Life as a student - part 1

My life as a university student began in September 2011 as I made my way to Birmingham City University. A year and a half later and I am almost half way through my uni life; where heating, nice food, clean bathrooms and luxuries are very uncommon.

I came across an article on The Independent's online site, about "How to Stay Warm in Student Accommodation." This made me think about student life and how different it really is to living a nice comfy life at home with parents. 

I have come home for the weekend to visit my parents and boyfriend, and it's amazing how different things are. Carpets at home are soft and bobbly... unlike my uni house carpet which is itchy and rugged. The stairs in my uni house literally remind me of climbing a hill... a mountain even... unlike my stairs at home which are a normal gradient and don't really require much effort. Walking in to a clean bathroom or kitchen is the highlight of my day, as well as the fact I come home to a cupboards and a fridge full of food. Home comforts and luxuries are definitely the best. 

The main topics that are repeatedly bought up before you set off for university goes something along the lines of, "Oo you're going to have to learn to cook for yourself," or "Oh you students go out every night and get drunk." Until you actually go to uni... you realise that this isn't necessarily the case. 

Cooking:

I think the most advance thing I've made at university is a lasagne. Even then all I had to do was cook the mince, and then layer up the lasagne before putting it in the oven. I'll admit I was quite impressed with myself but it really wasn't that difficult. Meals usually consist of pasta or potato, with sausages or chicken (which again aren't difficult to cook) and I've always got a handy bag of frozen vegetables to add a bit of healthiness to my meal. 

My way of cooking goes with the motto that, "Oh it'll taste alright in the end..." by throwing anything together and hoping for the best!

Going out:

Now I know we get student loans and what-not... but surprisingly these don't actually last long. My student loan goes on my house rent, so my lucky parents get to give me money each month for me to survive on (Thank you mum and dad by the way if you're reading this <3) Food tends to cost around £15-20 a week... plus alcohol for pre-drinks; then there's tickets or entry in to clubs and bars; taxis to and from places; any sports or societies you join; books; chocolate to keep you motivated during essays; coffee or tea to wake you up before a lecture... the list is endless. 

Going out, especially in second and third year, is actually a bit of a treat. When you have some money spare, getting a text "Want to go out tonight?" is great... unless you're the one sending the text and everyone else is poor at the time. 

Have a read of the article linked above, and let me know about your university life struggles :) 

Gemma x

THANK YOU

Thank you for getting me to 1,000 views! 

So happy and grateful to you for reading my blog... hopefully you enjoy it and will keep coming back to read more!

Gemma x

Django Unchained

Release poster

Django Unchained follows the story of a slave named Django. He is freed by a German bounty hunter, and works with him over the winter months, later setting out to free his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation. The film was released in to cinemas on January 18th 2013 and has since had a lot of excellent reviews from websites and other film directors. The American western film, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, won five Baftas and Golden Globes and it has also been announced that it is nominated for five Oscars. 

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy the film as I'm not much of a western film fan, however a lot of my friends had said that it was really good so I thought I'd join the bandwagon and go and see it!

The beginning of the film follows a group of chained slaves being led through typical western landscapes with western music in the background. Not long in to the film and the action had already started with people being shot and killed; something which was a regular occurrence throughout. However this was something I expected by looking at the release poster and the trailer. 

The film had a lot of humour in it, primarily from one of the main characters Dr. King Schultz, who was played by Christoph Waltz. I think this made the film more appealing to wider audiences, as the humour made the action scenes more than just mass killing sprees! I love anything remotely funny so the subtle humour throughout is what made the film even better for me.

Jamie Foxx played the film's protagonist, Django, while Leonardo DiCaprio played the ruthless owner of "Candyland" plantation, Calvin Candie. Both actors played their roles really well and worked well as enemies. 

The film lastest for roughly two and a half hours, but surprisingly didn't feel that long at all! I'd definitely recommend anyone to go and see it (if you're 18 or over obviously...) as it caters for all viewers with it's gory action, humour and the general story.

I've posted the trailer below so have a look and see what you think!

Gemma x 

Are you superstitious?

Sitting in my room day-dreaming out the window and out the corner of my eye I see a magpie hop on to the roof opposite. Since I can remember, if I see a one magpie by itself I always salute at it. I always feel silly for doing this but it's just a habit I have; a superstition.

Superstition is defined as, "An irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome." 
When I see a magpie I always think of the childhood rhyme...

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.

...and if I don't salute the lone magpie then I'll get bad luck. 

This led me to think about other superstitions that people have and why they have them. Some other common superstitions include:

• Opening an umbrella up indoors - brings bad luck
• Crossing your fingers - to bring good luck
• "Touch wood" - hoping that something will or won't happen 
• Breaking a mirror - seven years of bad luck
• Walking under a ladder - means that something bad will happen
• "Find a penny pick it up..." - bringing good luck for the rest of the day

I think we can all say that we are guilty of having at least one of these superstitions and without even realising they always occur in our daily lives. Most superstitions date back to the 18th century and despite the technological and scientific research around then, many people still believe that they are true. One of the most common, yet unknown, superstition is sneezing. When someone sneezes, the automatic response is to say, "Bless you" and even though must of us just say it to be polite it actually refers back to the 14th century when there was a plague. People would 'bless' someone who had sneezed as they thought a sneeze was the soul escaping from the body, therefore saying "Bless you" essentially bought the person back to life.

Which superstitions are you guilty of?

Gemma x