Why do some unappreciative university students seem to have a problem with 'mature' students?
I'm a 36 year-old second year student, sudying for a BA in Magazine Journalism and Feature Writing. I study hard, enjoy my life and love my family. So what's the problem?
Well, it seems that some young students just assume that if you're at univertity at my age, it's because you don't have a life, or you're so useless that you can't get a job and want to go back to being a teenager.
I hate to disillusion everyone, but I would rather jump off a very tall building than go back to being a teenager. I had a hard enough time the first time around.
And I'm not a kill-joy either. Fine, I don't usually go out partying with the 'youngsters', but that's more because I don't really think they'd want me there, than anything else. It would almost be like partying with their mother (I said: 'nearly'!). Though that doesn't mean I don't like a good party!
I never got the opportunity to go to university when I was younger. I left home at 18, escaping from an abusive step-father. I went straight to work and although I continued learning on the job, I never had the career I dreamed of.
By the age of 28, I had a very happy marriage and two wonderful children, but was craving for the intellectual challenge that was lacking from my life.
So, can anyone blame me for wanting to better myself? I'm not sponging. I have a student loan, like most students, but many more responsibilities than most. I've made friends who understand my sense of humour and I'm looking forward to graduating with them.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Sunday, 15 November 2009
More Relatives
Simon's girlfriend, Monique, has now had her baby. Simon and Monique have chosen to name her Cordelia. That wouldn't have been my choice, but hey, she's not my baby.
We all have our own hang-ups about names. When thinking of a name for a child, it's not easy to choose. With each of my kids, my husband and I chose a name before they were born, and that was hard enough. But, when they came into the world, we changed our minds at the last minute. The names didn't fit. They didn't suit them, so we found their real names.
It's a bit like in the trilogy written by Christopher Paolini, Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr, everything has its own name, that defines its soul. Well, I believe that people are like that. When they come into the world for the first time, it is up to us to find their real name, their essence.
Some of us struggle with the name we are given. Either our parents weren't in touch with our true being or our make-up changes so that our name doesn't fit us anymore.
My name is Susa and my name fits me well. As far as I know, it is a one-off. I have yet to find someone else with the same name from birth. Although I would welcome anyone who did.
What is your name? Does it fit you? Have you ever really thought about it? Well, now you will!
We all have our own hang-ups about names. When thinking of a name for a child, it's not easy to choose. With each of my kids, my husband and I chose a name before they were born, and that was hard enough. But, when they came into the world, we changed our minds at the last minute. The names didn't fit. They didn't suit them, so we found their real names.
It's a bit like in the trilogy written by Christopher Paolini, Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr, everything has its own name, that defines its soul. Well, I believe that people are like that. When they come into the world for the first time, it is up to us to find their real name, their essence.
Some of us struggle with the name we are given. Either our parents weren't in touch with our true being or our make-up changes so that our name doesn't fit us anymore.
My name is Susa and my name fits me well. As far as I know, it is a one-off. I have yet to find someone else with the same name from birth. Although I would welcome anyone who did.
What is your name? Does it fit you? Have you ever really thought about it? Well, now you will!
Friday, 9 October 2009
Relatives.
In the past year, I've been meeting lots of close and distant relatives that I hadn't seen for years. Unfortunately, most of these relatives were at the same funerals as me. My Great Aunt died in December last year and my Grandad died in September this year. So emotions have been very mixed, somewhere between the sadness of losing loved ones and the happiness of seeing long lost family.
At least there has been one fantastic event this year: my little sister Nathalie's wedding. Youpie! I now have a new brother-in-law, John, who also has a brother, Luke...and the family keeps growing. Talking about growing, my brother-in-law Simon's girlfriend is expected to give birth this month, to a baby girl.
I could rival anyone who thinks they have a big family, as each of my parents was one of six and when they got divorced, they both remarried new partners and had more kids. Not to mention all the cousins, nieces and nephews over in Eire, America, France, New Zealand, Australia and all over the UK. And I keep finding more. Welcome one and all! I feel blessed.
At least there has been one fantastic event this year: my little sister Nathalie's wedding. Youpie! I now have a new brother-in-law, John, who also has a brother, Luke...and the family keeps growing. Talking about growing, my brother-in-law Simon's girlfriend is expected to give birth this month, to a baby girl.
