Signs

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If there is one film that always seems to scare me no matter how many times I see it, it’s Signs. The film is from 2002 and it is a science fiction thriller, but even so it still has an impact on today’s views towards life from outer space.

Questions regarding whether there is more life than our little planet in this universe is something that has baffled humanity for centuries. How can we be the only living creatures in a universe that is endless? And if we are not; are the aliens’ friends or hostile? 

In the film Signs, the story is set around one family and what happens to them when they discover what is about to happen to the world. There are plenty of heart-thumping moments that will easily scare you and that leads up to the film’s climax. The film’s title refers to various mysterious phenomena that have led to speculation about the existence of extra-terrestrial life. It links crop circles with UFOs and shows their impact on one man and his family.

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For some reason, I absolutely love this film. But at the same time I find it extremely terrifying, because it shows us something of the unknown and it is the unfamiliar that is the chilling aspect. I have always been fascinated with outer space and what is out there; perhaps my fascination is so grand because we don’t know what is out there. There are thousands of stories of people who have seen UFOs or have been abducted by aliens, but we don’t know if these stories are for real or simply a cry for attention. Perhaps we will never know. That is unless the American government will reveal their secret about Roswell and Area 51.

What are your thoughts regarding this theme?

Also read: The Butterfly Effect

My dream

As you all probably know I am a journalist student and I have two months left of my third and final year. It is scary but at the same time I cannot wait to be finished and to join all the fine working people out there. That is, if I get a job.

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One of my greatest passions in life is travelling. I know I’ve mentioned this before, especially when I wrote about our planet, but I absolutely love travelling. My list over places to go is not becoming any shorter, it is simply becoming longer as I discover new places I want to go. I write down everything, down to a teeny tiny little town. There is simply too much to see on our beautiful planet.

I also love to write about the places I’ve been to. After I started this blog I have really become aware of just how much I love it. To be able to write about my personal experiences gives me such a satisfaction, especially when I hear that people are learning something from what I write.

I would love to be a professional journalist some day. I realise that it is a tough market but I am willing to struggle to achieve my goals. I would especially love to be a travel journalist. That is my dream and I hope this is a dream that I can achieve. Yesterday I got a comment on my post about Tower Bridge from Shah, the lovely blogger from Words in Sync, and it almost brought me to tears.

You SO should be a travel journalist – and work for London Media! You give each post a kiss of fun and you evoke a desire to visit – I always loved London, but you really add a certain special glow to it.

Reading this meant the world to me. To hear this makes me believe that my dream is possible and I am so thankful for all the support I get from friends and family, such as my best friend Johanne and my lovely boyfriend Kjell Steinar. I can’t wait to see what will happen; we all just have to be brave enough to follow our dreams.

What is great literature?

I was sitting in my literature class last week and I started thinking about this question: What is great literature? I am now in my third year studying journalism and English Literature and during my last two years we have been able to choose what kind of literature classes we want to take. And I have based my decisions on the books that are covered in the modules, books I think sounds interesting, funny or scary. But does that mean that the books are great literature?

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For me a good book is a book that speaks to me and that leaves a mark in my memory and my heart. A book with a language that really speaks to me and is not just fancy words on a page. As a literature student I have read many books over the last two and a half years and I am not afraid to say that several of the books did not give me much. It was kind of like eating fast food. You want and perhaps need it at the moment but as you’ve swallowed that last bite you don’t have the same satisfaction as you would have had when eating a proper meal. It’s the same with books, not every book gives you the satisfaction you’re looking for.

At the moment I’m reading a lot of crime fiction novels for my crime fiction module. I have really enjoyed Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, but some of the books we have read have been like a fast food experience to me. You’re simply reading the book to find out who the murderer or the thief is and once you’ve figured it out then that’s it. When I read Dracula last year it was a completely different experience; I was almost in love. Vampires are very popular these days and Stephanie Meyer has managed to capture the world with her Twilight series. But reading Dracula was so different. It was one of the first true vampire stories and as you’re turning the pages you cannot help but wonder what is happening in the novel. But we live in 2011 now and are well aware of what vampires do and how they act and that kind of ruined the book for me. I knew that Dracula was a vampire before I had even finished the first page, but I set my mind into believing I had no idea and truly loved the book. I loved the story. And the story has so much to do when it comes to determine what good literature is.

