Something that has always bothered me is what will I be when I grow up? From the age of 5 I always said that I wanted to be a vet, but by the age of 16 I had discovered that I simply did not have the patience to really get to grips with chemistry and after one chemistry A level class I began searching for a new possible career. It was around this time, when I was moving onto A levels that I found I had a certain ability for writing, I enjoyed it and thought that I could quite happily make my living writing. I began to write for the newly formed school magazine, and began looking for journalism courses.
My idea was to have a degree in journalism and one day move onto novel writing. Since I first picked up 'Harry Potter' at the age of 8 I loved reading, before Harry I hated to read. I had always lagged behind my class mates simply because those 'Ben ate an apple' books just were not interesting.
Also, I have never had a formal careers meeting. The only thing I can remember that was remotely career orientated was a meeting in a tiny office with a man I've never met before when I was in year 10. The general gist of the conversation was 'what interests you?' to which I replied 'sports, going out and reading'. His response was 'well keep up the PE and English and possibly you'll find a career involving the two'. How useless was that interview then? I already knew that and didn't need to miss part of my PE lesson to find out that tiny bit of enlightenment.
Therefore it can be said that I am still unsure of where my future lies, but it will involve sports and writing.
Monday, 8 December 2008
Sunday, 7 December 2008
Computers. Why bother?
Why are computers so confusing? I left my laptop working perfectly well on Thursday and now I came back to uni and it's had a complete meltdown. People say women can be temperamental, but computers, and in particular my laptop, are far worse. Apparently my anti-virus software is out of date and some back up hasn't run.
So virus protection renewed and a few restarts later it appears to be happy, for now. But it almost certainly won't be for long. When will a computer be made that does not have hysterical fits each time it's turned on? Last weekend I turned it on to find that it no longer accepted my Internet connection because Microsoft expansion 3 or whatever it's called had changed my settings. Had it not been for the IT technician I probably still wouldn't know what was wrong and it probably would have resulted in a new laptop. Which brings me onto my next point, so many people just go out and buy a new computer at the first sign of a problem. Which I think could be the plan behind the utterly useless troubleshooter programmes which simply tell you 'oh yes that's broken' and give no way of fixing the problem.
My point behind this is go and make friends with someone who works with computers, that's what I did and I got mine fixed for free!
So virus protection renewed and a few restarts later it appears to be happy, for now. But it almost certainly won't be for long. When will a computer be made that does not have hysterical fits each time it's turned on? Last weekend I turned it on to find that it no longer accepted my Internet connection because Microsoft expansion 3 or whatever it's called had changed my settings. Had it not been for the IT technician I probably still wouldn't know what was wrong and it probably would have resulted in a new laptop. Which brings me onto my next point, so many people just go out and buy a new computer at the first sign of a problem. Which I think could be the plan behind the utterly useless troubleshooter programmes which simply tell you 'oh yes that's broken' and give no way of fixing the problem.
My point behind this is go and make friends with someone who works with computers, that's what I did and I got mine fixed for free!
Saturday, 6 December 2008
Credit Crunch Christmas
Whilst the credit crunch is no matter to be ignored, there are some brighter sides to the unyielding down points the news insists on throwing in our faces every time we tune into the evening news.
VAT has come down by 2.5% this week and this means that everything has gone down in price, something my mum was quite pleased about when she excitedly informed me in Sainsbury that the chicken in jelly dog food had gone down in price by 5p. A mundane matter some may agree, but the saying is after all, 'look after the penies and the pounds will look after themselves'. Something that in these hard times everyone needs to remember.
Another happier side to the otherwise gloomy business of the credit crunch and the down turn in the economy is that christmas shopping has become alittle more affordable. Whilst people are having to spend carefully I was most pleased this weekend shopping in Torquay when I suggested to look in Woolworths to check the deals. Everything was half price, and I found many a good deal and completed a large portion of my christmas shopping. Image my delight then when I went to pay for presents and found that there had been further reductions, the DVD that i thought was a bargain at £8 had gone down to £4.20.
Therefore I say to you that even in these hard times remember that all is not bad, and with christmas around the corner each of us has something to look forward to. Even if it is spending time with that particularly annoying great aunt who still thinks you;re five.
