And The Moral of The Story is ... Gary Barlow

Yesterday I read a very interesting article via the Guardian online, if you’re assuming that it was a science article or an article written by the fascinating Ben Goldacre you’re assuming wrong. This article kind of made me see the light at the end of the tunnel and also inspired me a little. The article was about none other than Gary Barlow (Take That vocalist). 

Growing up I was never really a Take That fan, I think I just missed out on the craze. I grew up in the era of a1, Westlife and Steps, just missing out on Boyzone and Take That. The Take That comeback didn’t really bother me either. So, why am I writing about Gary Barlow now? Why do I look up to him so much?

My appreciation for Gary Barlow started a few months ago when he became a judge on the current series of X Factor. I pretty much instantly felt admiration for Gary with his mannerisms, facial expressions and one-liners. I saw Gary as a guy who was honest yet cheeky. I do have to add that Gary is quite handsome and presentable too, but I won’t drag this story out too much. 

Over-running the tale, yesterday I came across an interview with Gary Barlow on The Guardian Online. I expected the interview to be largely based on the X Factor, trying to get the latest gossip from him about which acts would be most likely to win. As I was bored I decided to give the interview-based article a read anyway. The article was such an eye-opener and talked about the days in which Gary was no longer with Take That. The now sexy X Factor judge suffered a bout of depression and over-ate to the point where he put on 5 stone in weight. Gary reported often catching the train in disguise so that people wouldn’t recognise him, he was ashamed to be who he was, lost all sense of self and hated the life that he was leading. The negative comments in the media from Robbie Williams didn’t help either. The star was depressed and really saw no way out of it. At the age of 24 had Gary’s musical career really ended? Well, he thought so. 

As you all know, Take That made a comeback in 2005 and this was the highlight of Gary’s career never mind the highlight of his day when the ball started rolling. Music professionals constantly told Gary and fellow Take That members that Take That just wouldn’t work without the presence of Robbie Williams. Barlow started to worry that the Take That comeback would be a failure. The night before the comeback gig tickets went on sale, the almost tea-total Gary Barlow went out with a friend and got very drunk. He then got the phone call that told him that the tour was a complete sell out, Gary was amazed. 

Towards the end of the article Gary explained that whilst the initial split up of Take That made him feel quite depressed the whole experience makes him who he is today. Having suffered such a loss in his music career he now has experience to reflect on. Barlow feels that if Take That hadn’t of split when they did he would be a completely different person. 

The moral of this post is that you can always turn a negative into a positive, just as Gary Barlow did. I do understand that we’re not all professional singers or Take That fans for that matter but surely we can all take a little bit of inspiration from Gary Barlow. Just because you have problems when you’re young this doesn’t mean that your life is over, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Negative experiences often make you a stronger person and you gain a higher level of self-awareness. What I’m trying to say is never give up, if you have a dream or ambition then chase it, ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again’. To my knowledge you only have one life, so don’t waste it by thinking it’s come to an end early on in adulthood. Always take time to reflect on negative experience, turn them into positives and make room for self-improvement. As human beings we’re ever developing, never forget that. 

Today is World Mental Health Day, so I would like you all to spend a fraction of your time to think about people who suffer with mental health disorders. Whether it’s occupational stress, mild depression, OCD or schizophrenia. The more awareness of mental illness that there is, the less stigmatisation is attached to them. A little understanding could make the world a much happier place. Mental illness is often negatively wrote about in the media, for example Gary Barlow’s depression and weight gain, “psychos” committing crimes and so on (there are many examples). A stop should be made to this and the media should focus on the more positive approach to looking at mental illness, for example the article about Barlow in the Guardian. I’m going to stop writing now, I could probably write forever. But, please do take a short moment to reflect on mental illness and your attitudes towards it.

Original Guardian Article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/oct/08/gary-barlow-interview-x-factor

Thanks

- Jodie

Slowly Sinking

So yesterday I posted just to say that I hadn't posted a proper blog entry in such a long time. The reason being that I've simply forgot to post here for a while. I figure that it's time to give you all an update of what's going on in my life (well maybe not everything!!!). I really want to get back into the routine of maintaining a blog but it seems to be more difficult than assumed. 

I feel that since leaving university I haven't posted much, yet a lot has happened and I've certainly changed a bit as a person. Gone are the days when I could act a bit childish and use the excuse that I'm still a student. I'm now in the real world and seeking employment. I started looking for jobs a bit later than my classmates as I assumed that I was going to do my masters degree, however I assumed wrong. I applied for a careers and professional development loan from Barclays bank, the application process didn't run as smoothly as planned. Even though I sent all of the evidence required to them, they kept sending me letters asking for even more evidence, which I'd send and then be asked for even more. This cycle kept continuing until one day when I got a letter of confirmation. By this time I'd decided that a masters degree wasn't really financially worth it as I'd already got a first class degree. I feel that a masters degree in research methods is designed for people who got a 2:1 classification but want to proceed to PhD level, that's when the degree would come in useful. If you have a first class degree you are eligible to apply for PhD studentships, so why should I borrow money that isn't needed? I see the masters degree as a second option, to improve my skills if I have no success in getting a desirable job over the next year or so. 

So far on the job front I haven't actually been invited to an interview. I do admit that a few of my applications were rushed, maybe that's why. I've recently picked up new skills and pushed myself to the limit when applying for a PhD studentship, I still haven't heard any feedback from the particular university but there is still time. I have a few more applications lined up, so hopefully something good will come of all of this time that I'm spending applying for jobs. I'll let you know when and if I'm invited to an interview. Meanwhile I'm stuck visiting the job centre I'm afraid. 

I feel down sometimes because I haven't got the job that I want. There's nothing more that I want than to have a job. Sometimes I think that any job would be better than no job. The harder I work on an application the more heartbroken I actually feel when I don't hear anything from the employers. I'm fast loosing my sense of self. Surely something must give soon? I just feel as though I'm going nowhere, the road has ended here, I'm going to unemployed for the rest of my life. This is the last thing that I want, I'm so determined that I'll find a job soon. 

Apart from applying for jobs I haven't been doing much else. This might be due to the lack of money that I have at the moment. I've been hanging around with friends, going shopping and the usual things that I like doing, just not as much as I used to. Yet I have more time on my hands, this doesn't make much sense to me. I might seem a bit gloomy at the moment and there's probably a lot more stuff that I want to air but I best leave this for now!

I'll write soon

- Jodie

A long time ago ...

The thought occured to me earlier that I haven't posted a proper blog entry in such a long time. I'm not quite sure why, I guess it's simply that I keep forgetting to post an update.

Right now I have so much that I could be writing about but I feel very tired at the same time. So, I've decided that I'm going to write a lengthy post when I feel alert.

Speak soon
-Jodie