Finding my Roots

 Hello!

This week, I'm finally getting round to discussing life at university! Though first I want to introduce the newest member of the family - we got him in June/July.

Oreo with a toy

He's a cat, called Oreo on account of the black-and-white colouring. We also call him 'Ri-Ri', 'Rio', 'Mus-Mus' (dad and Karys), 'the biscuit' (me and dad) and 'little one' (me). He's Karys' cat mainly. Oreo and Pippin get on quite well, though Oreo did like batting Pippin with his paws when he was younger. Oreo is an energetic, adventurous cat; he used to enjoy cuddles, but is now going through the highly annoying phase of "I'm a big grown-up boy, I don't need love or affection!" Speaking of adventurous, he will try and escape out the front door to explore the front garden - on the occasions that he succeeds, he behaves in a similar manner to Pippin when he goes twitchy (difficult to catch, darts away from people). Also extremely irritating.

Demonic possession!

Me wearing Oreo for a youth group gimmick

Oreo is a rescue cat, rather like Pippin is a rescue dog. I have a mild cat allergy - so when we got him, I had a perpetually blocked nose...partially because I held him close to my mouth and nose. Oddly, now that he's less fond of being picked up, I don't constantly have a blocked nose...

Now that Karys has moved out, Oreo lives at her apartment; he still gets brought round during the week, so he can have access to a garden. She also comes round regularly.

Oreo and Pippin sharing a sofa

My cousins, Neve and Huw, are fond of Oreo; they've been able to come and visit a few times. They both call him 'Kittah', and they like trying to cuddle him. He's not so fond of them - a bit scared, I suspect.

Onto university!

My A-Level results were good - I got an A in English Lit and Lang, a B in History and a C in Biology,  so I succeeded at making it into Reading. As far as I know, my friends did well, as well. Two of my friends are at Nottingham now - my parents went there!

I moved to university in September 2020. There's five other people in the flat - two girls and three other boys. Amusingly, when I told my friend John about that, he said it was a nice, equal boy-girl split. Don't know whether that was a joke, or momentarily getting me confused for one of his sisters, who's around my age.

The two girls and two of the boys are all quite close; I hang out with them sometimes as well, but not too much. The fourth boy is friendly with all of us, but he rarely hangs out.

I'm on the Whiteknights campus (not saying which hall, though!). It's a nice place - there's a Co-op on site. It's also the home of the Harris Garden, though I don't have any pictures

Google Images picture of Whiteknights Lake

We have squirrels

My first term at university was fun. For History, in first year, you have nine modules throughout the year - three core modules and the rest are optional. Three optional modules in the autumn term, three in the spring term and the summer term's for revising. The core modules are Research Skills and Opportunities (runs through both autumn and spring), Journeys through History 1: People and Power (autumn) and Journeys through History 2: Culture and Concepts (spring). My optional modules for autumn term were on religion in the Middle Ages, the history of black people in Britain, and the history of immigration to Britain from the 17th to the 21st centuries. I enjoyed them. They were online and offline: lectures were online only, but seminars were offline. 

Me and one of my lecturers

There was a support mishap as well; I have notetakers to take notes for me in seminars, as I find it difficult to write and listen at the same time. However, in the first term, there was a miscommunication somewhere down the line, and the notetakers only took notes in the two core modules. That issue was, thankfully, rectified in the spring term.

I had several assignments as well - two source analyses, a book review, a journal review and a research essay. One for each module. I did well in them, and handed them in on time, though it was quite stressful.

My family came to visit me several times, which was quite nice; they brought Pippin with them, who was happy to see me. He's quite a sentimental dog, so gets attached easily and if you go away (i.e. to uni), he'll whine and sulk. My parents also helped me do shopping at Asda at least once - though I have shopped on my own as well! On one of those occasions, I returned from Asda at lunchtime, put the bags of shopping in my room, then took the fridge-worthy things to the kitchen. One of my flatmates was in the kitchen at the same time; as he didn't know I'd been shopping, he assumed I stored all my food in my room.

I also started watching Avatar: The Last Airbender during the autumn term, on Netflix. It's a fantasy show, set in a world where people can control the elements. I'll put a link to the opening sequence - that'll summarise the plot better than I can. It also takes a lot of inspiration from Asian cultures and beliefs. It's very good - I would definitely encourage others to watch! Steer clear of the live-action movie, though; its failings, as an adaptation and on its own, would take up a blog post on its own.

