"Wow, look at you now, Flowers in the window..." (Travis)

Today was quite productive as some people put it - I got up early, had my Tescos food delivery, had lunch then went off to the library from 3pm-6.30pm! I was basically photocopying from all the books that I need to read for my assessment essays - I've got 3 essays to do in the next few weeks (cue lots of sleepless nights sorta worrying about it, lol). I've got a Dreamworlds: Society and the Utopian Imagination essay, a Gender and Society essay and Humans and Other Animals essay. I have started the Gender and Society essay - I've done around 3000 words so far so I've just got another 2000 to do, along with a bit of polishing and refining.

On top of that, I also have to get my project essay research questionnaire sorted out. I've decided to do a project based on the societal images and ideas of deaf people and what the actual reality is for deaf people within society. My experience of being a deaf person may help here because I know what it's like although I can't presume to know what it's like for other deaf people apart from the ones I know.

So basically I'm going to use the questionnaire to ask hearing people what their views on deafness are - their ideas of what a deaf person or deaf people are like and what they think their life chances are like in education, jobs and so on. I'll ask deaf people questions along the same vein but ask them what they feel life is like for them and other deaf people. Then I'll compare these two ideas of deafness if they are different, and talk about whether things have changed for deaf people in a historical, cultural and political context. Whew, sounds difficult? I'm sure I'll be okay..I've got lots of reading to do though!! I'm quite excited because its something I'm interested in and I want to see what the reality is like for other deaf people.

I've being doing some thinking about who has most influenced me in my life, whether that's directly or indirectly. I mean, I'm talking about intellectually/creatively mostly, but also influenced me by being there and caring enough to listen when I really need them to. I know I am a strong person and the things I've been through and am going through are easier because I refuse to let myself be pulled down by things, but I think there are people who have made me feel that I can get through things okay. Like my Mum, and sister who have constantly been there when things get really bad. And my Dad, just for being there, even if we don't talk much. And my boyfriend, who manages to make me see when I'm being silly and self pitying and makes me take myself less seriously when I need to.

Intellectually and creatively (or just for fun!):

1. Virginia Woolf (writer and an extraordinary thinker)
2. Carol Ann Duffy (for thinking out of the box when it comes to poetry)
3. Jane Austen (for creating the wittiest and most intelligent heroine in Lizzy Bennett)
4. The Brontes (Charlotte, Emily and Anne - Emily wrote Wuthering Heights and Charlotte wrote Jane Eyre, among others)
5. Dr Celia Kitzinger (my Gender and Society lecturer at York University)
6. Wilkie Collins (wrote The Woman in White, The Moonstone and No Name - some of the best classic thrillers ever)
7. Margaret Atwood (wrote The Handmaids Tale - a feminist critical dystopia)
8. William Shakespeare..goes without saying!!
9. Hayao Miyazaki (Anime director extraordinaire - he has restored my faith in cinema as being interesting, quirky and entertaining!!)
10. Audrey Hepburn - she became a UN ambassador when she was older and had nothing more to do with movies. She was a lovely person who encompassed dignity, grace and kindness (although I'm sure she had her bad points like the rest of us!). She brought something different to the movies she was in!
11. Frida Kahlo (Mexican artist). Her work may be dismissed offhand sometimes as being very self absorbed but it seems to me to go much deeper than that. Sometimes her art seems to me to be a portrayal of human suffering and pain, other times it becomes a kind of defiance in the face of authority and patriarchy. She had a moustache, joined eyebrows and was not afraid to be herself.
12. Michael Jackson. Well..I grew up with his music. Thriller was the first album that I took seriously and his music almost became the soundtrack to my life...as bizarre as that sounds! It's like some people love Elvis Presley's music or Frank Sinatra.
13. My friend Luce - everytime I see her and we have a catch up about life and things, she never fails to cheer me up and inspire me.
14. My boyfriend - for introducing me to things that I probably wouldn't have tried before or thought about before. For being someone I can talk to about meaningful things without feeling restricted or held back.

I'm sure theres a couple more where that came from but I think the above is as eloquent as I can get for the time being. I'm very tired and tomorrow is going to be a busy day seeing as my boyfriend is coming to York for the weekend and I've got a bit of packing to do as I'm going home on Sunday night to London for the easter hols. Hmm..I'm getting a little annoyed saying "my boyfriend" all the time instead of his real name! :-D