Enticing Events

 

This week at college we've had a blast with the great fun that has been 60's Week in celebration of black history month. We've had a ton of events from an acoustic concert to 60's dress up to a Hairspray flashmob (In which I am Wilbur... whoot!)

 

So I suppose the purpose of this blog post can be seen as an update of my life as well as the advantages of joining in with events in your college/school or local area.

 

 

1. Joining in with events will show that you care about your local community and want to join in and be part of everything! You'd look better by looking silly... if you get my jist (I mean look at us... we are MAD!)
2. Donations are a great way to feel like you have benefited the community by not just joining in. In fairness, it makes joining in so much better! We recently had a wear pink day for Breast Cancer Research... I wore bright pink feathers and a pink label that said MANLY... and let's be honest, I was! (Ok... I wasn't... be quiet!
3. My favourite reason for joining in with most events... you get to wear a suit... on the bus! It feels so cool to be sitting on a bus in full costume with a few friends; you get a real kick out of it. It is also great at building your self confidence, something which was pretty low for me until I came to college!

So then... an update into my life and how you can feel the same way by joining in the events. this is a great example of not just helping yourself, but helping others!



Unending UCAS

So then... Aged 17 and starting that painful and seemingly unending process of UCAS??? Sit down and read on for my Top Tips!

1: Choices:

You've decided that University is the way forward for you, and not other options such as Apprenticeships or Employment? Well, the first major step is choosing some universities which interest you the most, and what course you want to study. While you probably heard this before, there is no point in choosing a university or course which does not excite you, for chances are you'll either:

a) End up dropping the course and choosing a different one by Christmas.

b) Be unhappy for the next three years of your life!

So then choose them wisely! Why don't you go to Open Day's to see if your choices of University are actually what you are looking for, go on Taster Courses and pick up a Prospectus.

2: Grades:

So then, you know what course you want to do, and have a strong idea as to which university you want to study at... but is it achievable? Sure you may want to study Drama at UEA (I do!) but it needs an AAB... you are only targeted BBB... So then, by all means go for it... nothing wrong with giving it a go! But DO NOT make all your choices above your target! Do what I did: Choose one above to give you an aim, two/three on your target and one/two below your target as an "Insurance Policy". If your AS grades did not live up to expectation or you need higher for your choices, see "Rage Inducing Results" for more tips on what to do!



3: Personal statement:

The Personal Statement is by far the hardest part of the UCAS application, with little room for error. It is how they know who you are before they even see your face for the first time. So you REALLY need to make a good impression. Make sure those opening and closing paragraphs are gripping and captivate their imagination. Having a strong opening will make them want to read on, and having a strong ending will mean your Personal Statement sticks in their head! Furthermore, you need to make sure that you talk about what course you are applying for and have a strong reason behind it... if you don't then you will look like a doughnut and you will most certainly be rejected. ONly talk about love for another subject if you are applying for a Joint Honours Degree (Such as me; Drama with Psychology) and why you have chosen that Joint Honours Degree above others (For me; Drama Therapy!). Finally, talk about the other subjects taken at College, and how they offer transferrable skills for your course. This is the second hardest part after the Opening and Closing paragraphs... and trust me, it's SUPERBLY hard is you have to link Geography to Drama (Which I did, I thank you!)

After you have done all of these it is worth checking over it all with a Teacher, your Tutor or Career's and Progression Advisors. They want you to do the best you can and the only way that will happen is if you let them!

But Freddie, what if I don't want to apply to university through UCAS? What if I want to apply to Drama College? Well, I also want to do that. I cannot recommend enough that if you do want to study Drama that you apply to the Drama Colleges (I'm applying to RADA and LAMDA) These have to be done directly, and you can find the links to the application pages of the major Drama Colleges at the bottom of this page. For the Drama colleges, if you want to study Acting or Musical Theatre you will HAVE to attend an Audition. These Auditions require two Monolouges, one Contemporary and one Jacobean/Shakespeare. I cannot recommend enough that you talk to your Drama Teacher and ask to do a mock Audition to prepare! But you really should think about applying through UCAS as well, as you never know if you will get into the Drama Colleges... Furthermore, many Drama Colleges, such as GSA are now on UCAS, so you need to apply through them!

And finally, while this is a UCAS and University post, you may not want to go onto Higher Education and want to go straight to Employment... do! Still write a Personal Statement, as that can become the basis of your Application Letter for your intended future employer! Don't forget to also compile a C.V of all your great achievements including hobbies, previous work experience, and those ever so important grades from your A levels and GCSE’s.

 

So then, this is my comprehensive guide to the unending traumas and pains of UCAS, or what to do if UCAS is not your choice!

 

If you do not get offers, turn those Negatives into Positives. I’ll talk about that once I have gotten… or not gotten… offers to my University Choices!

Rage inducing Results

So.... after the Hiatus which was announced to be over and was not over it is now officially back... partially due to the fact that creative writing requires me to do a blog :)

Anyway, today's issue is about Exam Results. I know what you are thinking; "It has been 2 months since results day... Why is this so important now?" Well, It's because I have had some dissapointing results, I won't lie, and things are still being sorted out with my results. Furthermore, some people may be waiting for remarks which may be dissapointing, so this could be very helpful to you all!

