A Caption For 1000 Possible Words

With posts starting in Summer 2010, the 'humansofnewyork' tumblr blog has seen over 6000 snaps of the average New Yorker. 

The photoblog run by Brandon Stanton is one of my favourite new discoveries.  Whether they be old, young, with their partner, family or friends, etc., all the photos give a tiny snapshot into the life of a stranger. 

Most of the pictures have a quote. Sometimes the quotes are part of a conversation, sometimes just a snippet of what the person has said, or simply a caption of what's happening.

This blog captures emotion in a way you would miss with a simple picture. It is often true to say: "a picture paints 1000 words". But would you ever look at a very generic looking middle aged man and be given an impression of what's really on his mind?

I personally would assume a very generic life. Office worker, small family, average income; But this blog reminded me how everyone has a story you couldn't even imagine. 

I've selected a few recent photographs that caught my eye. Some surprised me due to the quotes, some made me laugh or evoked sadness and empathy for these strangers I'll never even meet.   

First we have that middle aged man.

"What’s your greatest struggle right now?"

"Dining with my daughter."

"Dining with your daughter?"

"She has an eating disorder. So she avoids every situation that involves eating with the family."

"My three year old daughter has figured out how to unlock my phone. Now she’s always calling people and saying ‘hello’ over and over."

"I have stage 3 melanoma, which puts me at a 48% chance of survival over the next 5 years. However, I have the ability to speed read very technical material, so I went to the library at Duke and read over 800 papers on melanoma, which doctors just don’t have the time to read. I found one very promising study that suggests chloro quinine, combined with the deprivation of a certain amino acid, has shrunk tumors in mice to almost nothing."

"I want to be a singer, a president, and a tennis player."


"I want to be a president, a teacher, a doctor, and a police."

"He’s wonderful in bed."

"I’m taking a puddlegram."

"The army stationed me down South when I was younger, and I couldn’t even use the same bathroom as white people. But things have changed so much. The younger generation isn’t nearly as racist. I’ve been sitting here for fifty years. So much has changed. This neighborhood used to be all black. A white person couldn’t even walk down this street. All the races kept to themselves. Now you’ve got Indians talking to Pakistanis, blacks talking to whites, everybody is here and learning from each other’s cultures. I’ve been sitting here for 50 years. Things are getting better."

This was so funny. I ran into this Mexican couple on a trail in Central Park, and they were lugging around all these balloons. I asked what the balloons were for, and the guy told me that he’d brought them all the way from Mexico. He said he’d concocted this elaborate plan, where he’d given balloons to different people around the city (starting with the hotel concierge), and sent the girl on a scavenger hunt to find them.
"Just because?" I asked.
"Just because," he said.

——————————-

When I got home, I had an email. It said: 

Brandon,

I couldn’t tell you, but I was about to ask her to marry me.

She said yes!

Rodrigo

"I told her that if she wanted to start over, to meet where we first kissed. She was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago."

"What was the happiest moment of your life?"


"Well, it’s not now."

All these photographs and many others can be found at: http://www.humansofnewyork.com 

The Struggles of Legally Being an Adult

If like me, you're rubbish with money, then you might think I'm crazy to say this. 

With the 4th shift of my new job looming, I'm already planning how to quit. I'm not going to name any names, but it's a supermarket chain that I also worked in at my home city of Cardiff.
There's nothing wrong with the people or the company, but honest to God, working in a supermarket is the most depressing thing EVER. 

It literally feels like you'll never escape. Time slows down and you seem to attract every arsehole in the world who asks you something stupid like: "Which of these mustards has an earthier flavour?"

http://www.awesomelyluvvie.com

Then when you don't have the right answer because you don't rate the earthiness of mustard, they're so rude that it shoots down your faith in humanity. (This actually happened).

As a student, I'm further into my overdraft than I'd prefer to think about. Unlike other people, I don't have a student loan so the money won't automatically get topped up as of April 1st; Thus why I'm now employed and need to pay off the domino debt. 
So anyway, I hate the job. Absolutely hate it. But how do I quit when I'm contracted to 3 months?
I've thought of a few options. 


