All in all, you're just another brick in the wall.

I'm excited about it. I'm dreading it. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with school.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the schooling system of Australia, I head back for another year of high school on Tuesday. Then I get a bunch of days off because of public holidays, and confusion ensues. However, my main concern for this post is school itself.

I started vlogging at New Year, which meant that I have been on school holidays the entire time. I upload videos every Thursday and Sunday. However, when I head back to school, I am not sure if this schedule can continue. Never fear, I shall still make a video a week unless something really big comes up. Sundays are my definite days, don't worry.

The only reason I am concerned is because of the workload I have this year. Being the idiot that I am, I've assigned myself a lot of extension classes. I've promised to put my education first. Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure. I feel that challenging myself would be beneficial.

I'm not sure how my video schedule will continue through the year, but know this, I will most certainly make a conscious effort to balance both school and the internet. If college students can manage it, so can I. Videos will be up on Sundays and (most) Thursdays.

I'm not exactly sure how I feel about going back to school. I love my friends a lot and I would enjoy seeing them. Although, I'm not too fond of being bombarded in tasks. Alas, this is school life. I do like to learn, I just don't like having so much work to do that I can not fit in fun. And as much of a Ravenclaw as I am, I do love my fun. We'll see how this year goes, I'm sure I'll get back into routine soon.

Those Prehistoric Things Called Books

I love used book stores. So it was to my delight that when I ventured into the abyss of 'outdoors' and had a wee bit of a social life today, I noticed a tiny little book store squashed in the middle of nowhere. This particular used book store was a nerdy dream! There were Star Wars novels everywhere, original orange Penguin novels, there were editions of Sherlock novels from the fifties, Doctor Who books from aeons ago and Star Trek episodes on VHS (yes, VHS my friends, those were the days!); it was as if this place were frozen in time.

Then a thought hit me that was slightly unnerving. As we've moved and progressed through mediums of entertainment through the ages, will books ever become a thing of the past? Will I be that weird uncool mum who enjoys lifting the pages of a good old book? Popular culture has certainly evolved over the years, after all, who still listens to radio plays? With the birth of television, colour television, 3D television; consumers certainly love the latest gadgets. Various forms of music have also progressed, from vinyl records to iPods, we've certainly seen change in the industry. We really do live in a digital age.

With the birth of E-Readers much debate has occurred over whether books were really worth it. Some question the environmental issues with the printing of books, as they are obviously made of paper. Whilst I believe firmly in saving the environment, I am all for books, and I believe that they can be printed in a sustainable way. A way of keeping the environment in check whilst still having the benefit of the printed word is of course Mixed Sources, for example, in my beloved copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, it declares openly that it is printed upon paper from well managed forests.

Quite frankly, I do not see the fuss of E-Readers, and staring at a screen for too long can make my eyes go fuzzy (I blame the Nargles). However, I am certainly for reading no matter how a person chooses to do so. Will books slowly be phased out? I very much doubt that, not in my lifetime anyway. And I hope not. Old fashioned books have existed for centuries, and most likely will for centuries more. A person may do as they wish in regards to reading a book and I wish them well should they choose to read digitally. I have experimented with E-Readers and have not found them to my liking, but to each their own. I guess I just love the smell of books and the feel of paper too much.

During the course of the 50 books challenge, and the rest of my life...




P.S. My next vlog is about books. Spoilers!

Blogging, Social Ineptitude and Badassery

As I sit here staring at my screen with far too many tabs open than I ever thought to be humanly possible or necessary, I begin to realise what clicking the little link that read sign up actually did. As a really open nerd, I consider myself to be fairly socially inept; amazing social skills are generally not associated with being a nerd. However, in signing up for yet another website where I put myself out to the world in posting whatever comes to mind I realise just how socially involved I actually am. Whilst most modern social networking occurs in front of a screen nowadays, it is not at all fair to say that this is not interaction. It is. Sure, you can't see my mannerisms as I type this right now, nor can you hear my voice or my awkward pausing and paraphrasing, yet it is true that these words have inevitably reached you if you have read this far.

I believe that it takes quite a lot of courage for a person to put themselves out to the world, to say "Hey, this is what I have to say, and I am proud!" and sure, while literally voicing yourself in a public place may achieve this, it is far easier said than done. Typing behind a screen seems quite a lot easier than speaking to a person, nay, a group of people face to face, but it still is a medium to convey thoughts and ideas. In blogging, I am able to hide behind a screen, and how are you to know that I am shovelling ravioli in my mouth during my awkward pauses mid thought? Yet, the notion is still the same, I am talking to an audience.

What I am getting at is that while there may be many mediums and social networking platforms, when it comes down to communication, to truly speak the mind is something to aspire to. So nerds on the internet out there, especially those with blogs, I tip my hat to your courage and intellectual badassery.

In creating this blog, I hope to speak my mind. I shall most likely post whenever I feel I have a good idea that can be expanded upon, as not to fill this blog with posts that consist of 'LOL I BOUGHT A SONIC SCREWDRIVER TODAY, EPIC WIN!' ...there's tumblr for that. I may also make new blog posts when I make a new vlog on YouTube and wish to explain further, or the back story behind it.

Basically, I made a blog, this is it. Welcome. I hope to write something of more substance or at least something remotely entertaining soon.