Just...stuff

Hey guys,

I do have a genuine reason for posting this, but if for whatever reason you are in a rush - the main point of this blog entry will be at the bottom.

So yeah, it's been a bit of a long time since I did a "life updates" type blog, certainly not since I forgot my password for my JHS account and created this one...

I guess the first thing to say is Happy New Year...truth be told, I was really happy to see the back of 2011. 2011 was...not a terrible year, but it isn't one I'll look back on and think it was great. There were some good moments, good people entered my life and I had experiences that I never thought I would have. I grew close to a girl I really didn't think I'd like; I passed my A Levels and started university. It was a big year for me, one that helped me grow as a person and understand things that before I didn't, and I'm not just talking about the school work.

University has its ups and downs. Some weeks it is positive, other weeks, like last week in particularly, really make you question why you are there. It's not the work that makes me feel like that, some areas are a tad boring, and it's not really the people either. There are a few people who aren't the type of people I thought I'd have to put up with, but it's bearable. It's quite hard to explain, but it is just funny how the smallest things can annoy you, even basic things like the speed of the computers.

I think it is natural that schools really do oversell university - I mean, I can say categorically I'm enjoying it much more than I'm enjoying school, it is a much nicer atmosphere and place to be - but after all the hype of "OMG UNI IS SO AMAZING YOU SHOULD ALL GO OTHERWISE YOU'LL FAIL AND END UP WORKING IN MCDONALDS", I was rather expecting...hoping for a bit more. In a way I haven't been there long, only since September, so a lot of it is all so new and people are still getting to know each other and stuff, but I bet it won't be long till a little later this year I'm writing saying how fast one year has passed. I was at secondary school for six years of my life, with roughly the same people, the same environment, for 5 days a week. Three years at uni in a completely new place, new style of learning, new people in a way perhaps isn't long enough for someone like me to...make things happen. I guess what I'm trying to say is I need to try really hard to just become more comfortable at uni and the whole situation before these three years pass me by and I'm left wishing I'd done things differently.

There's one particular positive at uni at the moment. The only problem is she's in the other group...I'll say no more.

I'm a strong believer in the fact that you have to keep in a positive frame of mind to get things to work out. I've said many times to numerous people that if you view things negatively, it'll appear negative, even if there is something really good in your life. If you try and smile, laugh at your own expense occasionally and keep positive, you'll see things aren't really so bad.

The only thing that does worry me at the moment, in a way, is my immediate future. Not the people or the work at uni - just that feeling about "the country is screwed, what can I do?" Last year, my sister graduated with the very highest degree, a First in her course. Yet several months on she's going through hell trying to find a job. The country's economy is screwed and jobs are hard to come by, and particularly for students we're left in a catch-22 situation. They want you to have experience, yet you can't get experience, so then you can't get a job. Or, like other people, you leave school early; get a job, only for them to turn you away because you haven't got suitable qualifications.

It's worrying me a little bit, particularly for this summer. I'll have a massively long summer holiday, finishing some time in early June/July and not starting back till late September. I need to find stuff to do; otherwise I'm just going to become bored. Already I'm sending out emails to local papers and local racing drivers, asking if they'll take me on to do some writing for them. I'm also sending out emails to small motorsport websites who need writers. If you have any contact details for anyone I can get in touch with and write for, for a website or whatever, I really, really would be eternally grateful. The main thing is getting my writing out there and noticed. Failing that, I guess I'll be either washing cars at a local garage or marshalling at a near-by indoor kart track, maybe all three, which would beat sitting at home being depressed with nothing to do, or being depressed because I'm doing something really mundane, like stacking shelves. But in this day and age, beggars can't be choosers I guess. Anything is considered better over nothing. It is just worrying when you see someone who is generally really intelligent and passionate about their work like my sister struggling. It amazes me how people can claim that they're "Proud to be British" when all this Sh#t is going on, and the Government seems to be doing the square root of jack all to sort it. But I won't start ranting.

So, on to the main part of this entry, and on the same theme as getting my writing out there.

As part of one of my modules I'm currently studying - writing the message online - we have to have a blog. I've been running a small motorsport blog for about a year and a half, and was initially used as a project for a local paper. For this module, I will be assessed on what I post. I believe at some stage we'll get into making audio and video entries, which will be cool as I currently don't have the capability to do so at home. At the moment, I do an entry every Friday, but I may start to do more frequent entries as part of this course.

www.jhsracing.wordpress.com

Additionally, I have another blog where I'll be posting tasks that we've been set in class that are unrelated to my main blog. This week we were sent out to interview people in a nearby museum.

http://jamesshublog.wordpress.com/

I'd really appreciate it if you kept viewing/reading what I post on those two sites. Any comments on what I write in terms of how to develop my style, or even ideas on what to write about are also appreciated.

Once again - if anyone has any contact, however small they are, on chances to get my writing out there it'd be a huge help if you could PM me on here, or even send me an email to AdamantJHS@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks so much for reading this rather long and rambling entry.

James.