Month: Jun 2019

Issues With Student Jobs

Issues With Student Jobs

by Kasia x ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hi guys,

Firstly, to anyone reading this, if you have recently moved away to university from home then good for you. For some, it takes a lot of strength to start fresh and move away from everything you know and love or hate if you are looking for a change. When I moved, it was a way to meet new people and maybe start the beginning of a new chapter in my life, yet on the other hand, I was also leaving behind a few good things such as family, my boyfriend and of course my part-time job.

I loved my part-time job. Loved the staff and the work in all aspects. I worked in a library every Saturday with kids and elderly people, which were all the sweetest. But university in Bournemouth was something that I decided to be my next choice in education and career-wise full time, which meant I had to leave behind my job, update the old CV and move on.

I started applying to jobs even before I moved into my university housing on my campus, just a week before so they have enough time to get back to me. Then I applied in September for the whole month, Then October and so on till the middle of December.

I got nothing back.

I was positive that at this point I have applied to about 100 different jobs, Retail, Customer Service, Office, Warehouse even! You name a business in Bournemouth Square and I have probably applied to work there. As a student the loan you receive is not much most of the time, so I was really desperate, but I was still left with no employment. But none the less I needed to keep applying.

From such experience I gathered two main things, the first being the number of negative feelings that arise with constant rejection. By the time of the end of October, I was so sick of rejection that I was on the phone to my boyfriend saying I wanted to go home and quit university. Not because I was failing, finding it difficult or had no friends, simply due to the constant rejections of employers who were specifically looking for students, yet when given they rejected them. This also started to make me think if there is something wrong with me? am I not good enough for a simple student job that requires the bare minimum? Such self-doubt made me feel even worse on top of the already occurring stresses of being a university fresher and was not good for my mental health.

Advice for such feelings coming from constant rejections from employers from me would be to take it lightly as I wish I did. I know this is also easy said than done but once you think about the way employers look at you and your application you will understand more why you should not be upset over such rejections. They take your CV and if they see one thing they may not like they won’t take you and that’s it! Sometimes they might find the person they are looking for and not even get to your CV, It is honestly nothing personal and none of you should think about it to the point that I did. Do not let something that is a small area of your life take over, focus on your study, I know money is important, but you should always and always put your mental health first. If any further help is needed then talk to family, friends or even facilities offered by the university or institution you are studying at, but don’t sweat it alone.

Another thing is you have to think about, as mentioned earlier, think about the employers. They also have a set criteria for the person they are looking for and in that instant, it might just not be you. I know when you get rejected they seem like the worse people in the world but think, it might just not have been meant to be.

So, the main pieces of advice here are:

  1. put your mental health first. Don’t let a part-time job as a student take over your life.
  2. Get used to rejection. It will happen a lot so take it as something to learn from.
  3. There is always another way. It being help from friends or family financially for a bit or even getting funds from your university.

For me, in the end, it all worked out somewhat positively. I now have a summer job and will be saving all that money for my new flat for year two of university with my best friend. Try your best but if it does not work out there’s always help and alternatives like I took advantage of. Don’t risk your own sanity over a job for some extra cash, stay healthy.

Love, Kasia x

How Media Works Currently

How Media Works Currently

by Kasia x ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hi everyone,

Studying media has allowed me to see how complex it can be and how it works behind the cameras, theoretically. The media specifically picks what stories to share with you to influence your opinion and knowledge on specific subject areas. The media is also here to inform, connect and educate so everyone is aware and can participate in world decisions. Certain channels chose sides and views on politics and global affairs and influence those who are watching, so I see it to be important to explain and debunk how this all works and how stories are manifested in different viewpoints.

This post will mainly focus on Polish and English news and social outlets as this is what I have access to and surrounded by on a daily basis.

To start with, I want to discuss how media is focused on the negativity around the world rather than putting out more positive stories. The media has a tendency to do this as bad news sells and is more viewed than good news. Unfortunately, there is more reaction and popularity in negative stories as they are longer lasting and have more effect on a wider range of people. I will give you an example from the past few days of such news, as I watch Polish news every day on the channel TVN24, and I will now list what has been broadcasted for the past three days:

  1. Two small aeroplanes crash at a local town picnic event.
  2. Elderly man dies on a train from overheating, the train is delayed for 8 hours.
  3. One train crash, due to a vehicle not stopping at train tracks.
  4. People leaving their children in hot cars.
  5. Two accidents on opposite sides of a motorway, one caused by slowing down cars to take pictures of the already existing accident on one side of the motorway.
  6. A 10-year-old girl has been raped and found deceased on the side of a small town.

