The success of Will Smith's 10-year-old daughter, Willow Smith, has made me think about how different the childhoods of people can be.

Whipping her hair back and forth and singing about it has given young Willow a global platform, something reserved for a tiny minority of the world's population. In fact, her career began back in 2007 with her acting debut in 'I Am Legend''. Wikipedia informs me that she is in fact signed to Jay Z's record label, Roc Nation. To me this sounds absolutely insane as I don't like the idea of children growing up too quickly but fair play to the parents for having such a talented child and for having the means to do something productive with the talent.

Wikipedia also informs me that Willow and her brother, Jaden (also an actor who has starred alongside his father), are ambassadors for an organisation called Project Zambia; this appeases me more than turning a child into a popstar - their involvement in charity is clearly a credible one on the part of Mr and Mrs Smith. With that much of a standing in the world, we can only hope that people like this do continue to make a difference in areas where others perhaps cannot.

Although it is brilliant that Willow has achieved what she has, I can't say that I would trade with her. I loved my childhood. When I was 10 years old I read about planets in my Space Encyclopedia; I played netball for the school team; I made up dance routines to S Club 7 songs; I canoed every Sunday on the lake in Wimbledon Park; I kept a diary detailing everything I did each day of the summer holidays; I liked visiting the Science Museum in London; my favourite colour was blue; I wanted to be an astronaut; I tried playing Warhammer once; I wore those hair ties with cubes on them; I loved my denim jacket from MK:One; I'd hide in the cloakrooms with my best friends to avoid having to play outside in the cold; I went swimming at the Guildford Spectrum; I did a bike race and went straight into a stack of hay as I went around a corner; I would draw pictures of little mice and rabbits in my little notebook; getting in trouble was the worst thing ever; I had keyboard lessons every Saturday and a navy blue tracksuit; I had to be home at ten past five every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for Blue Peter and got angry, thinking it must have been a fix, when I didn't win any of the competitions; I went to Disneyland California; Sweetie Day was every Monday; I played Spyro the Dragon on the Playstation and painted my nails silver.

I love being young.

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Unplayed Piano

Video: Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, 2005

'Somebody bring her home'

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Following on from the Ryder Cup...

...only joking!

Today I fulfilled my first task as a PASS mentor and helped to organise a teambuilding session for the first year Law students at the University of Southampton. It was really good to see how the group gelled, this being the first time that they had all met each other. What really struck me was the fact that none of them seemed judgmental of each other in the slightest; this was really refreshing as stereotypes are often hard to avoid during the initial weeks of university.

Last year, when I was in the exact same position as these freshers, I can't say that I was particularly enthusiastic about any of the tasks set and the general consensus among my group was that we would much rather have had a lie-in the morning after the Freshers' Ball. Impressively, the group's enthusiasm wasn't dampened by the challenges set and they succeeded in them, if not through completing the tasks but by emerging from the experience as a stronger and better-acquainted team.

Their ability to work together in a coherent manner, listening and valuing each other's opinions and  trusting in each other's ideas highlighted the importance of having confidence in one another. Other key points that were raised during the reviews of each challenge were the significance of formulating a plan and executing it; maintaining an effective balance within the group when appointing a leader for it; and showing good communication.

A representative from the sponsoring law firm who spoke to us after the event encouraged us to apply the skills learnt to everyday situations, whether it be in academic life, the workplace or social situations.

A successful day all round.

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Faces

Looking at photographs of the trapped Chilean miners makes the whole ordeal significantly more personal. It reminded me of walking through Auschwitz and the shots of all the prisoners on the walls of a corridor in one of the prison blocks. Every one of them has a story and every one of them is somebody’s something.

‘People are just people. People are just people. People are just people like you.’  - Regina Spektor

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