Don't tell me you're too young!

Don't tell me you're too young!

Recently I've had a few people contact me asking for advice and guidance for their future careers. Having this kind of interaction is great – I love helping people and giving tips – but they say the same thing every time.

I know I'm still really young...

Goal planning can be messy and time consuming

The truth is that your age doesn't prevent you from taking steps to ensure your desired future. The more you allow yourself to use the excuse that you're young the longer it will take to achieve your goals. At every age, there is something that you can do to ensure your future career.

The Underage Lawyer started when I was still sixteen. At this time, I felt frustrated by the limitations I experienced because of my age. I was often overlooked by peers or turned down for work experience. However, never should you allow the 'too young to act' mentality infiltrate your mindset. Individuals should never restrict their efforts towards their goals because of their age. All people, young and old, are capable of reaching goals.

So often we look at ourselves in statistics rather than qualitative data. The best example is a resume; each one is a pure statistical list none of it explains who we are or where we originated. Something so simple as a resume shows the misconstrued values of society.

No longer do employers manually and tediously trawl through cover letters and references. Instead, keyword processors pick out the clients which can tick the right boxes. Similarly young people with lots of enthusiasm find themselves sidelined...and eventually disinterested.

No person can remain motivated when it seems as if there is no chance of opportunity. So often our brightest and youngest face a workplace that can't see them. For the under-undergraduates, there's no chance for professional involvement.

I hope that this blog succeeds showing that age is less of a limitation and more of an indication to employers of the potential a young person can hold. After all, if the only reason you have for not hiring someone is their age - what kind of logic is that?

To those wanting guidance...

While you're still in your childhood years, you should do your best to explore as many options as you can. As a teenager, there's a lot more that you can do to prime yourself for the role that you want to take on.

Start your work right away- no time to lose!

Below I dot out some simple steps that you can take to help yourself find the path that you want to follow.

At 13-14...

At this age school should be your primary focus. Do some research to understand:

• What the education requirements are
• How competitive the field is
• Any subjects you should pay extra attention to

The school is the perfect place for you to connect with your teachers. Ask them for assistance in finding the right path for your future career. Teachers have unique opportunities to connect with different organizations. Some of which may be able to offer you come-and-try days.

Use this time to find your passion and inspiration as well

At 14-15...

At this age school should still be your primary focus. But it is also the perfect age to begin delving

deeper into your potential field of work.

• Create a mind map of all jobs related to your chosen field
• Find the best educational institution for you to attend
• Make a list of any requirements you haven't yet fulfilled
• Find a role model(s) who you can research to find out what it is that made them so successful

At 16-17...

• Begin to find some work experience, just a few days if you can manage it
• Finalize any arrangements to complete non-age restricted requirements
• Connect with potential employers and find out what they look for in their employees
• Build a relevant resume
• Find an alternative pathway for the course if the original plan fails

The plans you make may seem boring but they
are vital to your future

Above is not a definitive list, but a suggestion of the way in which you might like to plan out your career endeavors. Remember that you will face a lot of rejections, but it doesn't mean that you shouldn't keep going. Don't be discouraged by an uninterested or negative reaction. Instead, use it as an opportunity to build your internal strength and courage.

There's a lot to learn from rejection and starting young will help to accelerate you through that learning process.

Lulu Hensman

What makes study enjoyable?

What makes study enjoyable?

Studying can have some great rewards

There are lots of people who struggle to find a motivation to study. Many people will view it as a meaningless or boring venture that holds no interest for them what so ever. Of course, this is understandable- who wants to sit in the one spot all day reading the same text over and over again?

Not me! And, I'm sure the hundreds of other people who force themselves to do this don't enjoy it either.

Why not free yourself from these thought patterns. Instead, accept the fact that your study-mindset needs a makeover!

When you study, you're expanding your entire perception of the universe. Studying brings your brain to understand entirely new concepts, ideas, and theories. 

By studying you are recreating the way that you perceive the world. There's nothing quite so incredible as that. If you're dreading the time you spend studying, it's time to read this post, and realign your views.

