Feel Good Friday

Well, it's back to school next week for most of you, so how about a school related Feel Good Friday?

Feel Good Friday

It's another special Feel Good Friday, with pictures from our youth activity weekend last week to share with you. Enjoy!

Film Review: #MyStoryTheirStory

One of our young members, Lucy, is also part of the press team for meet@teenheart and went along to the #MyStoryTheirStory premiere down at The British Film Institute at the end of July. She's written a great review about what she thought about the films, and the day in general.

A few weeks ago, I was headed back to London, where I was shown the two new films made by the British Heart Foundation. Here is my review of the day.

We entered the BFI Southbank Cinema. This cinema had a restaurant and seemed to have a lot of historical value, shown by the pictures on the walls, its information service and gift shop. When we entered the theatre, there were photographers and many young heart patients, and representatives from other heart charities. Also, there was someone dressed up as an elephant, greeting everyone at the door. This was clever, it tied into the films we watched, but I won’t spoil it too much!    

We enjoyed the films, and afterwards some of the crew, cast, writers and the direction sat on stage for a question and answer session. They let us in on the whole experience of making a movie. You could tell that there was a lot of work put into these films, and a lot of passion also. It all began 2 years ago when some heart patients were sharing their stories and came up with a script that was interpreted into these films. The actors were cast, some of which were heart patients and some were not. One boy, who was not a heart patient, said that being part of the film helped him learn a lot about heart conditions and how they affect the person’s entire life. It was great to see all the things that the people part of the film had learned along the way, it was a great experience for them to have. Everyone involved made the films as great as they were, and set them approachable for anyone to learn from them. 

After the question and answer session was over, we all joined together in the lobby for some drinks and food. There was also a photo booth for us all to enjoy.

Overall it was a great day, with learning experiences, funny moments and a fantastic time for all. If you would like to see these movies, or become involved with the meet@teenheart events, stay tuned on the YHeart Website- www.yheart.net

Feel Good Friday

Another special Feel Good Friday today as Youth Leader Laura and Chief Executive Suzie are spending the weekend at the awesome PGL Liddington with some of our 13-16 year old young members. If it's anything like the PGL weekend last week that Laura went on with our 10-13s, it's going to be brilliant :)

A and AS Level - Some Advice if You Didn't Get The Results You Wanted

It can be really difficult if you've studied hard for your exams (or even if you didn't study that hard...) and then get results that aren't what you hoped for. There are a lot of emotions that you can feel, and all of them are completely normal. You might feel angry, upset, annoyed, disappointed, helpless and any other range of emotion in between. But whatever you're feeling, that's ok. Just remember that even though you didn't get the results you wanted, the best thing to do is to get right back to it. How can you do that? Well here's some tips:

• Stay Motivated - If you studied and revised hard, but didn't get the results you hoped for, you're probably going to be feeling a bit demotivated. But don't worry! There are things you can do! Talk to your teachers and your college to see what else they could do for you to help with your studies - maybe there are revision sessions that you can go to, or extra work that you could look. Your teachers and your college WANT you to succeed, so make sure you use them to get you where you want to go! 

• Revise your Revision - Everyone has a different technique when it comes to revision, but it's always helpful having a few extra ideas to help you out. Check out these tips from the BBC that could help.

• Re-Sits - Have a look to see if you can do re-sits for any exams, you probably won't be able to do them until next year, but at least you can have another go and be even more prepared.

• Believe in Yourself - Not achieving something that you hoped for can make you feel really bad, and damage your self-esteem. But it's important to believe in yourself. You already got yourself this far, which is amazing. Everyone struggles at something at some point in their lives - don't let this affect how you feel about yourself. If you're feeling like your self-esteem is really low, check out this advice from TheSite.

• Don't Beat Yourself Up - This is SO important. Do not beat yourself up. There are so many reasons that can be attributed to you not getting the results you hoped for, so give yourself a break! It may feel like it right now, but it isn't the end of the world.

Finally, remember this really important message - nobody makes it in life without a few mistakes along the way.

A-Level Results - Congratulations!

We hope that all of our young adult members waiting for exam results today have had the news they were hoping for. 

The LHM Youth Council Chair, Carys, rang the LHM team today to say that she has achieved the A-level results she needed to study medicine. She will be starting her university life in Liverpool in September. Carys will  be able to take her own life experience, living with only half a working heart, into her training to become a doctor. Huge Congratulations Carys.

