Thoughts of a Psychology Student

I suppose it was only a matter of time before I got round to writing a blog post about the scrapping of maintenance grants. Over the last couple of weeks, what started off as surprise and disappointment in the government's decision to abolish the grants has slowly brewed into a rather intense outrage, so naturally this blog post seemed like an apt outlet for such a rant. So to fill those of you in who aren't too sure what I'm on about, I'll start from the beginning. Maintenance grants are sums of money, up to £3,387 that are available to students from low-income families to help cover living costs at university which don't need to be repaid. They currently provide support for over half a million students  across the country, allowing them access to higher education that they might not otherwise have been able to afford. This month, despite not mentioning anything about it in their general election manifesto last year, the Conservative government voted to s...

We're already 5 days into January and I can't help but feel super underwhelmed and demotivated at the fact that 2016 is upon us and yet I can't seem to really put my finger on anything hopeful or new years resolution-y to inspire me for the year ahead. I think in part, this may be due to the fact that I have a very real alternate preferred reality in my head in which I am living the life I have always dreamed of, and the fact that this is currently not happening in real life is pretty distressing. I'm afraid to say this alternate reality is horridly fuelled by candid tumblr pictures of moleskin journals and disposable cameras, but I feel inclined to share it with you nonetheless. It goes something like this: I am in my twenties (so far so good), and I live in Amsterdam (oh). I reside in a narrow apartment down one of the many 'straats' on the canal. The decor is minimalist, whites greys and blacks ease into each other in a sort of linear pattern that is pl...