1 down, 11 to go.

February 05, 2022
Diary

Time goes way too fast when you’re having fun revising heavily for exams and can’t seem to get all of that content in your head.

Here’s what I’ve done in January…


“Clark, just think about TRAMS!!”

Clark Narvas standing with Lewis Dagnall, Abdullah Okud and Nabeela Mowlana

We weren't talking about the need for important education here, we were actually talking about our favourite Simpsons episodes.

One highlight of my month was joining the digital team at Lewis Dagnall’s campaign to become South Yorkshire’s next mayor. It was quite a ride…

Our current Labour South Yorkshire mayor, Dan Jarvis, announced his intention to resign at the end of his first term. This was a signal for political parties to start mobilising mayoral candidates for May 2022. In the Labour Party, this is done with the help of internal democracy through ‘selection processes’ where members of the party vote for someone to be the party’s candidate.

I started getting involved with the campaign around the end of 2021. I was initially torn between Lewis and his main competitor (and honestly, all of the candidates were great!), but I believed that we needed bold and urgent action on issues such as transport and the climate crisis. Lewis’ plan would have solved these with eventual public ownership and integration of our transport system, and a Green New Deal for South Yorkshire.

I got to work creating social media posts, campaign videos (also starred in one!) and internal communications for volunteers. I also live-streamed a rally for the campaign, it had a lot of great speeches from really prominent Labour politicians (I officially now have bragging rights to my political friends, I was on a call with Rebecca Long-Bailey and John McDonnell!!)

Our campaign did not win, but I felt like we fought a great campaign that influenced the Labour Party and South Yorkshire’s next steps towards a better future.

Education struggles (but we keep going!!)

iPad Air

The first year A-Level mock exams are fast approaching. I’m feeling lukewarm about them. I take a mixture of Computer Science, Media Studies and Politics (yes, a very diverse combination of subjects!)

😀 The Good

  • I’m on a 70+ day Flipd streak (which means I’ve studied every day for the last 70 days)
  • I’ve created a consistent study habit
  • It’s only Year One

😟 The Bad

  • I’ve noticed that I can only focus well for 2 hours with breaks, and then after 2 hours, I seem to drift away.
  • I’m currently contemplating my decision to take essay-based subjects. In Politics, I spent 1 hour writing an essay that was supposed to be finished in 45 minutes. I need to cut this down by 15 minutes. I wonder if I go into too much detail?

“One sister’s trash is one brother’s treasure.”

I’m in quite a privileged position to have a lot of tech bits and bobs passed onto me whenever someone scrolls through the Apple website and decides they’re bored of their current device, so they buy a new gadget that does the same thing, but hey, “it has a bigger screen!” (sorry, it is my duty to expose you.)

Last month, a whole Apple Watch was one of those bits and bobs that was handed down to me, and with it, I’m able to hop onto my sisters’ Apple Fitness+ subscription. Before then, a good 10 minutes of my workout would be me on the sofa searching for home workouts on YouTube. Now, that 10 minutes is a HIIT workout with Jamie Ray.

Apple Fitness+ has solidified my workout routine as it’s quick and easy to get started, minimal faffing around included.


It’s the start of February now. This month is going so slow…

I said in September that in no time, I’d be swarmed with work, stressed and looking like that guy from Ancient Aliens. Perhaps I shouldn’t have jinxed it? 😂

Clark with a red hoodie and a mask on

let me be

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