The last two events held by the ever successful VIP (Volunteering in Portsmouth) went smoothly this weekend and although I enjoyed them as always, a small part of me was very sad indeed. Unfortunately these two events would be my last and I really am gonna miss it for several different reasons. I love all the people who help out at these events, the children from the CP Centre who always seem to have fun and the elderly people who are great to chat to.

I think it really hit me today how much VIP has influenced my life (as cliche as that may seem!). I lost my nan the week before returning to uni this year after a summer of caring for her during her fight against leukemia and it hit me really hard. It took me months to get back to my normal chirpy self and I believe that the VIP OAP Christmas dinner last year was a real turning point. I realised that even though many of my immediate family (esp. on my dad's side) have passed on, there was still ways of interacting with elderly people, it's just case of putting yourself out there. This particular event also suprised me as I believed that I would have got upset during the day due to missing my nan, but I was strong enough and had so much support from those around me that I stuck it out.

Reflecting upon today's final OAP luncheon was quite a sad affair. I got a bit upset shortly after the event after talking to one of the guests who lost someone dear to them in the same way I lost my nan and who was also suffering from the same condition my uncle is at the moment. It's been a year since all the "bad stuff" that has happened in the past year started, and just recently we nearly lost yet another family member who is still quite poorly. I feel I've grown over the past year and am now able to cope much better with such events and even though I am still petrified that everything may go wrong again, I reckon I will be able to cope better. But most importantly, I now know who to turn to and who I can confide in when I'm feeling the strain and ironically all of these people I have met through volunteering in some way at the Union.

So if you're wanting to get that little something extra from your uni career then think about doing some sort of volunteering. It could be anything from helping to run a club or society, helping RAG to raise money for charities, writing or designing for the student media publications or simply getting involved with a VIP project. It's the best thing I've done with my time at uni for so many different reasons, and I just wish my time in Pompey wasn't nearly over... 

Think that sums up the way I'm feeling right now to be honest. It's that time in my university career which four years ago I never thought I'd reach: DISSERTATION TIME!

Now 10,000 words seems like a breeze when you first pick up your handbook that will guide you through what will probably be the biggest project of your university life, but trust me it's hell! I'm used to writing ridiculously long 3,000 word essays and have been able to churn one out in just 5 hours before and maybe that's the reason why I'm in this annoying position now of having 7 days left and not even a tenth of the way through  

Don't get me wrong, I'm not what you would call a lazy person...I just have a lot of other commitments which throughout the year have led to me putting off this 10,000 word monster as they were classed as "far more important" in my mind (whoops!) Even saying this though, I wouldn't change anything I've done over the past year: I have met far too many amazing people and done so many things I will remember forever to have regrets! University is for so much more than just gaining your degree!

So stressed as I may be (and unfortunately being beaten down with illness too!), I don't think I'd change it. I work much better under pressure anyway. So if you're in the same position: chill. Just think of the ecstacy you will experience when you finally hand over that burden you have slaved away on and worried about for the majority of the year!

So to all you's final year's out there: GOOD LUCK!

Well, best get back to work...it's not going to write itself!!!

Ha I feel like I'm on Pure Fm again by avoiding any talk about the "ERECTIONS" again, but this time for reasons solely related to self-preservation.

Anyhow, I was very lucky enough to be offered a place up at Northampton on a Paramedic Science degree starting in September this week, so will face the whole university experience again. To be truthful, I don't know if I can take it all again! I remember when I was a little Fresher and how blimmin' naieve I was, but it was that naievity that got me through. Coming out of my third year I feel I may be a little too cynical now to fully appreciate all the joys of being a Fresher again!!!

Maybe that's a good thing as the course is notoriously hardcore on both the academic and the physical sides. It's also pretty scary to think I will be on my first placement by the end of the year. I'm not having doubts though, this is what I have wanted for ages now (just ask my mates who are sick of me talking about the ambulance service!), I'm just kinda anxious that I may struggle with the academic side of things. I doubt my BA (Hons) Drama and English will be able to help me much when revising anatomy and physiology and it's been over 4 years since my Biology A Level  Anyone wanna tutor me????

