Login

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

March 29, 2024, 07:56:40 pm

Author Topic: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.  (Read 7537 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

elysepopplewell

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3236
  • "Hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter."
  • Respect: +970
Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« on: September 18, 2017, 11:33:30 am »
+18
HELLO!

I've been thinking about starting this for a while but I'm lately trying to do less saying yes to new tasks until I sort out my other tasks. But who cares, I've said yes to three social events for this upcoming weekend and applied for a new internship - so let's just keep saying yes and pretend life's a car and I'm driving it like I stole it.

I study a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at University of Technology Sydney. I'm in my fourth semester of a total of six semesters. I spent one semester abroad at Universita degli Ca Foscari in Venice.

A little about moi in order to contextualise anything to come in future entries - I've worked at Woolworths for 5.5 years! Yikes! I've worked with ATAR Notes for nearly two years! Oooooh. I've also worked as a private HSC tutor, a digital freelancer at DOLLY Magazine, Editorial Intern and short-term Editorial Coordinator at Cosmopolitan Magazine (Australia). Two years-post graduation and I'm still working on the Facebook page for our High School Eco-Group (they do suuuuuch good things!!!!).

I've recently started pole dancing, aerials (like a gymnastics/dance in the silks), and OzTag. I also am looking at Pottery classes (you guys - trust me. Look at @tortus on Instagram. Absolutely mesmerising) but in reality I probably won't do them because they're expensive and not near to me at all.

I'm also working on being a better human of the Earth lately, in trying to purchase more sustainably, contribute to small businesses, reduce waste, being active about social issues...and to learn more. So some entries will no doubt be about this.

As for what I want to do post University: mmmmm. I used to know that all I wanted to do was to be a writer. Now, I want to be a communicator - so writing is in that. I am looking at a bunch of different avenues. And I have to say, the problem is not that nothing appeals to me, it's that everything appeals to me. Perhaps journalism (although more interested in longer-form than news), perhaps working with an NGO (I think my skills are in communications, well, I know they are, and also empathy, so I think I could do some good work here), on a similar vein I'd like to work in an Erasmus Office or sustainable tourism/volunteer company (in communications), or possibly as a language teacher, and then also interested in publishing. So through some serious recent thoughts, I've noticed my strengths are communications and empathy, and all of these roles are people-based/focused. So that's a good start - identifying that much.

I like avocado, stories, situations where you're smiling so much that you can't possibly ever be sad again, and those invisibobble hair ties.

Let's do this thang :)
« Last Edit: September 18, 2017, 11:51:51 am by elysepopplewell »
Not sure how to navigate around ATAR Notes? Check out this video!

lm21074

  • MOTM: JAN 19
  • Victorian Moderator
  • Forum Leader
  • *****
  • Posts: 589
  • Respect: +594
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2017, 11:57:03 am »
+4
*Pumps fist*
I'm so excited to read your journal! :D
2021: VCE
2022: Science / Arts @ Monash

Coffee

  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 631
  • Respect: +322
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2017, 12:21:35 pm »
+7
YAAAY ELYSE! I've been waiting for you to start a journal. Your degree and your semester abroad sound so fascinating! ;D

I've also been more interested in ethical and sustainable living as of late. Looking forward to hearing more about your experiences with it all. :)

Avocadoes ftw.

prickles

  • Forum Obsessive
  • ***
  • Posts: 358
  • Goals are just dreams with deadlines
  • Respect: +268
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2017, 01:02:54 pm »
+5
and those invisibobble hair ties.
Yaasss love those things!!...How do you say 'bobble' without smiling?!! ;)

tashhhaaa

  • Victorian
  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 899
  • Respect: +152
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2017, 01:22:52 pm »
+6
Yaasss love those things!!...How do you say 'bobble' without smiling?!! ;)

I was wondering if these are worth it because it's like $20 for 2 or three of them at Sephora but I think I've been convinced hahah

K888

  • VIC MVP - 2017
  • National Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *****
  • Posts: 3705
  • Respect: +2877
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2017, 03:29:37 pm »
+5
Yay Elyse! Suuuuuper keen to read your updates :D

