Consistency is the key

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

FIVE weeks into my extended summer holiday and I can’t say that it has been a bundle of fun.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to have time off as much as anyone, but it becomes very difficult to motivate yourself, especially when you don’t have an ambition/target to set yourself.  Nevertheless, I can fully now appreciate that after a tricky spring period of the year, summer has brought some lovely (and unpredictable weather!) and some summery results. 

     Yes, two weeks ago, I got the conformation of my grades for the second year of my journalism course at the University of Northampton.  On reflection, I really can’t complain, and although the overall module results could have been slightly better, I was thrilled with my consistency in the separate units that make up a module.  Nearly 80 per cent of all the units I did ended up coming back with B grades, which for the hard graft and effort I put in during the last academic year, is a thoroughly merited result. 

     Some grades really surprised me actually.  I got a B- on the Broadcast Portfolio segment of one of my workshop modules.  Honestly, I was expecting a D!  If anyone listened to my radio pieces (see University Northampton portfolio 2010/11), you could hear how rubbish they were.  Frankly, it was the standard I would expect from an average primary school child!  That’s how bad my radio was.  I do wonder how well I could have done, if I’d done the Sky Sports sexism row back in January for one of my radio pieces.  Ah well, hindsight is a wonderful thing in life, if we have access to it.  

Law is an essential part of journalism; but it is still so BORING!

     Of course, the highpoint was earning an A on my law and government exam.  I was gutted to only earn a C on my 1998 Human Rights Act essay.  Although it wasn’t the greatest essay I’d ever produced, I thought I might have received a bit of discretion for choosing something different to almost everybody else on my degree.  The standard choice of the others was the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  I went a different route and obviously, it didn’t go down well.  Sometimes, gambles don’t pay off, but this does prove I am a risk taker.  Do I regret going a different route?  No, I don’t.  I don’t understand the Freedom of Information Act 2000; it would leave my head spinning like the world globe!  It’s just too complex for a brain as small as mine and as people who know me can vouch to, if I had brains, I’d be lethally dangerous!  Was I hoping for a better result on the essay?  Absolutely I was, and it’s the last time I will believe that going down a different route to the norm will earn some form of creditability. 

     It meant come the exam, I needed a decent result to balance out the essay grade.  As I think I said before, I came out of the exam feeling confident that I had done really well.  However, I could never have imagined earning an A!  It’s the first ever time I’ve achieved the top grade in any kind of exam before (SAT’s, GCSE’s, A Levels) you name it.  I think I can safely say I finally managed to beat the brain freeze I used to suffer in exams, or the choking levels of not remembering your stuff.  Whilst I’m on choking levels, maybe we’ll get a British winner at Wimbledon (No, there’s more chance of me driving a car again, which isn’t likely!)  I didn’t revise as hard as last year, but came out with a better result by a million miles.  Obviously, my preparation was meticulous.  Trust me though; I have no secrets to giveaway!

     The disappointing side of the results was the dismal D+ on my TV Gold magazine, which significantly bought down my DTP overall grade to a C+.  I must admit to being a bit confused by this.  I did a good presentation, thought I stuck to a consistent balance between design and content, yet the result is baffling.  Okay, I did see some top-quality magazines (like Farida’s Milan travel magazine, which was a class above anything else, sorry everyone, that was the standard to beat!) and I knew mine was nowhere near her calibre as an example.  However, it wasn’t that bad and I enjoyed doing it too, despite the stress of printer’s pairs!  There’s only one option I can try now; weasel my way out of doing a magazine next year.  Unlikely, as I think the 32-page mag is one of the compulsory modules for my final year.  However, if there is a way around it, I have to take a different option.  I was heavily criticised for my 8-page magazine last year and now, the 12-page has clearly gone the same way!  So, little hope of a 32-page being successful then!  Probably more chance of me gambling £1 on the National Lottery!