Let's just hope that my drive and passion will shine through this time! I know I'm gonna work my little butt off when I'm there so I best get the most out of my final few months in Pompey. First up, SRA Conference in Bath tomoz (yay!!!) where I get to talk about all things radio and see my fab mates I made when I attended last year. Then it's Activist Academy, the famous Isle of Wight Pub Crawl, Societies Carnival, AU Dinner and the event of the year: the VIP Awards Dinner!!! Oh, and I might squeeze in a dissertation too!

I feel in a bit of an agony aunt mood now as I feel like telling everyone to really make the most of their time here in Pompey. It hit me yesterday just how much I love this city and Pompey really is my home.

Maybe one day I'll return, maybe not but that's life: unpredictable. 

On a final note (even though I said I wouldn't mention it), just wanna say thanks to everyone who has shown their support over the past few weeks. I love you all and am sorry I let you all down. I'm not disappearing though (no matter what was said at a time when the age-old evil of vodka was being consumed!), you can guarantee that the Societies Carnival and VIP Awards Dinner will be the best ever - Ben, Sarah and I will definately leave with a bang! (Not that sort you cheeki minxes!) I also know Northampton's Union is pretty retro when it comes to volunteering and societies, so let's hope they are prepared for a shake-up!

Enjoy your hols and I'll see you all soon you sexy peeps!

Luv Jezni -x- 

I'm currently going for interviews to hopefully gain a place on a Paramedic Science course...well at least I thought they were interviews... So far I have had two experiences which were both classed as such, yet didn't match my expectations at all.

The first was classed as a group interview and appeared to start as soon as we entered the building. Someone was standing with a clipboard in the corner and taking notes as all the applicants chatted to each other. It was sooooooo weird - slightly "Big Brother" too. Then it began properly. We all had to introduce ourselves in front of the interviewers and the rest of the group - that was scary - why is it that everyone else always seem better??? GRRRRR

Our first assessment was to get into two groups and build a box in a specific way using foam jigsaw shapes (like kids have!), but without speaking or making any noises. This was probably the most bizarre experience ever. Everyone was making the strangest hand signals and pulling the funniest faces too - bless! The second task wasn't that exciting - just a simple presentation about the role of the paramedic in promoting health and well being in the community. Oh and to top off the day I managed to walk 25mins to the pub to see my work mates and fall over right in front of the pub in my beige trousers and cover one side in mud as well as knocking my knee so hard it looks like it's done a round with Lennox Lewis!!!

Today, I had my second interview - different location this time. A much less formal setting with a few uni bods who seemed so chilled they could have been penguins! The interview itself was one-to-one but was conducted more like a chat with your mates down the Union. The two paramedic interviewers were relaxed which was good as it helped me to relax and just focus on being me. Overall, a much nicer experience and I felt much better after this one.

Funny that I used to have the idea that interviews were boring, stuffy and unfriendly - these two were certainly not! Makes me wonder what the logic behind both styles is...hmmmmm. Oh, and I hope I'm successful in at least one of them too!!!

WAHEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! Is more apt for today though as it sees the launch of the biggest Union event so far this year: The Societies Takeover!!! With the event starting at 7pm, myself and the team have just over hours to pop together the final touches!!!

So what's happening?

In Via Lattea there will be an open mic session where you can chillout to the soothing sounds of acoustic music, bongos, poetry readings and some hip-hop rappers too!

Upstairs in CO2 will be a feast of the best DJs Pompey Uni has to offer - hosted by no other than our very own Unsigned Talent Society

LUX will be the main room of the event - it is here you can witness our amazing Big Band, see your fave Sabb Officers and their Execs battle it out, see sets from 3 massive bands and party away to the early hours with our DJ 

If that's not your thing - then try or debating sessions (7-8pm or 9-10pm) in Function Room 1 or head to our games room in Function Room 2 where you can challenge your mates with the giant Jenga!!!

So much time, hard work and energy has been put into this event and my thanks goes out to everyone who has helped put this event together (It'll take far too long to write everyone's name down!) - so everyone pop along tonight and help make it happen!!!

If societies did parties, they'd probably be the best parties in the world!!!! AND THEY ARE!!!!!!

See you tonight party people!!!!

Luv Jen -x-x-x- 

I've been a right old busy bee this week, trying to cram in as much as possible...but paid the price in the end - doh! Unfortunately, I'm having to write this from my sofa where I'm still recovering from a bout of rubbishy asthma - grrrr!!! But hey that's life!

