VERY LAST MINUTE REVISION TIPS: SCHOOL EDITION

Welcome back to another blog post!

First off, I’d like toapologise for not writing a blog post in a while… but after reading this you will probably realise why…

So, today marks 7 weeks until my first exam. My first real, determining the rest of my life, actually exam. I have been revising for a while now, but would I really be a student if I didn’t have the niggle of doubt in my mind that I haven’t done enough?

Anyhow, I thought I would give you today some of my best tips (that do work might I add…) that will save you in the exam room.

REVISION TIP #1 – LITTLE AND OFTEN!

If you haven’t started revising now for GCSE’s, A LEVEL’s or any other exam you have this summer, this may not be the tip for you… but if you have been revising and looking at past papers since the day you were born, I would say it is time to plan and sit back to see what you need to do. Solidify that knowledge girl! Start looking over little sections you have done every day. I find this useful because it allows my mind to focus and look at the things I have already done. Also, it stops me from getting too stressed. FACT: the mind can only take in things 20 mins at a time. So a 20 min revision session is good, take a break, then come back to it. This is the most effective way of revising.

REVISION TIP #2 – LET IT ALL OUT! 

BLURT! BLURT! BLURT! This is another one of my favourite revision techniques. If you know me, you’ll know that I love to talk. When revising, I like to say things out loud and recite facts to myself because, for some reason, it stays in my brain. lol. Repeating things, allows those facts to move into your long-term memory so you can recall them in the exam room. Also, teaching other people what you know, (even if it’s just your mum!) can help solidify your own knowledge.

REVISION TIP #3 – EAT, DRINK, SLEEP, REPEAT

For me, I cannot miss an hour of my sleep. Not only will I be too tired but I won’t be able to concentrate at all. Sleep is a lot more important than people think in my opinion. Alongside sleep, comes food. I stress eat too much! Comment below if you suffer from this also. However, try and eat healthily… I’m not going to comment on this too much because I struggle to practice what I preach in this aspect. Lastly, drink water! I try and counterbalance the junk I eat with drinking loads of water, but I find it helps me focus and deals with the banging headaches I get when I am stressed.

REVISION TIP #4 – CHILLAX

If you are feeling really stressed and overwhelmed, it is likely that you are burnt out and overworked. My tip would be, just RELAX! Go for a jog, watch some Netflix, just take yourself away from revision and do what you enjoy. More often than not, this will help you become calm and come back to revision with a fresh mindset. 

That’s all for now! Comment below any more revision tips you may have to share! I could do with some newones… I hope everything is going well for you guys.

Peace out, Accidental Aspirationalists

Love Anita x

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Is University Worth It?

Hi guys, hope you’re all having a good week and welcome back to another blog post.

Judging from the title, you probably know what I am going to ramble on about today, so grab a seat and a drink and enjoy.

As many of you will know, I am in my last year of A Levels (aged 17-18) and I am supposed to be heading off to the unknown world of university. Attending university has always been in the works for me, for as long as I remember. I don’t know if this is because both of my parents attended or if it is because I cannot see myself in a profession that does not require higher education. Either way, I know I am going to university. So, this September is my due date to enter the system. It truly is a system, you enter, you drown in debt (or so I’ve heard) and then you enter the ‘real’ world – the world of money, debt and desperately looking for a job. Is it worth it?

Many students, myself included, are convinced that it is. That starting your adult life, often, on the minimum living wage in £50,000+ debt is the best way. For the greater good. In my eyes, it is slowly becoming the lesser evil.  As much as I don’t want to be stuck in a retail job or in a 9-5 job for the rest of my life, is it worth going to university where I have to take out a loan of about £15,000 per year just so I can be in the job I want?

On top of that, when I finally start to earn the salary I need to pay back my student loan, interest is added. Yes, that’s right, I have to pay interest on top of my £50,000 debt. The ‘real’ world is a cruel place, my friends.

