Now, although it is a while off, I am just too excited about this - at JCU you can choose to study abroad for one or two semesters. As a marine biologist in the making, naturally, I was going to take advantage of this opportunity (and the fact I am addicted to travel and adventure may also have something to do with it :P). One of the Universities that students can exchange with, is San Francisco De Quito, in Ecuador. And the majority of the exchange is spent - you guessed it - on the Galapagos Islands!!!! I have already submitted my application and have been accepted! So while it is still a fair way off, as I am not going on exchange until first semester of my third year, I am just too excited!!! Following in the footsteps of Darwin, I will be privileged to live there for a few months and see one of the true, and slowly disappearing, wonders of the natural world!!! Does the dance!
So then, I am happy to announce that my blog will once again be privy to the travel adventures that are sure to come, and that once again I will be off, to see another little corner of the Earth :D
On another note, exams and assignments SUCK!
that is all
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
further ramblings
On an exceptionally happy note, I come off the crutches this week, which brings me great happiness! I am so excited, I am practically bouncing around on my crutches - very ready to come off them and start walking again, I am pretty sure the fracture has healed well and I am on the final stretch on the road of recovery - so party at my place! not really, I was joking
Uni is so hectic at the moment, everywhere I look I either have an essay, a report, a practical test, an exam or just general study and catching up on notes - there are not enough hours in the day. That being said, you may say why am I blogging if I am so busy. Well, I need a break. so there. But it has definitely hit that part of the semester where it's all hell breaking loose. And exams are not that far away at all, about a month now until the carnage begins, so brace yourselves as I am positive that I will be ranting an raving about exams.
Apart from that, life is good. I haven't had any mind blowing epiphanies lately, so i am afraid I am lacking in any sort of wisdom-giving this fine evening. Except to say that we humans are an interesting and complicated species. I mean, take a moment to look around you - watch interactions, observe people around you. I am not saying, "go forth and stalk", that is definitely not cool. But take a moment to look at the way we interact in our world, with each other and with other things that inhabit this crazy but beautiful place. And then look at our potential, both for creation and destruction. Sometimes I think, while we have both, we're tipping a little more towards the destruction side. that being said, we must be careful in our pursuit of creation and fixing our wrongs, for if they are done in the wrong way, it could cause even further destruction. There are many things going on around the world, such as the plans to place 60 dams along the Amazon river - it's in situations like those where I get upset with our species. Our greed can sometimes be seen to drive some of us more than others, and without any thought for consequence, we do things to benefit us. We don't think of the repercussions further down the line, whateve works here and now, we choose. Now I am not all doom and gloom, there are many who do not show these characteristics, but unfortunately the majority of people that do, are in some sort of position of influence and power. It has been said that the world will be a much better plae when the love of power is replaced by the power of love. We all have goodness within us, I am not one to believe that some people are inherently evil - everyone has some spark, not matter how small of crushed it may be - and people need to make sure that they keep stoking the flames, not allowing these sparks of goodness to be smothered by the muck of greed. Now, I am a realist, but at the same time an idealist. I know that we will never all agree - there are 6 billion of us here - for everyone of us to agree would be nothing short of a miracle. But it is our diversity, our opinions, that give such joy to life, the joy of pursuing knowledge, our curiousity - all of these things make the world that much more interesting. I mean, let's face it, if we were all the same, well, it would be pretty boring! God was wise in His plans and has given us all wonderful minds that are inquisitive and seeking.
Not sure where I was going with that. but there is my little philosophical squirt for the evening, even though I said I didn't have anything - my bad. Well, it's not really much, just ramblings. But if you've been reading my blog from the beginning, well, then you'll definitely be used to the bizarre things I blurt out.
Cheerio
Uni is so hectic at the moment, everywhere I look I either have an essay, a report, a practical test, an exam or just general study and catching up on notes - there are not enough hours in the day. That being said, you may say why am I blogging if I am so busy. Well, I need a break. so there. But it has definitely hit that part of the semester where it's all hell breaking loose. And exams are not that far away at all, about a month now until the carnage begins, so brace yourselves as I am positive that I will be ranting an raving about exams.