What does your degree entail, exactly? :)

I like avocado, stories, situations where you're smiling so much that you can't possibly ever be sad again, and those invisibobble hair ties.
I only owned one of those invisibobble things, it cost me 1 Brunei dollar, got it in January (in Brunei, if you hadn't already guessed), and it snapped two weeks ago </3 :(

elysepopplewell

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3236
  • "Hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter."
  • Respect: +970
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2017, 09:29:44 pm »
+7
Hey all! Super stoked with this response! :) :)

For the hair bobble thingies - I first purchased the originals from my hair dresser for the Sephora price. Then I found a packet of five at KMart for a lot cheaper and then just the other day I got a pack  of 5 from Collette for $5!! So they're becoming cheaper :) Why I like them:

-They hold up my hair without headaches
-They are cool
-They don't kink it when it's tied tight
-They reduce split ends

AN INVESTMENT!

Yay Elyse! Suuuuuper keen to read your updates :D

What does your degree entail, exactly? :)


Great place to start! So my major is Journalism. Each semester I do three subjects, one from Journalism, one from core communications, and one from my electives. But next semester I'll do two journalism and one core, because I swapped an elective to my exchange earlier in the year to give me more freedom of subjects :)

This semester:
Journalism: Dirty Data to Vivid Visualisation. It's very challenging, quite difficult, a lot of excel, but I'm getting the hang of it. But I repeat, very challenging.
Elective: Sexing Power. This is a gender studies elective. My Uni only offers two gender studies subjects really and this is the only one I'll take, and I'm very much enjoying it. The title of the subject doesn't really explain the content - but basically a whole lot of gender theory, queer theory, ethnographical research, challenging ethnocentrism, etc.
Core Communications: Communicating Nations. Talking about media, globalisation, glocalisation, public media, private media, Anderson's theory of Imagined Communities, representations of cultural narratives...

I'm reaaaaally hoping to get my teeth stuck into one of my two major essays tomorrow so I'll post more detail about them then! :)

Not sure how to navigate around ATAR Notes? Check out this video!

elysepopplewell

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3236
  • "Hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter."
  • Respect: +970
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #7 on: September 20, 2017, 10:49:10 pm »
+15
Friends! I scored an internship today!

I heard about it online at UTS Careers Hub, I was just scrolling and looking for some opportunities and thought "why not?"
Just kidding it was not that casual, it was "oh my what a dreammmmmm!!!' because the internship is at the Institute for Economics and Peace. They have offices in New York, The Hague, and Mexico - but the head office is in Sydney! I SO believe in the work they do here. Probably the most well known thing they do is produce the annual Index for Global Peace, listing 163 countries and ranking them according to factors of world peace and order.
I'm going to be a Communications Intern there for a short while and I am BEAMING with excitement.

I wanted to journal about Uni because I had some break throughs there today too, but I'll type it up on the train tomorrow because I am pooped.

Edit: sorry more deets because this was pitiful. I'm excited for this because as is in my original post - I've been looking into social/aid work, at the same time as using communication skills. So this is uber cool because I get to work in a small team and get direct feedback on my work which will be really valuable, and I'll be able to pull together a bunch of things I've learnt at AN, Cosmo, and Uni, together into the one position. So it'll be challenging but hopefully very rewarding :)
« Last Edit: September 20, 2017, 10:54:05 pm by elysepopplewell »
Not sure how to navigate around ATAR Notes? Check out this video!

strawberries

  • Victorian
  • Forum Leader
  • ****
  • Posts: 942
  • Respect: +416
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2017, 10:55:10 pm »
+4
Congratulations Elyse! Sounds exciting! :D
VCE '15
don't let dreams be dreams

elysepopplewell

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3236
  • "Hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter."
  • Respect: +970
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #9 on: September 20, 2017, 10:59:51 pm »
+3
Congratulations Elyse! Sounds exciting! :D

Thanks Strawberries! :)
Not sure how to navigate around ATAR Notes? Check out this video!