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I believe that great literature is an individual meaning. Some people cannot live without Shakespeare whereas others can’t stand the formal language. Over the years publishers have taken chances into publishing stories that are slightly different than classic literature and it has become a huge success. Harry Potter, the Twilight series and His Dark Materials are only a few popular series where I could not put down the book. They are different from Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen but I’ve enjoyed them all on a different level. So I guess it is somewhat difficult to determine what the definition of great literature is, but you can make up a definition that suits you. I have and on my what-to-read-list I believe there are some great books that will take me on an incredible journey. Because in the end, there is no right or wrong way to read.

Our planet: The Earth

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I realise I have been writing quite a bit about travelling lately, but as you have probably guessed travelling is one of my greatest passions. Travelling gives me a rush like nothing else. To be able to go to someplace new and experience the hidden secrets that are there is simply amazing. I have been very lucky because my parents have taken me around because they like travelling too and in the last years I have been saving money myself in order to travel where I want to.

My boyfriend and I were actually talking about the world and travelling last week and he mentioned that he would like to go to Italy some day. I could not help but smile because I have always loved Italy. Italy has always been my thing. Now it was time for my boyfriend to smile and even laugh a bit. And then he told me: “Honey, the world it your thing. It’s not just one country.” I could not help but to laugh myself, because on one level it is the truth. I love the planet we are living on because of all the wonders there is everywhere. But it makes me sad to think about what we are doing to our planet.

Almost everyday you will find stories about terrorism or something that has to do with destroying landmarks. Just look at what is happening in Egypt these days. It is not terrorism but tourists are being evacuated and Norwegian travel agencies have cancelled all travelling to Egypt until Easter. And talking about terrorism; just look at what happened in Moscow a couple of weeks ago and in Stockholm just before Christmas. Eventually people don’t want to travel anymore or even go outside their own house because they are scared of what can happen. Is this really a world we want to live in?

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Global warming is another problem. Our planet is quickly changing and our climate is suffering. The earth is slowly becoming warmer which are causing problems around the world. Scientists are worried that there will be no ice on the North Pole in the end because of arctic warming. The melting of the poles is the most dramatic effects of global warming and it is also causing trouble for animals such as polar bears.

Polar bears and their habitat should be melting beautiful, not melting away.

Stephen Fry said this during the Copenhagen climate change summit and I thought it was a great saying. It makes us think about what is happening to our beautiful planet.

Of course these are only a few issues that are concerning the planet and it is difficult to know what to do. Some things we simply cannot do anything with at this point but the fact that there are people who are consciously destroying our planet and the people are heartbreaking. I have to admit that I’m scared of what is happening these days but I guess I can only hope that the worst has happened and that it will be better. We deserve to feel safe, no matter where in the world we are.

Sources: National Geographic and The Telegraph  

Celebrities: the fascination

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Celebrities are a huge fascination for people around the world. We are interested in what they are wearing, what they are doing on their free time, how they spend their holidays and their most intimate secrets. Celebrities are highly aware of this, but they are still creating scandals and putting themselves out there simply to complain about it later. My question is why?

In one month we have read the stories about Rihanna and Christina Aguilera who is furious because private pictures of themselves have been spread around the internet. In December 2010 Aguilera was infuriated because pictures of her wearing nothing but jewellery were spread to the public because someone hacked her computer. The NYDaily News wrote this: “The photos were taken in the privacy of Ms. Aguilera’s home and were used only in personal exchange between the star and her stylist”.

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Then this January Rihanna was in a similar crisis. Someone took photos of her while tanning topless, but the photos that are worrying her the most are some naked pictures that were leaked right after her split with her ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown.

I am then wondering this: Why do first class celebrities allow themselves to be put in a situation like these two? They know that they are in the spotlight all the time and people want to see them, and clearly all of them. If they are so worried about their personal life, then why take the photos to begin with? They are putting themselves in uncomfortable positions where they clearly do not want to be. Is it some desperate cry for more attention?

What is your opinion?

Just do it!