Apart from that, life is good. I haven't had any mind blowing epiphanies lately, so i am afraid I am lacking in any sort of wisdom-giving this fine evening. Except to say that we humans are an interesting and complicated species. I mean, take a moment to look around you - watch interactions, observe people around you. I am not saying, "go forth and stalk", that is definitely not cool. But take a moment to look at the way we interact in our world, with each other and with other things that inhabit this crazy but beautiful place. And then look at our potential, both for creation and destruction. Sometimes I think, while we have both, we're tipping a little more towards the destruction side. that being said, we must be careful in our pursuit of creation and fixing our wrongs, for if they are done in the wrong way, it could cause even further destruction. There are many things going on around the world, such as the plans to place 60 dams along the Amazon river - it's in situations like those where I get upset with our species. Our greed can sometimes be seen to drive some of us more than others, and without any thought for consequence, we do things to benefit us. We don't think of the repercussions further down the line, whateve works here and now, we choose. Now I am not all doom and gloom, there are many who do not show these characteristics, but unfortunately the majority of people that do, are in some sort of position of influence and power. It has been said that the world will be a much better plae when the love of power is replaced by the power of love. We all have goodness within us, I am not one to believe that some people are inherently evil - everyone has some spark, not matter how small of crushed it may be - and people need to make sure that they keep stoking the flames, not allowing these sparks of goodness to be smothered by the muck of greed. Now, I am a realist, but at the same time an idealist. I know that we will never all agree - there are 6 billion of us here - for everyone of us to agree would be nothing short of a miracle. But it is our diversity, our opinions, that give such joy to life, the joy of pursuing knowledge, our curiousity - all of these things make the world that much more interesting. I mean, let's face it, if we were all the same, well, it would be pretty boring! God was wise in His plans and has given us all wonderful minds that are inquisitive and seeking.
Not sure where I was going with that. but there is my little philosophical squirt for the evening, even though I said I didn't have anything - my bad. Well, it's not really much, just ramblings. But if you've been reading my blog from the beginning, well, then you'll definitely be used to the bizarre things I blurt out.
Cheerio
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
grades
What is it that drives people to excellence? What is it that drives a uni student to the brink of insanity in pursuit of those elusive grades of D and HD? Why is it so many of us need to be the best? I am one of these students, who is not happy unless the marks are phenomenal. A wise woman - my mother - told me to not put so much pressure on myself, and yet here I am, after receiving one bad mark, and feeling so down about it. And I started thinking about what it is that gets us here in the first place. So many other people I know are like me....I'm not saying it's bad, but maybe we do put too much pressure on ourselves?
But even as I make this admission (shock horror) I know I can be fairly hypocritical and while telling people that it is ok to not get amazing marks all the time, I will die a little inside when it happens. And I know I will go right back to expecting amazing marks from myself, even if I have had time off uni, or for any other reason.
So it begs the question - why? Where does this insufferable need for excellence come from? You might think I wasn't hugged enough as a child or something like that, but I was, and I was always encouraged and had a very supporting family - so where does this psycopathic need for a good mark come from???
Are we trying to show that we are the best, that we can handle anything thrown at us?
Is it some attempt to prove ourselves to others? Or is it trying to prove ourselves - to us?
And even when we say "it's ok, there is only improving from here on, and the only place we can go from here is up.." well.....do we ever end up believing it? I am not so sure.
We'll help our friends, tell them it is ok, it is just onebad grade, but do they, and do we, even believe it in our heads? Are we to the point in our society where being the best, getting the best grades is the be-all-and-end-all of university?
Now, I am not trying to sound like some depressed bum, but today it just really got me thinking about why so many of us are like this, and desperately desire what we term the be 'the good marks'.
