Time flies when you're having fun

What a crazy week!! I have had some of the most exciting things happen this week! Firstly, I have been selected to be a part of the TEDed programme where I will be ultimately doing a TED talk at my end of year exhibition (anyone who knows me, will know how exciting this is to me). I think this is such a great opportunity for me to really refine my presentation skills in one of the worlds most renowned formats!
Secondly, I was blessed with the opportunity to interview for an amazing role at my dream company!! Regardless of the outcome, it's been a massive honour to even be considered, I had the interview today so fingers crossed. I also randomly attended a audition for the pineapple annual showcase- with my divalution commercial class and got it- so expect to see me in a costume in the near future..
Aaaand I also got my exam results back and after months and months of slaving on them, I am pleased to say I got *drum roll please* straight As. I increased my grade massively from all my previous exam results too which is a massive bonus- what a feeling when hard work pays off.

Plus massive happy birthday to my dream of a flatmate Polly! I fully decorated our flat for her and it looks fabulous! I think I need to sit down... What a week

TED X My Obsession

So it's safe to say that I've developed a kind of obsession with watching TED talks (my better and more justifiable alternative to watching cat videos on youtube) when I'm procrastinating on my dissertation research.
This is also quite topical to me, as our uni are about to do an amazing collab with TED ed, as a one off TEDxUAL talk happening later on in the year. I'm so excited and really wanted to apply to talk, but just didn't have the time to apply whilst I was swamped in final year exams- but moaning aside- I'm so excited to see the kind of insights that will come out of my innovative uni. I'm hoping it will be something along the lines of the #1 most viewed post "Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity", a topic close to my heart. As someone who has always focussed on creative subjects throughout my education, I've always pushed for recognition for the importance of creativity in my learning and have found that my achievements were sometimes downplayed by my school as they were simply not "academic" accomplishments- in-spite of being one of the highest achieving students in both academic and creative subjects.

Anyway, my favourite speaker at the moment is a man called Simon Sinek, focussing on talks to do with leadership and management. I've recently watched one of his 2005 talks on how leaders inspire action, but I have to say my favourite of the moment, is the 2014 talk on "Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe". I won't explain all the content, but its really interesting how the psychology and actions of a leader can generate trust and even 'love' in their teams, driving higher capacity for productivity and innovation because people feel safe- the perceived risk of error decreases.