The battle between revision and procrastination

As my third and final year at university comes to an end, it almost feels I have no work left to do. However, even with all my essays and dissertation handed in, revision is on the menu for what no one seems to enjoy, exams. With one already confidently (ok, maybe I’m lying to myself here) dispatched, there is still a second exam to tackle before I can enjoy the summer that lies ahead.

Exams are mainly hated because of the daunting amount of revision that needs to be done beforehand. Although how much you do essentially defines how well you do, students, including myself, are constantly trying to find shortcuts as well as various ways to procrastinate. The most ordinary of tasks seem so much more appealing, with fetching a drink preferred to a dose of cultural geographies. Even random suggestions enter your head, rearranging your sock drawer suddenly becomes an attractive proposition, whereas under normal circumstances this would be considered even more tedious, and more to the point, very strange.

During exam period procrastination is seen by students as the best thing since sliced bread, and even mundane television shows reap the benefits of teenagers resorting to staring blankly at the box rather than gazing at pages of notes. Revision marks the start of exam season, and so as you get more and more fidgety during the daytime, an “anything on tv will do” attitude is adopted by many people. Even adverts seem to be watched more closely, a desperate attempt to excuse yourself from looking at notes during the interval.

It is not just third years at university like myself that seem to have a concentration issue. Young people of different ages all have their own ways of avoiding revision at any level, and even though it is laughable now to think I struggled to sit through a GCSE Bitesize video, it still seemed a painful exercise. A painful exercise that somewhat seems very familiar in the present day, although with entirely different content.

I think the fact that the Bitesize programmes always had a clock in the corner made them drag on for what appeared an unnecessary amount of time. Couple this with an unhealthy dose of patronising presenters and you have a marriage made in heaven to make a student cry out for something else to do. Thankfully there are no such videos for my final exams, but then again maybe an over-friendly presenter could be a welcome relief to facing the daunting challenge of revision alone.

You’re all most likely thinking that I should be used to revision by now, and quite rightly too. Through my gluttony for procrastination I may have painted a bad picture of myself as a poor student, but I think most, if not all students, would put revision at the bottom of their favourite things to do. Saying that, my conscience always seems to shine through and has made sure I haven’t really ever had a disastrous exam, as my brain has been forced to absorb enough information. So I guess my common sense is the real hero in the battle against procrastination, and that revision does somehow become appealing when you think of the simple equation; better grades equals better job.

Revision will always be a difficult task to endure for any student, and while it has to be done, I am confident that the art of procrastination will never die. Anyway, I better go, the cutlery needs counting.

This article can also be found at About My Area Portsmouth

NME Radar Tour: Well Within My Range

Being my first gig since January, I was obviously psyched about going to the NME Radar Tour, especially to hear new bands that could widen my musical tastes. I had done my research on the bands, furiously attacking their Myspaces just so I could memorise some songs, and so I set off feeling like I’d never been out of the loop.

As I entered the Wedgewood Rooms, the first band, The Strange Death Of Liberal England, had already started playing, their raw sound reverberating around the venue. There seemed to be a feeling of anxiety in the air, with the room only being half full, but the band seemed determined to put on a good impression with their punchy choruses and screechy vocals making up for the deficit in the crowd.

This indie sound was followed by the folk band, Darwin Deez. These were one of the bands that I was anticipating, and I was not let down. Immediately they introduced a fresh spin to the evening, rocking out some snappy, well executed dance routines before each song, earning rapturous applause from the audience. Their set was equally as impressive, reeling off light, bouncy tunes, while their biggest British hit so far, “Radar Detector”, gave a nonsensical riding-on-air sensation.

Although Darwin himself said he had hurt his ankle, this didn’t stop him and the rest of the band putting on a storming show, as the New Yorkers’ confidence grew, the guitarists furiously bopping around the stage, while the bubbly vocals complimented the fluffy rhythms.

So it seemed that Darwin Deez had set the bar for the night, and one of the main attractions, Everything Everything, was up next. The electro noise was a stark contrast to the poppy melodies that it had followed, but songs such as “Suffragette Suffragette” and “My Kz Yr Bf” got the crowd bouncing along. In between the hard-hitting electronic beats and thumping vocals, Jonathan Higgs’ voice treating us to a few softer numbers, delivering velvety lyrics alongside quiet synths and guitars. The lead guitarist also tried to stake a claim to the area, shouting, “I was born down the road from here”, however getting the promptest of replies, “You should feel lucky you got out!”

