It can be said (and should be) that I have not been proactive about updating this blog over the summer after first year, or doing a lot of the things I could have - should have? - been doing since May. But sometimes life gets in the way. While I started in good stead, with some placement work completed and a plan laid out for the rest, it felt like the phrase 'you plan, God laughs.'
When the placement work tapered off, it wasn't like a free pass to ignore the news. I didn't sit down and see all the events (leadership contest, women's Euros, upcoming results days, etc) pass me by. I thought, "I should tweet/blog about that, " and then didn't, which is something I need to work on, but it's a learning curve when I've only really been involved this much in journalism for a year.
To begin with, I got my end-of-year results and enrolled for a second year at BCU - yay! I am incredibly proud of myself, and I feel like my results are an honest reflection of my work this year. Enrolling for second year and being able to get ready for a whole new set of modules and skills is exciting, and I'm looking forward to being back in Birmingham. Over the summer I visited for three days when I had time off work, and I watched the Commonwealth Games on TV when I was back home (probably being annoying as I would say 'I know where that is' at every opportunity). Other than that, I've not been in or even really involved in the city for months, and I do miss it. I move into my new flat at the beginning of September though, so not long now!
There are of course things that happened this summer that I did mean to be more vocal about, but didn't quite manage, so I will just share a few thoughts now while I'm thinking about it so it feels like I have done a little bit of my degree these past few months.
Obviously, as a journalist, the coverage of the Conservative leadership debate is very interesting to me. I watched one of the televised questions between Rishi and Liz, but more so than that, I find it interesting to see how people from my generation and younger are reacting to it. There have been Tiktoks and Instagram infographics that give an 'everything you need to know kind of summary, so it would be interesting to me to research an article that looks into how the generational divide in politics isn't only who you vote for, but how you hear about politics too.
I am a little late to the party for the Commonwealth Games, but all the positive press about Birmingham and the collective joy about the games was nice to see. I enjoyed the city's - and tourist's - excitement about the bull, and just watching the opening ceremony was brilliant. It's a shame I wasn't a little more proactive about stories during the games, but I would love to know who had been inspired by them after.
My final thought is results day, as I said. I am seeing so many people online worried about grade boundaries and how they've been impacted by Covid. It's interesting for me because I didn't sit 'proper' A-Levels due to the pandemic, so a small comparative piece would be something I'd consider, although news about Covid is just a little tired now.
Anyway. There's lots more stuff that will come to my mind that I haven't even spoken about, or thought about, yet. But, this blog isn't going anywhere and I really will try to update it more in second year.
An old photo of me at the Christmas Market in Birmingham
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