Food for thought.
But even as I make this admission (shock horror) I know I can be fairly hypocritical and while telling people that it is ok to not get amazing marks all the time, I will die a little inside when it happens. And I know I will go right back to expecting amazing marks from myself, even if I have had time off uni, or for any other reason.
So it begs the question - why? Where does this insufferable need for excellence come from? You might think I wasn't hugged enough as a child or something like that, but I was, and I was always encouraged and had a very supporting family - so where does this psycopathic need for a good mark come from???
Are we trying to show that we are the best, that we can handle anything thrown at us?
Is it some attempt to prove ourselves to others? Or is it trying to prove ourselves - to us?
And even when we say "it's ok, there is only improving from here on, and the only place we can go from here is up.." well.....do we ever end up believing it? I am not so sure.
We'll help our friends, tell them it is ok, it is just onebad grade, but do they, and do we, even believe it in our heads? Are we to the point in our society where being the best, getting the best grades is the be-all-and-end-all of university?
Now, I am not trying to sound like some depressed bum, but today it just really got me thinking about why so many of us are like this, and desperately desire what we term the be 'the good marks'.
Food for thought.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
One of my friends shared this image with me - well, needless to say, such logic must be passed around. It sometimes reminds me of being a student, how we're always expected to think outside the quadrilateral parallelogram in which we live our lives - well, I would love to see the face of a professor if you answered with something along these lines :P
Nah, my professors are awesome .. but still......I wonder if such a smart alec comment would work well in an exam...... kidding
tales from the North
well well well.....we meet again, on the field of blogging. It has been a rather long time since I have done this - so forgive me, I am a tad rusty. It has been over a year now since my trip to Tanzania - this time last year, I was wandering around France and about to head off to Finland.....sometimes I look back on that trip and wonder how on earth I actually managed it. but it was an awesome experience. I have now enterred the new awesome experience of my life - university!
ENTER DRAMATIC MUSIC
Now now, no need to be so melodramatic- currently, it is not that different to my senior years at school....IB......shudders.....
Moving on - so, I successfully manouvered myself through first semester and am currently enjoying my second semester at uni. This year has been full of surprises for me - I think karma was after me from last year - because I had such amazing luck with my travels last year, this year was time for a bit of change. At the end of last year, in a foolhardy move, I managed to (what we believed at the time) sprain my ankle...quite severely....ending with me on crutches for 9 weeks, seeing doctors and a surgeon and then extensive physio. So, i though, sweet, road to recovery......wrong! lady luck had another idea. While down for the mid year break, I decided to have it looked at again as it was still sore and stiff and just alround annoying. So after multiple scans, and once I am back at uni, I receive a call.. on a monday morning....something like this
hello is this annie?
*looks at watch, 8:30 am....do I want to be Annie at this time of morning?* Yes, it is?
jolly good. yeah, look, the doctor has seen your scans, you need surgery... can you come in on wednesday?
.....I'm in Queensland.....
...Oh
*awkward turtle moment*
so anyway, after some very quick planning, I managed to get myself down for the surgery and all was hunky dory. surgery.....such a strange word.....and the gassy stuff, knocks you right out - literally! and keeps you rather out of it after the surgery...especially when they give you morphine...... :P
So currently still on crutches and hobbling around, i will be able to start to learn to walk again in just under a month, which is very exciting for me
On another note, uni in general - awesome :D college is amazing, I have made some of the most wonderfully awesome friends here - even found my doppleganger, it is insane!!!! she is awesome and every day I am reminded how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people that comprise my college/uni family. Life is truly good!
Uni work is pretty good, and I am enjoying my subjects - especially because I only had to do chemistry in first semester...now, don't go all hatin on me, it is a very interesting subject and I am sure if....certain things were different, I would have enjoyed it and appreciated it a lot more, but as I did not to chem in highschool, and only did prepchem for a few weeks before uni, being thrown in the deep end in a subject you have only just started understanding ... well, it can suck and potentially lead to a deteste of said subject. That being said, i did enjoy knowing about how things work - just not the whole "I'm assessing you so you better do well or else" sort of ..... pressure. But i had my awesome doppleganger and a plethora of other friends to help me through.