Ever since we were kids, our parents have been telling us that we can do anything we want to. Sometimes I am wondering if we are all just kidding ourselves if we keep believing in that statement after a certain age.

Not everyone gets everything served on a silver platter, and I guess sometimes that’s fine. We all need to make mistakes and learn from it. But what about when you sit at home and are wondering if what you’re doing is the right thing for you, or you feel like you can’t do anything? You wish you were a kid again, sitting on your dad’s lap while he’s telling you that you can do anything you set your mind to. We all grow up eventually and you are slowly realising that you’re not a kid anymore.

I have always been a firm believer in following your dreams. It doesn’t matter how big or small they are, as long as it is your dream. Since I was 10 my dream has always been to move to London and now I have lived in London for the past two and a half years. I still cannot believe how lucky I am, but every now and then I find myself taking a trip down memory lane wishing I was a kid again. Where I could dream about anything, no matter how impossible it could be, and hoping that it could be true. Being a student sometimes does that to you, as you find yourself trying to write an essay but all you can come up with is an empty page. Then what do you do?

In the world we are living in, you mostly read about all the negative issues that are happening around the world. All that negativity can sometimes creep inside your head and make you start to think negative thoughts. Perhaps you even start to think that your dream can never happen, no matter how hard you try. It is then vital that you have someone to talk to who can support you and tell you that dreams do come true, even for us grown ups. As I am living my dream in London now, I have started to form another dream; to become a writer. As I’m seeing people achieving their greatest desires I can’t help but asking myself if I have used up my dreams.

I guess I am not the only one who has had thoughts like this, and my advice would be to talk to someone who knows you well. They will tell you that your dream is achievable and that you first of all have to believe in yourself. And as you’re slowly building up your confidence again, that empty page is starting to flourish with words and that negative feeling is drifting away.

Total Måneformørkelse – et sjeldent fenomen

I morgentimene i dag ble det observert en total måneformørkelse her i Trondheim, noe jeg aldri har sett før. Det var veldig spesielt og jeg måtte bare stå opp tidlig for å få med meg dette. Og det var verdt det.

En måneformørkelse oppstår når månen beveger seg inn i skyggen av jorden og en slik formørkelse kan sees helt uten noen virkemidler. Jorden hindrer da altså sollyset i å nå månedens overflate.

I morges kunne vi se at formørkelsen begynte, og det var noe tidlig også. Klokken 07.32 begynte det hele og det varer helt til noe etter klokken 12. Så noen timer. Jeg var ikke sen med å stå opp litt over åtte for å få med meg dette, og det første jeg så var at halve månen var i skyggen av jorden. Det var et nydelig syn og jeg fant fram kameraet mitt med en gang. Dessverre fikk jeg ikke tatt noen fine bilder fordi jeg manglet et kamerastativ. Så jeg får vel si meg fornøyd med at jeg fikk oppleve dette og leve på minnene.

Ifølge adressa.no var dette en sjelden måneformørkelse. Det er første gang siden 1378 at en måneformørkelse inntreffer så tett opptil vintersolverv, det vil si når solen er på sitt laveste og dagene går mot lysere tider. Det er da altså første gang på 600 år. Den neste måneformørkelsen som denne skjer i 2094.

Den totale måneformørkelsen var ferdig ca 09.54, men da var det allerede blitt veldig lyst ute og noen skyer så jeg fikk dessverre ikke med meg noe mer enn formørkelsen tidlig om morgenen. Jeg syns slikt er veldig fascinerende og håper jeg får sett og lært mer av alt det spektakulære som skjer ute i det store rom.

Kilder: http://www.nettavisen.no/nyheter/article3050453.ece, http://www.adressa.no/nyheter/kuriosa/article1565727.ece og mine observasjoner 

Bilder: http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/sorlandet/1.6179872, http://www.naturfag.no/vitenobjekt/vis.html?tid=913052

 

Michael Jackson’s secret is out!