Now, firstly it is clear to see that these events are crucial to report as I mentioned earlier, to inform the public. It allows people to be more aware of certain situations happening and how to prevent them, to be educated on what not to do and to think about the families of the people involved. But what could be reconsidered is the repetition of the stories and the amount. Viewing such negative news on a constant basis is directly linked to people behaviour and self-esteem, which is degraded by the no break of negativity and rarely seen, positivity. The media need to re-construct the layout of the stories and break them up to have a more constant flow. Report the awful things happening in the world in order to educate and inform but also include all the good things happening in the world and the advancements we should celebrate.

Another area in the media that I would like to discuss, which most people probably already know about, is the severe focus on news coming from developed countries and ignoring any other news coming from less developed countries. By developed countries I mean the US, UK and certain countries in Europe. It is constant that all we see in the news is from the UK or occurrences in American and that’s it mostly unless you look deep into media webpages and reports then maybe you will find something there, but not on the main pages of publications.

Not long ago there was uproar on social media as news broadcasters were focusing on big current news in areas that they wished to report or that have bigger stories associated to them, but meanwhile, no one was speaking about the government massacre against civilians in Sudan, where a peaceful protest were supposed to give them freedom but ended in hundreds losing their lives. It was up to untrusted sources of many social media accounts on Facebook or Instagram to share such news to us and finally get it reported on some accredited media journalist platforms, but still not media giants on television. This is just one of the many examples that occurred during this time and is not in the knowledge of the public.

The media unfortunately picks and chooses what we see and how we react, we are not made aware of smaller countries with bigger issues than Donald Trump visiting the UK, and there is nothing we can really do about it unless there is active involvement in the media. We wish to know world news, not chosen news and how we can help as a population. We need more information so we can be attentive to others who may really need our help, not just economically developed countries.

I do not mean to discredit any negative news in developed countries, I am simply trying to bring light to the issue at hand. The aim of the news is to deliver knowledge on current affairs everywhere, not where they choose.

Love, Kasia x

Relationships?

Relationships?

by Kasia x ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hi everyone,

Relationships can be hard? amazing? fulfilling? annoying? All of these really! Relations are something that is different for everyone and the way your relationships develops with your “other” really depends on the way you are as a person and also how they are as a person. Writing this on my fourth-year anniversary with my boyfriend has made me realise how complicated sharing your life with someone else can be and what issues and benefits can come from it.

My first piece of advice would be to try and step away from comparing your relationship to the ones you may see online through platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and anything else you may use. We have now developed a habit to compare our lives constantly to lives of celebrities or models online rather than appreciating what we already have in life which is really unhealthy for your self-esteem and the relationships you have with others. You start to look down on the people in your life because they do not compare to the people you see on your social media profiles, which lead very different lives to you and are completely different. I try to take small breaks from social media to help with this because at some point I have also caught myself comparing my relationships to others online as well and it later makes me feel horrible and creates a bad feeling in the relationship. Just try switch off for a while and spend time with your significant other, focus on them and what you have between each other, not the unrealistic relations online.

Another thing that I would stress to be very important in a relationship would be to listen to each other. I have seen first-hand relationships end because of lack of communication and converse of feelings between one another. You may not always see eye to eye on everything but its key to listen to the opinions and feelings of your other and try to compromise. Think about it, you know you probably don’t have the exact same interests and outlooks on life but you need to respect their voice as much as they respect yours. I and my boyfriend used to often argue about silly topics but if you take the patience and commitment to hear each other out, I promise you that you will see a difference in one another.

Discussion of relationships also includes a discussion of a different type of relationship, and that would be the one you have with yourself. I want to stress the importance of the relationship you have with yourself and the self-love you need to possess in order to be in a healthy relationship. Sometimes having someone by your side makes you think it helps, but I see it to be best to first work out the issues you may hold within yourself in order to be able to fully love later on in life. Give yourself some space and come back when you are ready to find someone to share everything with.