The Weekend

The girlies from the polo club were at the SUPA National Indoor Polo Championships and it was awesome!!! Both our beginners and novice teams played well and ultimately finished in 12th and 8th place in their division respectively. We also got to see several chukkas in the Open Division - talk about super fast!!! I was tired just watching. It wasn't all hard work though and we managed to unwind with a couple of parties too.

 

 

Monday

Start of the new semester - how exciting! So was a day full of getting things sorted really with a couple of meetings thrown in. Then it was time for rehearsal for the production of 'Once A Catholic' that is being performed on Friday 15th & Saturday 16th Feb!

Tuesday

Funkin' it up with some drama rehearsals for the final year project for 3 hours - tis very tiring ya know! In the evening all us drama peeps went along to the Enterprise Challenge Awards where all three of our final year theatre companies had entered Stage One of the competition. Unfortunately, none of us won (well done to all those who did!), but it was still great to see everyone properly dressed up!! Then it was time to pop home and prepare for the inevitable carnage tomorrow which was...

Wednesday 

REFRESHERS FAYRE!!! I was up bright and early and helped set up the RAG stall before popping off to a lecture. By the time I returned the fayre was in full swing. I got talking to loads of interesting peeps and enjoyed learnign about all the different societies and clubs our Union has to offer (don't worry if you missed it - you can find all the contact details of all our clubs on www.upsu.net). Then in the evening (no rest for the wicked!) more rehearsals for Friday!

 

 

Thursday

Oh dear...time for the crash! Damn my weakened immune system for striking me down on Valentines of all days. Blimmin asthma got the better of me, so although was feeling pants, slow and a teeny-bit grumpy I still managed to make it a bit productive. Held a Societies Takeover meeting and sorted the last few niggly bits and bobs, got some flyers and posters organised and...yep you guessed it....another rehearsal (until midnight!)

Friday

Not even the end of the week yet, but so wish it was. Am still recovering and am taking it easy today (after much nagging from my mates!) so I can get back to normal asap! I'm also ridiculously nervous about the first performance tonight - but hey it will be alright on the night...or so they say!!! If you want to come along it's at 7.30pm at Thorngate Halls in Gosport (a very short taxi ride from the ferry!) and tickets for students are just £5!!!

Bring on next week!!! Hmmm a quiet one perhaps??? NOPE!!! Pure Fm members meeting, 24hour charity broadcast on Pure Fm, Tuition Fees debate and the one and only SOCIETIES TAKEOVER!!!! WOOOOO!!!!

There will be something for everyone. From the best new DJs to live bands home-grown at your very own University. Come and check out the talents of City Safari, an indie/rock band with a lead singer who has the mellowest vocals you will ever hear, and School of Rock , who recently supported The Enemy with their unbelievable energy and vivacious performance style. There will also be an open-mic session held in Via Lattea where you will be able to escape from the craziness of Lux and C02 and chill out to various acoustic performances whilst you give your taste buds a treat by indulging in our cultural food selection. If this isn’t enough then there will also be a huge debate on a variety of topics (both fun and serious), plenty of fun and games (including giant twister) and a very special Game Show featuring your favourite Sabb Officers!

As always it is never too late to get involved. If your society wants to get in on this amazing event then get in touch – email ben.norman@port.ac.uk. We are especially keen to get more cultural and political societies on board; so don’t be shy and drop us a line! We also hold meetings every Thursday afternoon at 1pm in the Sabb Office to discuss the running of the event – pop along and get involved!

Tickets are on sale now and cost only £3. You can pick yours up from either the Union reception or from Ben Norman, your Student Activities and Development Officer, in the Sabb Office.   

Firstly, I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has very kindly votes for me already as I found out the other day that I had been invited to the regional finals of the competition - Woohoo!!! 3 other lovely girlies from Pompey Uni have also made it to this stage, so congrats to all!!!

Now, obviously I'd love everyone to vote for me (as I would be lying if I said I didn't want you all to vote for me!), but you guys and girls have a choice. So I'm asking you all to support all 4 of us girlies!!! Check out the website: http://www.missstudent.co.uk to check out all of us, and if you're feeling exceptionally generous then maybe pop a vote or two our way! All the details are on the website!

