Return

My blog is now back to normal. I made all my personal posts private because I was standing for election and, in my head, I thought the electorate might trawl through my social media to see if I am a suitable candidate. Of course, I don’t think I say anything inappropriate here but I worry how I sound as an anxious person. I didn’t really have anything to worry about because only 369 students voted! That’s 1.7% of the student population (according to brightonsu.com/elections/livestats/).

I don’t really have anything to say about my standing for election. I didn’t campaign because I thought that anyone engaged enough to vote would read manifestos and make a decision from that. I didn’t want to spend members’ money on campaigning for election because, well, it just feels exploitative. Late on Thursday before the voting period closed I thought about campaigning. I made a moonwalking bear (toyhacking!!!) but only showed it to my colleagues and Sarah made a silly video of me.

I feel a bit bad standing for election and having nothing to say about it. It seems like it should be a big deal and I should have a thousand words about my thoughts and experiences. But, no, I just have a moonwalking bear video.

One person did read my manifesto and send me a question. That person was the BME Officer and Campus Action Team member Niczar Amade. I’m looking forward to seeing what Niczar brings to the Student Union. From corresponding with him, he seems to be a very engaged and inquisitive person (which is what I like to see from an elected officer!)

Workshop
I facilitated a collage-making workshop on Tuesday. It was nerve-wracking and I wanted to give up in the first ten minutes. But I got into the swing of it; most people seemed to enjoy it and we ended the session with some great work. I haven’t had chance to sit down and reflect because I have been busy but I really feel confident in myself since returning to university. I think the main reason I have become more confident is because MAIAP is a safe space to make mistakes, and a place where I have reframed my ideas of my own failures.

Caucus
The past two weeks have seen me working on evenings and Saturday. But I got the opportunity to catch up with some friends on Sunday evening at UNISON Disabled Members’ Conference disco. It was great to let off some steam and chat the evening away. It may not seem like a note-worthy moment, but I like to keep hold of memories like these because they get me through darker times.

Telethon
I have been co-supervising the telethon. It has been interesting, challenging and rewarding. The callers are a lovely and I look forward to working with them again. I don’t think I ever got my head around the database and the importing pledges/donations. It was a steep learning curve but I left after the final shift today with admiration for every one of them.

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