Summer 2015 - My First Trip to Whitby

So here it is: my final summer. Ok, so that might be a bit of an exaggeration but after the next month or so my summers will be reduced to whatever time I take off work. Gone now are the four month breaks, the wasted weeks and the comforting thought of starting the same thing all over again in September. The start of my graduate job next month is fast approaching so making the most of this summer is important.

The first big thing that this summer had to hold was a trip away with my girlfriend - our first proper trip away together no less. Our destination was Whitby in England and the four days we spent there were just brilliant.

Europe 2014: Croatia

More than a month after I touched down on home soil I'm finally getting around to writing the last post about my trip. A number of things have seen me put off writing over the last few weeks but I guess it's time for me to tie up this series of reflective posts - some might say it's taken me too long! 

So to Croatia and our final stop on a splendid month of travel. After the beauty of Slovenia, this country to the south had a lot to live up to, not to mention the fact that I wasn't ready to wind down on the new experiences despite home being but a few days away.

Summer 2014 is Here!

Time. Zeit. Summer. Sommer.

I don't want to check the time-stamp on my most recent post because I think it will make me greet. It might have been just after dissertation, or it might have been just after my eighteenth birthday - time has felt like that recently. Anyway, I'm here now and that's all that matters.

This is the Fourth Time I've Done This!

There will be no video tonight. That, ladies and gentleman, should be the most celebrated sentence on the whole of the internet this evening. The relief that I can feel is, in a weird time-shifting kind of way, almost palpable. It's not that I don't think my video about reading Crime and Punishment was not a success, it's more that I'm almost sure that I am one of about three people who have watched it until the end - and I was in the video.

Anyway, onto tonight's post. There is no real agenda for what lies ahead in the next few hundred words so do not expect to be enlightened as you read on - I would be spoiling you if I changed your life every time you read ROATSomething. Tonight I stand at the precipice of my fourth year at university and what might easily be the most defining twelve months of my life. I guess that is what I should write about then?

Why Don't I Write More Often?

I think it's about time that I wrote a bit more. I've been trying to write that opening sentence for the last week or so to no avail. Reason? Well I'm not all that sure. First of all there is the fact that I couldn't decide what to write about - a fairly fundamental element of this whole process. Then there is the fact that I just couldn't be bothered writing. It's not that I don't care about the stuff that I might write about, it's just that I don't have  the drive to put anything down in words. Those aren't really reasons though so I had to do some thinking. It turns out that I've got something of a complex.

Just One Emotion at the End of Another Exam Diet

It's been a tough couple of months for one reason or another. Well actually it was really only one reason: exams. On Friday I sat the last of three massive exams - probably the most important I've ever done - and one emotion really marked the occasion a lot more than I thought it would: a real sense of emptiness. When I look back on the last few weeks in particular I start to question whether I've ever really wanted my exams to be over just because they were a nuisance or they were getting in the way of watching crap on the TV. When it comes down to it, the thing that I wanted the most was for them to be done well, rather than just done. Maybe that explains my feeling of emptiness.

The Art of Drinking and Self-Alienation

We've all seen those 'don't let good times go bad' adverts which basically tell you not to binge drink and make an idiot out of yourself. I've decided that I might submit my own idea to the organisation that put out said adverts and this is what it would consist of: a short film of my day today and its many highlights (or 'lowlights' as they should probably be termed) culminating in me standing looking at myself in a mirror shaking my head. In short, today has been, hands down, the worst day of my summer and I've only got myself to blame. Yes, last night was quite fun but my 'post-fun' experience has been, let's say, less than palatable.

I always find it amusing when people say that they'll never drink again after a particularly heavy hangover. I've even said it myself in the past but I have long given up kidding myself that I will follow through on such a groundbreaking statement. Even this morning when I was standing in a cold shower having re-coated the toilet I wasn't even tempted into self-delusion. I will drink again and I'll probably drink more than I did yesterday but I won't enjoy it and here's why.

Green Fingers the Answer to Idle Thumbs?

The summer months usually mean a whole bunch of changes to our daily lives. For me it meant no more lectures, no more exams, having more free time, being able to play more football etc. It should also have meant better weather but that has yet to materialise here in not-so-sunny Scotland. All that being said there has been one thing that seems to have defined my summer. I've attempted to find something to keep myself occupied, whether that be a job, work experience, a 'project' or anything along those lines. In all respects I've come up short and I've only really got myself to blame. As a result of all that I've also found myself moping and moaning a lot more - not a great change for the summer months. I might have found the answer though: the garden.

An Update in Person

It was a nice feeling sitting down to make this video because the last time I made one I was taking a break from revision and other such (less than) fun things. My old habits of moving around are still there and I like to look out of the window a lot but I think they are getting better. See what you think for yourself...

Well there you go. Any feedback on these videos is much appreciated as always! I'm looking to do something interesting over the next couple of weeks which might be of interest to the artists amongst you - keep an eye on the Facebook page and future posts for more information.

Martin

Freedom

Yes, the title to this post is cliche but it is the word on everyone's lips at the moment. After a gruelling 4 week exam diet, I can finally say that I am free. As well as being happy for myself I'm also delighted for the people that sat those exams alongside me because I know what they have been going through for the last couple of months - really pleased for everyone. I'm also happy that they're done for my parent's sake as well. I don't think I'll ever quite grasp what it's like for them when I've got exams but I think they go through the wringer as well. Not only do I spent a lot of time being anxious and hard on myself (which I know they don't like), they also just want me to do well and to be successful. They never put pressure on me in any way but it is the pressure that I place on myself to do well that is the biggest thing for me - I don't just want to do well for myself, I want to do well for them as well.