Human machines: the death and revival of the work-life balance.

So I was going to do a post about the time I accidentally called Warwick Davis short, but something more important came up and sometimes things need to be talked about in the moment if they are going to make any sort of impact. That's what I intend to do. Make an impact. Because this is an important issue and it's happening right now. 

Yes this is somewhat of a political post. 

No I am not going to apologise for it. 

Before we begin this ongoing discussion, I am going to address the fact that I am a student, which means I am biased. However if you too are a student or any kind of worker then we have the same bias.

The concept of work-life balance is dying because of our societal norms and values. Over the years British society has placed more and more of a value on achievement and hard work, which is really great in many respects as it can be a good motivator. On the other hand, this has gone to such an extreme that the worth of citizens is based entirely on how much you can produce, how hard you can work and how much you can achieve, without any consideration for mental and physical health.

I'll put it this way: being physically fit and healthy is seen as vital and it is generally very important, but there is absolutely no time to do it and actually stick with it. 

Let's say that I want to do some exercise on my busiest college day: Thursdays 8:40am - 4:10pm. We can eliminate 40mins before and after both times as that's how long it takes me to get there on a day without traffic. We can also eliminate 2 breaks: a 20min break I get in the morning and a 50min break I get in the afternoon, as during those times I need to do homework and/or revision. By the time I get home its around 5ish. I then have to complete any work I've been set during the day as well as revise for mocks and exams. Due to the fact that I am human, I need time to eat and sleep. Weekends are spent doing exactly what I do during the week, with the added bonus of volunteering. 

Where is the time to exercise? It doesn't exist! 

Fortnightly I give up my lunchtime to go on a walk and I regularly meal skip. There is no other time for being physically healthy. The amount of nights I've lost to pulling all nighters for the sake of work is insane! 

Humans need time to socialise and reset and do self care things...I am living for work right now and I'm willing to bet that anyone doing a fulltime/multiple jobs feels the same/similar. WE WERE NOT MADE TO LIVE FOR WORK! 

I can't believe that I have reached the point where I feel the need to constantly be doing something productive. I can't believe that I have reached the point where I feel guilty for watching a 10 minute video about cake baking. I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE REACHED THE POINT WHERE I FEEL UNPRODUCTIVE FOR READING A FICTION BOOK OR ATTENDING AN ONLINE WRITING EVENT! 

What the fuck is society doing to us? We are not machines, yet society seems to be conditioning us to become more and more like them. If we keep going like this, the idea of work-life balance will be a concept lost to history. 

I am not saying that society is bad as a whole, on the contrary, I think society is incredible provided it teaches us values that don't push us to the brink of barely functioning. Yes, respect is a great British value and freedom, hell yeah! But it is not okay to value overworking to the point of burnout. We are more than the sum of our achievements and we are worth so much more than what we can produce or what grades we get or what type of job we have!

I am calling on you, the reader, to spread the message far and wide that we need to value people. Work matters but it honestly doesn't matter much as a person. Work can wait, it will get done eventually, people can't. We need to support each other in any way we can. We  need to support ourselves in any way we can. 

 It's not enough to acknowledge a significant achievement that benefits the world. People benefit the world so we need to acknowledge every single thing from waking up and getting out of bed in the morning to taking time out to have a bubble bath and watch Netflix. 

I wish I could ban the phrases "you haven't worked hard enough" or "you need to manage your time better" because unless you've walked in someone else's shoes, you really don't know whats been going on behind closed doors. You haven't seen the teacher struggling whilst continuing put their students first by marking their work without a break. You haven't seen the parents who live for their work because society has given them no other meaning. You haven't seen your co-worker who puts on a smile and says they are okay when they are actually drowning in their work.

Heck you probably only see yourself through the eyes of others and haven't acknowledged how hard you work every single day even though it makes you tired. 

 According to https://mhfaengland.org 1 in 4 people in the uk experience mental health issues each year. That is staggering. I can guess why we are in such a crisis and no, it's not just because of the pandemic. And no it doesn't come down to just 1 issue. It is made up of a host of innumerable political, economical and social factors, work/college/school life only contributes to this.

