If you are like me and you like purchasing books whether its hardback or not to simply read when you have a little time or on your commute to work then these are perfect, bearing in mind that they are most definitely law related but also provide a different perspective to the legal world as we know it. 

Firstly, 'Unlawful killings' by Her Honour Wendy Joseph QC, this I simply found when browsing through the books in WHSmith. Just flicking through this book quickly was enough to entice me to purchase it and start reading it as soon as humanly possible. With each chapter set out as a trial, unfolding horrific but mostly tragic details, the book takes you through five separate cases. 

Secondly, 'People like us' by Hashi Mohamed, this I discovered after attending an online qualifying session with Middle Temple, where he discussed his book and read a little passage from it too. It was incredibly inspiring watching a muslim barrister speak about his journey to the Bar. 

Thirdly, 'In Black and White' by Alexandra Wilson, now I am sure this book might be easily recognisable simply because of how well it was portrayed in the media. This tells the story of a young barrister's story of navigating race and class in a broken justice system, as described by herself. This truly does open your eyes in a world that is still typically male dominated despite the neverending strive for diversity at the Bar. 

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It has been over a year since I last posted on here. Why, you may ask? There is no simple explanation but this past year has been a whirlwind to say the least. It was one of the busiest, most stressful, and most eventful years to this date and I am grateful for every single thing that has happened. While I will not detail every single thing that has happened this year (simply because you would get bored) I shall tell you about what has single handedly consumed me this year. 

From my older posts you may have gathered that I am studying to become a barrister. What no one tells you is that the bar course is probably one of the most hardest and gruelling things you will do in becoming a barrister (until you get to pupillage applications and tenancy, another whole ballpark) and studying online (the cherry on top of this cake) only makes your life much more difficult. I have one exam left and so help me god I WILL GET CALLED TO THE BAR THIS YEAR! Nonetheless, there is light at the end of the tunnel all you need is faith, a lot of resilience, and a really good support system. 

I turned 22 last year, it was bittersweet, I celebrated my birthday whilst finishing off the last bit of my masters. My masters project started out as being this one issue I wanted to examine, domestic abuse in relation to the pandemic, but in reality it was far too large to write up 8k words on. I managed to streamline my vision by thinking about its use in practice and decided upon the use of special measures in court for domestic abuse victims amidst the pandemic. One thing I can say for sure is I will not miss education, but that's because it never really truly stops. 

After completing my last set of exams I began job hunting and applying with the intention of wanting to leave my part-time job. While it had served me well it was no longer relevant to my next stages in life. As someone who's sole focus was education for a large chunk of my life, whilst working part-time, finding a job was not on my list of priorities. That was until handing in my last assignment for my course, from having absolutely no free time to having 5 days free was extremely new and slightly unsettling. I buried myself in countless job applications, another painfully long and daunting experience but it paid off eventually. 

I began doing things I simply did not have the time for before because of studying full time, little things like reading more books. I managed to read 8 chapters of Alexandra Wilson's 'In Black and White' over the course of a few hours, it may not seem like much but for me it was amazing! I look forward to this year because there is so many things I want to do, both related and unrelated to my career. 

For someone who's never baked bread before because they were simply bored I think it turned out pretty great. Oh and it tasted good too. The recipe can be found on Google but I have added a few things and taken a few things out too.


You will need:
+ 3 bananas
+ 75ml vegetable or sunflower oil
+ 100g brown sugar
+ 225g of plain flour
+ tbsp baking powder
+ 1 tsp cinnamon & nutmeg

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Mash the bananas with a fork.
3. Mix the bananas with the oil and sugar.
4. Add the flour, the baking powder and the spices.
5. Pour it into a tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.


For the icing combine the ingredients and drizzle on top:
+ Icing sugar
+ Water
+ Pinch of cinnamon

Nobody likes uncertainty, the unknown, and not being able to exert control over simple aspects of life. I think other final year students at University can agree that this whole experience has been incredibly weird from start to finish. From having strikes in semester one to more strikes in semester two followed by everything being cut short drastically and just the thought of not having a graduation ceremony in summer is insane. Despite the negatives and everything that has gone wrong there are so many positive things we can all take away from this experience and implement but I won't lecture you on that.

1. Start baking. I made scones the other day, definitely not my forte but I tried. I think I will stick to cookies for now. 
2. Face time your friends. I cannot stress this enough. It is so important to keep in touch and check up on your friends whether it be five minutes or 2 hours. 
3. Read a book. Any book. Re-read an old favourite or discover a new one.  
4. Organise your space. A cluttered space is a cluttered mind. Use this time to re-do your wardrobe or your bedroom.
5. Start your assignments. While it is nice and all having an extended break from University, attempt to stay on top of your work, you will thank yourself later. 
6. Get Disney+. Have I spent the past few days re-watching old classics? Yes. Do I regret it? Absolutely not!
7. Take care of your skin. One of the many things you can do to pamper yourself and feel great. 
8. Find a side hustle. Earn some money, start a business, sell something. 
9. Catch up on sleep. Catch up on all the zzzzzzzz's you have missed out on. 
10. Learn a new skill. Learn a language or perfect an existing skill. Continue to educate yourself. 
11. Create LinkedIn. Network and connect with people within your field. Reach out to people. Ask for work/ experience opportunities. Trust me there are a wealth of opportunities waiting to be discovered. I may or may not dedicate a whole post to LinkedIn and its benefits. 
12. Start a blog. Write a post, publish it and share it with others. 
13. Paint something. Unwind and hone your inner Michelangelo. 
14. Reach out to people. Friends, family and colleagues. 
15. Appreciate everything you have! There is so much to be thankful in this life, make the most of it.