A couple of weeks ago I saw “Thriller Live” at the Lyric Theatre at I just have to state again how amazing that show was. The dancing was truly spectacular, but then again that is one of the things that Jackson was famous for. Especially his lean forward move has taken the world by storm as no one really knows how he’s doing it. Well, I am so lucky as to have a very curious boyfriend who has been doing some research and he actually discovered what the secret is. You can see it in the video below. I sure got answers to a lot of questions by watching this, and a good laugh. Michael Jackson truly was one of a kind. 

                               

Skremmende vinterføre

Det var meget skremmende å lese Adresseavisen på nett i dag, for det meste som det sto om var biler som har kjørt av veien grunnet farlig vinterføre. Det er virkelig ikke tvil om at november har tatt både Trondheim og Norge med en is storm.

Folk må skjønne at det er vinterføre, Uskadd fra kollisjon og Tre sperret veien er bare noen få av overskriftene som var å finne på nettavisen i dag. Ifølge den ene artikkelen står det at det har vært mye pågang til politiet, der temaet for telefonen er stort sett vær og føre. Folk må bare være ekstra forsiktig når de er ute og kjører for tiden, og uansett hvor sakte det går bør man smøre seg med tålmodighet. Heller kom ti minutter for sent enn aldri.

I London blir det totalt kaos bare det er 1 centimeter med snø, men i Norge har vi mer kunnskap med hva som må gjøres når været er slik som det er nå. Bare det å ha på vinterdekk kan være til stor hjelp og det er selvfølgelig også kjørekunnskap og erfaring. Vi unge bør høre på de som har flere års erfaring med slikt føre, og kanskje heller gå eller ta buss om vi føler oss usikre i trafikken. Det er i alle fall noe jeg alltid har blitt fortalt av mine foreldre.

Jeg håper alle er forsiktige der hjemme og at folk tar seg av hverandre. For selv om det kanskje ikke virker så skummelt akkurat der og da, så er det skummelt å sitte her og lese om hvordan det er i Trondheim. For er det noe vi ikke skal spøke med så er det været, det er ustabilt og vi vet aldri helt sikkert hvor vi har det.

Time is flying by

I cannot believe it is already November. Time sure is flying by, and I’m powerless to stop it. It is so much that is going on and more will happen out the year, the question is how do we have time for everything?

This weekend we had daylight saving time, also known as the clock being set back one hour. So on Sunday we had one more hour in bed, one more hour for school work and one more hour to just relax. It was rather strange to go out for a walk yesterday and see how quickly the darkness came upon us, and it really hit me; it’s fall now.

The student life is very busy during fall and the time before Christmas. Essays to write and hand in, books to read, research, work and so on, and I guess we all are simply too busy to stop and appreciate what is happening around us. Fall is actually a very beautiful season with leafs changing into dazzling colours, but it is also associated with melancholy. The possibility of summer is gone, and the chill of winter is on the horizon. We can feel it in the air, and an extra blanket on our bed can be essential.

Even though the sky is turning grey and most of us are sitting inside in front of a lap top trying to make a deadline, we have something to look forward to. When fall comes, so does all the advertisement for Christmas. Here in London Oxford Street has been decorated, and in many stores around you will find Christmas ornaments and so much more. Christmas is the perfect excuse for a break in all of the studying, as it is so nice to go Christmas shopping and just glance at all the beautiful decorations. Although it is quite early to have the Christmas feeling, at least you have something to look forward to, and autumn may not seem so dark.

So I wish everyone a happy November, and good luck with all of your work. Doesn’t matter if its university essays or work from your employer, we all have a lot to do these days. Just don’t forget to take a look at the light outside, it is truly sparkling with beautiful colours, hopes and dreams. 

Pictures: My own and google.

The life of a journalism student

Last year I had to write a news story for my Journalism module and in my opinion that is one of the hardest assignments our tutors could give us. I spent hours trying to figure out what to write about, and all the time my tutors would tell me that is was a good idea but not a news story. I think we all can agree on that journalist students have cried enough during different assignments, as it is difficult to for us to write about something that has not already been covered. One of our tutors told us during our first year that we have to predict the future in order to write our story. I don’t know what others are thinking, but I sure can’t do that.

