Catch up on everything to do with student life in Kent this week with Arthur Navarro-Allen.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Student 101 live here on KMTV. I'm Arthur Navarro-Allen and this is the
00:25show for students by students. Each week we will explore different facets of study
00:30life around Kent with a range of topics and segments and this week we're going
00:35to be focusing on student hobbies. We'll be diving into everything from ballet to
00:40crochet but first tonight Sam Cochrane asked a number of the students here at
00:44KMTV about what they enjoy as a hobby. Today we're at the University of Kent campus
00:50to learn from a variety of different students about their hobbies and learn
00:54more about the skills they took from them to help them develop as people. I mess
00:58around with technology quite a bit. I like building computers, messing around with files
01:04things like that. It's nothing too professional just sort of in my spare
01:10time messing with PCs and building them and modifying files and things. So outside of
01:16university I do play a bit of sport I am on the university handball team. Well I'm
01:22part of the drama society at university so I do plays I suppose. I started because I bought
01:30a game once that my laptop that I had at the time couldn't handle so I ended up
01:34buying all the pieces and building a PC which was a very stressful experience, a very
01:42difficult experience but ultimately it all worked out and I'm quite proud of the PC that I have.
01:48I think joining a sport club you know the general benefits of it you know better
01:52fitness things like that but additionally there's a massive social element so
01:57handball is a team sport and I've met a lot of good friends from playing handball
02:02I've actually been on a couple holidays with these friends but yes socially I
02:06think it's kind of made me more confident in myself and it's it's gotten me used to
02:11you know chatting to lots of different people and just meeting lots of new
02:14people and making lots of new friends. I was awful at making friends in first
02:18year but kind of throwing myself into that forced socialisation I suppose with
02:24them of auditions and being constantly in the same room as other people. I start to
02:28make friends that way yeah I'd say absolutely helps with skills. Next up we
02:35spoke to the students about the importance of hobbies and the way that it
02:39would benefit them in their overall life. Yeah I think they can I think it's nice to
02:46keep a sort of distinction between university work and and keeping
02:50yourself and they can really help with things like mental health and stress
02:55anxiety things like that and I would say however building PCs is probably quite
03:01expensive hobby I wouldn't recommend it for people on student budgets. Not only is
03:08it a good way to kind of get out of the house to find an interest in something a
03:12lot of the time hobbies can lead to kind of a more social circle so especially if
03:17you're moving to university a completely different place your friends might not be
03:21going with you I think it is very beneficial to join a society or maybe a
03:26local class or a local hobby. I mean hobbies are always good to have some it's a
03:30potch pie take you kind of away from the norm and grind of life and of a state
03:36almost. Hobbies are clearly a very important part of student life and provide
03:42eschatism for students. Sam Cochrane, KMTV. Well now that we've had a look at the
03:50range of hobbies that students can have let's take a deeper look at one. Earlier
03:54today I caught up with Zoe Fode and had a chat with her about her love of
03:58crocheting. Zoe thank you so much for joining us. First question can you talk
04:03to us about what crocheting actually is? Yes so crochet is similar to knitting but
04:10instead of using two needles you would use like a hook. Crochet is actually a
04:16really interesting form because though knitting can be replicated through machines
04:22crochet is completely can only done by hand so there's no machine that we have
04:28currently that can replicate it there's many that can try but they're not as
04:32accurate and don't have that effect so it's just a technique using loads of
04:37little knots make pieces of clothing or blankets using wool and stuff like that.
04:42Okay thank you and what drew you to crocheting in the first place?
04:47Yes so when I was younger my Nana taught me to knit I wasn't very good at it and my
04:55mum she also wasn't very good at knitting but she was used to crochet so I used to
05:01watch her in the evenings crocheting and I really wanted to try and then over
05:06lockdown like crochet clothing became so popular to wear and I thought let me try I
05:13tried once before and I couldn't do it and I gave up. I tried like a year later and I could
05:20actually get the hang of it and then it just kind of spiralled into a mild obsession from there.
05:24Do you think you'll keep crocheting after university?
05:29100% yeah this is a hobby that I will forever use because it's it's a school
05:36that's so useful and like I can make things for I don't know my grandkids like
05:43if you make heirlooms I get passed down for generations so I definitely would keep doing this.
05:48And have you made anything that you'd maybe like to show off for us here?
05:53Yeah so I have brought a few. I've actually got a blanket I'm currently making. It's very big
06:03so it's very large. I've actually ran out of wool so I'm waiting for a new wool order to come along.