I was happy that my consistency has improved

     Nevertheless, consistency was the key to my overall results and I generally can’t complain with them.  I can’t wait to see my journalism buddies again.  I miss them so much and a fancy dress birthday party for August has already been arranged, so it will be the perfect catch-up point. 

      One final thing to announce; I will NOT be updating this website with anymore blogs from Christmas onwards.  It was a tough decision to make, but 2012 promises so much and I know that I’m just not going to have the time to keep this website functioning any longer.  Nevertheless, I want to thank everyone for reading/liking/commenting on the hundreds of blogs I’ve produced and those of my entertainment expert, Jason Wright too.  I hope you continue to visit the website and enjoy it as much as possible between now and the middle of December, when this journey comes to its conclusion.  Thank you and look forward to seeing/hearing from you soon.

You only live once!

SO THAT’S IT, the latest academic term at University is finished and Friday afternoon was the perfect reflection of the term; ‘You only live once!’

     I had personally worked so hard over the previous week to keep in control of the upcoming workload.  In fact, I look back at the week with a lot of pride and satisfaction.  Everything on my course from my perspective seems to be under control, which is a good feeling.  Although I can’t relax totally over the Easter holidays, I don’t have a load of unnecessary pressure underneath my shoulders.

     Last week, I proved that I don’t just talk and produce rubbish.  My group has put together an outstanding documentary for a module which requires journalists to explore more about film styles and techniques.  Our documentary was based on a common everyday problem wherever you go around the country, especially at colleges and Universities.  The University of Northampton was used as the prime example, and it does have; let’s say some situations that leave students incredibly frustrated.  We feel that a perfect counter-balance has been struck, highlighting a point which the University need to address, and promoting the student’s struggles and disapproval combined with how the new parking charges cope from an official viewpoint.  Major thanks have to go to the incredible Tamika, who had to put up with my obsessive ability at attempting to produce the perfect edit.  She has taken on a leading role in our production and I have been massively impressed by her dedication to the documentary.  Hopefully, we will get the final grade we deserve.  The final version can be seen on YouTube here: 

    The most boring piece of work was to produce the 1500 essay on a law that has affected working journalists since it came into force.  I know it is important to have supreme knowledge of these laws, especially if anyone wants to make it a success in the world of journalism.  Nevertheless, that still doesn’t hide the fact that studying these laws is extensively boring.  I hope no-one else mentions the 1998 Human Rights Act to me now, because I don’t want to know! 

REFRESHMENT: The perfect drink in the perfect weather, don't mind if I do!

     Friday afternoon bought absolutely gorgeous weather, which did make studying rather uncomfortable.  When I found out that some of my course mates had disappeared to the SU to sit in the sun and have some drinks, it made me jealous.  When I wrapped up at 3pm, I thought; ‘You only live once!’  I joined the party and it was great.  After such a hard-working week, which had seen me spend 21 hours of my own time in squeezing the best I could out of some tricky subjects, I took the approach that I needed some strong alcoholic drinks to wrap up a term that has provided success and traumas for me.  There are some wild characters on my course and others who are just pure sweet.  It was nice to spend to spend some time with my mates in a slightly different capacity to normal.  Farida was rebelling against her unfortunate run of bad luck, which has blighted the strong, hard-working abilities that she has traditionally shown.  She seemed excited to see anyone, bouncing down the road when she spotted Ellie.  Farida began to shout her name constantly when she approached us.  You could tell how excited she was.  The free spirit that Farida is means that life simply will never be dull!  We ended up chilling on one of the nearby fields in the fantastic weather.  Farida and another of my friends, Shamina ended up having a hilariously funny beer fight!  Together, these two individuals can be a very lethal double-act!  Friday felt like the perfect day!

     There’s no point holding back at all times.  Staying secure is important and taking risks all the time is a real gamble.  However, you don’t want to do one or the other.  Finding the right balance is the best input to life.  After all, ‘You only live once!’  Plus, you need to make the most of your opportunities offered to you, otherwise, where exactly are you going to go in life.