All in all my new year started off on a great note. My bosses appreciate me, my assignments are beginning to take on a proper shape, my relationship is thriving. I, however, could be doing a lot better. This week in particular has not had the best start.

I woke up a bit later than I wanted, and panicked that I would miss, or be late for, a very important meeting that was supposed to be held today at 10 am. So, I showered quickly, skipped my coffee and my breakfast, got dressed, skipped make-up, threw some hair pins in the bag and an eyeliner for later, checked the meeting announcement to see what room I have to be in, and off I was. I tried calling the person who was supposed to preside the meeting to let them know I will be about 5 minutes late, and surprise! Since I changed my phone, I don't seem to have their phone number. Well, isn't that great...so I ran, to try to be as least late as possible, and got there 3 minutes past 10. I go into the room and there is just one lady there and I ask "are you here for the student officers meeting?" To which she replies: "No, but I'm just leaving now, so maybe they will be here soon." I thought that since we were supposed to meet somewhere else at quarter to 10, they might still be waiting for me there. Off I go again, running my feet off, only to find there is no one there either. I finally decide to double check the post in which the meeting was announced, only to find that it is next week :-(

So, with disappointment in my heart about my bad schedule keeping, I went to find some quite place to drink my coffee before my lecture from 12. While quietly checking my social media platforms and taking small sips from my hot coffee I get the most annoying text ever. The one in which the Business School let me know the lecture has been postponed.

Oddly enough, this last part of the day turned out to be a life saviour as I logged onto Breo to see the announcement and found that I had an assignment due before midnight (for which of course I had not done much). The saddest part was that I had to work, and I usually work til late on Mondays. So I ran to work 2 hours earlier than usual, and hoping that I'll somehow take some breaks and work on the assignment. That turned out to not work, as even on my breaks the phone did not stop ringing, so I asked my boss to let me go home early so I have time to finish it and submit it on time. I swear, this is the first time something like this happens to me :( I have never forgotten I had an assignment due, and I always try to have them ready for proof reading at least one day before.

This time, with a bit of divine intervention, I managed to finish it and submit it about 30 minutes before the deadline. Which, to be completely fair, is still a lot better than finishing it after deadline, getting a G (which by the way stands for "GOD! What have I done?" ), and then a D- in referrals. I am very sad when something like this happens to me, and I pray I don't get a high mark on it, as it will only make me do things like this more often, and I don't want to.

How did your new year start?

Love,
Maddie.

I would say that the worst thing that can happen to anyone is to be sick around Christmas time. Especially when there is no Mom around to take care of you. Which is what happened to me this year.

Truth be told, Santa has been very generous this year and he brought me all I asked for and a bit more, but it seems that I have not been as good as I thought this year, as I was not well enough to enjoy everything as much as I could have. What's even worse, I was so sick I couldn't even cook Christmas dinner, and we saw ourselves forced to go out to a restaurant (my better half had to work on Christmas Eve in the morning so he could not help). I have only one thing to say to people going to a restaurant for Christmas dinner: Hope for the best, but expect the worst. We forgot to expect the worst and we sort of got it. Note to self, never go to an Italian restaurant to have a traditional English dinner!!

And now that Christmas is over, the time has come to start on those assignments due in the first week after the holiday. I don't know if you've tried to work on assignments of the Christmas break, but somehow the assignments suddenly become a bit more difficult. It's as if the Christmas sprit has a reverse effect on them.

This is how it went so far: I've managed to write about 200 words, clean up my room, wash dishes, clothes, cook and ...ohh, that was not for the assignment. Oh wait, the blog isn't for the assignment either? What did I have to do again? Never mind...someone just posted a picture of their Christmas tree and all the presents on Facebook, and I'd better check it. What was that new song that came out? I need to eat before I take my medicine. Okay, back to work. What? New notification? I wonder what that is about. Fine, I'll check it and then straight back to the assignment. OK, never mind...it's late now. I'll do it tomorrow!

On a completely related topic, I'll tell you tomorrow about the subject of my assignment. It's really interesting and as I'm not allowed to exceed my word limit and I have loads to say about it, I thought I could put the rest of the words here :)

I wish you had a very Happy Christmas and good health, but more importantly, please don't procrastinate...it's so time consuming! :)

Love,
Maddie.

The only thing standing between you and your goal is the [BS] story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it.

I for one know I can do whatever I set my mind to. My problem? Procrastination... Perhaps it's my ego's fault for that. I've always considered myself above average in intelligence, and not because I was smarter than anyone else, or because I got the highest grades in my class (which I didn't, I was always second in my class), but because things came easy to me. I didn't study much, but I did remarkably well in exams, I always wasted time and yet I always seemed to finish whatever I was doing with enough time to spare before the deadline. Granted that it was not always that good, but it was done! Or so I thought. Therefore, I waste time. I play games, hang out with friends, Facebook, Twitter, 9GAG, you name it and I'm probably there most of the day.

When I came to Uni I set a goal. I wanted to finish Uni with a First, at whatever cost, but more importantly, I wanted to learn. I wanted to come out of Uni filled with knowledge and skills that would make my future brighter. The reasoning behind this is that I'm paying a lot of money for my education, and no one messes with my finances! Not even I am allowed to do that! I will work my ... off and make this investment worth while.

