“What are your plans for after university”

You see, I have this problem.
I don’t know what I want to do after I leave university. I don’t even know what field I want to go into after university.
Sure, I’m studying psychology, but it’s a subject that can be applied to multiple areas.
That doesn’t exactly help me narrow it down a whole lot…

There are some people, you know those people, who seem to have had their lives planned out since playschool.
And then there’s me….

The gaping big hole of the ‘unknown’ after university is something that I’ve come to terms with. Mostly. Occasionally I feel terror creeping in when I see people bragging on Facebook about all their amazing internships and how they’ve got their dream jobs secured before they’ve even finished, but mostly I feel curiosity and a nervous hopefulness about what’s going to come next. You see, because I don’t know what I want to do, I don’t have the pressure or fear that comes with trying to achieve it, at the moment life is all possibility. And that’s okay with me.

Unfortunately, this answer doesn’t satisfy most people.

In every direction I turn, I find myself being faced with the same question from family, lecturers, friends, acquaintances, even random people I’ve only just met.
It’s the question dreaded by students everywhere.

“So *insert name here*, what are your plans for after university?”

How People React When I Tell Them I’m a Psychology Student.

Having been a psychology student for three years now, I’ve noticed a somewhat amusing and at times frustrating trend to how people react when I tell them what I study. It’s gotten to the point where I can predict people’s responses pretty easily because the same ones pop up over and over again! The funny thing is, people’s immediate thoughts usually involve some kind of a common misconception about psychology, and other times they’re just down right ridiculous! After a recent stint of these reactions recently, I felt it was about time I vented my frustrations. It normally starts something like this:

This is by far the most popular response and oh how it gets old quickly. Yes, psychology is about the study of human behaviours, but that does not mean I have a roadmap to the inside of your head! Plus, just because I study psychology, doesn’t mean I always have my psychology hat on, a girl needs a break you know! It’s not like I’m analysing everything you do. If you tell me that you don’t like cheese, I’m not silently contemplating whether you had a traumatic cheese incident in your childhood.

DAY 29: A Book you Hated.

Awwwh man I feel mean writing this post. It’s one thing to write a sarcastic ranty review of a book I had a lot of problems with because it’s kind of relevant and in context, but to spotlight a book specifically to be negative about it seems a bit unnecessary. Especially with the word ‘hate’ – so harsh! I never say I hate anything, strongly dislike sure, but not hate. Unfortunately though, I do recollect one book that fits perfectly into this category, normally I can always find at least one redeeming quality in a novel, but with this one I was lost for words…

DAY 24 Book You’re Most Embarrassed to Say You Like/Liked.

*Sigh* Okay, it’s confession time.

You see, I have a deep dark past… 

Day 4: Book Turned Into a Movie & Completely Desecrated.

When I saw this on the challenge I didn’t even have to think about the answer. One book to film adaption specifically popped straight into the forefront of my mind. When I think back on all the adaptations I’ve nervously committed to seeing over the years, this is the one I was most disappointed by; a book they totally wrecked. I remembered bobbing up and down at the young age of 12 along with several of my relatives also of a similar age. We had all read and loved the book and were so excited to see it transferred to the big screen.

So, does anyone remember this atrocity?

A Conversation with my Housemate

I close my current book, The Help and look to my right where my housemate (lets call him John) has wandered in and settled on my roomate’s empty bed.

‘Do you have any work left to do?’ he says.

‘Not much, I just have to wait for the rest of my presentation group’s stuff, so nothing at the moment, I can just relax.’ I smile.

‘So your idea of relaxing… is reading a book?’ he says with a tone of disbelief.

I uncross my legs, swivel them round so I am now sitting up on my bed and turn my book over with some weird idea that if it is face down, it won’t take offence to this conversation.

Sick-Lit The New Trend? YA Books That May Harm Your Kids ‘Apparently’

Do you recognize any of the popular titles above?
I personally haven’t read all of them, but I have it on good authority that they are excellent books.
Well watch out, because this genre is now being labeled ‘sick-lit’.
This post is a reaction to this article which you many want to check out.

Sick-lit is being defined as novels that deal with complex issues relating to death and disease, so cancer, depression, eating disorders and many other important issues relevant to modern society that have formed some great contemporary books. Yet I can’t help but feel the term ‘sick-lit’ is trying to sound derogatory somehow, giving the genre a negative slant. I mean, it’s not exactly a tasteful sounding label is it?

Like every book that becomes uber popular, moral panic will ensue. Cue the release of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars capturing the hearts of teenagers everywhere and you’re bound to find a crowd of concerned onlookers close behind.

Do you get bored of YA covers imitating Twilight?

Ok, I will fully admit, when I first read the Twilight books, I got a bit obsessed with them for a while. I was exactly the right age to read them at the time, and it was also one of the first YA (Young Adult) fantasy romance books I’d ever read. Me and my friends all read them and squealed at the ‘perfect’ Edward and daydreamed about one day meeting our own vampire boyfriend.
However, slowly the hype around the books grew due to them being turned into film adaptions. I went to see the films, and became less interested. I then reread the books, and became confused about why I actually liked them in the first place. And the more people talked about them, the less and less I liked them and the annoying ‘Twihard’ fans associated with them. Anyway, to avoid this turning into a Twilight rant about the annoying Bella, and Edwards canny resemblance to a stalker etc, etc I’ll get back on topic!

It seems like ever since the Twilight Saga became popular, tonnes and tonnes of YA books have been desperately trying to follow in it’s footsteps, and one of the ways in which they are attempting this seems to be their front covers/illustrations.

Take the Vampire Diaries series for example. These books have been around for quite a long time, yet after the popularity of Twilight were given completely new covers, and this is the result:

My exasperation with film trailers

Ok, it’s rant time.

This is an opinion I’ve had for a while, but have kept to myself.

I have always loved film trailers, I used to watch tonnes of them in a row because they were so entertaining. I have so much respect for how they’re cleverly put together.
They have three different sections, or acts (one introducing the characters, two bring in the main problem that needs to be overcome in the film, and three the montage) and two different plot lines. All this comes together to create a mini master piece. There average length is 2 minutes 30 seconds, although once a year the company is allowed to make an exception for one particularly good film and make it up to 3 minutes. Last year, if I remember correctly, this was the trailer for 127 Hours.

However, my view on film trailers in the last year or so, has gone completely downhill.

Are less people reading books? What do you think?

I often sit in the school Library during some of my free periods, staring at the books around me, with their worn covers, and limp, brown stained pages. They look so unloved, and abandoned. As the weeks go by I always sit in the same spot in the Library, staring at the exact same books, Just Listen, The Dream Merchant, etc. and they never move. Which means, nobody ever takes any books out. I’ve also noticed, that slowly, the shelves are being emptied. Section by section. Because there’s no demand. No one wants to read them. And I can’t help but die a little inside, every time I see a book disappear.
I know SOME people must read books or they would stop producing them, but I have to wonder, how many people in my generation actually read….
I know so many people who say “I don’t enjoy it”, “It’s boring”, “Why read a book when you can watch a film?”
But I just don’t understand it, ever since I can remember, I’ve loved books. When I was too young to read, my parents would read to me or I would just stare at the words and the way they made pretty swirls on the page. When I got older I would read books, and then copy them out, word for word, on sheets of paper, just to make the story last a little longer…..Now, I read endlessly, and then I blog about reading.

Do you read? Do your friends read? If so, why/why not? I’d love to get a discussion going, or hear your comments!
If not…ohh well, I enjoyed writing this blog anyway.. :L