1. Your brain needs to study and learn

This concept may seem a little strange – but it's true. Many studies have shown that when you keep educating yourself – your brain stays happy. Some studies suggest that without continued learning the mind becomes vulnerable to conditions that accelerate the brain's decline.

Study is just as important to your brain
as exercise for your body

Imagine when you study that your brain is another little person. They sit inside your head, unable to see, hear or feel. It is only when you  'think' about the things that exist outside your head such as weather phenomenon, friends or languages that your brain can experience the real world.

Without learning your brain is unhappy and restless. As lack of stimulation makes your brain unhappier, it works less at protecting itself. Therefore, it becomes more vulnerable to attacking forces leaving your body.

2. It's an achievement that you can earn on your own

Most results take a lot of time to reach or organize. Studying, however, is a long string of small goals that you can choose to either share or keep to yourself. Did you keep studying for three hours? -Great, reward yourself.

You studied hard and finally understood how the present participle works? Fantastic!

So often in life we find ourselves waiting and waiting and waiting – all for some reward given to us by others. The danger is that our personal satisfaction lies in the balance of what other people want and think. When you take control of your needs and achievements you finally receive the satisfaction that you deserve.

3. It leads to greater self-motivation and skills

When you build discipline you can move along the path of self-improvement and better your general abilities.

Lots of jobs, now require individuals to not only do their job but to do it without someone holding their hand the entire time. Gone are the days when your boss would drop a stack of papers on your desk and give you a deadline. Now employees are expected to work confidently and unsupervised.

Sometimes the workplace is a casual but solitary place

The nonintraprenurial, inventive and confident employees quickly find themselves falling behind. Therefore motivating your personal work is vital to your continued success in the future. Don't fool yourself into believing that you will magically have high levels of discipline and motivation when it comes time for paid work. After all, self-control doesn't come quickly.

Instead, you must work to integrate into your everyday life.

4. You will have a better idea of how to balance your needs

Another advantage is that when you know what you feel like when you're tired or lazy, you'll be able to know whether or not to keep working. This is an essential skill that will help to maintain your health and work ethic well into the future.

Although a nice fresh snack might
encourage you to study too!

At first, you might convince yourself that you're too tired to study or exercise. It can be confusing to know whether you're being lazy or tired.  The best tip that I ever read is to always to try something for two minutes. If you still can't do it after two minutes, then you can leave it and do something else. Generally by the end of the time you're immersed in the task and prepared to keep working.

After a few study sessions where I made myself study for at least two minutes I learned to tell if I was too tired to study. The difference is critical for all people to understand. Otherwise many individuals will push too hard one day and not enough for the next few weeks. I feel much more in control of myself now that I understand more about my limits.

You can learn to enjoy and appreciate your strengths and weaknesses

When you study on your own you will lean towards studying the things that you find easiest and most enjoyable. This beginning process is probably the time when you will enjoy studying the most. You'll feel invigorated, motivated and continuously rewarded- fantastic! Eventually, you will learn that you have to study the things that you find difficult too.

Once you start studying the complicated stuff, your grit and tenacity will be put to the test. There's nothing so hard as studying for hours and feeling as if you're getting nowhere. This is when you realize you're not good at this area of study. Now at your next job interview, you can describe this as your weakness.

Why am I so excited about being able to tell someone else about my weakness?

Accepting and talking about a weakness shows that I know I have room to improve and have a plan to do so. That makes you a person who has a proven ability to deal with any issues that the world of education, work or life can throw at you!

And that is why we should all try to study a little every day...

Lulu Hensman

Three simple ways to remove that 'me' mindset

Three simple ways to remove that 'me' mindset.

I had nothing to study!

Currently, I'm on break from school and university. It's a little strange for me – I have nothing I need to study or do. Being that I'm also away from home, working is impractical.

So it's weird.

What is weirder, however, is that I've become strangely attached to doing something. I've never been the person that wakes up at five in the morning to furiously type out a piece of work or send something to a professor. But there is a habit of mine to be constantly panicking.

During school there was always work I /could/ be doing and at university, there was work I should be doing and in the holidays. However I'm now in that awkward transitional phase where you could be doing work – but then it might not be that useful in the long run.