As I’m sitting here and trying to come up with a great idea for my dissertation, I started to walk down memory lane and realised that as much fun I’ve had and how interesting my lectures have been, we have all had two difficult years as journalist students. It is not easy to have people answer our questions, because it seems like when we contact professional journalists they “forget” to answer us. At least that is what we think. In general when we’ve tried to contact people and we say that we are students, it is very difficult for us to get answers. I don’t know why that’s the case, but I feel like expressing my feelings towards this matter and remind anyone who is reading this that we are all or we all were students at some point looking for help. I believe that everything is easy once you get a foot inside your dream job, but the journey to get there is hard. I believe we are all looking for the perfect place to walk towards that dream, and when you do find it, then trust me, it is the luckiest day of your life.

I am looking forward to the day that I get hired to be a journalist, as that is my dream. Right now I am just writing my thoughts and expressing some frustration, but some day I am sure that all the hard work will be worth it. And who knows; perhaps some day we can predict the future.

Fairtrade as the new world brand

Fairtrade is a fast growing mark in the world based around that developing countries should get a better deal through the use of the Fairtrade mark.

The Fairtrade Foundation is the national independent verification initiative set up by the main development agencies such as Oxfam, WDM and Traidcraft Exchange in order to licence the use of the independent consumer label in the UK.

This is known as the Fairtrade Mark and is developing fast in this country and the world.

Norway, for example, is one country where the Fairtrade mark is quickly rising and more products are becoming 100% Fairtrade.

Mike Hickie, the supporter service volunteer, said: “We are a small but growing team struggling to do a huge job on an extremely limited budget. With such restrains on time and resources we have reluctantly decided that it is necessary to focus all our efforts on the specific requirements of independent labelling.”

From 1998 to 2009 the Fairtrade products estimated in the UK retail sales has grown from £16.7 million to £799.0 million.

Because Fairtrade is relatively a new concept, many people has never heard of this product and don’t know what it stands for.

Joachim Eikeri is a consumer who has heard of mark from Starbucks, and he says: “After asking Starbucks one time what Fairtrade was, I started buying Fairtrade products as I believe that what they are standing for is very good. I have great faith in Fairtrade.”

According to their webpage, in 2008 70% of the UK population recognised the Fairtrade mark, which is 50% more than in 2002.

Hickie is also aware that people may not know what Fairtrade is and what is stand for, and he says: “In order to have a positive impact on the lives of thousands of workers and farmers throughout the world it is essential that we concentrate efforts here.”

In order to do this he is saying that because they don’t have the advertising budget of the major brands it is a challenge, but by writing articles for magazines, promoting media coverage and co-ordinating campaigns to promote the awareness they are getting closer to spreading the knowledge.

In Norway people are slowly recognising this mark as well, as products such as Cadbury, Nestle and Ben & Jerry’s are Fairtrade products.

Kjell Steinar Wibe is one consumer in Norway who has been aware of this product for quite some time and has great believes in how this is developing in both his home country and in the rest of the world.

The physical book is dead

A while ago I talked to my boyfriend’s stepdad about books and its future. As he knows what a big book freak I am, he emailed me an interesting little article where a man named Nicholas Negroponte is claiming that the physical book will be dead in five years. He is saying that it is going to be hard for a lot of people to accept this, and I am one of them.

The book has been my best friend since before I could read, and I cannot imagine my life without a book on my nightstand. You can go anywhere in the world and get lost in a story where anything can happen without worrying about what is happening in the real world. I am not saying that you cannot get the same feeling of pleasure with a digital book, which is the newest fashion within this industry. But for me it can never be the same.

The technology is changing almost as fast as the world is changing, and in the end there is nothing we can do with this development. We live in a world with digital cameras, mobile phones and computers where you can buy music off the internet. But just because there are a lot of changes happening it doesn’t mean that everything has to change. I believe that there are a lot of people out there who wants to have a physical book instead of a digital book, or perhaps they want both. But that does not mean that the book will be dead in a few years time.

I have asked quite a lot of people about this, and even though it is not anywhere near enough people to make a difference in the big picture, they all agreed on that they love the physical book.

If you think about how many people who have to repair their laptop or mobile phone because it is no longer working; if you were to have all of your books that you need for school, work or for your own pleasure on a laptop, then you would lose everything. People could struggle to do their job properly because of this and I believe then that it would be much easier to have a physical book to look up in as well. Obviously to have ebooks have made life easier for people, but I feel that we must not forget that technology has flaws that can haunt us if we do not treat it right.

