Royal Baby Madness!

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/royal-baby-news-kate-william-2082015

A lot of people are claiming that they couldn't give a rat's behind that His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born this week. But judging by my Twitter timeline and the general hoo-ha surrounding this auspicious birth, a lot of people DO care.

And one of them, unashamedly, is me.

I have always been a royal family buff. I kind of prefer the old kings and queens, you know, the ones who actually had a say in how England was to be run (often with disastrous results). I am entranced by the Tudors, particularly Queen Anne Boleyn. And so, when a future king is born, of course I am going to be interested.

It is probably a good thing kings and queens don't hold much sway anymore - a lot of them were narcissistic, borderline crazy, or just plain evil. Many of them were quite happy to lead their countries into ruin. One day I might write a blog post about the craziest royals in history, but at the moment I am just too tired and I still have my Non-Current Assets Held For Sale tutorial to get through.

Yet, the Royal Family are still a fascinating family to watch.

Is the future King George VII's rule going to be relevant? The way things are heading, probably not. It kind of makes you wonder what the point of having a royal family in England is, anyway. But a lot of us are still suckers for tradition, pomp and ceremony - and any birth, of course, is a joyous occasion.

Does Failure = Success?

9GAG

Hmm, okay, I was wondering about whether I should create this post. I fear that this may be a little bit of a cliche topic - I mean, how many times has it been covered? But as it is something to pertains to my life right now, let me just go ahead.

Now, there have been many "inspirational" pictures and internet memes doing the rounds over the past couple of years. Yes, you know the ones I'm talking about. Flowery background, even more flowery writing, stars, sparkles, glitter - it's like one big party shop thrown onto a canvas. Cue the inspirational quote itself. Messages from the Bible - or any Holy Book, for that matter. Something somebody famous once said.

But this one happened to pop up on my phone as I did my early-morning twitter browsing. Inspirational? Hmm. I like to think of it more as a reality check. And yes, I did find this on 9GAG.

I think that we, in general, are a bit too hard on ourselves these days. We expect "what most people think" - yay, you're a success! Or, what a failure, he is never going to get anywhere in life. Truth is, some of the most successful people in the world not only came from nothing, but they've failed. I've failed. You've failed. We're all going to fail, but it certainly won't negate our chances of success altogether.

So, inspirational? Probably. Reality check? Yes. Because if you want to get anywhere meaningful in life, it's going to be a long, hard road (they should have thrown some serious potholes in this picture, too). We shouldn't expect things to be handed to us on a platter. We should be prepared to fight for it a bit. But at the end of the day, it will be worth it.

And that, friends, is MY inspirational quote for the day. Feel free to put it on any internet picture you like :).

The Obligatory Introductory Post

Let's face it, being any student is tough. No matter what course you are studying, it usually involves late nights, lots of coffee, a few sacrifices in one's personal life, the thrill of passing or success, or that nauseating feeling when you see the word "FAIL" in your set of results.

But being an Accounting student is even tougher - and for good reason. The saying goes, "Money makes the world goes round" - and guess what? Nearly everybody needs an accountant. Which means that, one day, we are likely to be entrusted with other people's money. So you have to be honest. Trustworthy. And you really have to know what you are doing.

I am currently in the middle of my PGDA at a South African university. Yes, it is tough. But there are rewards, too. The sense of camaraderie with your peers, both at your university and at other locations around the country. That feeling of achievement when you finally "get" something, or you know that you have written a good test. Knowing that, one day, all the sacrifice and hard work will be worth it.

This is not a space for me to rant and rave about my personal life - I firmly believe that what should be private, should stay private. This is a space for me to give a general overview of my life as an accounting student. I try to read the press as often as I can, so I may comment on current affairs as well. I would like to state from the outset that my opinion is really just that - my own opinion - and, of course, I may not always get things right.

And so, let me embark on this journey, to go from being a WANNABE ACCOUNTANT to a REAL ACCOUNTANT.