VAT has come down by 2.5% this week and this means that everything has gone down in price, something my mum was quite pleased about when she excitedly informed me in Sainsbury that the chicken in jelly dog food had gone down in price by 5p. A mundane matter some may agree, but the saying is after all, 'look after the penies and the pounds will look after themselves'. Something that in these hard times everyone needs to remember.
Another happier side to the otherwise gloomy business of the credit crunch and the down turn in the economy is that christmas shopping has become alittle more affordable. Whilst people are having to spend carefully I was most pleased this weekend shopping in Torquay when I suggested to look in Woolworths to check the deals. Everything was half price, and I found many a good deal and completed a large portion of my christmas shopping. Image my delight then when I went to pay for presents and found that there had been further reductions, the DVD that i thought was a bargain at £8 had gone down to £4.20.
Therefore I say to you that even in these hard times remember that all is not bad, and with christmas around the corner each of us has something to look forward to. Even if it is spending time with that particularly annoying great aunt who still thinks you;re five.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Teen Pregnancy
The UK has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the world, in fact, we are second only to the United States with 31 births per 1,000 for teens ages 15-19, whilst the US has 51 per 1,000. I have been aware of the fact that the UK has such a high teen pregnancy rate since my mum first had 'that' chat with me way back when boys were still an unknown oddity that shared the playground. However, until recent months I have never really had contact with teen mums, none of my friends have fallen pregnant and considering I have spent most of my teenage life in Torbay, (which has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the South West, and in fact outside of London is the only place in the country to have pregnancy levels rise by nearly 16% between 1998-2008) this is quite surprising. The current statistics suggest that 44 girls in 1,000 in Torbay have been pregnant.
Yet in the last 6 months two of my friends have had babies, and a further two have told me that they are expecting, and although they are all over 18 it is still quite a shock to think that some of my peers are now parents. There are thousands of reports into the reasons for the UK's rising pregnancy levels in teens, and they hardly ever contain oppinions from teenagers.
Paignton Community School has come under the closest scrutiny over teen mums in recent years since a 13 year old became pregnant and was even thrown out of her sex ed class for interruptions. A recent report said that many 14 year old girls in Torbay thought having a baby was like getting a new handbag. Kizzy Neal is one such example, and her father has blamed the growing 'gang culture', saying all teenagers now drink, do drugs and have sex. But as a teen growing up in Torbay I cannot agree with this, yes in the winter there is very little to keep teens occupied, but we do not all resort to drink, drugs and sex thank-you. As for the comments that it is seen as fashionable to have a baby I do not agree with this either, sometimes it is a complete accident, and no contraception is 100% safe.
In my personal opinion the schools need to rethink their sexual education classes because that is where the true failing is occurring. My own school had an appalling sexual education class, the only thing I can remember is being told aged 14 that if I had unprotected sex I would get cervical cancer. Not really an adequate education in the country with the second highest teenage pregnancy in the world, would you agree?
Yet in the last 6 months two of my friends have had babies, and a further two have told me that they are expecting, and although they are all over 18 it is still quite a shock to think that some of my peers are now parents. There are thousands of reports into the reasons for the UK's rising pregnancy levels in teens, and they hardly ever contain oppinions from teenagers.
Paignton Community School has come under the closest scrutiny over teen mums in recent years since a 13 year old became pregnant and was even thrown out of her sex ed class for interruptions. A recent report said that many 14 year old girls in Torbay thought having a baby was like getting a new handbag. Kizzy Neal is one such example, and her father has blamed the growing 'gang culture', saying all teenagers now drink, do drugs and have sex. But as a teen growing up in Torbay I cannot agree with this, yes in the winter there is very little to keep teens occupied, but we do not all resort to drink, drugs and sex thank-you. As for the comments that it is seen as fashionable to have a baby I do not agree with this either, sometimes it is a complete accident, and no contraception is 100% safe.
In my personal opinion the schools need to rethink their sexual education classes because that is where the true failing is occurring. My own school had an appalling sexual education class, the only thing I can remember is being told aged 14 that if I had unprotected sex I would get cervical cancer. Not really an adequate education in the country with the second highest teenage pregnancy in the world, would you agree?
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