The institutions that prepare us for work life by stating that we need to have a balance are the same institutions who's workers are suffering because of their own work life. We don't teach anyone how to realistically have a balance and we can't until we re-design the working week, so that we only work the 8 hours that we are supposed to. So that we have choice over whether we want to do more rather than the obligation or the need. 

I am talking to everyone from all walks of society. The best time for change is right now. I encourage you to write down or review your own week. You'll see exactly what I'm talking about. I implore you, change as much as you can to make your life work for you. It is your life. You need to make sure that you are content with what you are doing. You need to make sure that you are looking after BOTH your mind and body. Above all else, you need to make sure that you are working to live not living to work.

For more advice on re-claiming the balance, the links below may be useful: 

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/  (this one has lots of mental health links)

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/a-z-mental-health/

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/w/work-life-balance

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/07/ten-tips-for-a-better-work-life-balance

https://www.etsy.com/uk/market/weekly_planner

https://www.actionforhappiness.org/calendars

https://www.headspace.com

(I also really recommend to do list apps/planners) 

On that note, for the first time in a week I'm going to read a book, actually get a full night sleep and in the morning, I'm going to re-organise my own life to make it work for me. 

-Amello 

Let's get weird

Last month I found a crazy post on a local facebook page, someone had posted that a local duck rescue had closed and as a result, this person had a week to re-home 300 ducks. My initial thought was "Duck rescues exist?!" and my second thought was "only one thing would make this more hilarious, if the ducks somehow ended up in the pond right next to the Chinese restaurant." I dug a bit more into the post and found that THE AUTHOR ACTUALLY CLARIFIED THAT THE DUCKS WERE NOT FOR EATING, as if "adopt" was just a code for "eat with hoisin sauce". I kid you not, this is an actual post that came up on my feed on a casual Sunday morning. It made my day.

Amongst a few people I know, there are a few village flightless bird conspiracies:

1. Does the Chinese restaurant get their peiking duck from the duck pond next door?

2. Are the swans real or fake?

So a few weeks ago, 2 "swans" magically turned up in said duck pond and a friend and I can't figure out if they are real or fake. He seems to think they are fake as they generally tend to stay still, however I saw them move the other day so I'm suspicious...

So you're probably reading this post at 10am on a Friday and thinking "what is Amello on about?" You'll find out soon enough.

Now it's time for a story totally unrelated to birds of any kind. Earlier this year I made the perilous journey to my favourite comic shop- the one that does actual non-superhero comics- to pick up more issues of the "Life Is Strange" comic when I bumped into Spiderman and Batman. They were handing out flyers for a comic-con and I couldn't resist asking for a few selfies. I know, we've established that superheros aren't my kryptonite, but an opportunity like that doesn't come around every day. To be honest, the costumes were awesome and it still feels like an epic crazy story to casually bring up. 

Here's yet another unrelated story. One day, fam decided that we were going on a spontaneous day trip and we accidentally stumbled into a folk festival. I had never been to one and it was enchanting. I was all about those Esmeralda vibes. We only planned to spend an hour or two there but we got lost in a crowd of colour and melodic folk music. Due to the unexpected heat, I ended up buying a set of clothes which makes me look like a genie....I love it!

I thought nothing could top this awesome day, I was very wrong. Stopping off for early dinner on the way home, we came across a pride festival. Naturally we bought pride merch and watched the partying whilst eating rainbow ice cream. 

What I'm getting at is this: weird things can happen anytime. I think that at some point we all find spontaneity and randomness to be a bit out of our comfort zones and I think that sometimes it can be a bit difficult to re-group after something unexpected has happened. That's valid. 

My advice is to face those strange things with the mindset that at some point in the future, it will end up being one of those stories you tell to entertain people. Heck, it could end up being something that somehow ends up in one of those conversations where you can't figure out how you got from talking about the weather to talking about the meaning of life.