Tell them I've broken my ankle and there's no way I can carry on my contract. 
Never show up again 
Tell them a family member is on the fence of life and I must rush back to Cardiff 
Fake my own death
Cry at them until they understand and we'll split mutually i.e. they'll assume I'm mentally unstable and get rid of me as quickly as possible

As you can tell, I'm avoiding an honest, grown up conversation because I'm not a qualified adult. (By legal standards yes but judging on the fact that I'm lying on my floor eating crackers, let's go with nowhere near maturity).

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. I'm struggling to find ways of having a conversation with them that doesn't involve something unrealistically dramatic.

Just a Few Reasons Why Fairtrade is so Important.

As part of my course, I study a radio module for which we get set regular projects. As part of this weeks project, we've been told to make a news package on something current and relevant to a 16-24 year old age range. A few google searches later, we found out that it's currently Fairtrade fortnight, so there came out project topic. 

Despite our university running its own Fairtrade events, none of the 4 members of my group, myself included, knew about it so we decided to find out why young people aren't targeted more heavily for Fairtrade awareness, because we do care. Myself and my group are a prime example of this. 

Although we're only half way through our package, I've found that this project has been genuinely really interesting and has inspired me to share the importance of Fairtrade. 

First of all we had to find out about Fairtrade. We all see the symbol and know the basics but here's a better description from the foundation itself. 

"Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world"

Here are some bananas that were on top of my fridge and bare the Faitrade sticker. Bananas are one of the main culprits for unfair trade in the developing world. 

Fairtrade are currently running a campaign called 'Stick with Foncho' which is urging people to sign a petition for MPs to investigate unsustainable supermarket pricing practises. The only people who suffer from cheap banana pricing is the producers which is wholly unjust. The supermarket price wars are threatening the livelihood and futures of banana farmers who cannot cope with such bad prices for their produce. 

Click Here to sign the petition. It will barely take a minute but will hopefully help Foncho and people like him. 

http://Foncho.fairtrade.org.uk

Chocolate and coffee are two other major products that we in the western world purchase from developing countries. It was a surprise to me to find out that leading brands such as Cadburys aren't always Fairtrade products. A Fairtrade representative we interviewed informed us that as soon as Cadbury products introduce another element other than chocolate, for example fruit and nut, the chocolate is sourced from non Fairtrade producers. 

The point I'm making is that if there is a Fairtrade label, we are always going to notice and appreciate it, but it's not something that we explicitly look for. I know I don't, but it's something I'm going to change. 

Fairtrade is becoming a more present element of food and produce, but will only become a household factor when people are more aware of it. 

In my honest opinion, supermarkets should have to source their products fairly. The Fairtrade Foundation is not for profit. It is not a trademark or a company, it is a certification of justice. The pictures included in this post are all items I have bought in my university over the past few days. However Fairtrade is not the sole provider of fairly sourced produce. There are many produce- specific foundations such as the ethical tea partnership. Fairtrade is just the example I'm using to promote the importance of a balanced trading system in the world.  

In a way I'm proud to attend a university that embodies Fairtrade, but actually this should be the norm. I shouldn't even have to think about it, and I don't think you should either. (Ps. I totally didn't eat a flapjack and and brownies whilst writing this. I promise...). In the short time we've been working on this project, I've had my eyes completely opened, and I'm hoping I can do the same for other people. Please sign the petition. It could change someone's life. 

Just Do It.... Tomorrow

Motivation.
What is it? Where do I find it? These are the questions that plague me as I lay on the floor wondering what the physical or mental barrier is that's stopping me from doing anything productive.

I'm especially unmotivated at the moment, due my my daytime television overload after my operation Monday. I feel as though it's poisoned my brain because all I can think of is "Who will be evicted on Masterchef South Africa today?" and "Where will today's Location Location Location be set?" If this is what unemployment or retirement feel like, I really never want to do either. (I've always hoped I'd be one of those old ladies who does badass stuff like skydiving....just without the mishap in this clip....)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvMYkQOju2w
So, motivation. Let's do some research.