Also, my great-grandmother (GG) came to the University of Reading, when she was a student, hence the title. She studied a Dairy diploma from October 1941 to July 1943, in the Agriculture department. She stayed in St George's halls of residence, though apparently it was torn down and redeveloped some time after she left. I've been to the agriculture building - it's actually on the Whiteknights campus! Evidently, Agriculture was also redeveloped at some point, as it looks way too modern to be 40s-style architecture. I would have been attending some seminars in Agriculture this term, but lockdown trapped me at home. I was really looking forward to learning in the same building my great-grandmother did. 

Another interesting thing - I found a gravestone in the Harris garden, with the name Michael on it. My great-grandfather (GG's husband) was called Michael. I doubt that was his grave, as he died when my mum was young. The weird thing was, I didn't remember his name at the time, but I did, in a way. Seeing the name made me think of him, even though at the time I couldn't recall what his name was.

I've been thinking about my family a lot, lately. Partially, it's Covid - Nana, who died nearly three years ago now, would have been extremely vulnerable. In fact, if she hadn't died then, she'd probably have died at some point this year. I know several people who have suffered that loss, and there are people who've lost someone all over the world. If you have lost somebody, my sympathies are with you. I won't pretend it'll get easier with time - I still miss Nana a lot. Before she went into a care home, I'd visit her on the way home from school; it was the highlight of my day, and I think she enjoyed it as well. The fact that she went into a care home at around the time I was being bullied is one that still pains me - if I hadn't been so absorbed in my loneliness, I might have gone with Dad to see her more often.

A family gathering

I've also been thinking about my family a lot because of the university I'm studying at; it's a piece of my personal history. GG went there, and I'm there now (officially), eighty years later. She died when I was around 10, ten years before I'd retrace her steps. I've found myself thinking about other pieces of family history. My great-uncle, Robert Wigram, brother of my great-grandfather, who died in France in the Second World War. My great-grandfather, who died when my mum was about two. My grandfather, Brian Guest (maternal grandfather), who died in 1998, two years after my parents married. Grandad Bob, who, alone of the above four, got to meet me before dying. The story I've always heard about how he died was that, at his deathbed in hospital, he sent his family away to get lunch, then passed away in his sleep. I've always liked to think he knew the moment was coming, and sent his family away so they wouldn't have to watch. My great-uncle Stuart, husband of great-aunt Sally and co-owner to the spaniel Pippa; he died in 2017. He was like a grandfather to me.

A Pippa-pic, to brighten days

These thoughts are morbid, I'm aware. Though there's a third element to my ramblings - I've also been thinking a lot about family because of Avatar. I started watching in around October. Something that stands out to me is what happens when Aang, the titular Avatar, finds out he's lost his entire people; he goes into an explosive grief. What calms him down is Katara - one of his new friends. She sympathises, and says that he's found a new family, in the form of her and Sokka (her brother). He finds a new family, in the form of his new friends, and even becomes an honorary member of their culture; though he's suffered loss, new love is reborn from the old. I'm not saying that you need to go and find new friends, or make a new family - in fact, with regards to the example, Aang, Katara and Sokka had already been travelling together for a while by that point. They were already friends; in the same way, friends can (and should) support you - especially when they've faced similar things. The love we feel for those we've lost doesn't go away; it's reborn into new love - newly strengthened love for others, or newly forged relationships. Losing Nana - barely seeing her in the last three years of her life - is why I want to be a bigger part of Neve and Huw's lives. Learning that GG went to Reading kind of sealed the deal for going to Reading - going there meant I could be closer to GG, who I barely remember now. Going through that period of isolation and loneliness, in year 10 and year 11, has enabled me to treasure my friendships, make the effort to engage with my friends.

We lose people, but we gain people as well. In Avatar, Aang loses his people, but gains new friends. In Harry Potter, Harry loses his parents, but becomes part of the Weasley family. When I was born and Grandad Bob died, my family lost Grandad Bob, but gained me. That's not to say that people replace those we've lost; simply that there's a plus and a negative to every situation. You don't need to look for the direct plus in, say, losing your great-grandmother, or your parents - often, there isn't one. You just need to remember that there is hope, even in the darkest of times, and that better times will come, whatever they look like. 

The Festens at Kribi

To wrap up, and provide some levity after the ramble up there, I wanted to point out something that's rather neat - this blog is the first one since Fin, published last March, to discuss the present day. Up till this point, it's been either reviews or posts about Africa. Speaking of reviews, I'm thinking of reviewing The Last Airbender, the movie adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. For next week, I'll do a double billing - review and spring term at Reading!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGlgegZ3isc (A:TLA intro sequence).