By the time the headliner of the tour, Hurts, came on it was feeling like an eclectic line-up. Indie, folk, electro-indie and now four men in suits stood before us, their clean-cut style putting the other acts to shame. Standing rigidly with their slick hairstyles, Hurts acted like they belonged in the rat pack, not on an NME tour. However, as the piano kicked in with its echoic sound, coupled with the choirboy vocals, Hurts really did shake things up to end the night.

There was some negative feedback from the crowd, but this only worked in Hurts’ favour, with their songs gaining more momentum, with the lead singer Theo Hutchcraft actually looking like he meant every word. “Better Than Love”, their new single, was the closing song of the night, and this offered a new take, a more upbeat tempo getting everyone up dancing and jumping.

After such a long time away from the gig scene, it was a relief to experience upcoming bands that are bound to thrive in the future. Every band was impressive in their own way, and are sure to make their mark in 2010, but if I had to pick one that will storm the charts, it would have to be Darwin Deez.

Hopefully all these bands will reach your ‘radar detector’ sometime soon...



This article can also be found at About My Area Portsmouth

Graduation: The End Of An Era

Graduation. A word that fills me with mixed emotions. Looking forward to a new chapter of my life brings excitement, whilst leaving the last three years of my life behind floods me with dread. University life has become all but second nature to me; the late nights out, endless deadlines that are left to the last minute and a care free attitude have been mashed together to form some sort of routine that I have easily been accustomed to.

To try and come to terms to the fact that this routine will be taken away from me in a month’s time is something that is difficult to comprehend. I start to ask myself questions; “Will I ever get a chance to dress up in stupid costumes, go out for the night, and then walk home in them and still feel vaguely normal?” “Will I ever be able to rush a piece of coursework the night before without considering how good it is?” “Could I still pass off pasta as a regular figurehead in my weekly menu?” The answer to all these questions is quite frankly "no"; the themes of these questions only really apply to a student, and couldn’t possibly be accepted in the adult world.

Maybe leaving these so called “lifestyle luxuries” behind is a sign that at 21, it is perhaps time to grow up and get a firm hold on the real world, but after living like this for three years do students, me included, really have a desire to?

Three years previous I looked upon the transition from school life to university in a similar light. Now looking back, that adjustment was almost seamless, with new friends appearing instantly and a steady set of lectures meaning I settled in quickly. The lure of a free will and a doing-whatever-you-felt-like approach also played a part in changing what seemed like a big leap into a natural step.

A part of me is wishing this new adjustment in my life is also as smooth as the last, but another part knows this could only ever be false hope. Who am I to kid myself? Going from being a university student to being in full-time work is a big step. I don’t think I am the only graduating student that has fears of only ever amounting to a regular 9-5 office job for the rest of their life. Maybe it is this, getting a job I won’t enjoy, and not just entering the big bad world of work, that alarms me.

Having said all this though, the thought of finally growing up, perhaps not mentally, is something I am looking forward to. However scary it is wondering how long it is before you’re completely left on your own two feet, or how you will fit your social life around your new job, I see these as some sort of little achievements to aim for, like stepping stones to becoming a fully-fledged adult.

Looking at myself now I still see the same boy who bundled his way into halls back in 2007, and although I feel like I’ve come a long way, sometimes I think I haven’t changed a single bit. As a result of this mirror image, I’ve developed this apprehensiveness over how I will fare in the real world, and how I will cope without the “safety nets” of my parents and a student loan.

There’s no doubt I will miss university life a hell of a lot, it’s been a huge part of my life, being one of my most enjoyable experiences, and most importantly has shaped who I am today. I will take a lot from my time at university and this will hopefully translate into a positive outlook for the next episode of my life, as I attempt to become a fully grown adult.

Maybe I’m not stupidly panicking because it hasn’t properly hit me, and I’m still looking forward to another month of being a “tax-dodger”, so I haven’t quite been thrust into the working wilderness just yet.

When I finally do leave my house in Portsmouth for the last time, get a final glimpse of the university buildings and all the clubs that I once occupied, a titanic wave of memories will flush back, beckoning me to stay, something that will be extremely hard to resist. In all truth it will be hard to leave university life, but maybe I haven’t realised how hard it will be until the four weeks pass by in an inevitable flash, and I end up being able to count the days left on one hand.

Even though the death of my student life is looming, ask me my thoughts on graduating in a month’s time, and I may possibly have a totally different outlook on a working life, but for now, I’m quite content to see out the rest of my days at university.



This article is also published at: About My Area Portsmouth