41. If you could install one piece of advice in a newborn baby’s mind, what advice would you give?

Make a mark on the world. Engage in affairs your passionate about, do that drama production, play that sport that ‘only X type of people do’, do what is seen now as ‘out of the box’. Ultimately one day, in decades to come you’ll have to answer yourself. You want a life that will enable you to look back on your decisions and reflect on the memories rather than regret them.

40.Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?

I feel the ability to simply not care on occasion is a powerful thought of mind I don’t use nearly enough. It would solve the issues of over-thinking and in result, missing out on things that in hindsight, I would have loved to do.

Yet a simple life for me seems rather plain. It screams out repetitive and perhaps even dull. The thought of being ‘genius’ [or perhaps more realistically, thinking out the box/examining and deconstructing arguments] is intriguing and the opposite of plain – it allows self development, enrichment and furthering of one’s own education. Who could say no to that?

Zero Hours; Zero Life?

Perhaps the issue is going ‘out of fashion’ yet the issue has only really ‘hit home’ with me recently.

 

One month ago I was regularly given 5 shifts a week with each shift giving me substantial paid hours. I had no money problems. I almost recklessly spent money. I didn’t think twice about splashing out when I wanted to. I was perfectly fine. I was in a position where I felt I could save – you know, because it’s the ‘adult’ thing to do.

 

Today I am given one shift a week yet even this is not guaranteed. Today I am prolonging my food shopping – I’ve developed a skill of coming up with two ingredient meals [rice and mashed chickpeas tastes slightly less bland that it sounds]. Today pay day seems like saviour day rather than mere ‘top up’ day.  Today I’m utilising the student discount religiously – the pound I saved today I would have laughed at for being insignificant a month ago.

 

I confess I haven’t been the most conscious of shoppers since living independently from my parents. My biggest downfall? The £2.30 [almost] daily black Americano from various big brand coffees. Cutting these out of day would save a significant amount in the long term, especially as I have the home alternative, but it’s perhaps a sorry state of affairs when one now considers take away coffee such a luxury – when one can’t afford to spare a mere 200 pence a day.

 

I’ll look forward to my pay day and I’ll be sure to stay away from ‘luxuries’.

38. What’s something you know you do differently from other people?

I eat differently and perhaps borderline strangely. I don’t necessarily mind people pointing it out, as long as it doesn’t go any further than an innocent comment or two exclaiming how strange it is. It’s the remains of an unhealthy habit that I’ve yet to overcome [very solemn sounding…]

37. When was the last time you listened to the sound of your own breathing?

Today; I had nothing better to do than anxiously wait for a few little letters that would determine the next few years of my life at the very least. I’m not sure if it was therapeutic; in all honesty I didn’t fully acknowledge the action  of breathing- it’s the little things after all that we seems to miss.

36.Which is worse, failing or never trying?

Never trying since at least failing is doing something. The ultimate failure perhaps is not trying at all – not trying, after all, is simply another way of phrasing, an ‘inevitable failure’.

35. What is important enough to go to war over?

I’d like to take the almost optimistic view point and say there’s nothing that is worth going to war over. I’d like to be optimistic and say that individuals are rational enough to come to conclusions without resorting to violence. Whether that optimism is misplaced or not in the most extreme of situations is debatable.

34. Would you rather have less work or more work you actually enjoy doing?

Easy question – more work. The ‘you actually enjoy doing’ part is almost irrelevant. I much prefer working under pressure; it’s much more motivating than enjoying the job arguably [although that is a bonus].

 

33. If you could choose one book as a mandatory read for all high school students, which book would you choose?

I first read the question and instantly thought of George Orwell’s class ‘1984’. It’s perhaps an important reminder of how crucial individuality is in society. Controversial, but thought-provoking.

 

Also, some mind of history book should be mandatory reading. History has the potential to teach us too much for generations to be ignorant of it – it’s also interesting to read[!] After all: ‘if you don’t know history then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it’s part of a tree’ [Michael Crichton]

32. What do we all have in common besides our genes that makes us human?

Emotion and feeling are perhaps what we all have in common besides our genes. Each human is individual yet we still yearn [to an extent] for acceptance. Feelings of love drive us to create the bonds of family whilst the feeling of motivation drives individual to success.