One of the last points I want to touch on would be to appreciate. Look at what you have been given and what has been put into your path and appreciate it. You could have ended up with a completely different person who could be not the best for you and you’re well being. Make sure you and your significant other make it known to one another what you see in each other, what you love but also what could be better as you should also appreciate the changes in the relationships.

I hope you have taken something from this and allow yourselves to apply it to your relationships with others and your self. Do good and not damage to one another and yourself.

Love, Kasia x

 

 

All About Me

All About Me

by Kasia x ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Well, this is awkward. I hate writing about myself, I see it a bit big-headed personally. You know, writing about how great you are and how much you have accomplished, kind of rubbing it in. But hey you have to start somewhere and let your audience know who you are!

Now as I am starting to write this the first thing I can hear is a voice in my head reminding me of the judgment of other people. For anyone coming to this page from my personal life, you read and enjoy and give feedback, but I will not be taking any negativity, I created this page to help myself and others.

Now I can introduce myself; Hi I’m Kasia, full name Katarzyna. I was born in Lodz, Poland and moved to the UK in 2007. I am currently 19, born on the 20th January 2000 and I have no siblings. Pure bliss. I moved with my parents to try and start a new life, went through various schools, moved houses, made friends, the usual.

Yet one aspect within “the usual” changed me through my last years of school and college. Going to a Catholic school, as I am Polish and it is a normal occurrence, I was spoon-fed through the ages of 11-15 that religion is important and God is real, but when I got to the age of 16 we were able to decide what we study next, I continued to study religion.

Now, you would probably expect me to explain how it developed my faith and brought me closer to God. Well, it was quite the opposite actually. In my GCSE years, I learnt a lot about Gods love and power, the gift of free will and pain and suffering in the world, which lead me to a bit of confusion and raised a lot of common questions in my mind that come with religion. Upon passing my GCSE Religious Studies I continued to work further on them and chose it as an A-Level topic. This was quite different to GCSE as it went through more of the philosophical and ethical outlooks on religion and allowed me to decide on the path of faith that I am on right now. I am not religious but I do adapt the views of love thy neighbour and acceptance that religion preaches.

Moving on, something more interesting however is my pure obsession with my pets. Below is an image of my three precious dogs, Dexter, Leo and Bandit. I have always had a love for animals, especially dogs, they are the perfect life long companion.

dogs

I have also seemed to create an unhealthy obsession with rap music, Especially G-Eazy, to the point where I risked my A-level grades to see him in concert before my final exams. Judge me all you want but it’s a step up from my 2012 Justin Bieber phase. Don’t get me wrong he’s not my world, maybe, I do like other music such as Lorde, Halsey and The Weeknd, but he is my favourite and within my favourite genre.

I can also proudly say I have travelled quite a bit of the world for my age which has now shaped me into the person I am today. I have visited Scotland, Spain, Greece (including various islands), Italy, Netherlands, Germany and obviously many areas within the UK. All thanks to my parents of course because I’m a broke student and could never afford to travel so much myself! But really, seeing all these different cultures, traditions and behaviours from all different parts of the world has lead me to have quite a broad understanding and acceptance of a lot of things, which I will forever be grateful for.

A very typical thing about me is that I love make-up. I like doing it on myself, on others, watching YouTube videos on it and collecting it! I don’t see myself as an MUA but I would say I’m quite good when it comes to brushes and colours, which would also include my love for art and drawing. Art is more of a personal expression, a way to feel better yet make-up is just something fun and for a boost of confidence.

Relationships wise, I have been with my boyfriend for 4 years now, we started dating in school and have been inseparable since, and even though he shatters my last nerve every day, I do love him very much.

d k

Friendships, I have had a lot but no more lasting than a couple of years, unfortunately. Simply due to just growing up and developing as a person I guess. Right now I have currently been blessed by my best friend, who I met at university, and multiple others who make the journey so much more enjoyable.

To finish off, I am a full-time university student, and I love it! I really enjoy my course and have gained so many story-worthy experiences in my first year that I will have to share with you all. Also including struggles along the way of course and moving away from home.

Thank you for reading and getting to know me, I know its quite long for a first post but I saw it to be important for the audience that will be reading my posts to know me, similar to a friend relation.

I hope you enjoy reading and I look forward to creating content for you!

Love, Kasia x