Even if it doesn't come up in a grand text chat, at least it's a memory. Even better, it's yours to do with as you will. In this day and age, when the future seems to be everything, sometimes it's important to say "Screw you Future! I'm living in the Present and I'm on a mission to make as many memories as possible. Come at me, Weirdness, I can take you!"

On that note, I'm off to face my daily dose of weirdness- Amello 

There's more to life than superhero comics

There's a whole genre dedicated to superhumans, which is great for the huge fanbase that is really into exceptional people. Surprisingly I am not a member of that club. A few months ago someone I know found about my love of comics and said something along the lines of  "That's really cool. So I gather you are into superhero comics...like deadpool." 

First of all. Heck no! I go hours out of my way to the only shop that I currently know of that does non-superhero comics. Second of all, if I have a sudden urge to dive into the deep end, I am only going to read Harley Quinn comics because I find villains more interesting and she is quirky. 

There is more to the graphic genre than superheroes!!! I cannot express this point enough!! It seriously annoys me how closed-minded some comic-devotees can be. Let me educate you...

1. Representation is EVERYTHING. I'm talking body types, race, sexuality, gender... Seek out Moonstruck, I can guarantee it will change your life, at the very least it will teach you more about the way the world works even though it is very heavily fantasy. 

2.  Comics don't have to be serious. I'm looking at you disney princess comics. For those of you who would like to argue about how certain ages can't enjoy that stuff, don't. Just don't.

3. Comics about serious topics don't have to be serious. Kim Reaper is hilarious and sensitive at the same time. 

4. Comic transcend fandoms. The Life is strange comic series does justice to the fandom. 

The list goes on and on and I'm getting sidetracked.... 

Comics deserve more respect than they get. If I am crazy tired (as I usually am), sometimes I find books taxing and I want to chill out with something as mindless as watching a TV soap opera. Sometimes a story is better as a comic. Let's not forget how great an opportunity for artists to reach a wide audience. Bonus: comics are less time consuming than books and significantly more affordable than both graphic novels and books. Double bonus: You can read some out of chronological order and if you don't like issue 1, you don't have to keep reading it. 

I cannot tell you how many times I have been pulled up for reading comics and graphics. Seriously, sometimes my brain needs multiple breaks from wordy things and tech! I understand that they may not be your thing, but they are mine so let me have this. 

I know that my comic habits could probably do with some tweaking. I have this thoroughly annoying habit of getting issue 1, enjoying it immensely, going to the comic shop to buy more issues...and buying yet more issue 1's of various other comics. Currently, the only series I have actually kept up with are Moonstruck, Life is strange (though I recently lost track of the second quarter of comics) and Brave chef Brianna (simply because there are only 4 issues in the entirety of the mini-series). 

I know that in theory, the graphic novel collections of comics make a sort-of-sense. I just happen to prefer the actual comic version and try to avoid graphic collections unless they chose to switch from the comic format to the graphic format (I'm looking at you Moonstruck). I get very irked when they make the switch! 

Side note: comics can bring people together. A story for another day. 

I was supposed to be talking about how life-changing books can be, but I've ended up going on a comic rant (nothing wrong with that). Thats life lol, most plans don't work out. Today is not the day for seriousness...

Anyway that's all I've got for now, ttyl- Amello 

Things I learned about the Environment and Activisim.

I would like to talk to you about the environment. I know that that sounds like the environmental activist/annoying environmentalist film stereotype but rest assured, I'm not here to call you out for fly-tipping (even though I don't particularly agree with it) nor am I here to tell you to try and become more like Infinity Jackson from The Politician season 2. This isn't going to be a guide like the book from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy,which says "Don't Panic" even though it knows that everyone is panicking. 

This is going to be about how many geeky/teen references I can fit into a single post...just kidding. In all mock seriousness, it's my usual thing of telling you weird stories that have actually happened for the sake of my enjoyment and your amusement/confusion.

