The Science of God

It annoys me when people argue that science and religion can't go together. It causes so much hate and friction and debate and fighting. It's stupid. Really it all boils down to ignorance and lack of acceptance.

You may use the argument "prove to me that God does exist", someone else might say "prove to me that God doesn't exist". At the end of the day we can't definitively prove either way, so why continue to argue over it so much? What's so difficult about everyone just agreeing to have their own beliefs and opinions and leave everyone else to do the same?

Because really there are flaws on both sides.

The science line of thinking has bits missing. The "missing link" in evolution being the main one that everyone brings up. There are also parts of the big bang theory that some may question. For those who believe in the scientific explanation it boils down to a bit of belief that there are some bits that we can't explain yet.

The religious line of thinking has bits missing too. These 'missing' bits vary on your religion and your interpretation of that religion. For instance, if you believe the world is only a few thousand years old how do we exlain carbon dating going back hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of years? There are plenty of examples that people could say are 'inconsistent' or inconclusive. Again, it boils down to having belief in it and that there may be some things we don't understand yet or may never understand.

But there are so many things that different religions and science all agree on if only you look hard enough. So why do people fight so violently over the bits that don't agree?

If my understanding of different religions is correct, the underlying message of the majority of major religions is peace and acceptance. So why so much violence and hatred for those whose religion isn't the same?

This is one of those things in this life that I guess I'll just never understand. And I'm sort of ok with that. I don't need to know why people fight over religion/science. I just hope to change even one mind so that they might change their view to one of acceptance.

At the end of the day we're all flesh and bone. We're all made up of a mixture of carbon and oxygen and iron and nitrogen and hydrogen and a whole lot more. If you take it down to the absolute fabric of our existance we're all made of protons and neutrons and electrons. They have no race or religion or gender. Basically we are all made of the same thing. And we'll all go back to that eventually. Just particles floating through space. So why not be happy particles, rather than hate filled particles?

First Year Feeling

Hi there

So I've just finished my first year at uni. I've no more classes, I've handed in all my final assignments and I've sat my exams. I've even moved out of my accommodation. It's been a whirlwind of a year with many ups and a few downs.

I thought I might share my experiences of the past year and hopefully give any of you starting uni in September a little bit of an insight into what you might expect and a little bit of advice.


Boring one first: register with a GP if you're not living at home anymore. You never know when you might need a doctor so you might as well get yourself registered quickly so that if anything happens, you're covered.

Try to meet as many people as you can in your first few weeks. Even if you don't end up staying best friends with them, you'll at least have someone to go through the awkward settling in stage with and a few familiar faces/names so it doesn't seem quite so scary when you walk into your first lecture and there's 100+ people who you've never met before and you need to find a seat.

Take advantage of the lack of seating plan in (most) classes. Sit beside someone new, chat to them before the class starts/during breaks. You never know who you might meet!

Don't worry too much if you don't find your new best friend during freshers week! The people I met in my first week are not the people I'm closest to now. Honestly, I barely talk to those people except for the odd hello if we happen to walk past each other or an occasional message on Facebook. It can take a bit of time to find the people who you really just 'fit' with and that's ok. It took me a few weeks to become good friends with the girl I'll be living with next year. The guys who are like brothers to me now, I didn't really know all that well until around November/December.

Make friends with people on your course. Bonus points if they're in 2nd/3rd year. They can be a complete lifesaver if you're really stuck with something and need help. (But don't use people! It needs to go both ways. Try to form a genuine friendship, rather than seeing them just as a talking homework guide!!)

Join as many clubs/societies as you can. Even if it's something that at first you don't get super excited about, go along even just once to see what it's like. You might find you really enjoy it! It's also a great chance to meet lots of people with a common interest that you might not have ever met otherwise.

Go to your classes. All of them. Or at least try your best. Just because this year "doesn't count" doesn't mean you can slack off and not do any work at all. Second year will probably build on the things you should have learnt in first year, so if you skip most of them you'll find it a lot harder later. You never know, you might even find some of it interesting. (You did choose this course after all.....)

Be prepared for your halls to be loud at night. There's always someone shouting in the hall at 2:30am. It's like some sort of weird curse. And it'll most likely be when you have a really important 9am the next day. Also be prepared for the loud and messy drunks. Ear plugs and coffee will become your best friends.

The kitchen is going to be a mess. And everything will smell... weird.... There will be month old dishes stashed under the sink and 5 different types of mould in the fridge. Welcome to student accommodation: the place where suddenly there are no mammys to fix and cook and clean everything. If there isn't broken glass on the floor and some surfaces don't have a layer of grease or aren't permanently sticky, be grateful. You will wonder if that stain on the wall is sauce or blood... and if that's curry or vomit in the corner.... You'll hope that it's sauce and curry, but don't get close enough to find out.

Do yourself a favour and learn to cook a few things for yourself. I mean actually cook! Not put pizza in the oven. At the very least know how to make pasta/rice, eggs and bacon - without giving yourself food poisoning/setting anything on fire!

Spend a bit of time getting to know the local area. There's nothing worse than finding yourself unsure of where you are and how to get home in the cold and rain!