Wikipedia describes it as:

Motivation is a psychological feature that induces an organism to act towards a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal-directed behaviors

Whereas Urban Dictionary says this:  

One thing that is really hard to get, especially when someone is a lazy-ass muthasucka.

I wouldn't like to say that I'm lazy (but I probably am), rather just a really really good procrastinator. Every single student will relate to the idea of being completely stressed out due to looming deadlines, but deciding to take a nap and ignore responsibility. Sometimes it just seems to make more sense. 

As part of my procrastination research, I decided to Google why we procrastinate. According to Psychology Today, Procrastination predicts higher levels of consumption of alcohol among those people who drink.


I can speak for a lot of people when I say that alcohol is regularly just a reward for getting things done. Celebratory mid-week drinks to get over the stress, why not?! Our society is so alcoholically-centered that alcohol is often the natural answer.

BUT sometimes you just have to get stuff done.  Procrastination can only go on for so long until you're actually really bored and you're just avoiding the inevitable moment of getting out the books and starting that essay.
So, I have compiled a list of things that help me find the motivation to stop staring at the ceiling and start my assignments. 

1. Make a To Do list with deadlines. This always makes me feel under pressure to get things done. Plus I love the sense of achievement when I can tick off a task
2. Inspiration. Again, this isn't something you just 'find', but I bought new fine liners last week and all I want to do is write. Thus far I've only doodled, but I'm looking forward to using them properly. Give yourself a reason to get things done... whether that's stationary or an idea you're passionate about.
3. Set rewards for yourself. "If I write 1000 words by 8 o'clock I'm allowed a Dominos" Works every time.
4. Set reminders on your mobile. Give yourself no escape. My phone often pops up with an alarm and "DO SOMETHING LAURA YOU WASTER." I know things are getting serious when f-bombs start getting dropped.
5. Accept that starting your task is the tallest brick wall. Sometimes the motivation just to get up and go to the library is the worst concept possible, but once I get there, it's really not all that bad.
6. Don't be too hard on yourself. If you do need that nap, or just need to unwind and watch some trashy tv for an hour, do it. Don't let your stress levels build or you'll go crazy - source: personal experience. Stress is probably your worst enemy, so ultimately, don't leave it until the very last minute!

My facial expression when writing this has basically been like this - 
I can say what I want, but I will always, always find myself laying on my carpet contemplating starting, yet still just lying there for an hour. Haven't you noticed I'm procrastinating by writing this blog? What a bloody hypocrite.
Ah well, I hope maybe you're not a dead end case like me and maybe it helped you get off your bedroom floor. I'm going to start my assignment tomorrow..........maybe.

Train life

So I'm on the train back to Cardiff and fulfilling my self awarded pleb label, I've forgotten my headphones. 100 pages of my book later, I feel like my eyes are burning. I've decided I need a new activity. 

I'm past the point of people watching - I've started to people study. A creepy yet intriguing game. The student opposite me to the right, snoozing unattractively is wearing a mustard yellow gilet that surely must be illegal. Under that he's in a knitted Christmas themed jumper and to be honest I'm struggling to look at him. He brings shame to this table of the train. I'm gonna call him Simon. For god's sake Simon, get a mirror. 

Directly opposite is a boy of no more than 17ish who has his legs stretched out so far the our knees keep awkwardly touching every few minutes. I'm calling him Richard because he seems a bit of a dick. (Comedy gold) Anyway, now I've got leg cramp from trying to keep my legs at an angle away from his. 

There's a guy in the aisle reading a really thick book and it just makes me wonder how much can he concentrate? He keeps swaying with the train's rigid movements and having to grab the seats to steady himself. My advice: mate, give up while you're ahead. I predict a tumble otherwise. 

