I have officially survived and completed my first year at university. Wow. I didn’t expect it to feel this anticlimactic. They really shouldn’t organise for five deadlines to be in the same week. I haven’t slept, by the way. I’ve just done an all night-er in order to complete my last (and worst) essay of the year. This is my ‘couldn’t give a shit’ face. Look at it.
What have I discovered from this year of intellectual stimulation, stress and piss ups? Firstly, I am a worse procrastinator than Mitch. As much as Mitch would like to claim the title, it’s true. Most of my essays are written in a week or three days before the deadline (OK, so some people write their essays in a day, but can the result of that always be called a ‘good essay’? I know what I just produced within the space of 9 hours is not). It’s not fun but I know I’ll continue to work this way. I’ve discovered an excellent technique for finding quotes without actually reading the books, by the way (only to be used on essays you really don’t care about). You take your book, which you know is of a relevant topic, you open your book at a random page and seven times out of ten, you’ll have a quote you can use in some shape or form. Ta-da! I’m not shitting you. It works wonders. Just make sure you have books reasonably close to the topic you’re discussing. Ninja, if you’re reading this, don’t kill me.
Secondly, I’m a massive steampunk dork. I find this ironic as I was never much interested in Victorian aesthetics or society as a young student. I didn’t dislike it, the era just never captivated me. I guess what changed that is the nostalgia thing. …Nah, it’s totally the fake!science, cyborgs, goggles and Cockney. On a slightly more serious note, I am increasingly surprised just how niche steampunk is. I thought it was quite a growing sensation – it’s certainly employed in many new Hollywood films (SuckerPunch) and TV series (Dr. Who) – but there is almost nothing, I say again, nothing that critically interrogates it. In fact, there are so few books on steampunk (most of which don’t properly dive into the various areas that are screaming for debate and awe) that I could probably fit all of these books onto one shelf. There are many blog posts, forum debates, internet-communities and fictional novels out there that you would think someone, by now, would have seen the opportunity here to pioneer its exploration and interrogation. Yeah, don’t look at me; she says now.
Thirdy, I’m a bitchin clean freak (Mitch joke). No, no. I like my areas clean. Antibacterial, Mr. Muscle, bleach kinda clean.
And finally: I speak wonderful French and German with bits of Turkish and Japanese when very drunk. It’s like my party trick. How to forget English. Aaaah… My accent is so screwy. XD
TIME TO PLAY GAMES AND READ BOOKS. I’M ALLOWED TO NOW, I’M ALLOWED!
Willow H. Wood 