Uni and Sherlock?

I always mean to post up more than I do, so here goes another "catch-up" phase.


Since I last posted, university life is back in full swing. Second year seems more hectic already but hopefully once I stop procrastinating about this essay that's due soon everything will be fine. I was talking to a friend the other day about our procrastination skills and how every single piece of coursework gets done on time despite our delayed starts and persistent attempts to prevent ourselves from doing it in the first place (we're masters!).


Over the last week or so (well, the weekends anyway), the time has been spent with close friends, watching Sherlock amongst other things. 6 episodes of Sherlock in a day is pretty impressive if I do say so myself!

Today I spent my time in town with two of my course buddies. We went to see a show at the theatre as a birthday surprise to one of them. It was fabulous and I'm now going to have to download some songs from the show....there goes the other plans!

Where in the world?

The idea for this post occurred to me a short while ago when I was doing my usual, gallivanting (wandering around) places in the world and I thought it'd be a good opportunity to share with you all the beautiful places which I have had the joy to visit. See if you can guess where I am before you read the description....

1. AUSTRIA- The beautiful Zell am See. This is one of my all time favourite photos, the scenery here was breath-taking. I spent two weeks here on a family holiday and by the end of it we still hadn't explored enough of the country. If you are ever there then I'd recommend visiting Kitzsteinhorn and if you're a skier or snowboarder take full advantage of the chance to ski on a glacier! If not, go through the tunnel to Gipfelwelt 3000 and the highest altitude in the Salzbourg region.

Another must-see places include:
Sigmund thun klamm gorge
Krimmel Waterfall (the 5th highest in the world)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Orkney-The Italian chapel! This one was on my mum's bucket list. The Italian chapel was built by Italian POWs during the Second World War. They wanted to build a place of worship while they were building bridges between all the small islands that make up Orkney, this was the result a gorgeous chapel which still holds regular services to this day.

 

If you are ever in Orkney don't miss this....or these:

 

The Ring of Brodgar

Skara Brae

A trip into Kirkwall/Stromness

St Magnus' Cathedral, Kirkwall

The Stones of Steness

Scapa Flow

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. France-Lourdes! A pilgrimage sight for millions of Catholics and non-Catholics alike, this building is the Basilica of the Rosary. I just adore the atmosphere and beauty of Lourdes, it is incredible to feel that sense of belonging when you share the same belief as many around you. I can't describe the feeling I get when I visit and I hope everyone who wishes gets a chance to experience this at some point in their lives.

 

Other places:

Take a day trip to Bartes

 

 

 

4. You've guessed it, haven't you?

 

NEW YORK!

 

This photo is of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge looking towards Manhattan. What an experience! It was a glorious day as we sauntered along, not exactly the quietest walk in the world as the cars pass by to the right of you but it was lovely none the less. What else can I say other than....

Look out for:

The Empire State Building (for obvious reasons)
Top of the Rock (for the best view of Central Park)
Wander into Central Park and make the most of the sunshine!
And take a day trip to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island :)



That concludes the first "Where in the world?", I'm sure that there will be more in the future!

Busy-ness!

So I've had such a fantastic summer working with children who have additional support needs. Many funny moments but also a few occasions where I wanted to tear my hair out-all part of the job I suppose!

Having spent so much time with children who people often write off almost immediately, I saw just how much they have to offer to the world with their range of abilities and talents. I became frustrated countless times when members of the public called children "naughty" or looked at them as if they had 3 heads. This made me realise just how little awareness and acceptance is out there for them and that is sad to see.

I learnt so much from the children about what type of communication works best for each individual child and how they express their needs and frustrations with the outside world. It was an incredible opportunity and I look forward to working with them in the future!

One of the funniest moments of the summer was when I was on a 1:1 with a child and we were bumping down the stairs (which was a favourite activity) when a whole crowd of (mainly) handsome men were watching us looking fairly bemused as they needed up the stairs. The child carried on as normal and did the usual chirpy "hello!" to everyone as they passed us by!


Hopefully these posts will be more regular from now on!

"I've had a good life..."

This blog seems to range from post to post and this post has got to be one of the most heart-wrenching I'm ever going to write.

I visited my Gran as I do most Friday nights. She was very happy and chatting away to mum and me, it is beyond me sometimes where those huge smiles come from when she isn't at her best. I keep telling her that she has the biggest smile in the world and reminding myself how lucky I am to have her as a Gran-I truly am, her influence in my life has been profound and even though she has Alzheimer's I can still see the person she was and still is in those fleeting moments when she tells me to put on my cardigan.

I don't know where we'd be without the Alzheimer's but there's nothing we can do and so we just have to be thankful for every moment that we have.

For the double-whammy, after spending some time with my Gran I went to speak to some of the other residents in the care home. This is something which gives you hope in humanity again. Anyway,  as I went to start my round of saying hello to everyone and was shouted by my mum to say hello to, let's call him ML.

ML is a relatively new resident and though I'd spoken to him briefly before, I decided it would be nice to have a chat. *Cue sitting on the floor and talking until you lose the feeling in your legs* and the thing that struck me out of that conversation was that even though his medical diagnosis of Alzheimer's has meant that his life has been turned upside down, he's still thankful for having a good life. He also convinced me to stop worrying and just take each day as it comes because you can't do anything else. What a sweet, gentle soul.


As you may be able to figure out, this made me take a few steps back and re-evaluate life. If I'm going to think anything about my life when I'm old and grey I want to be able to say "I've had a good life."