May 1, 2013, by Sarah

G.A.M.E

“at the end of the day it’s all a game isn’t it…ok it might be an important game that will be significant for the rest of your life…but exams are a game and you need to know how to play to win.”

The above was some wisdom from one of my lecturers in the last lecture of that module (eek) and it made me think – a “game” mentality encapsulates a lot of life. You need to know how to pass exams to achieve, how to perform and carry yourself in work to do well, how to interact with people (and it’s a two-way thing) to build relationships. It’s not enough to do your best and try hard – your efforts need to have strategic focus and direction. In an exam if you just put lots of effort into an essay and wrote loads but it didn’t hit the criteria the examiner is after – there’s no point, no matter how good the essay is.

For some people, knowing how to play the game comes more naturally – and I’m not suggesting that every time you meet a new person you’re strategically working out what to say etc. I just think you need to understand the game of reading people and therefore trying to work out what is a good idea to say/ do and what isn’t.

 

 

For me, training to be a Dietitian, I need to understand the rules of that  ‘game’ with the NHS as my game board. I need to know how to manage my time, behave professionally, work in a department and interact with patients in a way that is tailored to them, to help them – recognising some areas are sensitive and prioritising what to say and do. I have to learn the rules of this to play the game – and that’s what I’m particularly being taught at the moment at Uni – in preparation for my summer placement.

Something else that struck me about a game playing mentality is that for me, game could stand for God Always Manages Everything. I’m a Christian, I don’t have all the answers, just from my personal experience – G.A.M.E rings true for my life, even if it doesn’t seem true at the time. It gives me comfort that I’m not playing the game alone, and that there’s someone direct me,  help me, and pick me up if I make a bad move.

Anyway, my favourite thing about University is the teaching, we have some absolutely brilliant lecturers who bring their subject to life. I am someone who loves to learn – and University really caters for that, however I don’t feel I’ve learnt enough for the impending exams – but who ever does? Expect some pretty crazy blog posts in the coming revision-fuelled weeks…

This week I also had an amazing friend, Carrie-Anne, to stay for the weekend which was lovely and I ate a lot of food! I’m planning to visit her in the summer and go to the Globe Theatre, as a great lover of Shakespeare it is very exciting! I also went to church drama group yesterday and enjoyed doing something a bit different – and did a monologue of a crazy woman who has killed intended husband. Obviously I was drawing on personal experience.

Then we went to iron man 3 and looked beautiful in 3D glasses, here is me and my lovely friend Kim from church rocking the Odeon look:

 

Hope you’re all playing a winning game this week!

 

 

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