Family.

Some people don’t realise how lucky they are to have parents. I would give anything for a cuddle, or a chat with my mum Sue right now. 

What is Patreon?

I think it’s actually amazing what you can do with the internet, my boyfriend showed me a video that he found on Face book of a girl singing and making the sounds to the song with only her voice box. I was curious.. so I went to the link which is called Patreon. Aimee makes her own music and posts her creation on this website, and people can become a patreon by donating as much or as little as you want, by doing this it helps her to make videos and continue to do what she loves doing. After watching her video I even felt like donating! People like Ed Sheeran started posting their music on sites like YouTube, and now he is a well know artist producing his albums.

How’s Uni going?

When people ask how your course is going..

Student Debt – Google Maps

There are roughly 350,00 students in Manchester and that means a lot of DEBT! On Average a student applies for student loans and tuition fee’s for a three year course of which have to be paid back which would roughly be around £45,000 per student. so for 350,000 students studying in Manchester the debt roughly comes to £15.75 billion pounds.. and that is not even to the penny.. I have no words..

Google maps can be a useful way to determine where the population of a group of students are and can give you an idea of what help and resources may be needed. It gives me an idea of where to go to find students and campaign, places to raise awareness, and achieve a set of goals.

A dog is a man’s best friend.

I’ve been thinking about my campaign and what I could focus on, and I thought about what happened last year at Manchester Dog’s Home when a young boy started a fire at the dogs home. 53 dogs died, I heard about the news on twitter and so many people were outraged at what had happened, personally I can not possibly understand how someone would do such a cruel thing. Over 1 millions pounds, £1,473,911.40 to be exact, were raised to re build the dogs home, and many people took in the dogs while it was being rebuilt. Many people donated food and money, they also took selfies with their own pets with the hash tag #dogselfies to encourage people to donate.  I couldn’t imagine being without my dog Kingston, he’s big and daft, but cute as a button and so cuddley! He’s cute when he’s sleeping and not shredding the pillows on the sofa, or chasing his tail in the garden and destroying the grass! He’s not just a man’s best friend, he’s mine too. When I am walking him, I can see that people look at him and are afraid because he is such a large dog with a broad chest when in reality he is harmless and it’s all about the way you treat them. I can not stand to think of some owners that train their dogs to fight I think that many dog’s have such a bad name and it’s not their fault.

 

Facebook..

I think that Face book can be a good thing, being able to connect with other people around the world. Being able to stay connected, and see what your friends and family are up to. I did have a Face book profile for several years, but in the end it I felt that I had no choice but to delete it. After removing several people, there was always one who knew someone else. I deactivated the profile and then it was automatically deleted after a few weeks. I would much rather meet with a friend and have a brew and a chat, there was always someone bullying someone else on Face book and I didn’t like to see that, I was even in the firing line myself. Everyone knows your business on it. I’ve just been having a look through Sky News on my phone and come across an article that said “Face book could make you depressed – Study” From my own experience with this social platform, once I had deleted my profile I felt 10x better and thought I should have done it along time ago.

The Study can be found at Science Direct

Sleep Campaign

I watched the videos in relation to the information for the sleep campaign and had a read of the information available in the blog, and it made me think of my own sleeping pattern. I think it goes without saying that being a student there’s not much sleeping going on, because of the workload that comes with completing a degree, waiting for results to come back, or for others it may be different, because of living in halls and a student may be tempted to go out a lot with their friends, and then spend the nights drafting up assignments unless your very organised with plenty of time to amend it. Personally I work better under pressure, and at night, I don’t seem to be distracted with simple things like walking the dog, cleaning, etc… whereas at night there is nothing but me, my laptop, and silence. The distraction of social media also isn’t there because it’s seems to be less active at night as I don’t follow people who are in a different time zone. I remember in my second year I would pull all nighters researching, reading and completing assignments while drinking red bull and taking pro plus, I know it’s not the best idea I’ve ever had but it seemed to work for me. However from what I have red I am aware of the effects of not getting the sleep you need, like depression, obesity, bad moods, lack of concentration  and so on. After reading the information and watching videos in relation to how important sleep really is, it still hasn’t had affect on me to actually change my sleeping habits.

I have had a look the the Hand Hygiene Campaign It is very simple and outlines the risks  and the benefits  of not washing your hands, what is beneficial and also reassuring to know its a legitimate campaign is that they work in partnership with the National Health Service (NHS). Washing your hands is mandatory in a health care profession, and this would also target those who visit friends and family in the hospital. however it does seem to be directed mainly at organisations, as they are able to sign up online and receive promotional packs such as posters and stickers. On the one hand I think it is a good campaign because it is short and sweet however it was be useful if statistics were available on the the website also so we could see if it really is working.

I have also taken a look at the UTV  From The Heart Campaign which makes the purpose of the campaign very clear on the first page of the website.  The use of social platforms such as Face book and Twitter is also accessible to anyone who has social networking, the hash tag (#fromtheheart) symbol is also a fast and easy way of spreading the word. The campaign have also got people involved such as; Dermot O’Leary, Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie, Pixie Lott, Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse. I think the use of statistics also gives the impact of how many people really need help from others, as well as using a memorable date such as Valentines Day, as we all know it’s a day that symbolises one’s love to another. I believe that this campaign doesn’t have a specific target, it’s a campaign that can reach out to everyone, watching the T.V at home, or on social networking sites such as Twitter.

