Features

Being a Kaleidoscope of Those You Meet

MOLLY AINLEY | CONTENT WRITER

Aconcept: brought by a single girl learning how the word works.

As the term draws to a close, I reflect on who I have met, and how they have become part of me. Chosen or not. A kaleidoscope shows you an unlimited number of patterns made with limited colour and mirrors. Such a simple concept which engages you for multiple minutes and hours, or at least it did when we were children. I think we work in the same way. I would like to explore this, hoping you will look at how those you meet will always give you something. For we have limited things that exist, but we internalise these things in an exact pattern: a pattern also known as our souls. We look at the sky, the grass, school, our parents- and these all become part of us. Meaning I am the result of everything around me. Delving into this further, I believe everyone we meet, engage with, speak to, and see, takes a place inside us. Big or small. The people I saw roller-skating weeks ago, are people I still think about; for they looked so free and I envied that. They may have been clumsy at times, but there was an elegance and beauty in how they skated, disregarding who was watching. They gently reminded me how much I love skating, how I yearn to have a group like them to do it with. How watching people love something so obviously can brighten you. The people who have made me mad, only allow me to reassess myself. For I am not perfect and I must forgive myself for that. The people who I may dislike strongly have only made me stand my own ground, and remind me of what is important. Inside of me is a library of people I have seen and met, people who have imprinted on me (forgive me for using such a twilight-orientated word). See the point is; I think it is beautiful how we can so easily reflect on people who have never spoken to us, and how there’s people we will see and admire that will subconsciously inspire us to simply be. In the same way a kaleidoscope will use the mirrors to reflect an image, we use the people we meet in our short passage of life to contribute to ourselves. I believe there is an awful theory we stop growing, and although I may always stay 5”4, my soul and senseof-self will always change for the better. We can never stop evolving, letting people challenge our morals and belief, we also must let them inspire and help us love the world ever so slightly more. Their words will echo inside us. University is when a variety of people all wish to do the same thing, which is get a degree, but also a time when people from different corners of the world can find a common ground, and teach complete strangers who they wish to be. We should never hate that someone had a role in our life, for we learnt something from them. Or maybe I just need to take my rose-tinted sunglasses off.

Source: Chris Lee

The New Generation of Technology

AELIYA RAZVI | CONTENT WRITER

Have you ever been in a restaurant or airport and seen children sitting next to their parents, barely paying attention to their surroundings, their focus instead being completely absorbed by the gadget in front of them? It is an all too familiar experience in the contemporary age and this phenomenon has garnered an all too familiar name: iPad kids. This label has been applied due to the popularity of iPads amongst young children and the way they seem dependent on these devices to be entertained. It also has negative connotations, with many labelling children who fall into this group as dethatched from the realities of the world and damaging their mental health. Fingers are often pointed at parents for allowing their kids to become so dependent on this form of entertainment, especially when the consequence of it is seen almost immediately after the gadget is taken away in the temper tantrums and cries that follow.

However, the question remains as to what the effects and consequences of high technology use at a young age actually are. While people have thrown many criticisms at iPad kids, these children are also seen to be increasingly tech savvy and that is becoming an increasingly valuable skill as the world moves towards more online learning and remote working. This ‘technological intelligence’ is something that has encouraged some schools to move towards and embrace the use of the iPad, with its adaptability and engagement that allows for teachers to structure more creative lessons that hold students’ attention more than a typical lesson might. The important point to note here is that this iPad use is under a controlled environment and is monitored vigilantly. While schools may be using their tablets to educate and deliver lessons in a new and innovative way, unrestricted use can be an entirely different story. Unfortunately, that is often the kind of access that is available to kids at home. Research from Yougov shows that at age six 40 per cent of children have their own tablet, a troubling figure when considering what ownership of a device with such far reaching access can have. When considering what children may accidentally be able to stumble onto, the concern that many adults have about their mental health and the long-term impacts are not unfounded. This is not even taking into consideration the access they could have if they are allowed a social media account as well. Another red flag when it comes to gadget use is the fact that for many years it has been known that the parents in silicon valley, the creators of this technology , have limited how much of their kids use any kind of tech. CEO’s like that of Snapchat have stated they only let their kids have an hour and a half of screentime per week and Steve Jobs, before his death, revealed how he did not allow his kids to use the very iPad his own company designs and sells. While there may be benefits that exist within controlled environments like schools, with teachers monitoring, parents should be wary of the negative consequences that the tech dependency that kids are exhibiting today will result in. Especially as these are still evolving and may only present themselves much later in life. Kids have adopted tablets and become the rulers of the new tech age. Should they have?

Source: Flickr

SELA MUSA | FEATURES EDITOR

Iapplied to become a Student Ambassador in the summer of my first year at university. Initially, I was sceptical, associating the job with extroverts who could make best friendships in a matter of minutes. In just a few thoughts, I had the entire scenario convincingly played out in my head: groups of people who could skip over the awkward process of making the friends and straight to the part where they naturally existed alongside each other. Kind of like any cringe American high school movie with an odd one out standing by the lockers – this was what was obviously destined for me.

Through the Eyes of a Student Ambassador

Then a few months of the first lockdown passed and I was desperate and dreaming of having something to do and making the days my own. All my housemates had their individual things to go to, like sports clubs or societies, and I never really had that. This will be my thing, I thought. I could make this my thing. And now two years later, I think it was my thing. I say that not because I made a hundred friends on the first day. I didn’t, and I am quite sure that I won’t ever be the person that can do that like in the movies. I say it because each day was something different, and it exposed me to something different. I can truthfully tell you that I met a new person on every single shift and, though our interactions may be confined to work, that is still a lot of getting to know people and what they are studying and what they want to be doing in the future. I like those conversations and I like the quick hey how are you when we bump into each other outside of work. Mostly, though, I am in awe of the confidence that the job instilled in me without even knowing it at the time. With each conversation, I inevitably move further away from the shy student that I was in my first year and, without realising, now feel okay when asked on the spot to conduct a Q&A for visitors in Bourne lecture theatre. More than okay – excited. This is only my personal experience with the job. Each Student Ambassador will have a different story to tell (and there are a lot). If it is something that you have thought about, or if it is something that you have not, look into it. You can only benefit. The job comes with a huge variety of shifts such as working alongside visiting schools, running career fairs in Central London, giving campus tours and so much more. And you will meet so many people along the way, each with their own stories to tell.

If you want to find out what our current ambassadors are up to, follow @ RHambassadors on Instagram.