The Secret Life of Students - Brenda

18 June 2014

 

AGE: 18

FROM: Tottenham
LIVING: Self-catered Flat
RELATIONSHIP STATUS: In a relationship
STUDYING: Psychology
SOCIAL NETWORKING: Brenda Tweets A LOT, as well as using Facebook, and has a YouTube blog. She sent over 19,000 texts and social media updates over the three month filming period. An average of 77 tweets PER DAY.

 

 

Brenda says she should come in small doses. She’s full of life and aspiration, and laughs easily, but there’s a serious, tougher side to her that sees how her background has limited her opportunities. She wants to turn that around and prove people wrong.

 

Her motivation to do well comes from being told ‘mansion houses in the country aren’t for people like you…’ - this rang true for Brenda, who lives at home with 5 brothers and sisters as well as her mum and dad. They live in Tottenham, and Brenda can’t wait to get out and away from there, and the people she knows who cause endless drama.

 

Bubbly, thoughtful and funny, with a very dry sense of humour, Brenda has a blog/YouTube channel of videos and thoughts. She tweets vociferously – she recently posted “Africa wants to open a Disney Land.. Fight poverty first then bring me Mickey mouse..” All her friends use Twitter more than Facebook. She came off Facebook as soon as her dad went on it…

 

Most of Brenda’s friends are African. She’s hoping that university will expand her friendship base - at school she was around bitchy girls all the time but college was multicultural and opened her eyes – she met Turkish, Somali and Asian people and found that everyone respected each other. She wants to leave behind ‘the old Brenda’.

 

Brenda spends most of her money on hair products and new clothes, will she manage to pay her rent at university or will budgeting go out the window? Brenda communicates most easily online, is this where she’ll find friendship or possible even love?