2014
At the start of 2014, I declared it would be ‘the year of opportunity’. How right was I! It all started in January, when British Athletics invited me to compete in the Glasgow International Match, I then got asked to train with the GB Women’s Goalball Team and I also reserved my first house. The highlight of the year without a doubt has to be the Commonwealth Games. Finally, I was given the opportunity to represent my country, the years of chasing a dream became a reality. A massive thank you to England Athletics for giving me a chance. I had already decided I would quit athletics if I didn’t make a major championship in 2014. It was coming to the point where I couldn’t deal with the constant failure. It’s an enormous relief that I don’t have to hang my spikes up just yet.
The biggest disappointment of the year was not being selected for the European Championships that took place shortly after the Commonwealths. It was difficult to watch people run slower than me and for there to be no British T11 representation. However, I didn’t prove myself enough this year since I didn’t manage to run a PB.
Another major upset was failing to secure a place on Teacher Training. Despite obtaining a First in English Language and Literature in 2013, there was a severe shortage of English places meaning no teaching for me. Nevertheless, I absolutely loved the work experience I did in schools and had the chance to teach a Year 9 English lesson, which was nerve racking, but so rewarding.
After the Commonwealths I began job hunting once more, something I hadn’t done since before my degree and had a torrid time when I did. Apparently, the job market hasn’t improved. I have applied for countless jobs and only secured two interviews, which obviously led nowhere. It’s so frustrating to apply for positions you are completely over qualified for and not even be acknowledged.
On a more positive note, I have visited so many places independently this year with Calvin, my other half who is also totally blind and my trusty Trekker Breeze. We have enjoyed days out in Cambridge, Ely, Peterborough, Norwich and London. Activities included punting, Oliver Cromwell’s House, China Town, M & M’s World, Norwich Castle, several beautiful parks (Jubilee, Embankment and Ferry Meadows), as well as more traditional activities, such as the cinema and meals out. All outings were achieved with minimal taxi rides and a little bit of help from the general public. I wish I could put into words how liberating it has felt exploring. Yes we got lost here and there, but it just enhanced the experiences.
To finish the year I had my sixteenth eye operation that has made the world a slightly brighter place and I officially moved into my house! The operation was more for comfort, as I had calcium build up. It’s the second time I’ve had the surgery and I’m in no hurry to get it done again, as operations really are no fun.
2015
In a strange way, I’m not expecting too much from this year. The plan is to settle into my house, continue with the athletics and piano lessons and to be generally happy with life. I have spent so many years pressurising myself to achieve, achieve, achieve. I still have aspirations, but this year they are smaller.
I don’t say it enough, but a huge thank you to everyone who reads this blog, takes an interest in my life and supports my ambitions. Here’s hoping you have a healthy, happy and prosperous 2015.
Showing posts with label Teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teaching. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 January 2015
Wednesday, 19 March 2014
Sixing It Up
They grow up so fast! Calvin is six today! He has unfortunately had to work through his birthday, as I am currently doing some work experience at school to help with my long-term goal of becoming a teacher. I have to give Calvin credit, he plays his Guide Dog role very well at school until he spots left overs from break or lunchtime. He is generally attentive in lessons, although the odd attempt has been made to thieve from pupils school bags and one pupil alerted me to the fact that he was trying to give himself lead poisoning by chewing a pencil in class the other day. Equally, the pupils are great, knowing not to fuss or distract him, it’s the teachers in the staff room that can’t help themselves!
Health wise, Calvin is still having seizures from time to time, but not regularly enough to warrant daily medication. However, he is currently on tablets, as he has developed a rash in his never regions. I’m sure if he knew I was sharing that information, he would be dying with embarrassment right now! It is just a result of an allergic reaction to cement dust since we are currently doing some house renovations. His crown jewels will be back to sparkly condition in no time.
At six years old there are no signs of Calvin slowing down. He still has his adorable puppy dog habits whilst growing into a mature, confident and assertive character.
Happy Birthday Calvin
Health wise, Calvin is still having seizures from time to time, but not regularly enough to warrant daily medication. However, he is currently on tablets, as he has developed a rash in his never regions. I’m sure if he knew I was sharing that information, he would be dying with embarrassment right now! It is just a result of an allergic reaction to cement dust since we are currently doing some house renovations. His crown jewels will be back to sparkly condition in no time.
At six years old there are no signs of Calvin slowing down. He still has his adorable puppy dog habits whilst growing into a mature, confident and assertive character.
Happy Birthday Calvin
Saturday, 21 December 2013
Catching Up
Considering I am no longer studying, I feel like I am constantly busy, but as the year is drawing to a close I have found some time to update this blog.
Adam Hills:
Back in October, how time flies, I saw the comedian and presenter of The Last Leg live at The Curve in Leicester. I have never been to a stand up show before and was pleasantly surprised. I spent the entire time in stitches and can safely say I enjoyed every second. Touch the frog!