I should really start by telling you what results I got... So I will:

Drama - C
Geography - C
Biology - D
Psychology - E

So, I continue all but one of those subjects... that subject being Biology. I am happy with one of those grades out of the three subjects I continue... that is Geography. I am however slightly unhappy about Drama and Psychology... and if YOU do those subjects and find yourself in a similar situation... here's what you should do!

My Psychology is a big worry... I was predicted a B. I got a B in one paper but a U in the other, so this is what we are doing:

1. Recalling the Paper
2. Sitting down with my teacher and seeing if it is bad marking or bad knowlede
3. Then either sending the paper for a remark or just resiting in June!

Drama is also a big worry, as I wish to do it professionally! To increase my mark, I am resubmitting my Unit 1 Coursework, and if it does not work, I will resit Unit 2 which is the practical unit!


This is what I am doing, and if you have bad results and have still not come to a conclusion as to what to do... do this! While I was made thoroughly upset when I first found out my results, I now feel better safe in the knowledge that Teachers will do EVERYTHING in their power to push that grade from a C to a B... or a E to a D/C/B (Hopefully)!

Remember, turn those Negatives into Postivies. Here are some ideas:

• Take it as an oppurtunity to improve your work ethic
• Take it as an oppurtunity to realise the helpfulness and support of teachers
• Take it as an oppurtunity to realise how supportive your friends can be

We're Back

After a (Very Long) Hiatus, The Blog is back!

The new format for the blog will be focused one approximately a post a week, unless issues occur, which may halt production of posts or, conversely, trigger posts!

Freddie

Fragile Friendships

Friendship... Popularity... Relationships...

Whatever you call them, they are fragile and a massive problem for absolutely anyone! But they are some of the most important things in life! I value my friends so much in my life, and I can't bear it when I lose one or they seem upset with me for some reason. So how do you turn these into... well... positives... Unfortunately, you can't. So how do you cope?

1. Losing one
If you lose a friend without meaning to, ask them if they forgive you... they may not, and the fact is you may have to agree with it. The best thing to do is ask them why they are no longer your friend and inform them you never meant to upset them. They may still not forgive you, so give them time to process the information. Hopefully, overtime, they will understand that it was never intentional... Unfortunately they may not... and you just need to move on in life... This is really hard, and I know this from past experience, so if you need to talk to someone, do... if you need to replace them, do... If you need to write a song (That's what I do), do.

2. Are they upset with me?
Best thing to do here: Ask them. They may be un-cooperative, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are upset with you... It could be they have a lot going on in life currently. This happened to me recently, where I was worried that I had upset one of my Best Friends... I tried to contact them over Facebook but got no reply. I then saw them the other day, and I felt it safe not to bring up the subject. It then turned out their Grandfather was in hospital. Another solution is to talk to someone you trust; Friend, Teacher, Parent or Sibling... They may know or have theories to put your mind at rest.

Personal Play's

Everyone has problems that are extremely personal and they feel that they cannot share them with others, fearing consequences. Therefore, I found a great way to let people know about said problems without people realising that these problems are real!

Once again we will refer to the phrase Turning the negatives into positives!

For me in this situation I find writing a play about what happened is a great way of coping. This is something many playwrights have done, such as Tennessee Williams' play, 'The Glass Menagerie'

Doing something like this will allow you to inform others of your upset and situation in, as taken from 'The Glass Menagerie', "the pleasant disguise of illusion"

Freddie

Audition Answers

Auditions... Nobody quite knows how to fully cope with the great disappointment that follows failing an audition. This happened to me quite recently, when I auditioned for my College's Drama Festival Theatre Company.

This was the first time I had failed an audition, and felt this was something that would be beneficial to my Future aspirations of becoming an Actor on the West End. So how did I cope? It was hard, even more so than other people may find due to the Autism, but I came up with one Key Phrase, a Phrase that also inspired the writing of this Blog:

Turning the Negatives into Positives

There are many ways to do this, so here is a list of how I did just that:

1. Ask for Feedback: If you failed an audition, you can't improve for the next time unless you know how. So pluck up some courage, see the director and say this line: "I saw that I failed the audition, and am obviously upset, but I would like to know how to improve for next time!" They will give you the truth, so Don't Get Upset with The Feedback! You asked for the Help, and they're going to give it to you
2. Offer to help in other areas: Many Productions need a Backstage crew or music to accompany the show. So why not do what I did and offer any help they may need!
3. Find bonuses in the situation: Many shows will take up a lot of time. Think to yourself: "Hey, Now I have lots of free time!" Or find a, well, cheeky bonus. 
4. Offer Support: Watch the show. Show no grudges... and most of all, Congratulate all the actors who got through... even if you do harbour bitter resentment towards them!

Follow these tips and you too will find failing auditions not as much of a bad thing any more!

Freddie