My article first draft and examples of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person narrative

Article first draft

Are you between the ages of 16-18? Are you finding it hard to juggle life? Is becoming independent in the big bad world daunting? Well you’re not the only one.

 As education gets tougher the pressure been put upon us is increasing. College requirements are becoming more difficult to meet and with the cost of college and university raising it is becoming more important that every decision you make from now on is the right one. I bet this isn’t the only problem on your mind your becoming more independent and your social life is beginning to blossom, you want to enjoy it while you can. Your starting to see your life as you know it is about to change course and you’re in charge. But how can you be expected to juggle all these factors alone when you have been dependant on people your whole life? Well here are a few tips to juggling all these new factors in order to help you to embrace and enjoy your independence rather than fear it.

Up until now you have been living the life of a child. Your parents have probably told you when to go to bed, forced you to get up every morning, decided if you’re sick enough to stay off school and have never let you stay out late on a weeknight.  Not only this, you have been in a dependant learning system were your home work has been checked, your attendance has been closely monitored and you have had a set timetable of when you should be were. Everything has been planned out for you every day of your life so far. Now your exams are over and you have entered an independent learning system. You have been looking forward to this for as long as you can remember! No uniforms shorter days and you are in control.

Tip 1: Get as much advice as you can.

You now have to choose a set of subjects or a specific course that you will be bound to for the next 2-3 years. After a few weeks of this newly found freedom you begin to realise that it isn’t as easy as it looks.

There is loads of help available to you when choosing your new path. They may not always be handed to you on a platter but make the effort to find out as much as you can before deciding on what courses you take. Don’t just go for what sounds good or the classes your friends are taking. If you enjoy your courses it is half the battle. 73% of students feel they did not get enough help and advice before choosing their courses and admitted that this resulted in them withdrawing in their first year. Seen as the tuition fees for university increased to a wooping £9000 per year in 2012 this would be a very expensive price to pay for been lazy and not bothering to not get the right information.

Tip 2: Stay focused and organised.

Once you have chosen your courses you get your timetable and you’re off! You soon realise you have “Frees” , later starts on a morning and shorter lessons. Excellent !! lies in, shorter days and a more flexible timetable, but don’t let this fool you!  You may have less lesson time but the work outside of class has doubled and sometimes even tripled and it is easy to fall behind.

Been organised is the key to success trust me!!  Make a plan of your week, set weekly goals and stick to them ensure you know when all your assignments are due and start as soon as possible DON’T LEAVE IT TILL THE NIGHT BEFORE ITS DUE TO START. This leads to the quality of the work been poor and your grades will suffer and it will lead.

Step 3: Don’t overdo it!

I know as well as the next person how addictive social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram can be. I find myself easily sitting for an hour or more just scrolling through my news feed checking what’s new and what my friends are up to but it is important you know when enough is enough. It has been proven that excessive use of social networking can leave you withdrawing yourself from society and real interaction. Especially young people have feel the need to build up a profile and are fixated on the likes and comments they get and they believe it will give them status but this isn’t always entirely true. Over use of these sites is proven to lead to an increase in anxiety and depression as people are no longer able to concentrate without taking out their phones. They are losing the ability to interact with people face to face. It can lead to people becoming compulsive as they feel the need to constantly check for new comments and events happening and the more time you spend breaking between work to check your Facebook the less likely you are to concentrate on what you are doing therefore a half an hour assignment can take up to 4 hours and still not be done.

Moreover it has been proven in a recent study that most students experience lack of sleep due to sitting up till the early hours on Facebook and are consuming more caffeine and energy drink in order to stay awake during the day. This combined with the constant partying seems to me like a recipe for disaster as 73% of students admit to missing lessons the next day due to hangover or tiredness. This will reflect in your grades and will cause you to fall behind.

Tip 4: Do some research and shop around

So you have started a new college or university and you have a lot more free time once your organised you might as well enjoy it with the new friends you have made right? We all enjoy a few drinks and a laugh with friends but going out certainly hurts our bank account if we overdo it. Based on a recent questionnaire done on both male and female it turns out that the average student goes out 2-4 times a week. With an average night out lasting 6 hours and 20 minutes this makes an average of 19 hours of partying a week. The average cost of a night out varying from £16-£50 sometimes more which gives an average of around £2457 spent on nights out a year and girls this isn’t including the new outfit. This is obviously hard to fund as a student even if you have a part time job.

Whether you are still in the same town or in a new city look around for good deals most places have student nights out which will allow you to go out and enjoy yourself and not break the bank. And ladies when it comes to out fits shop in places where you get student discount you can still look good when you pay less try and mix and match by wearing shoes you already have but buy a new dress or wear that dress you bought last month and add a stylish jacket and a nice chunky necklace. You don’t always have to spend a lot to look your best.

Tip 4 on our check list FIND A JOB!!

You have two options either stay living at home or to move out, you want to go on nights out and buy new clothes this isn’t too much to ask is it? But how are you going to fund this new lifestyle all on your own? Hmm this leads up to tip 2 you need a job!

 It’s important to earn your own money it gives you some extra pennies you can spend on yourself 60% of student’s work while in further education. 65% still live at home but have to give a contribution to their parents either weekly or monthly, 35% live in a WG with friends or a flat mate. The cost of living can be expensive but be careful 75% of students admit they have bitten off more than they can chew when starting a new job. It has been recommended that whilst in education a student should work a maximum of 8-10 hours a week anything over that will start to affect all other aspects of your life such as sleep and keeping on top of assignments.

So in order to achieve a balanced life between partying working and a successful education keep focused and organised don’t forget to give yourself some free time if you put your phone away whilst doing assignments you will get it done faster and will have more free time. Last but not least get a job but try not to overdo it!  8-10 hours a week will give you a steady wage and won’t take away from all the other aspects of your life. Now get planning and let your new stress free life begin.

Break out box

How to keep your cool in times of stress!!

Mindfulness! Sound familiar? This is a new method been used by millions of people all over the world to reduce stress and anxiety. Do you ever feel like you can no longer cope? Do you feel like what you need to achieve and what your life is demanding off you is impossible? well don’t worry because we all go through this stage and I wish I could tell you that it will be over soon and it’s a one-time thing but unfortunately it’s a feeling we have to get used to because we experience this many times in our life but it’s how we deal with these stages that count. Mindfulness is a mediation which focuses on changing our ways of thinking and teaching us how to enjoy what going on right now, in this moment rather than constantly focusing on the past or the future. It helps you think clearly it takes away that scattered, over whelmed feeling of not been able to cope it helps you concentrate and this will help you get more done. Mindfulness is a way of thinking you can use this method of relaxation no matter where you are it doesn’t involve lying down or listening to strange music it can be done any were at any time.

For more information go to : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk7IBwuhXWM&list=PLD798655BCCA55ADF