Welcome

Welcome to JFS School's official Blog. This is our third year of the blog and represents a chance for our new team of intrepid student journalists to write what's on their minds. The Autumn term’s blog theme focuses on “Inspiration” - so stay tuned for some fantastic creative writing.


Thursday 31 October 2013

INSPIRATION: Kim Kardashian does not count as Inspiration


Inspiration is an emotion or feeling that makes a person determined to do or accomplish something, it often occurs after one has met someone successful or who has achieved something that you may want to achieve one day. Unfortunately the majority of inspiration has been over taken with celebrities, who are famous for no other reason than having fake bodies or perfectly auto tuned voices. Therefore if you think that people like Kim Kardashian are inspiring for all their ‘hard’ work you need to think again! There is more to be inspired by then plastic people and fake celebrities!

I personally, am inspired by doctors and nurses not just because of the obvious reasons like the fact that they save lives (even though this is a massive part to why they are inspirational), but because of their dedication and determination to achieve! Did you know that before you can become a professional doctor you have to study for 7 years in medical school and then another three to five years once you decide what you want to specialise in! It amazes me how people are willing to spend over ten years of their lives studying just to save people’s lives and help people! The amount of commitment and hard work that people are willing to put just to help others. It is not only medical help that is required to be a doctor but also emotional support, doctors have to deal with all different kinds of people and no matter what the person is like whether they are in the hospital for taking drugs or due to a car accident, they are not allowed to have any kind of judgment and are obliged to help the person no matter what!

I think that nurses are also underrated because they have to deal with patients and make sure they are comfortable, they have to be able to do basic procedures and they have to be able to inform doctors if there is a problem. Often there are scenarios when there are not enough beds fight and it’s the nurses who get left to deal with these problems. Nurses also have to work extremely long hours and often have to deal with very difficult patients another thing that people forget is that often nurses get very attached to patients as they have to look after them and it is very emotionally difficult if the patient dies. Nurses are also responsible for guiding people where to go in a hospital and giving directions. Nurses are often paid very little therefore they are working extremely hard not even necessarily for a good pay just to help people.

Overall I think that doctors and nurses do so much good and are amazing people who work twice as hard as the majority of people. They are responsible for the health of millions of people and their dedication is unbelievable. Even though they are thought to be very rewarding jobs and somehow this is supposed to completely make up for the amount of hard work these people put in, it just simply doesn't! Doctors and nurses are amazzng people and I am really inspired by them.

INSPIRATION: What inspires me?


Well; what does inspire me?
            Everything! Without a doubt, I can tell you that just the mere idea of being, inspires me in a way that is quite remarkable and quite hard to explain, really.

So, instead, I will tell you about my secondary source of inspiration: My Mother. Yes, you're right; it isn’t exactly the 'manliest' or 'toughest' thing I could come up with. And don’t get me wrong, but, I mean: superheroes, video games, famous movie stars, and so on; these are all very legitimate, very normal sources of day-to-day inspiration, but they are also all so boring and unoriginal. Not to mention the fact that many of the role models nowadays can be pretty bad influences and even worse sources of inspiration (take Miley Cyrus for example).

No- I cannot; I will not flock with this herd of sheep as they follow the trail of destruction left by that wrecking ball. I will stand up and tell you that yes, your mother is your greatest source of inspiration, and don’t let anyone tell you differently! Your mothers' secondary job (after feeding you), for god's sake, is to inspire you to succeed in life, no matter what path you choose to take.

So yes, you should definitely listen to your mothers' inspirational speeches, because I can tell you now, they are the best pep-talks you will ever receive. Not only that, but unlike your average twenty-one year-old pop star, your mum knows her stuff. Believe me, she's been through it all; and her one goal in life is to pass on this awesome knowledge to you and your siblings.

Our mothers know more than us. Therefore, if you want my advice, listen to your mother, and listen closely; she only has so long to pass her wisdom to you.

INSPIRATION: The hunt for inspiration


Finding inspiration to write something about being inspired proved to be remarkably challenging.