So what have I been doing? Essentially, fretting about doing nothing - and it made me wonder why I was so scared of falling behind. If I started university without doing any prep work would I spend three years of my life playing catch up?

The logical answer is most definitely not. I'm sure we all know – the brain doesn't listen to logic. I listed out things that could be causing me to feel so anxious.

I ended up with things like:

My professors will think I am lazy

I will have less time to spend with peers

I may not be as competitive in class

I found that each of my worries occurred when I compared myself to other people. In the competitive business environment these incessant comparisons are bound to happen, but why is it that they occur even when there are no comparisons to be made?

As of now I have not met my cohort, my professors or my future employers – yet I panic as if they can already see my test scores. This realization led me to try three techniques for removing that over-competitive nature – which I thought I should share;

1. Compliment your biggest competitors

Handwritten notes can go a long way

Nice comments make people (yourself included) feel better about themselves. So by praising the people that you feel you have to compete with you take away from that 'me' mentality and begin to view your competitors as part of a team. The team you're a part of is one that is working towards self-improvement and if you all have a selfish ideal it's not going to work. Instead, make sure that you occasionally stop and check in with your rivals to ensure they're still on track too.

Often when we're working towards a goal, we become so wrapped up in the idea of achievement and 'winning' that we lose sight of those around us. I'm sure we're all guilty of becoming so lost in our needs that we offend a friend or acquaintance. So to short circuit that tendency to become wrapped up in your thoughts and needs you need to compliment someone that you feel you have to beat.

Don't make it an arbitrary compliment either. What we often miss is that those we feel most competitive with are those that we admire. Before you speak with them, think about why you feel the need to compete with them.

Is it because they have incredible determination, their organization skills far outshine yours or that they can retain composure throughout the biggest of crises?

2. Identify what you feel your biggest weakness is and work on it

I say what /you/ feel your greatest weakness is because sometimes your weakness is not what others perceive it as being but it still causes you great insecurity.

This in the grays inn library stairs (which I tried to get
in...unfortunately you need membership, whoops!)

For example, you may feel that you need to improve your vocabulary, but others think you are very well read. Does that mean that you shouldn't improve your vocabulary?

Short answer; no.

If you honestly feel uncomfortable with your skill level, it can amplify your reactions to situations. Personally, during the time that I have had no looming deadlines I've worked on developing my arithmetic abilities.

You would assume after studying commercial law I'd feel confident in my abilities to calculate costs and percentages, yet I still perceive it as my biggest weakness. Websites like kahnacademy.org have been invaluable in helping me to consolidate my skills.

Kahn academy is a free site that provides video tutorials and games for any individual wishing to increase their skills in a broad array of subjects such as Math, Science, Grammar or History. If you're hoping to increase your knowledge or consolidate skills in an academic area, this is an invaluable tool for you to have at your side.

3. Find somewhere to enjoy yourself

Hipster cafes are the best places to relax

Whether you're like me in that awkward no-work transitional phase, or you're working full time finding your happy place is the most important technique you could employ. Overseas I've been enjoying exploring the city and finding unique cafes to study in.

So far I've discovered that the usual chain restaurants such as EAT. Pret a Manger or Starbucks aren't always the best places to study The well-known name and standard menu can be comforting when far from home – but the amount of people trawling in and out of the store is just distracting.

Instead, look for cafes that are one-off, independent shops. The stores I enjoy play music at a low volume and have decent non-fluorescent lighting.

Those who have read my earlier blog posts will know that I have a strange love of hipster cafes – and I make no apologies – I still do. In larger cities such as London and Singapore, they are harder to find. But an hour or so searching Google can lead you to some great finds.

maybe skip the park on days like this...

If coffee shops aren't your thing you can, also try a park. Parks are fantastic opportunities for getting some vitamin D and doing a little bit of light reading. Currently, I'm reading Is it just me? By comedian Miranda Hart. It's a refreshingly honest novel full of hilarious stories and written in a unique conversational form between the author and the reader. Miranda occasionally will converse with her eighteen-year-old self as she explains not only what her life is like now but how she has slowly come to accept herself as she is.