Space Centre:
There isn’t really anything special about Leicester, but we do have The Space Centre. I have a vague memory of going when it first opened and recently went again. I was expecting it to be dull and to be quite honest the majority of it was. To be fair there are a few interactive things to experience, although a lot of it is just information printed everywhere. There was a film narrated by Rupert Grint about life on other planets, only I found I didn’t really care! Oh well, I feel like I have done my duty as a Leicester resident by visiting more than once now!
The Mouse Trap:
It has been a long time since I saw a non-musical at the theatre, so when I saw that The Mouse Trap was coming to DeMontfort Hall, I thought why not. It was a slow start to the play and I was feeling disappointed. However, by the interval I was gripped, trying to work out ‘who done it’. I won’t give the culprit away, I’ll just say I didn’t guess it correctly. Definitely worth a watch, a classic murder mystery.
5ive:
Everybody get up singing’...a week after The Mouse Trap I saw 5ive live at DeMontfort Hall. I had already seen them earlier in the year at The Big Reunion Tour so knew they wouldn’t disappoint. It was a great night to be nostalgic, singing and dancing the night away!
Airkix:
I like to think I am a bit of a dare devil. If someone asked me to do a sky dive though, I am not sure I would say yes. A simulated sky dive on the other hand, count me in! Airkix at Milton Keynes is where you get to do just that and oh my god was it amazing! You only get two goes, lasting around a minute, but it is honestly worth every penny. The whole concept of it fascinated me, you are not attached to anything, you just go into the wind tunnel and fly! It was a little bit daunting not being able to see or hear, but the instructors were great and it was nice to see that they weren’t fazed by visually impaired participants. The feeling of flying was epic and on my second go they spun me around and upside down, I feared for a split second that I might actually throw up! And now would I do a real sky dive? Maybe...
Goalball:
I have started playing the only sport designed specifically for the visually impaired again. I had only attended a handful of goalball training sessions, before taking part in a novice tournament for Nottingham. I really wish I could play without being competitive, after all I took goalball up as a hobby and not to take seriously like I do my athletics. Throw me into a competition situation and all I can think about is destroying the opposition! After doing a solo sport for so long, I do find the team aspect of goalball very difficult. I can’t destroy the enemy on my own, as hard as I try. I played centre all day, which was a huge responsibility and unfortunately due to a combination of nerves and inexperience my team lost the first two games, but we won the second two. Nottingham A finished fourth overall, whilst my team Nottingham B finished ninth (there were twelve teams in total). I have the bug for goalball now and look forward to the next tournament where I know we can do much better.
Calvin:
To think I used to write a week’s worth of posts about him! Calvin and I have now been a partnership for four years and I am not sure what I would do without him. He still has a mischievous personality and has gained quite a reputation for himself. It is very difficult to find someone who doesn’t fall for his puppy dog eyes and general cheekiness. Unfortunately, this year Calvin has had a few fits, which are horrible to watch. He doesn’t have an official diagnosis, but both the vets and Guide Dogs suspect epilepsy. Thankfully, he can still work on the days he doesn’t fit, which is ninety nine percent of the time, so all is good. He will never fit in harness, as they occur when the dog is at rest. Calvin does like to sulk afterwards, but I can’t blame him. Fingers crossed we have many more years together walking in wonky lines down the street!
F1 2013:
Yawn! Vettel, Vettel, Vettel! What a boring championship it was this year. It is sad to see Webber retire from the sport, always the nearly man and equally a shame to lose Massa from Team Ferrari. Nevertheless, we are getting The Ice Man Raikanan back, which means Ferrari are definitely going to be the most vicious team on the grid next year. It is going to be gripping watching who is the better driver between Alonso and Raikanan. Hopefully we can clinch the title too!
Aladdin:
Absolute torture! I know pantomimes are supposed to be light hearted and all that, but earlier this week I had the most bizarre three hours of my life. Ok Aladdin was played by a female, totally normal for panto. What I couldn’t get my head around was the show being set in China, two genies, a pet panda, getting soaked by water pistols and not even a hint of a magic carpet ride! Every time Wishy Washy came on stage he would say ‘hi guys you’re number one’ and we would have to say ‘Wishy Washy you are peng’! Weird! Aladdin you weren’t peng!
Piano:
Another activity I used to do back in the day was piano lessons. I only ever got my Grade One, how I don’t know. I seem to have so many musical friends and to be quite honest envy their talent for music, as much as I love to hear them all play. So I decided that I would try and be talented too! I can play Jingle Bells and Walking in the Air from The Snowman already, I am impressed with myself. I do like challenges.
Teaching:
Speaking of challenges, I have made the executive decision that I want to be a secondary school English teacher. I am currently in the process of submitting my application to begin in September 2014 and will keep you updated on my progress. Growing up is scary!
Athletics:
I am still training hard six days per week. I am doing indoors next year for the first time, which is quite exciting, mainly because I know I will run a PB!
Quote:
Just to finish off this post, my favourite quote of the moment is ‘don’t give up on what you want most, for what you want now’.
Season’s greetings!
Adam Hills:
Back in October, how time flies, I saw the comedian and presenter of The Last Leg live at The Curve in Leicester. I have never been to a stand up show before and was pleasantly surprised. I spent the entire time in stitches and can safely say I enjoyed every second. Touch the frog!
