It's the final throws of 2013 and I'm sitting here thinking about the year that has just passed. I did my last review three years ago now and so much has changed since then. I'm feeling quite sentimental so I am just going to write down what has happened in 2013, for what a year it has been…
I've got to start with the event I shall remember the most from 2013. I achieved my dream this year - In June, I got my first class honours law degree and no one can ever take that away from me. To think, my 2010 review highlights my initial months at Oxford Brookes University… Kind of cohesive, huh? Blood, sweat, tears, highs, lows, anger, stress, celebrations, luck, great friends, great teachers and so much more went into getting that degree but it was worth every moment. And so, when you get your degree, the next step, is, obviously, graduation!
Graduation in July was an absolute blast. It was fantastic to celebrate with some of my closest friends the three years we had spent together and what the results had been from all our hard work. The weather was good too, which was a bonus! To hear my name called out and to take the stage and receive my certificate which proudly proclaimed 'first class honours' on it was the proudest moment of my life and certainly wasn't something I expected when I sat here three years ago writing my review of 2010! It was a delight to see how proud my family were of me too - that was the main thing. Simply put, 2013 included the best day of my life so far.
I also got really into swimming this year and reignited a passion I had long since forgotten about. I love it, I really do. 64 lengths at least 3 times a week is so much fun and gives me time to think and de-stress from studying. I've got to thank my friend Lawrence for coming with me too - it was great to have a boost on some of those early mornings in January and February where I didn't feel like going one bit! I enjoyed going swimming so much that I thought I would try and put it to good use and so I did a charity swim. It was pretty tough but enjoyable too. In April, I swam 2.5k for Marie Curie Cancer Care, raising £275 in the process. I felt pretty good after that and I do hope that the money made a difference to someone's life.
My summer was one of two halves - I spent the first half applying for training contracts and the second travelling across America. My first half was, as you can imagine, not much fun. However, summer days in the library, again with Lawrence who provided fantastic moral support, were necessary. I had some success and got as far as an Assessment Day with a top 50 firm in London and, although I didn't go any further than that, it gave me a real boost to know that I am really not that far off. Hopefully when I write my next review, I'll be fully fledged in the legal world!
Travelling across America in August was certainly an experience I won't forget and I saw some wonderful sites, like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas in all its glory. One of my friends who I went with, Will, has written a blog all about it, so I won't go into all the details. Here's the link; http://willjacques.wordpress.com.
September came round before I knew it and that meant one thing… Law School! Phew, what a last couple of months of 2013 they have been! Law school is really testing and pretty relentless but I enjoy it too and it is great that my friend Ghi is there with me too - it would be a very different place without him there! I've met some pretty decent people there - mostly the girls - and I am enjoying it so far, although there is a long way to go yet.
Of course, this year hasn't all been good. Firstly, I've lost my best friend because of events in America and that has been very hard to deal with but hopefully, in time, things will improve. I would like to think our friendship is strong enough to survive… we'll see.
Secondly, leaving Oxford was really sad. Sophie and Hannah, two of my flatmates had begun to feel like family and it was really sad leaving them, particularly Sophie, as I had lived with her for three years and seen more of her than my family in that time! I'm still in touch with them both and I'll be seeing them both in 2014 and beyond, I am sure. Also, of course, it was sad to say farewell to my course mates too. I had really ridden the ups and downs of the roller coaster with my friends on my course and, to you all, I'll never forget my time at Oxford Brookes!
And so, apart from some family event that took place close to Christmas (I'll reveal all in 2016, believe me!), I think that's 2013 in a nutshell, from my perspective. Incredible. Stupendous. Magnificent. The greatest year of my life. And so, with 55 minutes left of 2013, whilst listening to my favourite song of 2013 - Calling by Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso, I'll end there. Lets see where we are in three years time eh, guys? What a year. You'll never be forgotten, 2013!
