I have something to say to people who are stuck in a rut or “inbetween jobs” , and who don’t know what to do with their lives; Look to your family members for inspiration and motivation, is there somebody in your life who you have always admired? It could be an uncle, an auntie, a cousin, or maybe your parents? You should go in to a similar field of job to this relative or friend, they can help you put your foot in the door and guide you through your journey, or they can inspire you to choose your pathway.

Going back in to education is the clear answer; If you are in a position where you can’t afford to then have you considered an apprenticeship? The employer would receive a grant for you to study in most cases, and from the course you will have a job. An apprenticeship rate can be low but with perseverance the hard work pays off, and you could go in to higher education; Most medical courses are N.H.S. funded, or you could always apply for a university scholarship if you are eligible.

I  hope this helps at least one person because I wish someone had said this to me when I was leaving school, as it would have saved me a lot of heartache and time.

Have a look now: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/ 

FOREWORD

I once heard a story about two women in a small town in Czechoslovakia. At the end of World War II, as victory drew near and the Germans were forced to flee before the Russian advance, each woman took to the streets in euphoria and attacked the retreating German tanks, yelling abuse and throwing stones. The Germans fired on the first woman and killed her instantly. The second woman, for reasons unknown, was ignored by the fleeing army. Screaming hysterically, she was led away by her compatriots and taken to a mental institution where the doctors finally managed to pacify her.

The woman who had been killed became a hero. Her photograph made the front pages of the newspapers. Her name appeared later in schoolbooks. A street was named after her. The woman who had been ignored spent five years in a mental institution. As far as I know no one ever bothered to photograph her.

Milos Forman 

PROLOGUE

In 1975, photographer Mary Ellen Mark was assigned by a magazine to do a story on the making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, shot on location at the Oregon State Hospital, a mental institution. While there, she met, briefly, the women of Ward 81.

Ward 81 is the women’s security ward of the hospital, the only locked ward for women in the state. The women on this ward are considered dangerous to themselves or to others.

In February of 1976, Mary Ellen and Karen Folger Jacobs, a writer and social scientist, were given permission to live on the ward in order to photograph and interview the women. They spent thirty-six days on Ward 81.

Ai Weiwei’s Study of Perspective