This months started off with the first exams I have ever sat in 2 years! It was a nerve-wracking experience. The first paper was a challenge but I felt quite confident after the last one. One thing I can say is that I'm glad those are over!

Lab reports followed suit straight after the exams, with the blistering cold and very little sunlight this month you can imagine how glad I am that January is finally over. Bear in mind it is carnival season in Brazil (where most of my band members are right now!). Well at least I'm improving my average keystrokes per minute with all these lab reports!

Okay... the rant about having to sit exams and write lab reports whilst watching friends enjoy Brazilian carnival season is over. January hasn't been that bad actually.. 

*drum roll*

Let Us Learn!

I've had the pleasure of representing the "Let Us Learn" campaign alongside the founder of the campaign, Chrisann (pictured above), on one of the many school visits to raise awareness around the current laws regarding young migrants and their access to higher education.

We spoke to a crowd of 100 Year 11 boys prepping for their GCSE exams - I was very nervous. The last thing I would be interested in at the time of sitting my GCSE's would be what a total stranger had to say at my morning assembly. To my surprise, we were warmly received and I look forward to visiting more schools on behalf of the campaign this year.

My fellow campaigners over at "Let Us Learn" have had a very busy month! We also met with our steering group this month which was a very insightful experience - especially hearing from highly respected professionals in their field on how best they felt the campaign could be moved forward.

Vitality North London Half Marathon

Training for my next half-marathon also began this month; I'm dreading it. Another 13 miles through the streets of London. However,tThe fact that the route ends in Wembley has provided me with the motivation to train that extra bit harder. I hope to beat my personal best of just under an 1 hour 40 minutes  (recorded at the Royal Parks Half) which will take some doing.

Carnaval!!!

As I mentioned before, January marks a period of celebration in Brazilian. As a samba percussionist, gigs have been flying in as the samba community in London join in the celebrations. I will be playing at Guanabara, Holborn on the 5th and 13th of February so feel free to join in the celebrations however you can.

Thank you for reading my blog once again! I hope you have all had a brilliant start to the year!

P.S. Here is the link to an article in the Independent following up on the campaign for those interested in a quick read! - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/emmanuel-opoku-the-student-who-secured-his-university-place-by-crowdfunding-a6828531.html