premature reflections on this year.

this week is 'celebrate week' in our union. it may sound incredibly stupid, but they released an annual with shitloads of photos of everything that the union and its societies have been up to this year, and i'm featured a few times in it. it's really gotten me thinking, because this has been quite a bleak period for me in terms of academic work. i've met some of the most inspiring people ever this year, through the union. creative, imaginative, dedicated, passionate, intelligent and funny people make up my friends, but i've met them all (or just become close to them) only in the last few months.

people who have made real differences directly to peoples' lives (from raising shit loads of money, to buying presents and wrapping them for those less fortunate at christmas; to writing to/sending books to people in prison; appealing against death penalty sentences and helping to repeal decisions; helping refugees to learn english, or today where my friend set up an event to help lonely international students); people who campaign on climate change issues, despite the fact that they're not getting heard (from dressing up as polar bears, holding civilised picnics at leeds bradford airport, winning a motion at referendum to ban water bottles from union shops to getting the shit kicked of them and getting arrested and de-arrested countless times). people who have worked tirelessly to create and maintain a social centre in the union that has become a hub of campaigning and social activity.

people who don't give up when things hit the fan, or things don't seem to be going their way. people who are continually trying to make the world a better place and standing up for what they believe in. i'm not talking about one or two individuals, i'm talking about an entire network of really amazing people that i hope i will never lose contact with. and it frustrates me that it's taken me so long to find them and join in, but bloody hell it's been fun. i've not always been 100% committed (last week i missed the aforementioned picnic because i had the worst hangover), but they've never judged me for that. i can always expect intelligent debate, and bloody good banter.

aside from students, i've met people from both sides of guantanamo bay (two former prisoners who were tortured and a prison guard who was actually really into microcosm publishing), doctors who have gone into warzones to help people despite the risk on their lives, individuals who are persecuted in their own countries for things that we wouldn't bat an eyelid over here.

i know that things will change next year with my undergraduate degree finishing, but it just makes me really positive about the world, that if there is a large group of people here who are willing to do these things then there must be others out there, people who do give a shit about rubbish things that happen in the world, and people who want to go and do something about it.