Sometimes I do not feel that the generation before understand that I will literally not survive with £3000 loan if I go to London or how worrying it is to know that you may be in debt to the system for the rest of your life. I’ll give some perspective – the average accommodation price in London is £160 per week. In the Uni year, there are about 40 weeks so approximately, £6400 on accommodation, in addition to my actual tuition fees (£9,250). Bam! One year in, I’m £15,000 down at the end of year one of uni.  Whilst thinking about how I am going to afford this, I am expected to pass my A Levels and get into medical school. I do not want to sound like I am complaining because I know that I am blessed to live in a country with a system that allows me, especially being a black woman, to gain an education. I am truly grateful to God for this.

But, my question is, is it worth it? Can I not find something else that is just as fulfilling and beneficial to other people as medicine but does not require me to graduate in debt? These are the questions that have flooded my mind over the past few days. It saddens me to say that I am scared for my future. I am honestly scared about what the future will be like for me and my generation. Comment below if you have been or are starting uni and what you feel about it. 

Peace out Accidental Aspirationalists.

Love Anita x

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Mood Boards for 2018 GOALS

Welcome back to another blog post!

Below, I have made some creative mood boards that relate to many of my goals this year and ideas that any of you can try. These boards relate to many things that I want to achieve before the end of 2018. Don’t worry this is the end of my “New Year, New Me” posts and we’ll be back to my regular waffling soon. Love you all x

TRAVEL: Visit at least 3 different countries.

BEAUTY: Expand my makeup collection

READING: Swap out my evening routine of TV Shows and Go back to Reading

FITNESS: Just get fit.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these as much as I enjoyed making them! I would suggest making your own and feel free to comment your goals below for the new year! Oh, you’ll either be happy to hear, my ramblings will be back next week or upset that my posts will not be as organised as these… (yeah, this is as organised as I get, sorry guyss)

Peace out,

Accidental Aspirationalist xx

(p.s. 1 week till my b-day! yayyy!)

Week Three – 2// Story Time: I did work experience at a MENTAL ASYLUM!!

Hi, guys and welcome back to my blog!!!

Today, I’m going to tell a short story about something I did this summer. If you’ve read my about page, you will know that I want to be a doctor, (got some more to explain about that soon) so this summer I had an amazing opportunity to spend 3 days at a psychiatry hospital or if you like a mental asylum…I arrived day one, it was on the edge of town, by itself, not much was around just a Tesco. Creep level: high. I walked into the reception and a man with a hi-vis jacket was sat at the desk; no normal receptionist I tell you that. Creep level: higher.

I arrived day one, it was on the edge of town, by itself, not much was around just a Tesco. Creep level: high. I walked into the reception and a man with a hi-vis jacket was sat at the desk; no normal receptionist I tell you that. Creep level: higher.

Walking up to the desk, I stated that I was here on work experience to shadow a psychiatrist. He looked at me and replied, go right through the doors, and make sure they shut behind, he then pointed to a building opposite the reception, across the lawn and ring the doorbell. Make sure the doors shut behind you, he repeated. In my mind I kept repeating the words, this is not a mental asylum, this is not a mental asylum.

I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t that bad, for most of the part, I wasn’t allowed on the ward because it was predominantly male and if I did go on I had to be supervised and with an alarm. Yeah, scary. I would sometimes be walking in the main office part and then turn to where the locked doors would see a lady just standing there, smiling at me and sometimes she would wave. Creep level: increasing higher.

One experience involved me and a doctor, she was giving me a tour of the establishment because it consists of many different wards all at different risk levels (Note: I was on a high-risk ward, Creep Level: High) and then a previous patient was also walking around the grounds. The doctor said to me, we need to get back to the ward after seeing him. Apparently, this specific patient had been discharged a couple of weeks back but kept coming back for no reason. I’m not going to lie, I was scared. However, I loved it!

Weird, right.

The whole experience made me see a different side to mental health and despite my suspicions, it was a very nice environment, the doctors did everything to help the patients. In no way was this blog post trying to stigmatise mental health; I think it is important that we talk about mental health as it is just as important as our physical health. This post is more talking about getting rid of the idea that people who suffer from mental health issues should be “put away”. In fact, I gained invaluable experience from this placement and I immensely enjoyed interacting and seeing other people who we would class as ‘abnormal’; the way they think and act.

There are more tales to tell of this experience but I’ll save those for another day 😉

Peace out, accidental aspirationalists x