It’s been a very slow and daunting last couple of weeks.  I’ve learnt many an important lesson and even though it has been a mere freckle in the ocean of my life, I think it has made a very serious impact.  I’m fully aware of the fact that I am in a position which comes with a lot of power and obviously a lot of responsibility, and that naturally as the pressure and stress of life increases, the impact can be quite telling physically.

A good example of the physical impact of stress and pressure would be none other than our current UK prime minister, Gordon Brown.  In 1997, New Labour swept to power under the guidance of a very young and talented fresh-faced politician named Tony Blair.  At the time, Gordon Brown became the New Chancellor of the Exchequer and was clearly very inexperienced.  13 years on, one economic downturn later, and numerous scandals involving government officials using public money for their own gains, Mr. Brown has the look of a war-torn soldier who has seen it all.  A rare smile, the strands of silver hair, and wrinkles beginning to show all the tell-tale signs of a man who has experienced a lot of pressure in his line of work. 

Currently up and down the UK, students of all ages are fretting at the thought that their exams are only a couple of weeks away.  The pressure is beginning to mount and the stress is starting to build.  A vast amount of knowledge to wade through along with courseworks and reports bogging them down don’t help at all.  Just the thought of it all is making them sweat at night and shudder in their hi-tops.  Gloomy night after night, the metaphorical candle light burns as book after book is read through and notes scribbled and annotated over and over again.  As a student myself, the thought of doing it all is occasionally too much and the old cliche begins to ring in my ears, “I’ll do it tomorrow”.  But tomorrow never comes.

There are always two ways to tackle a problem and this was illustrated wonderfully in the hit Disney Pixar film, Finding Nemo.  A young clown fish named Nemo is lost in the ocean, and Marlin, Nemo’s dad, along with tag-along buddy Dory go out in search of the whole ocean to find him.  Along the way, they ask a school of moonfish for directions, and one of the pieces of advise they gave was, “When you come to the trench, swim through it not over it.”  For me, these are the two options one has when faced with a block in the road.  One can either work to solve the problem or one can avoid the problem altogether in the vain hope that it disappears.  With exams on the horizon and all those issues of revising and working, the best way is to just do it and finish it off as opposed to leaving it alone and allowing the work to pile up.  I hope this wake-up call serves as a reminder to not only me but for anyone who is facing some sort of issue at the moment. 

“This is the mark of a really admirable man: steadfastness in the face of trouble.”- Ludwig van Beethoven

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