If you're not one for peace and quiet, I can wholeheartedly recommend checking out a few local volunteer spots. If you volunteer at a festival, pet shelter or kitchen can contribute to lifting your spirits and help you to realign your goals with something more community orientated. - Lawyers may be interested in volunteering with their legal skills at a legal service. Pro bono work can be extremely rewarding and for young lawyers, it can also provide an opportunity to extend your knowledge base and add to your resume.

Although these ideas don't override a competitive nature, entirely they still help to keep things in balance. An overly competitive person can be damaging to their studies and those around them. While a little competition can increase productivity and satisfaction too much will leave you feeling run down and exhausted.

Always remember to find some time to relax when you feel like you've taken on more than you can handle.

Lulu Hensman

Tips to make the perfect practice schedule

How to make a study schedule that suits you!

Much like endurance studying, continuity is an important tool for ensuring progress within your chosen field of work. A lot of individuals set themselves a goal and then fail to achieve it, despite their efforts throughout a section of time.

So why is it that they fail?

Because the action in itself is not enough to effect change.

Above is a simple statement that thousands of individuals forget. Every time they set a goal or continue with an idea that they've had for a long time – their minds are stuck in the present.

Working in the present is fantastic if you're in a business meeting, interview or using your innovation for your schooling or business. However when we're reaching goals, it's time to move on from the present and into the future.

This year in 2016 I'd love for all my readers to make a pledge. Not to lose weight, not to read more, not to spend more time studying, but to complete your goals more consistently. Take pride in how you do things, set up a methodical process for achieving those goals.

Yes you can become a fast typist, yes you can become an endurance runner – but inconsistent training won't do anything. Training too much one day, too little the next and not at all the day after is similar to building a tower with uneven bricks. You could do it – but it will be very unstable and take a lot more work.

Instead, follow these tips to ensure whatever goal you're working at to make the perfect time table!

First step - plan it out

Make a practice schedule

Whether you're a professional or a student, you have to know three basic things about making schedules. Surprisingly. Some top professionals still make mistakes when scheduling in their work and relaxation times. Follow these guidelines to ensure you don't make a fatal planning mistake.

a) Estimate the time it will take you to complete a task and double it

Too often we estimate the time it will take to complete a task – and we take too long! The extra stress that this causes is not something that you want to be dealing with this year. Instead, make sure that when you estimate how long you will be spending on each task, e.g., Folding laundry – you don't short change yourself. By doubling the time you estimate, it's guaranteed that you will never run behind schedule.

Never leave out things you enjoy doing

Note; if you're blocking in time for exercise don't double it. As long as you're giving yourself a minimum of 30 minutes solid exercise per day it's enough!

b) Never assume that you will work through things you enjoy

I'm sure all of my readers – myself included- are guilty of being a little overzealous when blocking out the month's schedule.

Who hasn't thought 'oh no, I don't need to visit grandma on the weekend – I'll Skype her!' Of course, we all know that isn't going to work out. You're going to miss Grandma's cooking, and she's going to miss seeing you.

When you make your monthly/weekly timetable block out social engagements and times where you will relax. It's not hard to realise that you're not a robot – yes you will take the entire afternoon off to lie about in your pyjamas, and that's okay! After all, a stressed brain is as useful as an unfocused one.

c) Use colours that mean something to you

Your schedule has to be memorable to you.

Hate that physiology lecture? Great! Colour it red – now you'll never forget it's on Wednesday. Do you always have coffee with your friend? Perfect, give that block of time brown stripes.

Use colours that mean something to you

This kind of colouring exercise may seem childish- but in the end, it's more important that you feel connected with your schedule than just like it is another part of your working day. This schedule integratwith your day to day operations. Whether you revel in routine or not – I can't name a single professional that doesn't use a schedule!

Make sure you get a jump start and start learning to effectively use your schedule today.

500. Don't stress about how others will judge your schedule

Again you are a person; your schedule is your own. Whether's it full of times to work, exercise and work some more – or a flexible relaxation/work-time balanced schedule it's not a place for others to judge you.

I know the first time that I made a study schedule I was terrified to let anyone see encase they thought that I wasn't working hard enough. However I quickly learned studying more didn't necessarily mean that I was studying better.