I could rival anyone who thinks they have a big family, as each of my parents was one of six and when they got divorced, they both remarried new partners and had more kids. Not to mention all the cousins, nieces and nephews over in Eire, America, France, New Zealand, Australia and all over the UK. And I keep finding more. Welcome one and all! I feel blessed.
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Visit to Brussels
Our visit to Brussels and the European Parliament was an interesting one.
Waking up at 4.30am was a hard task, but we all seemed to manage it and the coach departed on time at 5.45am from the University.
The 10 hour coach ride was exhausting, so no surprise that all 36 students were happy to finally arrive at the hotels in Brussels.
Once in our rooms, our little group of 6 students from the Magazine Journalism course took the time to freshen up and then went out to dinner. After dinner, we went back to our rooms and changed into more outing-friendly clothes.
Maybe we shouldn’t have, but we also enjoyed the night-life in Brussels and only returned to our rooms around 2.30am. I think that most of us slept well and woke up slightly hung over between 7.30am and 8am.
At 8.45am, we took the coach to the Espace Léopold, housing the European Parliament, a legislative chamber of the European Union, which was the aim of our visit to Brussels.
There seemed to have been a slight mix-up and instead of talking to an MEP, we spent the next hour and half listening to a gentleman talk to us about the European Parliament, its structure, the European Commission and related information.
I was surprised to hear that although the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected, the Members of the European Commission are not. I wasn’t surprised though, to hear that there are few female MEPs, as moving several times a year between Brussels and Strasbourg would not be practical for most women with families.
Although the talk was interesting, it was a welcome interruption when we were finally taken in to see the Hemicycle with the Parliament in session.
It was therefore very strange when most of the MEPs walked out of the session just as we were walking into the viewing gallery. From what I understood, they were not happy with people voting against them and did not want to stay to find out why.
We were meant to stay and have lunch at the European Parliament, but it emerged that one of the students had forgotten her passport at the hotel. We were therefore forced to cut our visit short.
We returned to the hotel to pick up the much needed passport and then went to the Grande Place in Brussels to have a wander round and get lunch.
Secretly, I think that most of us welcomed the chance to do a bit more sight-seeing and get some fresh air, as well as buying chocolates and having lunch.
Alas came the time to get back on the coach and start the long journey back home. And here we are, back home safe and sound and with a little more knowledge in our tired heads.
Waking up at 4.30am was a hard task, but we all seemed to manage it and the coach departed on time at 5.45am from the University.
The 10 hour coach ride was exhausting, so no surprise that all 36 students were happy to finally arrive at the hotels in Brussels.
Once in our rooms, our little group of 6 students from the Magazine Journalism course took the time to freshen up and then went out to dinner. After dinner, we went back to our rooms and changed into more outing-friendly clothes.
Maybe we shouldn’t have, but we also enjoyed the night-life in Brussels and only returned to our rooms around 2.30am. I think that most of us slept well and woke up slightly hung over between 7.30am and 8am.
At 8.45am, we took the coach to the Espace Léopold, housing the European Parliament, a legislative chamber of the European Union, which was the aim of our visit to Brussels.
There seemed to have been a slight mix-up and instead of talking to an MEP, we spent the next hour and half listening to a gentleman talk to us about the European Parliament, its structure, the European Commission and related information.
I was surprised to hear that although the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected, the Members of the European Commission are not. I wasn’t surprised though, to hear that there are few female MEPs, as moving several times a year between Brussels and Strasbourg would not be practical for most women with families.
Although the talk was interesting, it was a welcome interruption when we were finally taken in to see the Hemicycle with the Parliament in session.It was therefore very strange when most of the MEPs walked out of the session just as we were walking into the viewing gallery. From what I understood, they were not happy with people voting against them and did not want to stay to find out why.
We were meant to stay and have lunch at the European Parliament, but it emerged that one of the students had forgotten her passport at the hotel. We were therefore forced to cut our visit short.
We returned to the hotel to pick up the much needed passport and then went to the Grande Place in Brussels to have a wander round and get lunch.