I can't really stare at anyone else without it being obvious. If I were to stare then start typing again with an entertained looking face, I'm sure my inconspicuous little blog sesh would become apparent. 

*side note - 'sesh' keeps auto correcting to 'swag'. A fact of which I'm rather ashamed.*

Train update: just received a phonecall from my mother and Simon, Richard and aisle man all stared at me as I tried to establish where I was (Newport apparently). I find it so cringey talking on the phone in front of people. 

*side note 2 - I got a new record of 39 on flappy bird, all whilst managing not to swear under my breath. Two achievements in one I would say!* 

News just in: Simon sneezes and it sounds like a fart. Welcome to wales!

Let's talk about...

Neck and nominate: The latest social media trend which encourages people to drink a pint of something alcohol based, then nominate friends to follow suit. This gets videoed and put on Facebook.

Suddenly controversial due to the extent at which people are 'one-upping' each other, this fad is one I'm hoping will die soon. 

What started as a mildly entertaining trend has now spiralled into an annoying, predictable clip where people are doing things which I (and most of the world) really don't care about. I can assure you that no one in their right mind wants to watch someone drink urine. 

If you really wanted to watch someone down a pint of liquid, you'd be welcome to come into my kitchen after I've hiked up the hill on which I live to see me neck a pint of ribena. This happens on a daily basis - What can I say, I live wildly. However, unlike my Facebook peers, I don't feel the need to show the world. 

I think one of the things that bugs me most about 'neck&nominate' is the fact that people spell it as 'nek'. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't it supposed to be 'neck', because you're 'necking' a drink? Perhaps it's just the grammar obsessive inside of me being picky, but my God, it's annoying. 

The second thing that annoys me is how darn attention seeking people are getting with their videos. I really just want to comment saying 'No one gives a crap that you're drinking fairy liquid. You look like a twat and you're going to get a stomach ache. Is this really worth it?' 

For now, I will refrain. If I posted comments like that on every video I watched, I probably wouldn't be very popular with A LOT of people. 

Distractions, confusions and breaking my laptop.

The title of this blog basically summaries my blogging experience so far. As you can tell, it's going great. This happened:

........and now I can't actually find where the missing button has gone. So that's the breaking my laptop part. Next comes the ten minutes I spent lying on the floor searching for the button (to no success). I'm not too bothered though because I don't think I've ever used that button anyway.

The second distraction came when I accidentally opened my CD drive because when I pushed it back in, The Sims 3 launched and well, now the Peterson family exists.

Confusions came when I actually realised I had been meaning to write a blog, but could not for the life of my figure out the website. But here I am, writing a blog so clearly I did something right!

Having read back over this post, I realise now I've gone so far off track of what I intended to write. This was supposed to be a general first post where I write the answers to questions that nobody asked, like:

Hi! I'm Laura, an 18 year old journalism student at the University of Winchester, who thought she should actually do something productive like start a blog. Here I am doing so... 

(note the confused face. And my Hello Kitty onesie). 

ANYWAY. Today I listened to someone give a talk on how her blog launched her career as a novelist, and granted I don't want to write novels but the talk was still, in part, quite useful. She was speaking about how you need to find your niche, and to write about what you know for your blog to be successful. So a tragic thought came into my mind: What the hell do I know? Well, I made a list: 

1. How to feed yourself for a week on about ten quid
2. The strongest alcohols of a supermarket's own brand (therefore the cheapest)
3. How to write well (I hope) 
4. The specific combination of caffeine to drink before a 9 am lecture
5. How to somehow pull of dressing in clashing clothes because you need to wash everything that would match
6. How to run a blog
7. The best places on the internet to find funny cat videos

Ok so number 6 is a lie. Unless tumblr counts...

The conclusion I made is that I know how to survive as a student on a budget who hasn't yet become: broke, over/under weight, or mentally unstable - though the latter could be argued by those who have seen me stressed, overtired or generally hungover. Which is why I'm going to blog as the niche that I am. An aspiring journalist and my sometimes funny, sometimes horrendously sad life. Because that hasn't been done before....