Dyslexic

“If children meet failure and frustration, they learn that they are inferior to others, and that their effort makes very little difference. Instead of feeling powerful and productive, they learn that their environment controls them. They feel powerless and incompetent.”

Some people can look at my writing and know I am dyslexic (I even spelt it wrong the first time I typed it then), which is good for them but for me I really struggle to find the mistakes. It is starting to feel like a bigger problem in my life.

In Primary and Secondary School it wasn't known I was dyslexic, I just wasn't the smart or even average kid in the class. I have very supportive friends and family and I got through with their help. Finally diagnosed in College, with the professional help and support I felt I began to learn.

Even though the College discouraged me from applying to Universities I did this in my own time, unlike everyone else who had help in classes. I went to Bath Spa University and I graduated with a 2:1, I am now about to start my dissertation which is apart of my Masters at the University of Bath.

I have never really understood it and over time have learnt to cope. Throughout my Masters I have spent a lot of time trying to educate myself about how to write better and not like a dyslexic, for my dissertation I am trying even harder and seeking more help. Through this my boyfriend sent me an article explaining aspects of dyslexia and it feels like it is finally being explained in plain English.

The article describes it almost perfectly (the use of she would have been appreciated), and has really hit home for me and I wanted to share the article and the impact on me.

**Whilst I fully acknowledge that there are worst things I could suffer from, it is something I have never understood and always hated for how it makes me feel stupid and having no way to explain myself.

 

  

Merry Christmas and (a delayed) Happy New Year!

So it's 2014, and this might be a rather delayed moment to reflect on the festive period but it has been the only time I've sat down and thought to do it. 

As everyone says Christmas and New Year was a busy few weeks, I had an amazing time with my family and enjoyed the home comforts. However this was all shadowed by my over whelming guilt of not spending enough time doing University work. 

New Years Eve was a great night, although the club I was in missed the countdown. But I was with amazing friends and my boyfriend. 

The last few weeks if 2014 where spent with my friends and family:

Mockmas (Christmas with my boyfriends family): 

I cut my hair short an am slowly getting use to it. 

And 2014 has already been great. 

My grandparents had their diamond wedding anniversary. It was amazing to share it with them and relive their 60 years. 

I've already done some crafting/DIY (hair curlers to a curling wand).

Although a photo from last year it shows my love for Pinterest, I will keep promoting Pinterest to everyone I can find a recommendation for joins it. The one I thought would be the hardest was my boyfriend and he is now on Pinterest! (Yay) 

With all the joy that came with bringing in the New Year and seeing the last one off brought a short sharp realisation of the year to come. I will have finished University (again) and at the moment i swear not to go back into education, I am loving my masters but I'm ready for a full time job and full time earnings. Not so much a resolution but a promise to get a full time job and feel like a real grown up. 

The next year looks bright and I am determined to keep it that way.

(More like a New Years resolution) I will be taught/trying to get into meditation. My boyfriend practices a lot and I am lucky enough that he is going to give ago at teaching me. 

I will try to be more regular with posting about my bloggable items. Between Jan 16th and Feb 3rd I have a inter semester break and on the top of my to do list is to clean out my wardrobe. I will be following a strict method and will post as I do it. 

Happy 2014!! 

Recent Employment.

I have been quite neglectful of the blog recently, mostly because I have been quite busy. Not busy in a DIY, making sorts but in employment!!
I have now a job, a job which uses my degree. I have been unemployed for the 6 months since I graduate University. I thought I should take this time to mention the main things about unemployment which really bothered me, apart from the obvious you have no money, loads of time and all your friends are at work.

In July I graduate from Bath Spa University, after three years of University I thought employment would be something easy to come by. Oh, how very wrong I was. Companies don't want to employ a recent graduate because they are a flight risk and might up and leave to go and find themselves somewhere else (a genuine rejection I once had). I have been accused of wasting peoples times because I was a graduate applying for a job, I kid you not! After three years, and a lot of rejections the thing that most annoyed me about being an unemployed graduate was that in a survey sent to the recent graduates of Bath Spa University about your status after graduation there was no option to state you were unemployed.
In one question asking about what type of job I have, the options were; full time, part time, volunteering, in education, etc etc, or other. So unemployed would go under 'other' meaning that in the results being unemployed would not be represented. Questions went further asking about where I will be in 6 months, the same options appeared. After seeing all that all questions didn't have a unemployed option I decided that this survey wasn't for me and I would just ignore it. Then a week or so later I had a phone call from the University asking me why I hadn't filled in the survey. It was an excellent chance for me to voice my opinion on the lack of options, but surprise surprise they were happy with my option to not fill it in and would make a note on my file.

Another problem with unemployment and having to rely on JSA etc is the limitations they put on what you can and can't do, which is written into a contract you sign every two weeks. I thought the best way to spend some of my time whilst on JSA and looking for work was to volunteer, ideally in a small charity shop close to where I love. But in the first few weeks of JSA I found out that if I was to volunteer my benefits would be cut for those two weeks, as when I'm doing any work I should be paid for it.
After a few months it was really starting to bother me I couldn't use my spare time to do anything worthwhile, I carried on doing modelling jobs and making sure I frequented London and tired to keep myself busy on a limited budget. But this did bite me in the bum a little bit in my recent interview (which led to the job), when I was asked "so, you've been unemployed for six months what have you spent your time doing" I pointed out this flaw in the Government benefits and it seem to cover it.
It seems silly that someone who has a lot of time on their hands to look for work and become ready for work can't spend a few hours each week volunteering, improving employability and skills. Nope with your spare time, you can construct a tv schedule and watch complete series online.


I am now a working graduate, in a job relevant to my undergraduate degree as well as being relative to my masters which I start in September. It might have taken six months, but it was worth it and now means that my blog might take a different route.