Secretly, I think that most of us welcomed the chance to do a bit more sight-seeing and get some fresh air, as well as buying chocolates and having lunch.
Alas came the time to get back on the coach and start the long journey back home. And here we are, back home safe and sound and with a little more knowledge in our tired heads.
Through it all
A young man and his battle with illness.
Imagine being a healthy 15 year-old one day, with your whole life and dreams ahead of you, and suddenly, the next, everything has changed.
You develop flu-like symptoms and take a few days off school, but you don’t get better, in fact you get worse. You go and see the doctor, who diagnoses you with Glandular Fever and prescribes bed rest.
You follow the doctor’s orders, but soon lose two years of your life on the couch, sleeping, eating, drinking and only moving to crawl to the bathroom as your legs are too weak to carry you.
But you know you can beat it, so you keep on going, and finally start getting your life back on track, going to college and then getting a job in the field of your dreams.
You get used to feeling ill and do your best to keep going and stay active, even fulfilling some of your dreams.
But the energy to keep going is just too great, so you take some time off work. However, the second you stop, you don’t have the energy to do anything. Again, you go to the doctor’s and he confirms your worst suspicions, you have Chronic Fatigue, which was kick started by the Glandular Fever.
Such is the story of Andy Cherrett, known by most as Chezzer, an inspirational 23 year-old young man who faces every day with an incurable illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
At 15, Andy was an active young man. He was half way through year 10 and preparing for his GCSEs. He loved cycling, swimming, tennis, and scouting activities such as hiking, climbing, sailing, canoeing and camping.
But suddenly, he wasn’t that person anymore. He felt constantly tired and nauseous, lacking in appetite, and suffering from headaches, poor co-ordination, muscle pains and a low immune system.
The young Andy had dreams and during his illness he listed them as “Things to do when I am well”. He tried to remain positive, but it was tough.
It’s almost 9 years now since the last time Andy felt well, 9 years since he stopped doing most of the things that he loved so much and leading a “normal” life.
But, his friends admire the man that Andy has become. He has already achieved so much. And he is lucky to have fulfilled most of his dreams, unlike so many of us, who procrastinate every day.
Andy has travelled, climbed mountains and made snow angels at the top; he has been white water rafting, paragliding and also helped refurbish a school in Belize.
Andy is a Scout Leader in the Romsey District and is regarded by so many as “the most helpful and kindest guy ever”.
He helps his friends whenever he can, and because his sleep is very patchy, he has his phone on 24 hours a day and often gets calls from friends who have broken down.
Recently he has been helping another Explorer Scout group, whose leader resigned and he helps with a lot of other scouting events.
To the outside eye, you wouldn’t know Andy is ill. He has good days and bad days, but he has little ways of coping.
You might notice that he hardly ever drinks because, although he used to drink a lot, he stopped when he was put on medication for the Glandular Fever.
He often leans on his friends, but he hides it well – you would probably think he was hugging someone. Rarely is he seen with his cane, as Andy is proud, but sometimes he has to put his pride to one side and respond to the cries of his body.
You might think upon meeting Andy that he has endless amounts of energy, but that’s only an impression. Andy generally has bursts of energy in which he does his activities, but he sleeps a lot of the time to recuperate.
Andy has a passion for cars, especially minis, however, he has difficulty remembering if he has done essential things like tighten the nuts on the wheels, so he finds it almost impossible to spend time working on them. These lapses of concentration also make it impossible for him to return to work as a mechanic.
Another passion of Andy’s is photography, which is easier to indulge. He can fit it in at anytime. It will require a certain investment, so it’s not a viable profession at the moment, but maybe in the future.
More than anything, though, Andy wants to be a dad. And, yes, he’s only 23 years old and still young, but that is his main dream and seeing him with children, I think he would be a brilliant father.
However, he is holding off on getting involved with someone at the moment, as he does not want to burden anyone with his illness. Maybe when he has found a part-time job that he can cope with and found the right person…
But for the moment, he is happy being the great guy we know he is and fighting for good causes.
Bringing safe running water to everyone in the world is something Andy has been talking about recently and that if we stopped sending Christmas cards and gave the money to a charity such as Water Aid instead, we could do just that.