I am very excited to see what will happen in the future when it comes to this subject, but I am very much hoping that the book will not die and that people will continue to appreciate the wonders that are books. 

If you want to read what Nicholas Negroponte is saying about this, you can find the article on this webpage:

http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/06/physical-book-dead/ 

Hvor er det trygt å dra til slutt?

I flere år har verden vært truet av terrorister og i flere situasjoner har vi hørt, sett og lest om slike hendelser. Flere liv har gått tapt, og mennesker føler seg utrygge på å reise og bare det å være trygg i sin egen hjemby.

På adressa.no er det en artikkel om at USA advarer amerikanere om å reise til typiske turistmål, i fare for et terrorangrep. I denne artikkelen står det at det skal bli utstedt en advarsel etter at det har blitt lekket ut opplysninger om at al-Qaida ledere har planlagt et angrep mot flere byer her i Europa. Dette er ikke første gangen vi hører om dette, men det blir nå tatt svært alvorlig ettersom en tysk-afghaner ble arrestert og avhørt.

Hele artikkelen kan leses på denne siden: http://www.adressa.no/nyheter/utenriks/article1536333.ece

Spørsmål som nå sikkert mange stiller seg selv er om det er noen plass her i verden det er trygt å reise til. Terroristgrupper, slik som al-Qaida, skaper frykt hos oss mennesker, og det å reise på ferie skal være noe hyggelig og ikke skremmende. Det er også mange som må reise utenlands gjennom jobben, og de som er igjen hjemme må kunne føle seg trygge på at deres kjære kommer trygt hjem igjen.

I sommer reiste jeg en del, og noen av flyplassene vi var innom var ganske strenge og det var ikke bare bare å skulle komme seg inn og ut av landet deres. I New Zealand var det nesten skremmende hvor strengt det var bare å komme inn i landet. Passet måtte vises to tre ganger, i tillegg til at vi ble stoppet og måtte svare på spørsmål om hvor vi var fra, hvorfor vi var i New Zealand og diverse andre spørsmål. Dette var da spørsmål vi allerede hadde svart på i løpet av flyturen da vi måtte fylle ut et skjema for besøkende i dette landet. Et spørsmål vi ble spurt som sitter igjen er om vi hadde med noen ”tracking shoes with mud on”. Både jeg og Johanne, som jeg da reiste med, syntes at spørsmålet var nesten komisk, men det er da dette som tydeligvis må til for at land skal være sikre og føle seg trygge på hvem som kommer inn. Personlig så er jeg meget spent på hva som kommer til å skje videre. Kanskje blir det mindre reising på folk fordi det er for mye som skal gjøres og for mange papirer som må fylles ut før og under avreise. Utviklingen blir spennende å følge med på, men kanskje mest av alt blir den skremmende.

Trust

Well, it has been a few interesting days where you can say that I have learned quite a lot about different people. I guess I have to learn one last time that everyone is different, and even though that should be a good thing it isn’t always.

Three weeks ago I moved back to London, and for the first time I had decided not to live on campus at my university. I then moved in with two of my friends, and we have had three wonderful weeks. But there have been issues to sort out, and one of them is the internet. The three girls that lived here before asked us if we wanted to continue with their internet contract, as the contract would last until November. Naturally we said yes and were very happy that we didn’t have to worry about that. They told us it was wireless, and it took us about a week and a long phone call to Virgin (the internet company) to sort that out.

Earlier this week we all woke up and came to find that none of us had internet on our laptops. We found this very weird, and we were hoping that it would fix itself. After a day we decided to ring Virgin again, and what they told us made us all rather angry. They told us that they had shut down our internet because the bill hadn’t been paid. When we moved in we paid the previous owners for two months and they told us that they had paid everything. Obviously not. So we had to text them again asking about the internet. I’m just curious of how they could pretend to not know anything about this at first, when we’d paid them three weeks ago. A few days later we had the internet back, thank god. You realise how much it affects your life when you don’t have it available anymore.