Similarly, you may operate better with a long lunch break or Tuesdays off while others prefer to work three weeks straight before a few days break. Remember that each break or block of work time is your personal choice. Don't be intimidated because others work more or less than you.

e) Be realistic

Add some notes down the bottom to remind you
of important things

As I said earlier don't make out that you'll be working the entire day when you know that you won't be. It simply sets you up for failure.

Instead, be realistic and give yourself decent breaks and schedule in the things you can't bear to miss first. That way you'll be able to find a work schedule that fits your needs rather than a schedule that feels more like hellish nightmare.

Additionally, you should be aware that life changes, people get sick or ask favours. If you can't keep up with your schedule, don't panic! You haven't written it in stone, rearrange events or just use it as a simple guideline to help yourself remain productive through the chaos.

f) put it somewhere you will see it

This point is the most important thing in the post, – if you don't use your schedule, it's useless. I can't tell you how many hours people have spent designing beautiful schedules, with decorations, colours and perfectly laid out time blocks; only to stuff it under a pile of textbooks and never look at it again.

A schedule it what you make it- and if you want to make it good then make sure you use it. A few good places to pin your schedules too;

1. Take a picture of it and save it onto your phone

2. Take a photocopy and pin it up in your work cubicle

3. Pin it to your bulletin board or blue tack it to your wall

4. Join a studyblr, fitblr or similar community and share your intentions with them

Whatever your goals or intentions – I wish you the best of luck in achieving them!

Australian Universities - the gap in Australia's potential

Many of you who know me will know that I am currently traveling around lots of universities picking out which one I will attend for my proper law degree.

During my travels I've realised one key thing; academics as Australia sees it is entirely flawed. When I

Foleys bookstore - haven for academics!

applied for Australian Universities they asked for one thing.

My grades.

My entire academic year was spent with the dreadful realisation that my entire legal future depend upon a single number, one decimal too low and I'd be struck out of the contest.

Generally I welcome competition, finding it to be a rousing challenge that encourages all players to strive to present their best. Yet throughout the year I observed myself and my peers facing what was an increasingly obvious set of biases. Some were in our favour and some were against.

Australia operates several complex systems of education, but all have some similarities. If you don't understand or recognise what I describe, don't worry- chances are it's different in your state, or no one ever told you.

As a student studying third year law and high school I spent many hours traveling between academic institutions. I had a passion for law and it grew throughout the year as it fostered by my university. They were a wonderful beacon of support and I owe them many thanks and gratitude; my issue is not with the universities, the institutions or the people within them but the poorly way in which the system is applied.

So what am I proposing?

Those in America or Europe have the fantastic opportunity to provide a letter.

Generally known as a personal statement these little excerpts usually sit at around 400-500 words and provide some insight into the applicant's reason for applying.

For law, which is fast becoming Australia's new throw-away degree, this would be an invaluable method of assessment. Not only can you consider students based on aptitude, but also on drive and passion. Many of my peers are choosing to study law – but about 1% actually intend to join the legal force.

Why then are they studying law?

Many claim that understanding the law gives them fantastic grounding in other careers. Never mind that they'd be better served in management and economics or politics course which gives them a working understanding of law and it's implications upon society.

Personally, I think we have so many students changing degrees and feeling unsatisfied because universities are simply drawing students out of a hat and plonking them down where ever they see fit.

No longer do we see students considering seriously what they apply to study. As the options are so flexible that if you really truly wanted you could migrate all they way from english literature to specialised medicine.

Is this fantastic?

No.

There are arguments for increased flexibility- but I'd have to reply to all of those – I've never seen so many Australians with a lack of passion. The question 'what do you want to be?' is answered with laughs and 'I'm only young, I don't want to be tied down.'

This mentality is devastating to our young people. Not only does it create a culture where knowing where you want to go in life at a young age is strange, almost comedic, but it prevents exploration. From reception to year 11 students stroll through, introduced to various careers in short brief meetings. Some students may do work experience – but no one takes that seriously.

And in the end, you could have worked as hard as you could, doing work experience, speeches, seminars, reading, and none of it would matter.

The universities will never see that work, nor will they be interested in it. The future will literally rest upon how you compare to the rest of your country. A reasonable thing when you consider you do want the best and brightest in attendance...but do they always show up in high school?