In the hunt for inspiration, I asked my mother who said “All sorts of things can inspire you. For example if you’re in Hampstead Heath looking at a sunset. That might inspire you to paint a picture.”
However I’m not painting a picture, I need inspiration for a piece of writing (that just happens to be on inspiration).
I then went on to find out what inspires my brother. His considerably egocentric response was “I inspire myself”. Even after hearing this absolutely life changing advice, I still was not quite inspired.

Finally, an inspirational thought came to me. I went to someone who had been around long enough to help me on my assignment; with 85 years of experience I hoped my eccentric granny would enlighten me. Her reply was “If I want to create something, I get inspired by something else to create something”. Excuse me, what?

All in all, inspiration certainly differs for each individual. After listening to my relatives talk about what inspires them, I came to the conclusion that I am most inspired by my family.

INSPIRATION: Art


What inspires me is art. It inspires me in writing, drawing and designing. Art can vary from cooking to making music. Art is everywhere and you can never escape it and that’s what I love about it.

Banksy is the main person who inspires me (not for being a street artist, because I’m not) because of the way he takes risks in his work. I think in our work we all take risks no matter what form of work. Banksy takes it one step further by coming up with a name for himself and doing even more dangerous things, like painting public property.

Helena Bonham Carter is an amazing actress and inspired me to go into acting. She’s in all my favourite movies like Alice in Wonderland, Les Miserables, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Harry Potter movies and each and every part she has played with all her heart. I think she’s one of the best at what she does.

J.K Rowling inspires me in my writing because her writing style and plot lines are so unique and clever and that’s what makes her such an amazing author.

Comic book artists inspire me because they don’t want to boast about what they can do; they just want to make a good story and pictures.

All of these people make different types of art but they’re all equally excellent and they all inspire me to be what I am today.

INSPIRATION: Desperately seeking Malala


Malala, teen activist, nobel peace prize nominee and champion for girls’ education is not giving interviews. At least, that’s what her literary agent told me. “I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood,” she said. “Malala Yousafzai is not available for interviews.” With a reported £2 million book contract for her life story, perhaps it’s no wonder she’s not free to meet me.

Shame. Her story fascinates me. Everything I take for granted, has been a struggle for her. JFS girls can express themselves freely-too freely, some might say. Waking at 6.30 in the morning to commute to Kingsbury may not seem like a privilege, but it is. In the Swat area of Pakistan that Malala comes from, educating girls is a dangerous business.

She came to public attention aged just 11, when she wrote an anonymous blog for the BBC Urdu service about life under the Taliban. Three years later, she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman because of her campaign for girls’ education. The bullet hit her eyebrow and travelled under the skin down the whole side of her head before entering her shoulder. After extensive surgery in Pakistan, she was flown to the UK for rehabilitation. She’s at school in Birmingham now and she and her family intend to stay in the UK for a few more years before returning home.

Malala has been compared to Anne Frank by former US first lady Laura Bush. “How wonderful it is that no one need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world” wrote Anne Frank. This is our world. Malala has taken a stand and is an inspiration to my generation.
JIEP may be enthusiastic, but they’re not the Taliban. The donuts may be hard, but they’re not bullets.  And girls in Malala’s school back home in Pakistan could only dream of the religious freedom we enjoy within JFS. It may be a faith school run on orthodox Jewish lines, but there’s scope for freedom of expression and mutual respect for the entire spectrum of religious observance.

Despite the strict JFS uniform policy; we are free to dress as we wish the second we leave the school premises.  Some choose to wear knee length skirts; most don’t, risking hypothermia and a bad reputation. The freedom to dress as we please is to be cherished.

We may feel we pay a high price at our school, but as sacrifices go, Meal deal 1 (£2.10) is not as painful as it could be.  The smoked salmon bagels on the other hand…..

Malala’s story is inspirational because of her personal bravery, leadership and resilience.  Above all, it’s her smile.  There’s no pouting or posing. Just a smile that says, “Bring it on.”