G-DAY: Backstage (Part 2)

10.25AM
Okay, great made it. I've got a seat number on my ticket.. Obviously I'm smack bang in the middle of the row so shuffle down past my fellow on-time promptly seated graduates with a constant 'sorry... sorry.. sorry..'

10.30
*half screechy half melodic wedding-esque sound* An organ? Really? Where on earth did they pluck that from? Oh god are we supposed to stand?! I just took off my shoes I was getting comfy!


10.31
A procession of mushroom-hat and gown wearing old guys arrive. Or so I hear. Being 5ft2 means your ticket to the ceremony of life only comes available in 'limited view' option.

10.35
Vice Chancellor making a speech

10.40
Still making a speech. Ooh video time!

10.45
Not really sure why we're watching a video of how amazing Loughborough is. Very similar to the videos they showed at open day five years ago. Jeez talk about oversell.. I already bought it didn't I!?

10.50
We're off! The front row is being lead to the side of the stage. Oh god I'm only 4 rows back.

Beginning to regret wearing THESE...

10.51
First person is poised ready to collect. My heart goes out to them, they have no one to copy or follow the poor thing. OH MY GOD ARE WE CLAPPING FOR EVERY SINGLE ONE! Right I'm rationing my claps. Sorry Jessica Brown, my praise has already been allocated to Joe Cross.

10.55
Oh god it's my row. Dear Universe, I promise to only ever use my Psychology knowledge for good if you make it so that I don't fall over during this.

10.58
I'M NEXT AAAH.
"Rebecca Cutbill"
Oh my god I got whooped! Thank you fans! I'd like to thank my Mum, and my Dad, and...

11.00
I made it! Back safely in my seat, certificate in hand, dignity in tact. Just two and a half more pages of names to go..

11.15

So much respect for the guy reading the list. I never realised quite how.. Erm.. Cosmopolitan Loughborough was and he manages to nail even the most awkward Chinese names everytime.


11.30
Ah the old guy in fancy gold robes is talking about something inspirational, it must be nearly over. Good, it's getting warm in here.

11.40
Organs going again. It's definitely over. All the old guys in fancy robes walking INCREDIBLY slowly down the stairs. Oh now it's us - we have to do it single file procession style? You mean we can't run out, clicking our heels Billy Elliot style? How disappointing.

11.45
We're out! We're graduates! Let's take loads of photos! Now where did I leave those parents of mine?

What I Learnt In My Psychology BSc: Nine Extremely Non-Useful-But-Kinda-Interesting Facts

Okay so you will be devastated to know that three weeks before completing my Psychology degree, I cannot read minds. Trust me, I'm disappointed too.

But in between all the statistics, essays and neurological names, the thing I personally love about psychology is that every now and again you get a little gem of a fact, which, if you can shoehorn into conversation, makes you sound like a fountain of interesting knowledge (ish).

There will have been so many over the years, but here's some that come to mind..

1. Prosopagnosia 
...is a disorder where people genuinely can't recognise faces.
2. Mindfulness
...is a mediatation-like process which has been found to effectively treat loads of psychological disorders - not through placebo effect, but through actually changing the structure of neurons in your brain.
3. Post natal depression
..  has a fairly commonly reported symptom of mothers uncontrollably having thoughts about putting their baby in the microwave. Okay, I don't LIKE this fact but it's pretty interesting. Plus, they don't actually do it.
4. Animals don't get mirrors.
... If i remember correctly, only humans, some monkeys and dolphins can recognise themselves in a mirror. All others think it's just another animal.
5. I can point to where in  your brain you are thinking and feeling.
...If I can remember back to the second year module that is! For example, just above your ear in the middle of the brain is for memory and emotion, and the front of your brain is for complex problem solving.
6. Controlled electrocution (EEG)
...Is a last resort treatment for some psychological disorders, such as depression. Its basically controlled electrocution, sending electric waves through the brain. No one knows why it works, but it does.
7. When you're dreaming, your eyes roll back and flutter rapidly.
... Sleep isn't one solid state, there's stages. REM stage, when you dream, stands for Rapid Eye Movement. I've never seen anyone do it until my dog the other week and it's wieeerd.
8. David Canter
... Is a forensic psychologist who police appealed to as a last resort in a serial murder/rapist case in the early 1990s called the Railways Rapist. Canter suggested where the man lived, his height, his social status, his occupation and details such as a martial arts interest and marital difficulties and he was right. His correct profile lead to the arrest of John Duffy. Google it!
9. Gay parents who raise children together
... Have no adverse effects on the children.


What we can also do is critically evaluate the hell out of anything you say. SO much critical evaluation.


I may do another one of these posts, but for now, enjoy! :)