And why would the best students put effort in at high school? Consistent reminders that their futures are far-far away and continuous reminders that choosing a career now will 'only tie them down' ensure no student bothers to put effort in. High school seems like an endless desert, in which every work sheet is just a time filler until the final year.

So why do I bother to write about this now?

In foreign high schools the students I've met have been encouraged from middle school to find a topic of passion. Students have started up news letters, podcasts and even contact great researchers in a bid to be their assistants. Lo and behold, they have been successful. They are not tied down – and while their system is far from perfect it does provide students with empowerment.

Universities also receive the personal statement, this statement shows off all the work they have done in their field of passion.

Then the system truly becomes a competition as students throw not only their academic scores into the ring but experiences, revelations and future aspirations. Universities suddenly have the blindfold removed and they can piece together a cohort that will not only help each other to succeed but will bring prestige and pride to a university.

I hope in the future, universities around Australia will begin to implement the use of personal statements.

Currently, as a recent graduate I feel that Australian schools are failing to foster the maturity and potential of other students. Therefore forward thinking and well developed universities must implement the personal statements into their application processes in order to find the students that are not only academically brilliant but possess a passion or aspiration that the university will be proud to help them achieve.

Why I will never set goals the same way again

I thought that as we reached the middle of the first month of the new year it was time to talk about goals.

I made two goals last year.

My first goal

One was to receive a black belt from my martial arts school. I had been training for six years and last year I'd applied to begin training for the exam.

I'd set the goal out perfectly according the the SMART system; train every day for 60 minutes before my study, measure it by timing myself and checking weights.

It worked perfectly. I can honestly say that I stuck to this goal like I never imagined that I could.

As a student that has always prided herself on achieving high scores and dedication it was also something that I didn't appreciate enough. Instead I became more and more miserable as I realised I still didn't have a black belt and every week I was receiving more and more criticism. Eventually after months of forcing myself to continue training the inevitable happened – I injured myself.

And just like that I had to strike off one goal on the list.

My second goal was to receive a letter from Brasenose parents.

For those who don't know Brasenose college is a college at Oxford that has a family system. Essentially first years are adopted by second years and so on and so on until you meet your great great grandfather who's a partner at the firm that you're applying too. It's an awesome system that made the idea of moving countries to apply to a university overseas seem so safe.

The second goal I wrote

It was probably a little ambitious to write this goal – but that's the risk I took.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't embarrassed to write that I failed both these goals. But I did. I failed them.

And, conversely, I am so grateful.

Heading into 2016 I no longer value my achievements. Instead I assess what skills and knowledge they gave me and value that instead.

The locket that held them both

As you embark upon the journey of achieving your goals for this year keep in mind four things that I learned from my failure this year.

1. Don't make your goals event orientated

A lot of goals apply purely to a single event during the year.

Eg. Be super fit for the marathon on 15^th of March.

This is a fantastic goal, but in reality – it's not an actual goal. It's a desire or whim.

If you make this goal you're choosing to assess yourself purely on the results from the 15^th of March. Instead try setting a goal more like this;

Eg. Improve ability to run for long distances.

Underneath you might like to dot point out;

a) how you're going to achieve it

b) why you want to achieve it

c) how you'll know you're going to achieve it

2. Give yourself room to move

The New Year is not a time to think about failure – but sadly, even the best intentions and efforts can be thwarted. Give yourself goals that aren't centered on external assessors.

For example; setting a goal to receive an A in your French exam is a wonderful achievement. However it's not a good goal.

Why not?

Contrary to popular belief, when you set a goal to get an 'A' you're not really aiming to improve your language skills. Yes getting that grade will require improvement of language skills but only according to a certain formula.

By aiming to do this; “Learn to converse confidently in French” you're defining what aspect of the language you're interested in and taking charge of your own skill development.

One of the key things I learned this year is that education is a journey you take by yourself. Lots of people will help you but you are the ultimate teacher. When setting goals that are for particular skills avoid relying upon grading systems as they may not specifically achieve what you want to achieve.