Andy asked me what I would do if I had one wish, and my initial answer was that I would wish for him to be well, but having thought about it, I would wish that there were more people with his attitude towards life.
Imagine being a healthy 15 year-old one day, with your whole life and dreams ahead of you, and suddenly, the next, everything has changed.
You develop flu-like symptoms and take a few days off school, but you don’t get better, in fact you get worse. You go and see the doctor, who diagnoses you with Glandular Fever and prescribes bed rest.
You follow the doctor’s orders, but soon lose two years of your life on the couch, sleeping, eating, drinking and only moving to crawl to the bathroom as your legs are too weak to carry you.
But you know you can beat it, so you keep on going, and finally start getting your life back on track, going to college and then getting a job in the field of your dreams.
You get used to feeling ill and do your best to keep going and stay active, even fulfilling some of your dreams.
But the energy to keep going is just too great, so you take some time off work. However, the second you stop, you don’t have the energy to do anything. Again, you go to the doctor’s and he confirms your worst suspicions, you have Chronic Fatigue, which was kick started by the Glandular Fever.
Such is the story of Andy Cherrett, known by most as Chezzer, an inspirational 23 year-old young man who faces every day with an incurable illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
At 15, Andy was an active young man. He was half way through year 10 and preparing for his GCSEs. He loved cycling, swimming, tennis, and scouting activities such as hiking, climbing, sailing, canoeing and camping.
But suddenly, he wasn’t that person anymore. He felt constantly tired and nauseous, lacking in appetite, and suffering from headaches, poor co-ordination, muscle pains and a low immune system.
The young Andy had dreams and during his illness he listed them as “Things to do when I am well”. He tried to remain positive, but it was tough.
It’s almost 9 years now since the last time Andy felt well, 9 years since he stopped doing most of the things that he loved so much and leading a “normal” life.
But, his friends admire the man that Andy has become. He has already achieved so much. And he is lucky to have fulfilled most of his dreams, unlike so many of us, who procrastinate every day.
Andy has travelled, climbed mountains and made snow angels at the top; he has been white water rafting, paragliding and also helped refurbish a school in Belize.
Andy is a Scout Leader in the Romsey District and is regarded by so many as “the most helpful and kindest guy ever”.
He helps his friends whenever he can, and because his sleep is very patchy, he has his phone on 24 hours a day and often gets calls from friends who have broken down.
Recently he has been helping another Explorer Scout group, whose leader resigned and he helps with a lot of other scouting events.
To the outside eye, you wouldn’t know Andy is ill. He has good days and bad days, but he has little ways of coping.
You might notice that he hardly ever drinks because, although he used to drink a lot, he stopped when he was put on medication for the Glandular Fever.
He often leans on his friends, but he hides it well – you would probably think he was hugging someone. Rarely is he seen with his cane, as Andy is proud, but sometimes he has to put his pride to one side and respond to the cries of his body.
You might think upon meeting Andy that he has endless amounts of energy, but that’s only an impression. Andy generally has bursts of energy in which he does his activities, but he sleeps a lot of the time to recuperate.
Andy has a passion for cars, especially minis, however, he has difficulty remembering if he has done essential things like tighten the nuts on the wheels, so he finds it almost impossible to spend time working on them. These lapses of concentration also make it impossible for him to return to work as a mechanic.
Another passion of Andy’s is photography, which is easier to indulge. He can fit it in at anytime. It will require a certain investment, so it’s not a viable profession at the moment, but maybe in the future.
More than anything, though, Andy wants to be a dad. And, yes, he’s only 23 years old and still young, but that is his main dream and seeing him with children, I think he would be a brilliant father.
However, he is holding off on getting involved with someone at the moment, as he does not want to burden anyone with his illness. Maybe when he has found a part-time job that he can cope with and found the right person…
But for the moment, he is happy being the great guy we know he is and fighting for good causes.
Bringing safe running water to everyone in the world is something Andy has been talking about recently and that if we stopped sending Christmas cards and gave the money to a charity such as Water Aid instead, we could do just that.
Andy asked me what I would do if I had one wish, and my initial answer was that I would wish for him to be well, but having thought about it, I would wish that there were more people with his attitude towards life.
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