My first encounter with the fact that we humans are killing the Earth was in year 5. I watched a David Attenborough documentary in class, learned about overfishing and suddenly decided to stop eating fish. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but at the time it was because my mother started letting me pick out fish at the fish counter at our local supermarket a few times a month. Needless to say she was a bit annoyed. It wasn't long afterwards that some distant relatives of mine decided to invite us to go on a boat trip with them. My mother, seeing this as a prime opportunity to renew my taste for fish, accepted. BIG MISTAKE. We went "Jigging" (google it) and I managed to catch mystery fish. Me, being young and naive, thought that we were going to keep the fish for a while and then set it free. NOPE. I watched it being gutted on the deck with the handle of a winch and vowed never to eat fish again. Long story short, I thought prawns were okay so I only ate those if we were having seafood up until the point where I decided to go vegetarian (even longer story short, it is practically impossible to stay vegetarian in Germany). 

I haven't eaten fish since. 

The year afterwards I was in a geography lesson. I didn't know that tax is added to stuff, heck I didn't know what taxes were (I still don't), I also didn't know that you have to pay for the water that comes out of your tap. Naturally I got freaked out when a teacher talked about how we were going to have to pay more for water. I had an idea that I genuinely believed was genius. I was going to fill up as many bottles as I could with water and put it in the freezer so that we would get free water when the government decided to make us pay for it. One of these bottles happened to be a brand-new metal bottle my mother got to take with her to work. I learned 2 things that day:

1. Water isn't like vegetables or meat, it expands when frozen. Trust me, having that conversation about how you managed to break the bottle beyond use because of a severe lack of common sense is VERY AWKWARD ON BOTH SIDES. 

2. You have to pay for most things. Capitalisim Yo!

Funnily enough, this was the same year that I joined my middle school's "Eco Group". It only lasted a year because of lack of membership and all I learned was how to make button badges and how to convince people that it is cheaper to buy from the school shop than it is to buy from somewhere like Tesco. It was not cheaper in any way, shape or form but the stuff was impossible to break, looked cooler and the money went to a good cause: environmental conservation. 

Secondary school: became a fulltime vegetarian for a year because I saw a silent protest in London about animal testing whilst I was on my way to see a show. Quit for various reasons.

Last year felt like a final straw for my environmental awakening. I met up with a friend in the morning so we could hang out for the day then go to a party in the evening, when I got there she told me that we were going to take part in an environmental protest before doing anything else. I hadn't seen that many people in one place since Comic con and it was honestly intimidating. I held up a protest sign for the first time in my life, I learned a chant that wasn't about feminism (I accidentally came across a feminist protest in London a few months earlier) and I sat down in the middle of the road with an insane amount of people my age, blocking traffic, with the police protecting us on one side and various adults shouting at us things like "You should be in school", "Screw the environment" and "I fully support you all!" Confusing much. I didn't end up staying for long, it was too hectic and loud for me although I still consider it to have been a great experience because of what I learned about firsthand activism.

Having had various experiences with environmental ideas, I have come to my own conclusion. I don't need to be outspoken or go to a protest to be an activist. Being outspoken or even voicing my thoughts anywhere except on this blog feels majorly intimidating, so I generally avoid it where possible. That doesn't mean I don't have ideas or believe in things strongly, it just means that there are other ways of being an activist. 

I educate myself in my own time and listen to other people's point of views. I occasionally re-post on instagram but I take the time to read and save posts. I look through social media as well as read books that people who understand more have written. I read fiction and non fiction. Recently I wrote an essay about the art of rhetoric in environmental speeches. I sound like I'm boasting (I probably am) but these are various examples of what any quiet activist can do, there are probably a lot more things that I don't even know about yet. 

What I am trying to say is this: just because you many not want to be loud doesn't mean you can't whisper from the sidelines. It certainly doesn't mean that you can't/don't quietly support a cause in your own time. Activism isn't just about spreading the word, it's about navigating it and understanding it for yourself in your own way. 

On that note, I'm going to head off and read my current book "Queenie", which I recommend for anyone who is interested in gaining a better insight into Race and Sexisim.