We also had a great message from young member, Andrew (you may remember him from this great blog piece) who worked hard to get the A-levels he needed to go to Hertfordshire University to study Audio Recording and Production. He told us a bit about what it took to get him to where he is now: "Throughout the exam period, it was very difficult to maintain the balance between working my bum off and not falling asleep in a pile of past papers, calculators and tik taks (best revision fuel ever...) Even though at times, I sucked at getting the balance right by over working sometimes then procrastinating trying to complete 2048 the next. (I did it by the way- it's my greatest achievement to date.) I eventually made it through the exams. Now, 2 months later, having just caught up on sleep, I had a restless night. I wonder why. Oh yeah, some thing called results day... But despite the lack of sleep and a lot of stress, I pulled through and achieved the grades that I needed!"

Andrew also sent us this message, to pass on to other Young Members who have got their results today: To all of you who have achieved what you hoped, well done. And to those who are disappointed, remember this: as much as society tells you that a slip of paper defines you, it doesn't. It's what you do with it that does. You may not get into where you want or move forward in the way that you would have liked, but many more exciting opportunities will open up to you I'm sure, and everyone of you will go on to achieve incredible things! You're awesome - Andrew

Hopefully other Youth members are as happy as Carys was on the phone, and are able to look forward to the future like Andrew. It is such a difficult balance working for exams and managing a complex heart condition.

Did you get your results today too? Let us know how you did by emailing Laura: laura@lhm.org.uk

A-Level Results

Here at LHM HQ, we're all thinking about our young members who are getting their A-Level results tomorrow. You've all put in a lot of work to get to where you are now, so even though you might be really stressed out at the moment, take a minute to look back at all you've done to get to where you are today. Well done! And remember, low results aren't the end of the world (even though it may seem like it at the time!) The BBC has some great advice:

Low results are worrying and upsetting. But don't panic, there are lots of options open to you. Don't rush into anything - make the right decision for you...

Can I resit some of them?

You can resit your exams next summer. Many people do much better second time around. Before resitting, have an honest chat with your teachers about why your results were low. If they don't think you can improve them it might not be worth resitting. Resitting can also be lonely if all your mates are going on to do other things.

Can I get qualifications without resitting or going to uni?

Yes. BTECs and OCR Nationals are work-related qualifications available in a wide range of subjects. They offer a mix of theory and practice and you can do them with lower grades.

BTECs and OCR Nationals are recognised in many areas of employment and with some of them you can get into university.

Will I be able to get a job?

Yes, but find out if your results will get you the sort of job you want. If not, can you work your way up? If you have the right attitude and personality some employers will offer you training so you can earn money and gain qualifications.

Everyone has to start somewhere - Sir Alan Sugar's first job was selling cigarette lighters!

Feel Good Friday

Another special Feel Good Friday today, because this weekend Youth Leader Laura is at this fantastic PGL centre in Tregoyd, Wales, with 15 of our awesome young members. They're going to be doing tons of fun things; like abseiling, archery, canoeing, and rifle shooting!

#MyStoryTheirStory

Last week, Youth Leader Laura and young member Hope went to the British Film Institute down in London for a very special premiere of 2 new films that the British Heart Foundation have made. The films, called My Story Their Story are about what happens when someone has a heart condition, from their perspective and their family and friends perspectives. It was a really great event (review coming soon!) and Hope even managed to be part of a mini photo shoot with sister Amelia using some of the props from the films!

Looking great, girls!

 

Even Dad got in on one of the pictures! 

 Confused about the elephant? Watch this space for when the films go live online to find out for yourself!

Year 7 & 8 Booklet

We're currently working on a new booklet for our education series about what to expect in Year 7 and 8 at Secondary School.

We really need some of our young members (ideally those of you who are in those years or just finished them, but if you're a little older that's ok too!) to have a read through the booklet that we've written so far and let us know if there's anything we've missed or any changes that we need to make.

Now, reading something that isn't for school might not sound like the greatest thing (especially with it being the summer holidays) BUT by helping us with these booklets you can help to ensure that younger members (like those who are starting secondary school soon!) feel happy about moving up to secondary school. Plus you guys have first hand knowledge of what it's like so you're the best people to give advice!

If you want to be part of it, you (or your parents) just have to email Laura and say you want to help with the booklet :)

Feel Good Friday

A special Feel Good Friday today, to highlight something brilliant that one of our young members, Evie, with some of her friends did last week.

On the 26th and 27th of July, they cycled 34.6 miles from Wenfordbridge to Padstow and back again to raise money for Little Hearts Matter. Here are some of the pictures - great work everyone!