. I think these incidents have highlighted a fact of life; I will probably feature next week in the Odd One Out round of Have I Got News for You? I have very little in common with anyone on my course and it is beginning to show. I still watch Neighbours, love Formula One and like playing computer games on my Xbox 360. The majority prefer a meal at Nando’s, love Halloween and are big fans of The Only Way is Essex. The latter pair is things I can’t stand and wish didn’t exist. The gap is not narrowing; the distance is growing. I hate distance between people, it is one of the worst things to happen in life, but I fear it is happening with pretty much everyone and I don’t like it. I guess it’s a fact of life and sometimes, it’s better to know where you stand sooner rather than later down the line. However, if it continues, I can’t help but feel that is this going to be a very long, torrid year. I’ve already been called boring this year, but perhaps I’m more a freak of nature, lame and uncool than anything else. However, whatever people think is their business, so I guess I'll just get on with it, keep my head down and wait to graduate.
Regular readers will know that I was quite critical of the lecturers towards the end of last year and rightly so. However, credit where it is due, they have supported everyone so far this time around. Any questions have been answered properly via e-mail or in the next timetabled session and often, things have been made clearer after looking like a near impossible task. I got another e-mail from the head of the course yesterday encouraging people to apply as this year’s student course rep, with the incentive being a free coffee. Nice try, but I think I’ll give it a miss. If you were offering a free Sky subscription, an Audi A4 or a holiday to Mexico, then that would be far more tempting to take on. In a small team, I do feel I can lead a group forward, but I don’t think I would be cut out to take on the challenge of dealing with the problems/issues/enquiries of 30 students. For me, it is more likely to provide more headaches than delight. It might look good on a CV come the end of the year, but to me, feels more like a poisoned chalice. However, good luck to whoever decides to take on the role.
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| BUSY: People queue in their hundreds to see the Olympic torch |
Today saw the Olympic torch arrive at the University of Northampton in an event put together very successfully by the University and the Student Union. I went down for a couple of hours to see what was going on. A very lengthy queue meant I wasn’t going to be able to have my photo taken with the torch, but everyone seemed very happy there today on such a beautiful, autumn afternoon. Many youngsters could try out a whole range of sports, such as badminton, basketball, hockey and javelin. I think we can safely say that Britain’s young talent continues to shine through and it makes you think just how close the 2012 Olympics are now. In a little over nine months time, the biggest sporting event in the world heads to London and I hope everyone will get in the Olympic spirit, because it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Once again, it has been a tough week in news. There was the tragic accident in MotoGP in Malaysia last weekend that claimed the life of promising Italian rider Marco Simoncelli, followed by the earthquake in Turkey just hours later which has claimed hundreds of lives. I didn’t feel miserable about these events, but they are a shock. One of the well-respected students on the course, told me on Monday; ‘People die, get over it.’ I thought it was a barbaric and unnecessary comment and I was unimpressed, especially with all the tragedy around the world at the moment. However, perhaps I have had carried too much emotional attraction and meaning to some of the issues in the world in recent weeks and that is something in journalism that you can’t have. Yesterday, BBC journalist Sanjeev Shetty came into the University to talk to us and spoke about his decision to not show the Simoncelli accident on the rolling news channel when it came through on Sunday. He highlighted the issue of not getting personally connected with the story, so that’s something I have now taken onboard, no matter how bad it is. The guest lecture was really useful to me, as not only did it show the hard work I have to put in to get where I want to go, but Sanjeev shared some of his experiences with us and that was nice to hear.
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| TRIBUTES: For Nabila outside University, a touching memorial |
Finally, as I was leaving the Olympic torch event at Park Campus today, I walked past the lovely memorial that has been created for the late Leisure & Tourism student, Nabila Nanfuka. Nabila was tragically crushed to death in the Lava: Ignite nightclub last Wednesday morning and the story has remained in the news all week, with the inquest into the death, plus news of the owners of the club going into administration. Flowers and lighted candles were present and I did stop for a minute to pay my respects and look on. Nabila had everything going for her and her dreams of a successful life have been cruelly taken away. This is another reminder to those out there who seem to care more about Kitty Brucknell surviving in the X-Factor. Get a grip; natural disasters have happened and another economic crisis is sweeping through Europe. These stories are far more important than a stupid TV show.
I will leave you this week with the saying; “Never take anything for granted and don’t plan too far infront, because you just never know what is around the corner.” Thank you and goodnight!
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