Jessica Wood, Author at The Orbital

21Jun

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

Lifestyle

Body Dysmorphia

I was afraid to leave the house today and I am not the only one. Considering the issues in the world at the moment, this might seem trivial, and maybe it is, or at least I wish it was. This morning, I woke up, tried on a shirt that I’ve worn many times, looked in the mirror and felt disgusting. I won’t hide the way I felt. I gave myself the same look I would give a group of maggots on a rotten apple. If it were a friend looking at themselves that way, I would not encourage it. Carolyn Korsmeyer claimed that ‘it is the foul nature of the objects that trigger this emotion’. I saw myself as foul because I had a muffin top. The modern world is an incredible place, the connections we can make and maintain are wonderful, and our ability to influence each other is widely beneficial. After ...

18May

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

Opinion

An Ode to Domino’s

Pizza is the love language of people all around the world; I’ll continue to endorse this until my lactose intolerance wins its ongoing battle for my attention. It is an incredibly versatile comfort food, from the variety of toppings to the versatile uses. Hangovers, date nights, cram nights or simply in need of a trusted companion - pizza consistently provides. It’s a student staple, providing us with more stability than most of our love lives. Thus, I feel it is my duty as a student to finalise the long-lasting debate: which is the superior pizza takeaway? Within my first week at Royal Holloway, it became abundantly clear that Domino’s would be draining my bank account. Yes, it is higher on the price scale than other take outs, but you can quite literally taste the difference, to quot...

12May

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

News, Opinion

Defining Class

Defining Class: is it about what you earn or how you act? By Jessica Wood Society is ordered; people, places and possessions are constantly being put into boxes. Have you ever seen a movie and not had the desire to place it into a genre? It is a human instinct to name and sort things, that’s why we have an entire literary category called nouns. But what effect is this having on how we view the people around us? Does it explain why I was once told by a ‘friend’ that they would “only be friends with someone who went to a boarding school”? What defines this elusive term ‘class’? Why am I considered to have a lower status in society than them, even though my household income might actually be higher? This made me think that status in society is much more than what lands in your ba...

31Jan

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

Lifestyle

Stop the Sex Stigma

Sex is not an entry requirement for uni; there is no ‘please achieve ABB in your subjects… plus you must’ve lost your virginity’, so why are people made to feel like they are failing if they have not experienced it? They are made to feel abnormal if they are not prepared to hook up with someone in the first week, or opposing that, made to feel shameful if they’ve slept with too many people. There is no ‘correct’ or ‘appropriate’ “body count” for young people and it is damaging, physically and mentally, to enforce such opinions. Sound familiar? Didn’t think so… so why does it feel that way? Contrary to popular belief, there’s nothing abnormal about keeping it in your pants during welcome week, and on the flip side, you should never feel shame about having had multiple sexual partn...

Are cinemas going extinct? A Post-Covid Review

16Oct

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

Film & TV, Theatre & Performance

Are cinemas going extinct? A Post-Covid Review

Stale popcorn and half-working escalators, overpriced, too-watery coke and the blue raspberry (what even is that?) slushy that comes with a funny shaped, reusable plastic cup that will sit on your windowsill for months, never to be used again -- there’s nothing quite like the cinema. The first public performance of a film was in 1896, but with the pandemic forcing us to stay at home and the growing popularity of binge-watching culture, the cinema don’t have the same grasp on society as it once did. Growing up, I just about lived in the theatre, taking every chance I could to watch the latest movies; it was my safe space and I enjoyed the shared experience of watching with other people. The final battle scene, where every person in the theatre gasped in shock during Twilight Breaking Da...

The Benefits of Working as a Full-time Student: Undergrad 2021 Edition

16Oct

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

Lifestyle

The Benefits of Working as a Full-time Student: Undergrad 2021 Edition

Working whilst studying has become increasingly popular over the years, with almost all of my student friends having a part time job alongside their full-time degree. In fact, research has shown that over half the student population work to subsidise their studies. I could begin by arguing semantics and my standpoint on the increase of tuition fees for our generation, or the unrealistic work experience requirements placed on new graduates, however, instead I want to shed light on my own experience as a working student and how it is possible to: ‘have it all’ (Girl’s Trip, Ryan Peirce). I’ve been working since I was sixteen -- through my GCSEs, A-levels, and the holidays in between- and only now that I am twenty-one do I feel like I have a right to speak on this topic. When ...