Category: AJ’s Advice
AJ’s Advice – clumsiness
| March 30, 2013 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
So, readers, I don’t know if you know this, but I am pretty clumsy. Sometimes, dangerously so. None of my clumsiness has yet led to disaster, touch wood, but I have had my moments. Graceful people of the world just laugh at clumsy people like me. The problem is, it can be a genuine problem. Luckily, I can function in day-to-day life, but simple things like walking on uneven ground can prove challenging. Cobbled streets are pretty much my worst nightmare. But lately, I’ve discovered simple things that can help, so, dear reader, if you’re anything like me, read on. 1. Keep focused when walking: For some incomprehensible reason, I find the sky fascinating when I’m out and about, which often… more
AJ’s Advice – finding inspiration
| March 23, 2013 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
Yes, I know, it’s been a bit longer than a while. Honestly, I’ve been lacking in inspiration lately, and trying to sneeze out a piece of writing can often just result in a blank page and a massive headache. And believe me, there have been many headaches. Finding something to inspire you, not just to write, but to paint, to work to generally enjoy being alive can be difficult, but you just have to find a system, or a set of things that won’t fail to inspire you. That way, you won’t be blank for more than a bit longer than a while. Here are the things that inspire me most (in no particular order): 1. People I have quite… more
AJ’s Advice – irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
| November 5, 2012 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a pretty grim condition which annoys the hell out of anyone who experiences it. While the exact causes of IBS aren’t really known, some things can trigger and aggravate the situation. IBS can often cause stomach or abdominal cramping, bloating, constipation and diarrhoea, and is essentially a difficulty with food digestion. Luckily for those people that have it, there are things you can do at home that can help, but before I get into anything: if you have, or think you have IBS, it’s best to consult your GP before making major changes in your diet and lifestyle. Your doctor will be able to advise you on the best way forward. Often, IBS can be… more
AJ’s Advice – time management
| October 13, 2012 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
Have you found yourself panicking about a deadline a few times too often? Ever unsure where to start with a massive workload? Do you just never have any time? Yeah, we all know how that feels. Sometimes, as boring as it sounds, we all just need a bit of organisation in our lives. After all, if you’re organised about things then there’s room for more spontaneous fun too, because you won’t be stressing about that looming deadline and considering pulling that all-nighter (don’t do it; all-nighters are not a good idea). There are a few things that you can do to make yourself a bit more organised and more able to manage time effectively, but it’s easy to fall out… more
AJ’s Advice – leaving home
| September 22, 2012 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
It’s been a while, readers, because I’ve left home for university. I’ve moved about 220 miles away and it’s probably the most frightening thing I’ve ever had to do. For a lot of us, it’ll be really scary – and for good reason. Moving away for university is a really big life decision, and leaving home and jumping into unfamiliar waters can often just make you want to cry (and goodness have I cried!), but it’s something that most of us heading for uni will go through and we’re all in the same boat. So. Leaving home. You’ve got to remember that there are always those people who will settle in much more quickly than others and that everyone is… more
AJ’s advice – packing
| August 25, 2012 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
It’s getting to that time of year where people are going on last minute holidays or to festivals, and generally doing a bit of travelling before term starts and we all go back to school or university – but one thing we all seem to universally hate is packing. I hate packing so much that I do literally anything else before even thinking about it. I hate doing it, it’s just not fun. I’m getting irritated even thinking about it now, but alas, it is an ordeal we all must go suffer. Anything is easier when you know where to start, however, so here are my top packing tips. Make lists We all consistently forget something. Last time I travelled… more
AJ’s advice – results day
| August 11, 2012 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
Yep, here it comes. The results day chat. How insecure are we feeling about our results? Very. That’s why we’re here. We’re all banding together in our results-based insecurity to try to remember the things that we need to remember for results day. It’s okay, dear readers, we’re all going to be fine. And that’s just it, isn’t it? We’re all going to be fine. So what do we need to remember for results day? Well, here we go: Know what you’re doing Make sure you’re in the right place at the right time. This year, results day is on August 16th and results will be available from 09:00. Make sure you keep checking UCAS Track, which will be available… more
AJ’s advice – anxiety
| August 4, 2012 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
Anxiety. That thing everyone hates and that everyone has felt. That thing a lot of students may now be feeling in the tense lead up to the A-level results day – I know, I had to mention the “R” word. I didn’t want to do it (trust me, I’m dreading results day as much as the next person) but I think it probably is the major cause of anxiety in students in Britain right now. Those emails from UCAS hardly help, do they? The problem is, anxiety can affect you pretty badly. I’m not saying that results day-induced nerves will necessarily be causing you anxiety so potent it is literally debilitating, but it’s still not very fun and is liable… more
AJ’s advice – chaos and organisation
| July 29, 2012 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
I don’t know about you, but my family, when we’re all together, can often be the epitome of chaos. It doesn’t help that we’re all a bit insane and a lot of the time we just tend to improvise when it comes to, well, doing things. Now, I don’t know if you know this, dear reader, but I am a little obsessive when it comes to planning and organising things, so being a part of my family often drives me insane. I do often wish that they would put more thought into plans… tragic but true. There’s rarely a day where I’m not organising something or someone for some event or other, so here are my top tips on keeping… more
AJ’s advice – fixations
| July 14, 2012 | Posted by Alaa Jasim under AJ's Advice |
Ah, dear reader, welcome back to another edition of “Alaa’s weekly confessions.” No wait, that’s not right. Advice; I do advice. Everyone has that thing that they’re obsessed with, fixated upon, enthralled by, and so on. Right now I have a massive thing for poultry, as anyone who follows me on Twitter might know. What can I say? Chickens and ducks are just really cool. People’s obsessions can be really annoying (I know this, because I’m really annoying), but we just have to deal with it. What one person finds cool, another person quite possibly does not. Where you are a cat person, someone else is a dog person. Somebody’s obsession is the sort of thing that after a while,… more