What else....what else......we have had a cat explosion at home, have I mentioned this? well, we went from one cat to three last year, and then this year y father found another abandoned kitten. so now, we're part way to becoming the crazy old cat people with 4 cats in the house. but it is fun.
Living away from home has its perks but it also has its cons. I do miss home quite a bit, and the comforts of home, like a hug from mum, or cuddling the cats. but again, I am really enjoying the uni experience.
And considering I have uni tomorrow, I suppose I should be a responsible student and go sleep....or should I????? my sleep patterns suck right now, not going to lie :P
anywho, that is a short update from me, hopefully I will be back on my blog more often, so expect some very random ramblings in the coming months :D
cheers!
Annie
ENTER DRAMATIC MUSIC
Now now, no need to be so melodramatic- currently, it is not that different to my senior years at school....IB......shudders.....
Moving on - so, I successfully manouvered myself through first semester and am currently enjoying my second semester at uni. This year has been full of surprises for me - I think karma was after me from last year - because I had such amazing luck with my travels last year, this year was time for a bit of change. At the end of last year, in a foolhardy move, I managed to (what we believed at the time) sprain my ankle...quite severely....ending with me on crutches for 9 weeks, seeing doctors and a surgeon and then extensive physio. So, i though, sweet, road to recovery......wrong! lady luck had another idea. While down for the mid year break, I decided to have it looked at again as it was still sore and stiff and just alround annoying. So after multiple scans, and once I am back at uni, I receive a call.. on a monday morning....something like this
hello is this annie?
*looks at watch, 8:30 am....do I want to be Annie at this time of morning?* Yes, it is?
jolly good. yeah, look, the doctor has seen your scans, you need surgery... can you come in on wednesday?
.....I'm in Queensland.....
...Oh
*awkward turtle moment*
so anyway, after some very quick planning, I managed to get myself down for the surgery and all was hunky dory. surgery.....such a strange word.....and the gassy stuff, knocks you right out - literally! and keeps you rather out of it after the surgery...especially when they give you morphine...... :P
So currently still on crutches and hobbling around, i will be able to start to learn to walk again in just under a month, which is very exciting for me
On another note, uni in general - awesome :D college is amazing, I have made some of the most wonderfully awesome friends here - even found my doppleganger, it is insane!!!! she is awesome and every day I am reminded how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people that comprise my college/uni family. Life is truly good!
Uni work is pretty good, and I am enjoying my subjects - especially because I only had to do chemistry in first semester...now, don't go all hatin on me, it is a very interesting subject and I am sure if....certain things were different, I would have enjoyed it and appreciated it a lot more, but as I did not to chem in highschool, and only did prepchem for a few weeks before uni, being thrown in the deep end in a subject you have only just started understanding ... well, it can suck and potentially lead to a deteste of said subject. That being said, i did enjoy knowing about how things work - just not the whole "I'm assessing you so you better do well or else" sort of ..... pressure. But i had my awesome doppleganger and a plethora of other friends to help me through.
What else....what else......we have had a cat explosion at home, have I mentioned this? well, we went from one cat to three last year, and then this year y father found another abandoned kitten. so now, we're part way to becoming the crazy old cat people with 4 cats in the house. but it is fun.
Living away from home has its perks but it also has its cons. I do miss home quite a bit, and the comforts of home, like a hug from mum, or cuddling the cats. but again, I am really enjoying the uni experience.
And considering I have uni tomorrow, I suppose I should be a responsible student and go sleep....or should I????? my sleep patterns suck right now, not going to lie :P
anywho, that is a short update from me, hopefully I will be back on my blog more often, so expect some very random ramblings in the coming months :D
cheers!
Annie
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