Tuesday 31 December 2013
Sunday 11 August 2013
Something I've Been Meaning To Do For A While
Dear all,
You may remember, approximately one year ago, I wrote a post ("This Time Next Year" (Or The Hopes And Dreams Of A 20 Year Old)), within which, one of my goals, inter alia, was to achieve a First Class Honours Law degree from my place of study, Oxford Brookes University. Well. I achieved that goal and made it a reality. This post is going to be about the journey of this last year in achieving my dream and what qualities I believe one needs to achieve their full potential and get what they truly want out of life.
I ended my second year at university on a very positive note. I had achieved above and beyond what I thought possible and was very close to averaging a first. At this point, I changed my goals. I was no longer going to be satisfied by achieving the 'status quo' of a 2:1 degree. I decided on that day to strive for greatness and achieve what is statistically the most difficult thing to do within the field of higher education - achieve a First Class Honours Law degree.
And so September and the start of my final year at university ticked round. So far, I had my goal to aim for, now I needed a plan. A dear friend of mine had always set the bar incredibly high when it came to hours spent on work and I believed I should follow suit. Therefore, myself and my friend would spent many, many hours in libraries, computer rooms and cafes working, preparing for seminars and writing up coursework at times when I knew full well that most of my colleagues would be at home relaxing and enjoying themselves. I did this out of choice, I moaned, groaned and got annoyed at times and suffered some pretty low points but I always had 'the goal' at the back of my mind, knowing that every minute of work I put in at this stage would benefit me in the long run. This isn't to say I was an academic drone. I still had time to enjoy myself by visiting the Oxford Union on numerous occasions, successfully completing a taster course in British Sign Language and developing my role as Treasurer of the Oxford Brookes University Table Tennis Society. In summary, my 'plan' was incredibly simple - work harder than everyone else to achieve better than everyone else.
Many moons ago, I was party to a speech given by one of our greatest Olympians, Sir Steve Redgrave, at the University of Surrey. Here, he spoke at length about a fellow competitor's tale of how he achieved his dream and broke a world record. At the beginning of the four-year cycle before an Olympic Games, the competitor - a swimmer - was told he needed to improve by well over one second in order to eclipse the record. Superficially, this seemed a very taxing prospect for the athlete, however, his coach adapted the goal in such a way that it suddenly became that little bit easier. Instead of asking the swimmer to break the record in four years time, the coach instead asked for the swimmer to go just a fraction of a second quicker every single training session. This, inevitably, felt much simpler for the swimmer and he quickly improved his time. He did indeed go to the Olympics and... well, need I say more!
This story has always stuck with me and I made sure to put it to good use this year, particularly in those inevitable times of struggle. During my first term I had three 2,000 word essays due in on the same day. This was quite obviously a daunting prospect, however, I managed to break everything down into smaller and more manageable chunks, so not to get overwhelmed by said prospect. Be it setting myself the target of writing 200 words or finding three pieces of academic comment, I ensured I went one step at a time and focused only on a single coursework at any given moment. Oh, and by the way, as you're wondering, I received 77% (1st), 72% (1st) and 60% (2:1) in those three pieces of work. Set yourself smaller targets on the way to achieving your goal. It makes things that little bit more straightforward.
So far I've mentioned my goal, my plan and my method. But why do all this? Why go to this much effort? What drives us on and what inspires us? As a massive sports fan, I had always been inspired by one sportsman or other, be it in cricket or football or tennis. However, London 2012 was something different, something otherworldly. This inspired me on a whole new level. To see the likes of Jess Ennis and Sir Chris Hoy train for four years all for one moment was something quite brilliant and, better still, was something I found I could relate to. All the work I was putting in now was leading up to one final moment; the result of my degree classification. Again, a simple mantra applies: 'Fail to prepare, prepare to fail'. Ennis, Hoy, Farah, Adams, Simmonds, Storey et al certainly prepared and they certainly did not fail. The second part of my inspiration is related to London 2012 - it is the advertising campaign at the time organised by adidas. The sportswear company used two very simple, very trendy yet very emotive tag lines; '#takethestage' and '#allin'. They struck a cord with me. I wanted to 'take the stage' quite literally, at Graduation with a first class degree, whereas I wanted to go 'all in' and give my all to achieving that dream. My colleagues must have been sick and tired of me repeating those phrases by the end of the year! Find your inspiration, it will pull you through when you are tired and think your dream is no longer possible or within sight.
