These past few weeks have been hard. When I say hard, I mean that they have been the most testing few weeks of my life - every final year student who has had to do a dissertation will agree with me. Late nights in the library - sometimes not getting in until 8:00am the next morning, all I can say is thank God for 24 hour McDonald’s. Amen.
However, today it all came to an end. That’s it. It’s hard to think looking back that i’ve been working on this project over the past academic year. My dissertation was about the Royal Family, they’re a subject I’ve been interested in for a very long time now and I wanted to do something interesting and a quirky:
Reporting Royalty: Celebrity Gossip or Public Interest?
In a nutshell, the concept was to look at whether British newspapers write about stories that are important to readers, or something they just find interesting. It’s been a gruelling task but it feels amazing to have the copies in my hands now.
I think it’s best to leave this post with the acknowledgements I wrote in my dissertation. Keep smiling x
Peter Smith. No cup of tea is big enough to show how eternally grateful I am. Your guidance as my supervisor has helped me create something that I will forever be proud of.
To Jennie Bond, Camilla Tominey and Joe Little. Thank you all for your time and valuable contributions.
My family and friends, I express my heartfelt thanks for your continual support and encouragement.
Finally, to my other family at the Lincoln School of Journalism. Thank you for being there yesterday, here today and there tomorrow.
Without you all, this dissertation would not have been possible.
Thank you.
The first thing I have to say is; sorry. When I first started this blog back in 2010 I made a promise to update it regularly and that really has not been the case… However third year has definitely taken its toll. I’m not going to bore you all and tell you how much work I have to do (reserved for Twitter), but at the minute it’s completely consuming my life. Right now, I’m sat at my computer staring at the penultimate chapter of my dissertation - the end is in sight - then the real work begins! 
My nose is cold, my feet a numb and my hands are finding it difficult to write this. Winter has well and truly arrived. Like many Brits, I am one of those who turns hysterical as soon as the first flake of snow falls on the floor - usually out of excitement. However, I feel it’s a little too late. A month earlier and Christmas may have felt even more Christmassy than it was. 
Speaking of films, I saw Les Miserables on Monday and oh my word, it’s one of the best films I have ever seen. Having seen the musical in summer last year I was sceptical as to whether it could live up to the stage version. But it did, and them some. It’s definitely going to be the film of the year, everyone is talking about it and singing the songs… You just have to go! Oh, and if you leave and don’t feel compelled to learn every song, lyric by lyric, there is something extremely wrong with you. 
Last night I made a list of everything I’d done over the past year and all the achievements, places I’ve been and events I have been a part of. Looking back, I now realise how important 2012 as a year was to me. From going to Rome, to winning an award for my academic work. Seeing the Queen in Nottingham and getting a part-time job. Then there was that 24 hour radio show… Trust me, if you sit down and start thinking about it, 2012 was a busy year for all of us one way or another.
There are those parts of the year that we would all like to forget. Possibly the biggest thing would be the loss of my doggie; Ben. At 14 he was an old fella, but his sudden passing came as a shock to myself and all family. To those who have never owned a pet, you probably won’t understand the sadness one goes through when a pet dies. For me, Ben was more than a pet, he was part of the family, someone I had grown up for the past 2 years. He put a smile on your face when you walked through the front door. It’ll be things like that that I’ll miss.
Looking forward, there are a lot of things I want to do and achieve. Some of them include graduating, getting a job in the journalism industry and visiting New York City amongst other things. Having written all my goals and aspirations that I want to achieve this year down in a letter, at the stroke of midnight they were set alight. In hope that they will inspire me over the next 365 days
There is a reason why Andy Williams described Christmas as “the most wonderful time of the year”, simply because it is. This Christmas has been no expectation to statement.
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from these past few days, it’s the importance of family and friendship. For me at least, I need that one day in December to remind me how much I appreciate all of my friends and family. Even if some of them are a bit weird sometimes.
When I started my third year of Uni back in September I knew posts would be few and far between, but I never expected it to be as long as this. However, having handed in my final assessment yesterday I’m completely done until January - yay!
My bags have been packed and unpacked, I have seen so many friends, met some new faces and had my first lecture of my final year at Uni - I must be back in Lincoln. This past week has made me realise how much I’ve missed the Cathedral City, the friendly faces I see every day, Starbucks in a morning, the parties and incredible amounts of alcohol consumed during freshers week. Is it bad sat in the lecture theatre on Monday made me question whether or not I’ve missed the stress of deadlines. I haven’t, but I did question myself. 
Tomorrow is my first long day I have timetabled, 9:00am-6:30pm. At first, I freaked, but the more I look at this full day, the more I realise that once I graduate, this will be something I’ll be getting used to. It’s times like this I realise what is meant by if you find a job you really love, you’ll never have to work another day in your life. 
September, it’s here already. In fact, we’re already six days into September which means I’m slightly behind the times. Never mind, I have been uploading pretty pictures so that must count for something, right? 
When we take our first footsteps of a new journey we never know exactly what the end result will be, even if we have an idea. In a way, we put our destiny into someone else’s hands. The journey could be as simple as walking to the postbox to post a letter, or cooking a meal. But, there are times when journeys can be long and difficult. The path of love for example is very unknown, or choosing the correct career path - something that to some comes more naturally than others. But as soon as our foot crosses the finish line we can relish in that sense of achievement. 