While looking at the campaigns listed on Purpose the particular campaign that stood out to me was the Everytown Campaign, the objective of this campaign is to stop ex partners, abusers to not be able to buy a gun, The ad for this campaign was uncomfortable to watch, and gave me a shock when I heard the gun shot but did not reveal what happened, so it makes you think if the women or the child was hurt. I think this can target a lot of people, especially parents. The campaign clearly outlines what they want to achieve through this campaign;

1. Background checks – We want to close the loopholes that allow criminals and other dangerous people to buy guns without background checks.

2. Domestic Violence – We support laws that save lives by keeping guns from domestic abusers.

3. Preventable Deaths – We can save lives by educating parents about safe gun storage and reasonable gun ownership.

4. Gun Trafficking – We advocate for legalisation that gives law enforcement the tools they need to shut down trafficking channels and prosecute gun traffickers.

What I also like about the campaign is that it is set out and states clearly what they do and what they want to achieve and what they support, what I also like is the facts along side the issues. The campaign have links to social media such as Face book and Twitter, and you are able to donate online either once or monthly. By donating money this is what they do;

• Pressuring lawmakers to improve our gun laws
• Raising awareness about gun violence
• Educating the public about common-sense gun laws and responsible gun ownership
• Mobilizing grassroots supporters
• Connecting and amplifying the voices of survivors of gun violence

Campaigns that have an ad gets my attention, as well as facts rather than just reading from a website. I believe it creates more of an impact.

A Story Told To Me By My Mum.

Once upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.

Well, we’ll soon find that out, thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.

“Oh, very badly!” said she. “I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. It’s horrible!”

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.

     Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.

There, that is a true story

 

My Mum always said be carefully who finds your glass slipper. I miss her.

Debt Relief Poster

I used a website called Canva to make a poster in relation to Student Debt, I am not familiar with this website as I usually use apps on my Iphone as they are easy to use, and takes minutes to produce. Whereas with this poster making website I struggled with saving the poster I had made, which is shown above. I went to click download and it brought up a page to pay for the poster I made. What I decided to do, was print screen the poster and crop it on paint. I then saved the image to the desktop and inserted it into this blog post. I decided to use the image of the guy who has his head up his butt because half the time that’s exactly how I feel, having to keep up with the work, so much pressure that comes with the deadline dates, I understand that it was never going to be easy, sometimes I don’t get much sleep, I wake up thinking about an essay, what job am I going to do, how will I pay off my student finance, will I ever get a job, and it goes on and on my brain never gets any rest even when I’m asleep if I get any. I also liked the photo of the man looking out at pretty much nothing.. that could be interpreted as nothing or you could see it as the world is your oyster however the student debt will always follow until it is paid if ever that happens.

What’s in a name?

I decided to use my birth name for my blog.. I didn’t really think about anything creative because I’m not a fan of being criticised. So I thought the easiest option was to go with my own name as it’s been my name for 22 years. I went on to the Kabalarian website to look up the meaning of my name and this is what came up for me..

• Your first name of Mariola has given you the ability to organize, plan, and carry work through to a successful conclusion. (Agree)
• You are thoughtful and considerate of others, dignified yet friendly. (Agree)
• Your ambition is for the stability of settling down, with a nice home, good furniture, and a good standard of living. (Slightly – I don’t see that I need a lot of nice things in life, as I grew up with very little. Never had the expensive toys, or even be able to watch Sky or Free-view, I had Polish TV from channels one to five. Anything I have now and own, and want in the future I know to work hard for it. But I don’t feel the need to have the latest TV or the newest Iphone, what matters to me is making it feel like home, with photos, etc. What is frustrating is when I scroll down twitter to see the latest, there may be the odd few that say “My mum won’t buy me a new car, because I wrote of my other one” or something along those lines, I think why not get a job and work hard for it, your lucky enough to have your parents in your life, do you really need to feel they need to give you something. You won’t know the value of something otherwise.)
• You have the business ability and astuteness to attain this standard. (Don’t think so?)
• You desire to direct and control finances, both in business and in the home. (Agree)
• You would appreciate the cultural aspects of life such as art and music. (Hmm.. I had a passion for Art in School.. but don’t really have the time to paint)
• It tends to be too practical an influence causing you to put the practical needs of your home and family ahead of taking the time for the little considerations which create love and understanding. (Don’t understand)
• This name creates a strong, capable nature, able to lead and control, of which you are probably well aware, but it causes a worrying nature. (Not sure why this would cause worry)
• It makes it difficult for you to express some of the softer, spontaneous qualities that do so much for personal associations. (I have been told at university that if I opened up more a lot of people may get along with me, not that I don’t already, sometimes I’m outgoing and sometimes I’m very quiet, but I just chose not to let them in, because significant people in my life have left, or passed away, I don’t like to be judged in a negative way, not that there is one, but I wouldn’t want to expose myself to that)
• Any weakness in health relative to this name would show in problems in the female generative organs. (Don’t believe this to be true)

Some of the things listed in the meaning in my name I can relate to however, I think how many people have the same name as me? The same search would come up for them surely. I do believe in mediums.. I went for a reading last year, and he mentioned a lot of things that only I knew and it was impossible to find it anywhere as it was private and kept to myself, not published anywhere on twitter. What was said is that I will have two children, and the first will be a boy.. Guess I will find out one day if that is true..

But each to their own.