elysepopplewell

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3236
  • "Hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter."
  • Respect: +970
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #10 on: September 21, 2017, 11:53:33 pm »
+9
So first a medical update: I致e been SO tired for the longest time - no matter how much sleep I get or how much exercise I do or how much coffee I drink, I知 tired. Some days I think I cannot possibly go through without a nap. Friends, I知 happy to report I will be getting turboplasty (a surgery for my nose) to help my breathe better in my sleep. My nostrils are permanently blocked by enlarged turbinates and I can only breathe through 4% of my nostril! It値l be at least a month until I have this procedure but I知 THRILLED because everyone online says they were REBORN with this small surgery.

Secondly, an academic update. I知 doing Sexing Power, a gender studies subject, and I make my own essay question. This is the proposal I just sent to my teacher for her feedback:

泥iscuss the ways female corporeal agency is perceived/manipulated as a reflection of intellectual freedom in cultural narratives."

I'm hoping to focus on three particular cultural narratives throughout the essay with a different angle for each:

First:
Chinese Foot Binding.
I want to talk about this in relation to cultural narratives of imperialism, and how the eurocentric gaze essentially saw the lack of corporal agency of women as a reflection of the intellectual freedom of the nation - this is following the reading we did earlier in the semester that suggested that it suited European interests to see foot binding as a metonym for the general crippling freedom of intellect on the entire nation. So in this instance, the cultural narrative was a convenience to European authorities, and the intellectual freedom of the nation as a whole.

Two:
Veiling in the Middle East (focusing on Afghanistan)
Using a more modern example, I want to talk about the convenience of using the agency of women in relation to veiling as a reflection of their limited intellectual freedom according to American perception. Specifically, I was inspired by the comments made by the First Lady regarding the veiling of Afghan women. The corporal agency of women has been used as a convenient narrative and excuse for the US to exert Western condemnation. I'm also reading Susan Carland's Fighting Hislam which is raising some interesting points about the agency of women in choosing to veil.

Three:
A more modern example again, I want to talk about sex workers and female participation in sexual liberation in Western civilisations (I haven't yet narrowed it down to a country, nor do I know if I will). I need to narrow this down more, but I want to take a creative approach to finish the essay by looking at the way Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale has portrayed a future time that looks back on women exerting sexual freedom (corporeal agency) and suggests that they were brainwashed. I want to take this angle because I think it will be interesting to look at it through literature that is inspired by several societies colliding. In the book, the new dystopic world was justified as protecting women from their own liberation, thus patronising their intellectual freedom.

I want to look at these three examples through the common thread of the way the link between corporeal agency and intellectual freedom is adapted to suit the cultural narrative that a condemning force can imagine and project in order to execute their own ulterior motives. Essentially - the link between agency and freedom and body and mind of women fails to actually address the needs and desires of women, and instead paternalistically decides what is best for them, despite ironically claiming that they are being oppressed.

I know it's early days and there's lots of researching to do, but I'd really like your thoughts on this. I'm very keen to get a move along with this because I'm very much enjoying researching so far! I've also never written a somewhat creative essay before (creative isn't the right word) which is why I'm so excited to fuse academia and a little bit of literature at the end there.



And lastly, I just got a HD result back for a journalism assignment I worked really hard on. HELL. YEAH. I知 really trying to push my marks this semester because I finish next year and want to give myself the best finishing GPA possible :)
Not sure how to navigate around ATAR Notes? Check out this video!

elysepopplewell

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3236
  • "Hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter."
  • Respect: +970
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2017, 02:32:28 pm »
+11
Oooh!!! Am I on the right path? Well, I'm at least on the writing path...I wrote for Junkee!

In other news - struggling with a data journalism assignment. Many questions. Many unanswered emails. But I can say I'm really enjoying learning about excel, it's not even scary to me now!! I do pivot tables!!

*Cue Ross yelling PIVOT....PIVOTTTTTT
Not sure how to navigate around ATAR Notes? Check out this video!

elysepopplewell

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3236
  • "Hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter."
  • Respect: +970
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #12 on: October 23, 2017, 01:25:11 pm »
+12
Annnnnd the award for the most neglected University journal goes to.... ME.