That is 4/5th's of what I believe can make you achieve all that you aim for. However, without this fifth ingredient, the rest are more or less redundant. Determination. One must have the unerring, intense, unrelenting willpower to achieve their goal. One must never give up or throw in the towel believing things to be 'too difficult'. They aren't - one just needs the determination to overcome their obstacles to achieving success. This is something that cannot be taught, I suppose. It is either within you or it isn't. Are you willing to be spending 16 hours a day chasing your dream, as I did on a few occasions? Are you willing to be working 6 days a week at the very least, in order to achieve what you so desperately desire? If not, and you are happy to settle for second best, that is fine. There is nothing wrong with that, but if you wish to truly fulfil your potential and achieve all you can, then these are the lengths you will have to go to in order to succeed. You must give it your all and dedicate and devote your life and lifestyle to this goal. I cannot emphasise enough just how important a role 'determination' played in my success. It is truly the key ingredient in your hunt to achieve your goals.
Goal. Plan. Method. Inspiration. Determination. The five components which helped me achieve my First Class Law Degree on 10th June 2013. By following this path, I achieved my own personal view of 'greatness'. I was one of just ten to receive such a degree and landed, approximately, within the top 3% of my year group. The work pays off, it is that simple. These were the marks I received in my final year:
You may remember, approximately one year ago, I wrote a post ("This Time Next Year" (Or The Hopes And Dreams Of A 20 Year Old)), within which, one of my goals, inter alia, was to achieve a First Class Honours Law degree from my place of study, Oxford Brookes University. Well. I achieved that goal and made it a reality. This post is going to be about the journey of this last year in achieving my dream and what qualities I believe one needs to achieve their full potential and get what they truly want out of life.
I ended my second year at university on a very positive note. I had achieved above and beyond what I thought possible and was very close to averaging a first. At this point, I changed my goals. I was no longer going to be satisfied by achieving the 'status quo' of a 2:1 degree. I decided on that day to strive for greatness and achieve what is statistically the most difficult thing to do within the field of higher education - achieve a First Class Honours Law degree.
And so September and the start of my final year at university ticked round. So far, I had my goal to aim for, now I needed a plan. A dear friend of mine had always set the bar incredibly high when it came to hours spent on work and I believed I should follow suit. Therefore, myself and my friend would spent many, many hours in libraries, computer rooms and cafes working, preparing for seminars and writing up coursework at times when I knew full well that most of my colleagues would be at home relaxing and enjoying themselves. I did this out of choice, I moaned, groaned and got annoyed at times and suffered some pretty low points but I always had 'the goal' at the back of my mind, knowing that every minute of work I put in at this stage would benefit me in the long run. This isn't to say I was an academic drone. I still had time to enjoy myself by visiting the Oxford Union on numerous occasions, successfully completing a taster course in British Sign Language and developing my role as Treasurer of the Oxford Brookes University Table Tennis Society. In summary, my 'plan' was incredibly simple - work harder than everyone else to achieve better than everyone else.
Many moons ago, I was party to a speech given by one of our greatest Olympians, Sir Steve Redgrave, at the University of Surrey. Here, he spoke at length about a fellow competitor's tale of how he achieved his dream and broke a world record. At the beginning of the four-year cycle before an Olympic Games, the competitor - a swimmer - was told he needed to improve by well over one second in order to eclipse the record. Superficially, this seemed a very taxing prospect for the athlete, however, his coach adapted the goal in such a way that it suddenly became that little bit easier. Instead of asking the swimmer to break the record in four years time, the coach instead asked for the swimmer to go just a fraction of a second quicker every single training session. This, inevitably, felt much simpler for the swimmer and he quickly improved his time. He did indeed go to the Olympics and... well, need I say more!
