2013-05-22T22:20:45-04:00 Eden Good http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/index.php?author=eden-good Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Eden Good Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2115882 2012-11-12T19:00:00-05:00 2013-01-12T05:12:01-05:00

Eden Good http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eden-good/
Kristen allegedly had a fling with Rupert Sanders whist in the process of filming Snow White and the Huntsman, and of course a lovely paparazzo was crouching stealthily in the bushes, ready to bring this woman's world down around her, naturally. As news and photo's spread like wildfire across the media platforms, her innocent yet maybe slightly moody persona disappeared (well, maybe not all of it), and she became the icon for how not to live your life as a celebrity in a power couple relationship. But why did it gain so much attention?

She's only 22 years of age, barely allowed to drink in America, but old enough to be earning bucket loads of money. Because of her age, people now regard her as the 'naive little girl who can't be trusted', and it reportedly lost her lucrative contracts in blockbuster films, due to the scandal she caused. Also, the saying goes 'once a cheat, always a cheat', and this will stick with her throughout her acting career because of the uproar it caused, and how the aftermath was greatly recorded and followed.

Rupert Sanders was, and apparently still is, a happily married man with children. A respectable film director. The fact that Stewart not only was unfaithful to a highly sought after male celebrity, she was unfaithful with a married man, and there was a lot of press on the impact of the situation on his marriage with Liberty Ross.

There were pictures strewn around magazines and websites, showing her with her wedding ring on and off, speculation rife about what state their marriage was in. However, there was notably more coverage of Kristen Stewart, rather than Rupert Sanders, and when it did focus on him, they discussed his wife instead.

It seems that in these high profile situations, the women are focused on much more, and being condemned much more rather than the alpha male who'd probably incite the situation in many cases.

Women are scrutinized intensely in the media, because if they mess up, it challenges stereotypical gender roles in society. When Charlie Sheen had his breakdown and gave those surreal interviews including mentions of "tiger blood", he was almost seen as heroic and a figure to look up to because he was funny. Yet when Britney Spears had her breakdown and shaved her head, people felt sorry for her and deemed her probably very insecure in her life and unstable to be around.

Female actors, singers, dancers are all idolized by the public because they tend to be beautiful and successful, having the pick of the crop. Yet as soon as they mess up and do something wrong, their careers take a dive and people no longer respect them for what they do. Look at Lindsay Lohan, always in trouble in the courts and causing some controversy, which has caused her career to be virtually non existent in recent years, thriving off the attention she gets from her wrongdoings. It's a gentle reminder to people like Kristen Stewart that if you veer off onto another path, you won't be allowed to forget it for a long, long time.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2088718 2012-11-07T12:33:52-05:00 2013-01-07T05:12:01-05:00

Eden Good http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eden-good/
UCAS is a brilliant middle-man to apply to university by. However, deadlines are not clear and the innate details you have to include are so in depth, you half expect you have to put your great great grandmother's cat's name on the 'additional information' section! So why do we get so stressed over this seemingly simple yet important step? Well:

-Your personal statement is so very important (they make out), yet by speaking to current uni students, many say they were told by uni admissions tutors that they don't take your statement into account if you get the required grades without struggle, so that's many of us writing an award winning statement for no apparent reason. However, it outlines your personal qualities and lets the admissions tutors know who you are, what you do and why you would be the perfect candidate for a place on your chosen course.

-Deciding on choices for uni: If you are/were like myself, you would have chosen to stay relatively close(ish) to home, maybe venturing out a little further than preferred because of course choice. But you can choose up to five universities, which is mightily generous considering that some courses are limited and are only active in certain universities. I don't think I could be away from my parents for long periods of time, so going from the luscious lands of Devon to chilly climes in Glasgow wouldn't be the most sensible option would it? Also, Open days are a huge part in choosing your uni of choice! If you want to travel further afield, then getting to these open days can be a problem, so choose your university wisely and you should, with a bit of luck, be able to get there.

-Grade requirements: This is the bit that myself and thousands of other students are struggling with right this very moment. A lot of courses today require UCAS points rather than actual grades, yet the points are all equivalent and based on what grades you do actually get, so don't fall into the trap of not getting great grades and thinking 'I'll get it on UCAS points', because it doesn't, and can't work on that. You need to get the grades, to get the place. Simple as that. Obviously thing's such as the Extended Project can help as you can get up to about 80 UCAS points on that, equivalent to an A at AS Level (Don't quote me on that!), so you can boost your
points if you stuffed up your AS level exams like I did!

All this talk about points, grades, open days, and applications takes up a lot of time, so you have to manage your time wisely and don't get behind or else you'll end up with a rubbish personal statement and half of your educational history will be missing from your application! I have the pleasure of sending my application off now, receiving some offers (hopefully!), finding accommodation and a student loan/grant/bursary, and then maybe even actually getting the grades and points to get in! Happy days. Just don't forget that it isn't the end of the world if you don't get in, apply again next year and re-do exams, it will be worth it in the end. :)]]>