So now for some self-promotion...

Why do I think I could be an awesome Miss Student? Well, I love all aspects of student life, I love to get involved with everything (from helping to publicise RAG to writing for the Union media and presenting on Pure Fm, from volunteering at VIP events to organising the best socials the Polo Club has ever seen!) and I also manage to do fairly well academically and still have the time to party hard! Basically, I love uni life and all it has to offer and I'm dedicated to trying to make it better and more accessible to all the students at Pompey Uni. So if you think a winner of Miss Student should be a strong representative of what your uni has to offer, as well as someone who likes to party like a rockstar, then vote for me!!!

Ok, that's enough ego relief for now...Also, I just wanna say that the Society's Takeover event is steadily growing bigger and I'm getting more and more excited about it now, but it's still not too late to get involved! Either message me or email our lovely SADO Ben at ben.norman@port.ac.uk for more info!!! It will be an amazing event...trust me!!! 

I'm sitting here just pondering over what has happened in the past year: the fun productions I've been in, the awesome people I've met, a lush holiday to Croatia, the untimely death of my nan, volunteering projects I've taken part in, the inspirational people I met at random conferences - oh the list is endless! Scary to think that the next year holds so much and I wont know until it hits me. But being a bit of a control freak (when it comes to my own life anyhow!), I've decided to give myself some actual, proper goals to reach within the next year (not the ususal "one will lose weight and tone up").

So here goes:

• Pass my degree with a 2:1 or higher and actually manage to complete a half-decent dissertation
• Use more of my time to make a stand and campaign for what I believe in - the big issue for me at the moment is regarding tuition fees and making the higher education system fairer and more accessible to all
• Help to make the Societies Takeover the best it can be (mail me if you'd like to get involved)
• Travel to somewhere different for a purpose other than relaxing on a beach - I wanna travel more and my Croatia trip taught me that I prefer touring round interesting cities to lying on a beach all day!!!

I'm sure there are many more that I will think of for the next few days, but these seem to be the main one's. Your time at uni really does fly (as cliche as that may sound) and I just wanna savour every moment I've got left. For me, the Societies Takeover is a little idea that has been festering away in my head since my first year as a little cauldron of ideas. Now, with the help of some amazing people it seems to be taking shape and is set to be one of the biggest nights of the year. I'm as excited as a little kiddie in a candy shop!!! I want it to be an event that everyone can have their say in, especially our societies so if you have any ideas then get in touch!!!

With regards to the issue of tuition fees and making the higher education system fairer, I am willing to commit to any campaigns or peaceful protests and am going to become more actively involved with the Campaign Coalition (a wicked project set up to help campaigns gain more publicity and supporters). I always used the excuse "but I have sports on Wednesday" - but as it's something I feel is highly important and relevant to my life as a student I am going to make an extra effort to get back in time for the meetings and do what I can.

Now, I'm not a goody-goody or a suck-up: I just care about our uni and our Union and feel it's something worth fighting for. Everyone moans and groans about certain aspects of it, but at the end of the day we enjoy it here else we wouldnt've stayed! So how about we all try and make at least one resolution this year to do something different and support our Union and uni activities...you never know, you might just gain more from it than you thought  

"At least I have my job" I think....then bam in at work at 7am and ready for more 999 calls, "at least I'll be broken in easily I think to myself" - WRONG again. A day of cardiac arrests and poorly babies - makes you wonder where all the festive cheer is. See that's what I love about my job, it makes you think about what really is important in life.

Some people at this time of year are so wrapped up in the stress that the Christmas period brings; from the shopping to the family dilemmas, that often they fail to remember to pop by a mate's or family member's house just to say hi. And unfortunately sometimes this can have dire consequences. Being part of the volunteer team at the OAP Christmas Dinner last week gave me a chance to speak to some people who are lonely at Christmas and I felt really selfish. I realised that my biggest worry was my uni work and whether or not I have enough cash for a Snakebite and that in the grand scheme of things I am a very lucky girl.

To be honest, it hasn't been the best of years for moi, but at least I've got my health, mates, happiness and some close family. So my message to you is just take 5mins today to call a loved one - you never know when someone's lonely until you call