Like this wasn’t the top of my weekend; when my boyfriend and I were sitting in the living room of my flat one of my flat mates calls down from up stairs, informing us that the roof in my room is leaking water. It was raining like crazy yesterday, and it became clear that the roof isn’t in tip top shape. Today we woke up to find the roof had turned yellow where the water came down. Thank god it didn’t leak a lot of water, but enough to make me nervous and uncomfortable.

Like I said, it has been an interesting few days. I guess all I can do now is wait and see what will happen next.

What a boss is looking for when hiring – according to guest speaker

Yesterday was the first day back at uni, and I had a module called Work Placement. We had a guest speaker for our first lecture, Terry Smith, who has been working for the BBC for 25 years and is now at a Post Production House. He talked to us about how to get work placement during our third year, and also gave us quite a few tips on what to write in a covering letter, as well as how to perform when we actually get a job. I found his tips very interesting, and thought I’d share them here.

What he talked about first was the five key qualities a boss is looking for when hiring someone. And those are:

• Initiative
• Determination
• Low maintenance
• Punctuality
• Communication

He told us to show initiative, to prove that we want to be there and learn, that we turn up on time or even 20 minutes early, and to communicate with your co workers. First impression means everything, and you never get a second chance to make it. We have to be the best version of ourselves and prove to them that they made the right decision in hiring you.

Another tip that Smith gave us was to rehearse how to get to your new job. On your first day you have to know where the company is so that you won’t be late. If you are then you might have been fired before you’ve even started. Keep extra change in case the tube or the bus isn’t working, so that you can take a taxi. Have a plan B and C, then you know for sure that you won’t be late.

I found it very interesting what he said about the covering letter that we have to write. During our second year at uni we had to write one such letter for our Career Preparation module, so yesterday we knew what he was talking about. It is one thing to write it to a teacher, but something else to write it to a future employer. What Smith told us was to make sure to write what position you are applying for, and to refer to your CV (as my CV shows..).

If you are lucky to get an interview, then it is important to sell yourself. Again, it is important to be there on time, look smart, and to show that you have knowledge about the company. You then need to prove that what you are saying is true. Don’t say that you can handle working under pressure if you can’t, they will eventually find out. And Smith told us that they are very likely to ask you; can you tell me about a time when you worked under pressure and how you handled it? You should then have prepared an answer to such a question before the interview so that you can tell the interviewee the perfect answer. Smith told us that this type of question can be divided into three sections:

• 20% - the scenario
• 60% - what did you do
• 20% - what made it a success, what did you do, how did you handle it

 At the end of an interview, we were told to say to the interviewee that we would love this job! And also to send a thank you note or email. You are then showing them you are interested and hopefully you’re making an even better impression.

Another tip that I liked was that whenever we meet someone in our industry, like in my case it would be in the journalism industry, to make sure that we get their business card. This is called networking, and it can help us later to get an interview for another job, or help us with a story. They might know someone you need to talk to, and if they know your name and know how you work then they might be very helpful to you.

I actually liked the lecture very much. I found it very helpful, but obviously I don’t know how helpful it is when actually applying for work placement. But at this point the tips are making me feel comfortable in knowing how to approach and how to apply, and I guess I just have to remember that the opportunities are there, we all just need to find them.

A woman's right to shoes

The most difficult part of writing is the start. How you start determine if the reader is interested to continue or not, and this is all that is going through my mind now. This is my first blog and my first contribution. I have all these ideas about what I want to write about, but the start is torturing me. All I can think about is shoes. This takes me back to when I was trying to figure out a name for this blog, and that was no easy task for me. I wanted a name that represented my character and the person that I have become, but my mind was working against me. And after days, weeks, perhaps even a couple of months, the phrase “a woman’s right to shoes” would not leave. I assume I am not the only girl out there who loves shoes, but for some reason it gave me a deeper meaning as I was sitting here. It is about my right to express myself in this world, as a girl, a student and a journalist. And this is what I am trying to do with this blog, to say my meaning about issues that are bothering me, making me happy or plain angry. This is a right we all have, as human beings. It is easy enough to walk in your own shoes, but sometimes we all should try to walk in someone else’s.