Don't take too much with you. You will end up buying more when you're there. Even if you think you wont. And if you're at uni near to home you'll be taking bits and pieces up with you every other week on the train. Trust me. I moved in with maybe 2 car loads of stuff. It's taken me about 3 car loads to move out - with fewer people in the car this time!!

Enjoy yourself (responsibly) and have fun! But remember to relax too. It can be so easy to get caught up in everything that's going on and all your new classes and the assignments and all the things that you want to try out. Take time to step back from everything and just relax for a bit too. You don't need to be busy every second of the day.


Finally, remember that it's ok to not feel so great too. Mental health issues/general feelings of distress are really really common in university students - especially first year students! Don't be afraid to talk about it. Talk to a friend, call your parents, talk to your GP, your tutor, your uni guidance team, residential support, whoever is there that you feel you can talk to. No one is going to judge you if you're feeling a bit down. It really does happen more often than you'd think. And it's better to talk about it now and get it off your chest instead of bottling it up and ending up with a problem, rather than just a not so great feeling.


Good luck with your new adventures ahead, wherever they may be!

Paige x

Girls Have To Be Pretty?

Hi there

Something I've noticed is that girls who wear makeup and dress nicely tend to get more attention. I don't even mean just from guys; other girls, sales assistants, but yes of course guys too. Whereas the girls who don't bother with makeup, throw their hair up in a messy bun and wear leggings and a too-big hoodie tend to get ignored. Or worse, get dirty looks.

Why is that? The girl in the hoodie isn't necessarily going to be any less clean or well mannered than the girl in the dress and heels. So why does the 'pretty' girl get treated better?

As little girls if we were in trousers and a hoodie with only most of our hair scraped back, and had a few grassy stains on our clothes it was considered cute and we were playful and healthy. But if we were dressed like that now as older teenagers/adults we're "lazy" and "messy" and "don't care". At what point did the perception change?? And since when do we have to care about how we look 24/7?

Now I'm not saying we should all turn up to work in those sweats with the spaghetti stain on them. Professionalism is not what I'm calling into question here. It's our days off where we don't need to dress for work and look professional. Why when we're more relaxed about our appearance are we treated any less?

I'm the exact same person when I'm dressed "well" as when I'm in yoga pants and an old hoodie. So why should I be treated any differently?

And why is it that two girls in very similar outfits might be labelled in two very different ways? That girl with the tiny waist and the "perfect" curves is complimented on how great she looks in her yoga pants and tank top and she's "goals". But that girl who carries a few extra pounds and is a bit curvier and doesn't have as small of a waist or as "perfect" of a figure is thought of a "lazy" or a "slob" and might even be told that she shouldn't wear leggings in public. Why can one girl be told she looks great and another told she looks crap, when they're both in basically the same outfit?

Ok, not every outfit is going to suit every body type. One might suit it better than another. Fair enough. So how come the same girl can be told she looks great in that outfit when she's put on makeup and tied her hair up in an "effortless messy bun" - which, let's face it, took at least 15 minutes to get just right - and then go out in the same outfit with a bare face and her hair quickly pulled up in a ponytail and be asked if "she's ok because she looks really ill" (unless she's blessed with amazing skin and gets complimented on her "flawless" makeup when she isn't even wearing any - and to her: I salute you girl!).

Can we all just cut each other a bit of slack please? And treat each other like the princesses we are, even - no, especially - on the days where we don't look so put together. You don't know why we haven't put makeup on or why we've pulled on that old hoodie instead of something "nicer". Maybe there is no reason. Maybe there's a lot of reasons. So why treat us any differently just because we don't look "pretty"?

What do you think? Are girls who don't wear makeup and dress up every day any less pretty/attractive? Or are you fine with seeing them in their "natural" state?

Paige x

A Little More About Me

Hi,

I thought I might start this thing with a post on a bit about myself rather than some ranty post where I give off about something and anyone who's reading this thinks I'm some grumpy argumentative person who does nothing but complain. 'Cause I'm really not like that!

I'm a student at Queen's University Belfast studying Physics. I'll be moving into a flat with one of my best friends in September which I'm really excited about. It'll be a small little flat, perfect for the two of us. Also, it will smell fab - ALL THE TIME - because I love incense and she loves candles. We also like Harry Potter. It may turn into a miniature Hogwarts. We see absolutely no issue whatsoever with this.

I'm the kind of person who prefers to have only a few close friends. Since I moved to uni I have 3 close friends, but they have become family in quite a short space of time. They mean the world to me and I'm not sure how much they realise that. I'm not always great with expressing emotion to people.

Nature and open spaces make me so happy. I love nothing more than walking along a country lane on a bright calm day. There's a place by the sea where I love to spend my summers. It's on the west coast of Ireland. If you were to go into the water and keep going, the next land you would encounter would be America. The water is cold but refreshing. The air is salty but calming. If I could go anywhere, it would almost always be there. (Sometimes the warmth of somewhere more southern or the mystery of a new place would be nice too!)

Possibly one of my favourite things is this: "What if soulmates are because our atoms were next to each other in the nebula where we were created and it's our atoms trying to find each other again?"

If you have any questions, just ask!

Paige x