I've gotten four marks back this semester - two distinctions and two high distinctions. I'm feeling pleased that I've set myself up in a good position for the final assignments (all due within a week). However, I've had to apply for an extension for at least one because I've had some really disruptive family issues and it's put me well behind the 8 ball. I emailed my teacher who seemed to really understand, especially because she knows how committed I've been to this final essay. So hopefully that will be approved shortly so I can find peace in the situation.

I've got a Journalism assignment due on Saturday - I'm writing a story about long-acting reversible contraception and it's low uptake in Australia. It's super interesting to me, and the data is challenging to work with because it's scattered and the integrity isn't high. But Rui and Jamon have both helped me sort the data into excel and I'm about half way through the final story product now.

I've got a really difficult week ahead, I'm not feeling excited by it which is a shame, because I have been looking forward to doing these final assignments because I was given so much liberty in what I wanted to explore. But head held high, we're aiming high, and pushing through.

My internship
at the Institute for Economics and Peace has been really great, I've learned lots and I'm really keen to continue to learn more, in both skills and knowledge. I'm genuinely fascinated by the data and findings of the reports they produce and it has honestly inspired me to work in the direction of peace building, advocacy, human rights, etc. I'm feeling really inspired which is an awesome feeling.
Not sure how to navigate around ATAR Notes? Check out this video!

elysepopplewell

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3236
  • "Hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter."
  • Respect: +970
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2017, 05:18:32 pm »
+10
Finished. Finally, finished.

I was unexpectedly offline for the past two days on the forums, I couldn't believe the capacity to study and keep studying that I suddenly found. It was momentous, and it was important. Because without it, I wouldn't have finished the final assignments to the level of satisfaction I now have.

This semester has taught me a lot. I think out of all of the semesters at Uni, I've actively learned the most content this semester, but also the most about where I wanna go and what I want to do. When this semester started, I'd DIE before using excel. Now I even use the little filters!! Pivot tables!!! Etc!!! But in terms of content, I tackled a subject matter I never thought I could, which is the Middle East. I've always been so intrigued but it just seems soooo complicated. But now I seem to know quite a lot about Afghanistan and Qatar, in different ways, and I've learnt even more about all this at my internship. So that's two things I never thought I'd be able to get around and I did: Excel and the Middle East. Still a long way to go on both, don't get me wrong. But progress!

I'm aware that my last year of uni is NEXT YEAR which is INSANE because I feel the pressure to make the most of it in terms of this being the last chance to have a smashing GPA (I honestly don't even know what my current GPA is I'm clueless at keeping up with it, I just focus too much on the marks I get for individual assessments).

Potentially most impressively this semester, I've decided that I think I want to do post-grad. I'd really, really, like to study more, learn more, write more. Human rights and feminist studies really interest me, but I'm not sure if I want to do it through the lens of media studies, policy, history...who knows. WHO. KNOWS. (Not me).

So, I have more reflections to make on the Semester but this morning when I submitted the assignment at 10am, after a sleep of 9 hours, I was so exhausted I went back to bed to sleep more. I'm wrecked.

Thank you Year 2 Semester 2 - you were feisty and I'm glad I was there for it.
Not sure how to navigate around ATAR Notes? Check out this video!

elysepopplewell

  • HSC Lecturer
  • Honorary Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Legend
  • *******
  • Posts: 3236
  • "Hey little fighter, soon it will be brighter."
  • Respect: +970
Re: Am I on the write path? Elyse's University Journal.
« Reply #14 on: November 24, 2017, 12:42:19 pm »
+11
Something spectacular happened yesterday...



I got a straight HD score for an essay. It's never happened before, and I'm super stoked. Definitely one of my most proud achievements, it really motivates me to study more.

In case anyone's interested in gender studies - I've attached the essay too. Happy days! I can't believe it!

Not sure how to navigate around ATAR Notes? Check out this video!