The first three months I thought it would be easy. I had a lot of time to spare (as I did not work) and not many assignments. And guess what I did? I wasted most of the time. I read a bit, did my assignments and got grades between 13 and 16, but I still felt I was wasting time. There is an incriminating picture of me on Facebook posted by my boyfriend. I had an assignment due in two days, and I was playing NFS Most Wanted. The caption of the photo is "One more race and I'll totally start working on the assignment!" Come January I started working, and my days suddenly became shorter. I felt I had no more time to waste, and in a weird manner, I stopped wasting time. The pressure to manage my time as well as possible actually made me manage it. I finished my first year of Uni with an A- average (which is in the First degree category), but come summer holiday, a whole new era started. I had time to waste again, and wasted it was. No matter how many times I told myself that I did not have the commodity of wasting time, the facts said otherwise.

Three months in the second year, I'm still procrastinating and finishing my assignments on the last 100 yards. It seems like a pattern. I hope January, and the quarter of a century that will have passed since I was born will put me back on the right track. I know putting all this pressure on January and my birthday is not fair, as this is all about my state of mind, but it's easier, isn't it?

I'm my biggest supporter and my main drawback at the same time. So what is it you're telling yourself when you are striving for something? Are you the one person keeping you down, or are you biggest supporter?

I'll see you soon.

Love,
Maddie.

Yesterday evening was a special one for me. I have attended my first ever charity dinner, and I certainly hope it will not be my last one. And even if I am not the biggest fan of West-Asian cuisine, I enjoyed myself to the fullest.

The Alma Hospital Trust was created by Mr. Younis, a postman whose mother has passed away because of the lack of medical care in the region she lived in. Mr. Younis has pledged to not let anyone go through the same suffering she went through and campaigned for 10 years in order to raise money to build a hospital (which has been named after his late mother, Alma Bi), despite his inexperience in fund-raising or medical care. The region I am talking about is called District Hafizabad, and it is one of the poorest regions in Pakistan. Because of this, the medical care and treatments are offered free of charge to over 17,000 people each year. By the sheer number of people you can see that there is huge need for extra funding that will aid all this people lead a healthier life. 

Domino's Pizza have helped organise the event and have raised over £1000, with the owners donating an extra £5000 to help this beautiful cause. So, if you want to make a difference in someone's life, DONATE! Stay home and study one night instead of going out and help save a life with what you would have paid for a few pints. It is ridiculous how much every penny counts for this people, so don't take it lightly. With just a few weeks until Christmas, find it in your heart to make life better for other people.

Love,
Maddie.

Today I've witnessed a girl who had lost her memory stick  (she actually forgot it at the exact same computer I sat at in the IT Suite) and she was desperate to find it. She has asked everywhere, everyone, she even asked me twice. I have not noticed a memory stick when I sat down, so I looked around to check maybe it's somewhere around. After about 10 minutes of going to the reception and back, some guy hears her and tells her someone working from Uni took it, but she was no longer in that room. So they went together to find the mysterious person, with short hair.

Funny thing is, that right after they left, this mystery person came around all computers asking if we lost a memory stick as she found it about 15 minutes back and she's been trying to find the person who lost it since. I told her to wait, as the girl who lost it would probably come back as she went to look for her. I think they've been circling each other for the past 15 minutes, but they finally met and the exchange was made (a very big thank you was given for the USB :) ).

This made me remember a poster I saw the first time I came into Uni last year. It said: " Do you love your laptop? Somebody else might too!" (so be careful what you do with your possessions). In this Uni, it seems that people love integrity and respect more than possessions, as I found everything I lost (except for a nice scarf which was never handed in, but I can't really blame whoever took it. It was so nice and cozy...)

How about you? Did you ever lose and then found anything?

Love,
Maddie.

Enjoy! :)

The part-time job is most of the time the solution to a student's budget. But is it really a solution for the student experience?

While I do agree that without a part-time job I would find it very hard, if not impossible to continue my studies, sometimes I feel that my part-time job is actually creating more issues than it solves.

First of all, I spend 20 hours per week on my job. That is 20 hours less of studying, or going out, or just resting after an exhausting day at Uni. Because of this, I sometimes find it hard to give 100% of my potential to my assignments. Second of all, I am always tired after I come home from work, and it takes even more of my time to recover, time during which I have no interest in studying, doing some extra curricular activities or just going out with my friends.

In my opinion, the three / four years spent in University are supposed to be enjoyed to the fullest, by getting involved in societies, representing the students, going to conferences, doing your assignments properly, going out, creating the basis for a career that you enjoy. Can you really enjoy all the perks of being a student while having a part-time job as well?

On the other hand, without a part-time job during Uni, how will you ever get the experience needed to get a good job after you graduate? To be completely honest, we all know that very few employers will hire you just on the basis of very good academic results. You need some experience to back all that up. But can't you accumulate the basic experience needed to land a perfectly good job by putting more time and effort in the University? There are many voluntary roles in which you get involved and gain that coveted experience.

As I said before, some of us don't really have an option, so it's either Uni + part-time job, or no Uni at all. But if you had a choice, what would you choose?

I'll see you soon!

Love,
Maddie.