Space Centre:
There isn’t really anything special about Leicester, but we do have The Space Centre. I have a vague memory of going when it first opened and recently went again. I was expecting it to be dull and to be quite honest the majority of it was. To be fair there are a few interactive things to experience, although a lot of it is just information printed everywhere. There was a film narrated by Rupert Grint about life on other planets, only I found I didn’t really care! Oh well, I feel like I have done my duty as a Leicester resident by visiting more than once now!
The Mouse Trap:
It has been a long time since I saw a non-musical at the theatre, so when I saw that The Mouse Trap was coming to DeMontfort Hall, I thought why not. It was a slow start to the play and I was feeling disappointed. However, by the interval I was gripped, trying to work out ‘who done it’. I won’t give the culprit away, I’ll just say I didn’t guess it correctly. Definitely worth a watch, a classic murder mystery.
5ive:
Everybody get up singing’...a week after The Mouse Trap I saw 5ive live at DeMontfort Hall. I had already seen them earlier in the year at The Big Reunion Tour so knew they wouldn’t disappoint. It was a great night to be nostalgic, singing and dancing the night away!
Airkix:
I like to think I am a bit of a dare devil. If someone asked me to do a sky dive though, I am not sure I would say yes. A simulated sky dive on the other hand, count me in! Airkix at Milton Keynes is where you get to do just that and oh my god was it amazing! You only get two goes, lasting around a minute, but it is honestly worth every penny. The whole concept of it fascinated me, you are not attached to anything, you just go into the wind tunnel and fly! It was a little bit daunting not being able to see or hear, but the instructors were great and it was nice to see that they weren’t fazed by visually impaired participants. The feeling of flying was epic and on my second go they spun me around and upside down, I feared for a split second that I might actually throw up! And now would I do a real sky dive? Maybe...
Goalball:
I have started playing the only sport designed specifically for the visually impaired again. I had only attended a handful of goalball training sessions, before taking part in a novice tournament for Nottingham. I really wish I could play without being competitive, after all I took goalball up as a hobby and not to take seriously like I do my athletics. Throw me into a competition situation and all I can think about is destroying the opposition! After doing a solo sport for so long, I do find the team aspect of goalball very difficult. I can’t destroy the enemy on my own, as hard as I try. I played centre all day, which was a huge responsibility and unfortunately due to a combination of nerves and inexperience my team lost the first two games, but we won the second two. Nottingham A finished fourth overall, whilst my team Nottingham B finished ninth (there were twelve teams in total). I have the bug for goalball now and look forward to the next tournament where I know we can do much better.
Calvin:
To think I used to write a week’s worth of posts about him! Calvin and I have now been a partnership for four years and I am not sure what I would do without him. He still has a mischievous personality and has gained quite a reputation for himself. It is very difficult to find someone who doesn’t fall for his puppy dog eyes and general cheekiness. Unfortunately, this year Calvin has had a few fits, which are horrible to watch. He doesn’t have an official diagnosis, but both the vets and Guide Dogs suspect epilepsy. Thankfully, he can still work on the days he doesn’t fit, which is ninety nine percent of the time, so all is good. He will never fit in harness, as they occur when the dog is at rest. Calvin does like to sulk afterwards, but I can’t blame him. Fingers crossed we have many more years together walking in wonky lines down the street!
F1 2013:
Yawn! Vettel, Vettel, Vettel! What a boring championship it was this year. It is sad to see Webber retire from the sport, always the nearly man and equally a shame to lose Massa from Team Ferrari. Nevertheless, we are getting The Ice Man Raikanan back, which means Ferrari are definitely going to be the most vicious team on the grid next year. It is going to be gripping watching who is the better driver between Alonso and Raikanan. Hopefully we can clinch the title too!
Aladdin:
Absolute torture! I know pantomimes are supposed to be light hearted and all that, but earlier this week I had the most bizarre three hours of my life. Ok Aladdin was played by a female, totally normal for panto. What I couldn’t get my head around was the show being set in China, two genies, a pet panda, getting soaked by water pistols and not even a hint of a magic carpet ride! Every time Wishy Washy came on stage he would say ‘hi guys you’re number one’ and we would have to say ‘Wishy Washy you are peng’! Weird! Aladdin you weren’t peng!
Piano:
Another activity I used to do back in the day was piano lessons. I only ever got my Grade One, how I don’t know. I seem to have so many musical friends and to be quite honest envy their talent for music, as much as I love to hear them all play. So I decided that I would try and be talented too! I can play Jingle Bells and Walking in the Air from The Snowman already, I am impressed with myself. I do like challenges.
Teaching:
Speaking of challenges, I have made the executive decision that I want to be a secondary school English teacher. I am currently in the process of submitting my application to begin in September 2014 and will keep you updated on my progress. Growing up is scary!
Athletics:
I am still training hard six days per week. I am doing indoors next year for the first time, which is quite exciting, mainly because I know I will run a PB!
Quote:
Just to finish off this post, my favourite quote of the moment is ‘don’t give up on what you want most, for what you want now’.
Season’s greetings!
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