This story has always stuck with me and I made sure to put it to good use this year, particularly in those inevitable times of struggle. During my first term I had three 2,000 word essays due in on the same day. This was quite obviously a daunting prospect, however, I managed to break everything down into smaller and more manageable chunks, so not to get overwhelmed by said prospect. Be it setting myself the target of writing 200 words or finding three pieces of academic comment, I ensured I went one step at a time and focused only on a single coursework at any given moment. Oh, and by the way, as you're wondering, I received 77% (1st), 72% (1st) and 60% (2:1) in those three pieces of work. Set yourself smaller targets on the way to achieving your goal. It makes things that little bit more straightforward.
So far I've mentioned my goal, my plan and my method. But why do all this? Why go to this much effort? What drives us on and what inspires us? As a massive sports fan, I had always been inspired by one sportsman or other, be it in cricket or football or tennis. However, London 2012 was something different, something otherworldly. This inspired me on a whole new level. To see the likes of Jess Ennis and Sir Chris Hoy train for four years all for one moment was something quite brilliant and, better still, was something I found I could relate to. All the work I was putting in now was leading up to one final moment; the result of my degree classification. Again, a simple mantra applies: 'Fail to prepare, prepare to fail'. Ennis, Hoy, Farah, Adams, Simmonds, Storey et al certainly prepared and they certainly did not fail. The second part of my inspiration is related to London 2012 - it is the advertising campaign at the time organised by adidas. The sportswear company used two very simple, very trendy yet very emotive tag lines; '#takethestage' and '#allin'. They struck a cord with me. I wanted to 'take the stage' quite literally, at Graduation with a first class degree, whereas I wanted to go 'all in' and give my all to achieving that dream. My colleagues must have been sick and tired of me repeating those phrases by the end of the year! Find your inspiration, it will pull you through when you are tired and think your dream is no longer possible or within sight.
That is 4/5th's of what I believe can make you achieve all that you aim for. However, without this fifth ingredient, the rest are more or less redundant. Determination. One must have the unerring, intense, unrelenting willpower to achieve their goal. One must never give up or throw in the towel believing things to be 'too difficult'. They aren't - one just needs the determination to overcome their obstacles to achieving success. This is something that cannot be taught, I suppose. It is either within you or it isn't. Are you willing to be spending 16 hours a day chasing your dream, as I did on a few occasions? Are you willing to be working 6 days a week at the very least, in order to achieve what you so desperately desire? If not, and you are happy to settle for second best, that is fine. There is nothing wrong with that, but if you wish to truly fulfil your potential and achieve all you can, then these are the lengths you will have to go to in order to succeed. You must give it your all and dedicate and devote your life and lifestyle to this goal. I cannot emphasise enough just how important a role 'determination' played in my success. It is truly the key ingredient in your hunt to achieve your goals.
Goal. Plan. Method. Inspiration. Determination. The five components which helped me achieve my First Class Law Degree on 10th June 2013. By following this path, I achieved my own personal view of 'greatness'. I was one of just ten to receive such a degree and landed, approximately, within the top 3% of my year group. The work pays off, it is that simple. These were the marks I received in my final year:
- 60%
- 69%
- 64%
- 71%
- 70%
- 74%
I could write what it feels like when, after three years of study, you finally achieve what you have always wanted, but it is a feeling personal to all of us. All I know is that it was the best day of my life and I was totally overwhelmed. Put it this way, it is a tremendous feeling when '#takethestage' becomes '#stagetaken'. Just ask Jess Ennis & co.
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