Jess Mallett – 23rd September 2011
Attitude Makeover 101
I’d like to start with a quote from a guy who had even scruffier hair than me. Albert Einstein said, “Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.”
We’ve all heard about the ‘power of attitude’, but it’s a phrase I would usually associate with an over enthusiastic, middle-aged Mr Motivator type, who really just feels like they’re dying inside. However, it has been revealed to us this week at SCA 2.0, that the power of attitude is ours to seize.
“Go to things you would never normally go to! Push yourselves out of comfort zones and swim in different fields!” says our Dean as we gaze at him, awe-struck, wondering where on earth he got those trousers. The message has been about as subtle as a brick. In the first four days alone we have experienced everything from improvisation classes, to building cardboard furniture, to agency visits, to a cheeky mindfulness sesh with a Buddhist monk. OK, so we’ve experienced more than a couple of new things this week – but are we on the path to some sort of ground breaking enlightenment? I think in our own way, yes we are.
SCA 2.0 gorges us on a healthy dose of carpe diem, positivity and originality. So much so that I feel I have already sought out my insecurity demons and kicked them firmly in the bollocks. To keep them at bay, it is perhaps advisable that us students tweak our attitudes a tad. We all come from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures, but it has become very clear that we all share a passion for creativity. SCA 2.0 wants to feed this. We have to eat when we are hungry, and then to let our appetites grow even more.
With this in mind I have compiled what I believe to be the School of Communication Arts’ five commandments, that will help us all to maintain a healthy, balanced attitude:
1. Thou shalt do new things and stuff to become a more interesting and rounded individual.
2. Thou shalt big up ‘nuff respect for a tidy working environment and clean away thy tea mugs.
3. Thou shalt not have a slutty attitude. Treat every day like a job interview, taking pride in thou self and thy work.
4. Thou shalt seek out new knowledge from scriptures new, such as Heat magazine and Courgette Growers Monthly.
5. Thou shalt get off thy arse and talk to new people, make new connections and definitely join Twitter.
Each morning we have taken a break around 11am, and each time I have been pleasantly surprised at the amount we have achieved so early in the day. (N.B. Definition of ‘early’ taken from The Oxford Dictionary of Formally Lazy English Literature undergrad). Attitudes are a-changing. Roll on tomorrow.
