Universtiy Life, and My Belovded Partner in Crime.

We all approach life at our own pace, and life has a way of dictating to us at what pace we should best approach life.

That being said, as of late, life’s approach has been intense. And so in order to keep up, I have had to adopt an intense approach to life. Most of this intensity though stems from Uni. It is hard to believe that we are already about to enter week seven after the inter session break – which is by no means a break at all rather a chance to catch up on assignments and study. On top of that I have already completed my five observation days and will begin prac teaching in roughly five weeks.

My beloved partner and I are both working to complete our masters and much to our displeasure have not been able to spend much time together except for our dedicated date nights once a week (anyone in a relationship will tell you though this is not enough). Much of our time has consisted of early starts and late finishes; that is waking up at 5:30 – 6:00 most days and working into the evening until 1 – 3am. Three assessments down with three to go before prac teaching officially begins.

My observation days were incredibly enlightening, just as everyone I had spoken to had said – what you learn at uni is almost of no use, it is what you learn at prac that is of my importance and of most use. And I must say that I am in agreement with such statements. For starters uni didn’t even touch on lesson plans until a week before our assessment on lessons plans was due. There is also the way in which you conduct yourself in a classroom that they fail cover, that is they don’t teach you about the impact of where you stand in the room and how to project your voice etc. don’t get me wrong I don’t mind because it is the sort of stuff you learn on prac anyway but a few tips along the way wouldn’t go astray either.

My observation days appear to have gone well and I have learnt much. Most importantly though I have observed that teaching is indeed for me and I cannot wait until I secure that fulltime position. I can only dream and imagine of where that may be, should I succeed in my studies. I cannot explain it, only in that personally I feel that teaching/education is the foundation of any successful society/culture albeit that teaching be formal or informal – a society relies on good teachers for it to succeed – to be a part of such a process would be an honour of the upmost highest regard.

To think that you are responsible for someone else’s learning and understanding of the world around them. What an incredible and amazing feeling. I don’t mean to sound egotistical by the way, for that is by no means my intention; in fact I could think of nothing worse than being some pompous fool full of his own self-importance, blowing smoke up his own ass. Indeed, the very thought of teaching is a very humbling notion to me. The gravity and weight of the expectations in which such a title of ‘teacher’ entails is incredible, and should humble even the most inflated of egos, lest they be utter fools for the taking.

I imagine that the next few week will be tough, with three assessments due over the next three weeks and prac teaching to prepare for around the corner, the nights are only going to get longer and the morning’s remain early.  Not to fear, for as I said at the beginning: We all approach life at our own pace, and life has a way of dictating to us at what pace we should best approach life, that being said it is up to us to decide whether or not we meet the requirements of that pace lest be left behind.

Before I conclude though let me just say one more thing, if it were not for my beloved partner in crime in life I could never have made it as far as I have. Indeed I imagine that if it were not for my beloved other half I would be a complete and utter wreck. There is no way I could have come as far as I have if it were not for the support and love of my gorgeous girl. It is because of my beautiful lover that I feel the desire to push forward in the face of adversity, so that our future together may be bright and beautiful. I just want to say that I Love and appreciate her so much. Thank you for making my lunch in the morning when you are as tired as I am, thank you for serving me out dinner when you too are thinking about the assessments in which you need to get done. Thank you for always picking me up from the station when I know that is valuable time to you to use for study etc. Thank you for just being generally fucking awesome. Thank you for your kisses of good luck, your kisses of love, and your hugs of support. Knowing that I have you by my side makes every day that much easier to deal with. Every assessment that much easier to complete, every prac day that much easier to do, every day at work easier to get through. Thank you for being so encouraging, thank you for being so reassuring – your reassuring hugs and your reassuring kisses. You are my one and only, without you I am the earth with no sun, I am earth with no moon, you are my gravity that holds me steady, my atmosphere that helps me breathe.

JS.

Inspiration – On Writing and Life

What inspires you? It seems like such a generic question, in fact in my opinion it is but that doesn’t take away from the weight of the answer. Whatever you’re creative pursuit or interest may be, in my case its writing, inspiration forms the cornerstone, the foundation of that pursuit. Personally I feel that writing cannot be forced, that’s not to say you have to sit around waiting to be inspired, heavens no otherwise I’d never get any writing done, well no serious writing anyway. What I am getting at is that often we hit that wall, that damn brick wall that you can really run hard into. As you pick yourself up to look at the damage, all around you is stale material and old debris from the last time you brought down the wall.

When I look at the debris, I am reminded of what it was that brought down that wall time and time again – that wall that says your material is dry or uninteresting, that wall that prevents you from coming up with anything new. That wall that says “you aint good enough”, you see writers block isn’t just not being able to come up with anything new or an inability to continue a piece of work its more than that, it’s everything negative that impedes your ability to write at all – what brought down that wall time and time again is inspiration, passion for what you do, the captivating feeling of imagination and wonder at the world around you. Wonder and imagination for the creative pursuit you love and hate.

Personally, the trick to bringing down that wall, to writing, is continually being inspired, always finding something new you want to try out, something new to express or explore. Creative pursuits are often a means to understanding or expressing ones feelings and thoughts about the world around us. If we are not inspired by what surrounds us, if we are not at all in the slightest caught up in the wonder of the world; how at all can we write in a way that will affect other people or at least write in a way that stays with a person? Even if that wonder or inspiration comes from the darkest corners of the world or the brightest stars of space, inspiration comes in many shapes and forms and often we do not even realise when we are indeed inspired we simply feel and urge. An itch to engage with our creative passions, or even our passions for life itself, so when I hit that wall, that ever high and mighty wall that looks down on me with contempt, I look around at all the debris before me, all the debris that I have left behind me and I think to myself what inspires me?

Sometimes we are inspired by anger, love, hatred, compassion, empathy, jealousy or envy. Sometimes we are inspired by injustice, equality, progress, science, inspirations touch is inescapable; for it’s not just a cornerstone for creative pursuits, inspiration carries us throughout life. We are inspired by books, movies, poems and art. The best way to bring down that wall, is not just remembering ones creative inspiration such as ones materialistic and aesthetic inspiration, we need also look to life, and remind ourselves of what it is in life that inspires us. What is it about living that inspires us?

You can see how that creative wall we hit, translates also into life itself. Often when one is facing writers block, writers block isn’t the problem, writers block is the symptom of an uninspired life.

JS.

The Daily Grind

How I Reatin a Sense of creativity after the nine to five daily grind

As inspiring as the nine to five world can be to a would be writer, as we seek to escape the monotony of the daily grind, it really can have a stifling and suffocating effect on ones creativity. Yet the train ride home almost always invigorates my imagination, my wonderment at the world around me. Today an icy change has set in and brooding grey clouds blanket the vast sky above as the train sleepily traverses homeward bound, steadily I am inspired again as they stretch beyond the endless suburbs. I am reminded of the wonderment at which may lie beyond it all, again I am inspired. Towering factories, extensive junkyards and downtrodden fields float past like fading echoes of a once full life, yet they are flecks of dirt beneath the expanse of the sky above. Again I am inspired and I wonder what stories I have to tell of what lie beyond it all…

 

JS