Politics and the media

A few nights ago, I was tearing up before bed at the pure complexities and intricacies of life. Except this year, unlike those days that I'll never stop banging on about , those of last spring, they were tears of happiness. An indication of what's changed in the space of just a year, an indication that I can function normally, an indication that for the first time I can reflect and feel genuinely happy with my life. It's worth a moment to reflect on though. Even now, there are times when emotion overwhelms me and I'll burst into tears not because I want to end it but instead because, well, I don't really know. I suppose it is the trigger of certain moments, feelings and events that take me back to last year and the impact its had on me. But equally I feel a pang of irrational selfishness for being overly open about my experience and emphasising it at every possible opportunity. And then again, those could both be explained by the sadness I feel when thinki...

I said to myself recently "blogging once every month is manageable and also something I'd enjoy". But the truth is, in April I completely forgot and lost track of time. This in itself isn't a bad thing, it shows I'm feeling good, but it poses some other problems. A little reflection is always good. For me, this blog allows me to sit down, listen to some relaxing music and put simply, just ramble! In fact, I think reflecting and taking a few moments away is something that many of us could do with. Surely it makes sense to give your brain a conscious rest as you do with your body following periods of exercise? The speed of society nowadays is electric. We can see news and communicate with others halfway around the world instantly with the invention and rapid development and entrenchment of social media into our society. I won't delve too deeply into it, as I have previously,  it has benefits and also its drawbacks, but one thing it does do is increase the am...

What matters most to me, is likely an afterthought to you. What matters most to you, is probably something I would touch on for a minute at most.   Whilst that may be wholly exaggerated, perspectives influence nigh-on all of our unconscious and conscious decisions every day. For without perspectives, often based off instantaneous reactions that are a product of one's particular environment, we have little. We may as well be robots without them.  You might think this matters little. Obviously, it depends on our viewpoints, our loved ones, our desires and most of all our circumstances, so shouldn't that just be put down to humanity? I disagree. If we are to understand why anyone does anything, we must examine their perspective and what causes them to act in the way they do.  I write this just days after the tragic terror attack on a mosque in Christchurch, resulting in the massacre of 49 people. It is hard to understand just why the attacker, a man from Queensl...

"I wanted to make the listener think, maybe ring that person you haven't heard from in a while and make sure they're ok. I want to make an impact." Reflecting on his song 'Nightmares', the interlude to his latest EP 'Thru the Nite', Tarun Puri outlines just how much of a profound message you can send to listeners through music. "I repeat the same lines throughout, with the aim of touching the listener. Just like depression can constantly be on your mind and there is nothing the sufferer can do about it." The song is sung from the perspective of someone who ignores a phone call from their friend, as they are experiencing some underlying mental health problems and seeks to illustrate just how isolated mental illness can make one feel. In similar vein, Tarun's first track 'Famous' stands out as a personal reflection of his work. "It shows the shift in mentality I have undergone in the past six months. I've started to f...

It has been two and a half years since undoubtedly the most meaningful vote in British politics in the twenty-first century to date, yet even now Brexit makes the headlines of national newspapers and dominates small talk throughout the UK. And astoundingly, we are barely nearer to a conclusion that will appease the millions of citizens who voted for this drastic change. The much-publicised result of the referendum to exit the European Union caused controversy for months and has split the country in a manner we have scarcely seen in the modern day. What statistically appeared a miniscule division became a colossal chasm with both sides antagonising each other endlessly. Those who voted to leave often taunted the Remainers for their refusal to accept the result of the referendum. They had a point. Even now the desire for a second referendum is widespread amongst those who voted remain, yet what was creating stereotypes of Brexiteers going to do about the result? Nothing. Embodying ...

So, the last month of another year. A time for stuffing our faces with food and enjoying time with our loved ones. As I reflect back on the year, I will avoid the irritating perennial ‘where has this year gone?’ cliché that often pops up on social media. Cynical me rolls my eyes at this, each year is the same length, give or take. This year that exasperation is especially prevalent. It has undoubtedly been the longest of my life (metaphorically, of course – or I’d instantly smack of hypocrisy). It has thrown up challenges I’d never thought could even exist, changed my view on my future ambitions and I need not go on about these issues. As much as I would like to, it would be repetitive; reading through previous blogs has made me realise that I simply cannot put severe mental health problems into as cohesive and moving an article as I feel I did then. Yet I do want to reflect on the year as a whole, with a longer-term focus – and I’d be grateful if you joined me on this journe...

Accidentally, it might seem as if I have taken a hiatus from emptying my ever-clustered mind onto this blog. But here I am, with a blog over a year old and nearing 10,000 total views (that still shocks me every time I see it!) and seeing as I simply haven't found anything to passionately write about recently, today's post will be a little different. I have four little excerpts that have sat unpublished on my laptop for a multitude of reasons, each with a varying degree of intellectuality and superficiality, but all that were too short to warrant an individual piece themselves. I hope they are as thought-provoking to some of you as they were for me writing them. The Misrepresentation on Drugs Regularly, I come across comments and articles across many forms of media that vehemently chastise people for the use of recreational drugs - or even the concepts of drugs at all. I find this view rather absurd, and firmly believe that the origins of this emanate from the so-called...