Other goals that might suit your purposes better than aiming for particular grades are:

• Learn to write professional emails without feeling anxious
• Find a learning technique that suits me
• Study for three hours a day

Again you should make sure that there's a way to measure and judge your goal so that you don't feel lost in the enormity of the task. Additionally, sometimes you'll find yourself improving in ways that your academic course doesn't appreciate – even though it's advantageous to you.

3. Pleasant event scheduling

A neat little psychology tip: If there's something you don't want to do, struggle to do or are putting off doing try pairing it with something that you want to do.

Before when I mentioned not making a goal that is event orientated I didn't mean completely reject opportunities where you can enjoy your newly developed skills. As you write down your goals dot point beneath times where you would enjoy or be rewarded by this new goal.

However, refrain from making them apart of your immediate goals. By keeping these separate from your actual goal your success in these events while fantastic- doesn't hinder your personal development. In fact sometimes you will benefit more from failing in those events then succeeding.

4. Reflect

When you have goals that you're happy with and aren't event orientated you must dedicate yourself to them be prepared to reach the end of the year and realise that you failed miserably.

For me, it was hard to look back on the meager two goals I made and failed – but a few weeks on I'm grateful. As a young lawyer I will fail – probably multiple times. But now I know to appreciate what the experience gave me rather then mourning what I lost.

That is the most important part of setting goals – not that you achieve them but you reflect on them but you learn from what you did towards achieving them.  

The legal loophole that leaves our society condemned to repeat its mistakes forever

Article 1 of the Genocide Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide makes all signatories liable for not taking actions to prevent genocide. Parties confirm that “genocide whether committed in peacetime or war is a crime under the international law which they undertake to prevent and punish.”

Despite the clear confirmation and intention contained withing the convention there is no direct mention about whether suppressing information about genocide is illegal. Although in Article VIII it is mentioned that a contracting party can call upon the UN for prevention and suppression of acts of genocide it is highly ineffective.

The ineffective nature of this clause is made clear through today's present circumstances because in the tumultuous political arena in which we all live what single nation is willing to lose their current stake hold for a potentially worse diplomatic position than before?

Obviously none. Hence all countries will maintain silence in order to retain their diplomatic relations with each other.

While some may believe that the mere omission of a genocide such as that witnessed in Turkey during and after the Armenian Genocide (reference point Geoffrey Robertson, An Inconvenient Genocide) is not a criminal endeavor, it is criminal to the extent that it is similar top proclaiming that the genocide never occurred. Should the genocide never have occurred according to global history then individuals would still feel at liberty to segregate and persecute portions of the community in order to create a Utopian society.

Education on such events are vital for the development of the general populace's understanding of human treatment around the world and how this treatment does not differ in peace time or war time. While some inhumane treatment may appear to be unlawful through commonsense in many instances inhumane treatment has been disguised under war or political actions.

For example, recently Donald Trump an American presidential candidate declared that all Muslims were to barred from entering the country. In previous eras patriotism and national security would preside over any discrimination regardless of how it may segregate or be unfairly based. The change in behavior towards the statement by Donald Trump can be linked to increased publications and education on genocides such as Rwanda and the Holocaust. Both situations have made clear the need to minimize the discriminative power politicians have over countries.

Therefore why do we allow the failure to education about genocide to be an undetected crime against humanity?

As a major loophole in the already loose foundations of international law the act of omitting or denying genocide rears its ugly head. In some countries such as Turkey the denial of genocide (in this circumstance the Armenian Genocide) is so severe that even historians can't quantify an approximate number of victims.

In fact the perversion of history has extended so far that it has poisoned the Turkish legal system. Under Article 301 the Turkish Penal Code any citizen found to insult Turkey by acknowledging the Armenian Genocide can be imprisoned or otherwise punished. This blatant condemnation of human sympathisers only further proves the long lasting and damaging influence of denying the existence of genocide. Case law from around Turkey, and other similarly governed countries, suggests that the penal code application is more subjective than legally objective leaving a lot of room to question Turkey's ability to fend off attacks on its human rights. Clearly genocide denial has long running influence that can lead to a devastated nation and global community all fighting to retain the right to an education that prevents the loss of respect for human life regardless of race, religion, gender or sexual preference

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it -George