06:12Normally I don't do blankets because they take so long. But this one's got really thick wool so it's a little bit easier to do and it doesn't take as long to make.
06:24I've also got a pop that I made. It isn't crocheted, it is sewed. But this is like another one I made over the term break.
06:35As you can tell I like the colour green. So yeah they're just a few things I've made.
06:41So obviously there are sort of like these physical useful items that you get to make when crocheting.
06:47But do you feel there are any other benefits to having crochet as a hobby?
06:52Yeah well when I started crocheting I was the only person I knew that did crochet.
06:57However now I run like my own little crochet club almost like at a charity. So it's really fun to kind of meet other people who crochet, knit, sew loads of other hobbies.
07:09So it's really acted as a socialising way for me. Kind of me and other like-minded people who enjoy these sort of hobbies.
07:17So I would say that's one of the biggest benefits for me. It's also really good for your mental health.
07:21And thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for your time today Zoe.
07:26Now let's move on to find out what other students get up to in their free time.
07:32We went down to the Medway campus to discover what they enjoy doing outside of their studies as their hobby.
07:38So usually when I'm outside I like to read. The majority of the time I'll go to the cinema and pop in to watch like a movie.
07:45I like reading and going for a walk. Those are the hobbies that I enjoy the most.
07:50Well I like to play football. Also go out with my mates, watch movies.
07:56Usually I go gym and sometimes I do gardening and after that I also read books.
08:01My main one's probably like animal care. Like I volunteer in an animal shelter thing.
08:07Right now I'm really into like jewellery making and sewing and stuff. So my friend recently taught me how to use a sewing machine.
08:13So we made a dress and then I like making like bracelets and phone charms and stuff like that.
08:19And finally joining me now in the studio is Azaria Gayle to talk all about her passion for hairdressing and braiding.
08:25Azaria thank you so much for joining us. Let's start by you telling us a little bit more about braiding.
08:30Why would someone want to get their hair braided?
08:33I think it's something different. Like you can change up your style a little bit.
08:37A lot of people do braiding as like an expression of like their cultural identity.
08:44I find it helpful for me personally to be closer to my like cultural roots.
08:51But it is nice like practically as well it does help your like scalp breathe a lot better.
08:56You can, it's better for if you want to apply products to your scalp.
09:02To really like nourish your scalp or like for hair growth as well.
09:06So it does have like different benefits like that.
09:09And how long have you been braiding for?
09:12So I would say I've braided since ever since I was a teenager.
09:18And I mainly started braiding my sister's hair when we was quite young.
09:22And it was quite difficult because her hair was very thick.
09:26And I was the only person in the family except for my mum who could like braid hair.
09:33So I think it was really interesting like learning on my sister and since then like still keeping up.
09:40It's been really fun. Yeah.
09:42And what is the most challenging thing about the braiding process?
09:46So I would say the most challenging thing is making sure like your, your parts um, um, with braids are like crisp, straight and that everything's like unified and consistent.
10:02I think that can be quite tricky, but it being unified is sometimes dependent on the style.
10:08Some people want like a really extravagant style, which is quite nice.
10:12I really enjoy doing those.
10:13But um, those also can be quite challenging.
10:16Um, cause you do have to think about, okay, how can I approach it in a different way to make it easier?
10:22Uh, and how do you balance this hobby and your studies?
10:26Um, I do find it quite difficult to balance with my studies as well, but I try and work it around my studies.
10:33Like if I have a, if I have a weekend free, I'll make sure I have one day where I can focus on my studies.
10:39And then one day I can be like, okay, um, maybe I can do hair on that day.
10:43Um, sometimes I do my own hair as well.
10:46So I do think of my studies as a priority first.
10:52And, uh, finally, just very quickly, do you have any other hobbies besides hairdressing?
10:57Yeah, I do.
10:58I like, um, more like drama, like more the performing arts side of it, like singing and acting.
11:04I've been in a few plays recently, uh, which has been really fun.
11:08I really enjoy it.
11:10And I've done singing recently, which has been quite, quite enjoyable.
11:14Yeah.
11:15Okay.
11:16Well, thank you so much for your time.
11:18Uh, we just want to offer a quick apology for any sound issues there.
11:23But, uh, you've been watching Kent Student 101 live on KMTV.
11:27There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
11:30And don't forget, you can always keep up to date with the latest news across your county by logging on to kmtv.co.uk.
11:37You can keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and following us on TikTok and Instagram.
11:45But for now, for me, from everyone here, have a very good night and we'll see you soon.
11:50Goodbye.
11:51Bye.