This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Nottingham chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
Tired, stressed and already behind with work? Feeling completely overwhelmed in
the turbulent, depressing world of 2025? Bit of both? You’ve come to the right place.
Diving head first into politics might seem very daunting, especially if it is something
you don’t have much experience with. University is a melting pot of different people,
experiences and points of view; the perfect place to broaden you world view and
absorb a lovely variety of knowledge and opinions. But, it is also overwhelming
sometimes. As a STEM student for example, I know I’ve felt a little behind compared
to English, Politics and History students, (and all the other humanities bunch). I don’t
keep up with local politicians, I don’t know any feminist literature and I haven’t read
the communist manifesto (examples of things I’ve genuinely had to say to people
during my 3 years of University thus far).
From one complete clueless fool to another, here is my guide to escaping the glaring
red flag that is I’m not political:
- Do what you can! It’s not about perfect.
Life is complicated, nothing is perfect. Set firm expectations for yourself, don’t be
complacent, but stay within reason. Everyone has different comfort, sensibilities, and
time in the day. Those of us that are privileged middle class university students need
to get aware, educated and involved. It is a privilege in and of itself to be able to
ignore politics. It is often those who are not affected, who have nothing to lose who
can “agree to disagree” or avoid getting “too political”. It’s much harder to ignore if
your livelihood, autonomy or right to exist is at stake. If a single mother working 3
jobs can stay on top of current events and local politics, you can too. There is no
excuse. That being said, something is always better than nothing. Start somewhere.
Ease yourself in. Set targets and realistic goals for yourself. No one person can
revolutionise the world overnight, especially not while doom scrolling at 2 am. Start
with an issue that’s close to your heart and passion and motivate will come to you. - Start with your hobbies and passions
This brings me perfectly to my second point. Everything is political. To different
degrees in different ways, but politics is a part of everything. So start there, with
something you love. Sports, cinema, literature, fashion, anime, music, food, look into
the history of it, the perception of it online, who consume it and how do different
demographics interact with it. How is race and queerness represented? What about
disability visibility? What about the language surrounding it? What about
environmental impacts? What about dangerous, toxic trends? It’s in your
communities, where you already have a presence and voice that you can make
change, even if that change is you, your partner and your cat. We’re warming up,
nothing is too insignificant or trivial. In fact, this dismissal of things as “too woke” or
the dreaded “too political” is not only a massive ick, but also genuinely dangerous. It
is in the niche, tucked away fandom corners of the internet that radical ideology
fester. Sexism, racism, transphobia disguised as innocent in-jokes grow into full onviolent hatred. Many are fuelled by passion for their hobbies and a desire to protect
their communities and stay in the loop. So look into the things you love, the things
that bring you joy, the things you already care about. You’ll surely find it will come to
you much easier than picking up the Communist Manifesto. And be pedantic, be too
woke, uplift marginalised voices in any small way you can, even if that’s just in a
conversation. Listen, learn and most importantly:
- Talk to others, as much as you can.
I’m not expecting you to join your local council or go wild on twitter. Conversations
are key, talk about politics more with your friends, about current events, about
climate change, about feminism. Being the annoying one, gently introduce
something a little political in your friend groups, I’ve seen groups that really need it.
Discuss the news, or an online trend with just an eye that’s just a little more critical.
And don’t forget to ask. Ask for others’ opinions, seek different perspectives out. Ask
your friends what they’ve been studying, ask about the news, teach each other
things, have an open mind and seek a change in opinion. That’s how we truly learn.
Interact with local groups or people online if you can, you can start with thinking
about the content you consume more, what you like and share, what you give your
time and attention to. You can work your way up to being a comments goblin like me
one day. Speaking of content… - Use a medium that works for you.
Different things work for different people, some are put off by reading hoards of
theory or non-fiction, for some of us our mental health is bad enough without
watching the world crumble helplessly so tuning into the news and political debate
every waking moment just doesn’t work for us. Things aren’t just zero or one
hundred. Use Instagram, online articles like this one, alternative news outlets. Many
activist use art, music, comics, poetry. Find something that works for you, whilst
keeping your head on and using your own human scepticism and avoiding “fake
news” and misinformation. Try to learn from a use a variety of content to help
broaden your prospective and avoid falling for misinformation and propaganda.
There are paid platforms, a variety of more digestible authors, content creators,
guides. The world is your oyster baby. Just keep one important thing in your mind.
Humanity. Love for each other. Donate your time online or with volunteering, donate
to local food banks or any money you can to Palestine, Sudan, The Philippines, and
many other nations through organisations, initiatives and families across the world
that need your help. Post and repost. Keep these people in your heart and minds at
all times. Remember, as sad and helpless and overwhelmed it makes you feel, its
endlessly worse for them.
Youtube is a big one for me. There are so many different creators that bring with
them so many different perspectives, styles, and subject matter. A few youtubers I
can’t recommend enough to get you started are:
- verilybitchie – Long form video essays on feminism, gender, sexuality,
consumerism and Zionism through TV and media. - Tara Mooknee – Short and long form videos essays on feminism, gender,
sexuality, online perception of relationships, heteronormativity and British
media - Lani’s Lens – Long and short form video essays on feminism and Black
visibility in TV, film and social media - Innuendo Studios – Short form digestible theory on social politics, media and
the internet with his series The Alt-Right Playbook. Perfect for learning and
made for the terminally online (like me) - Big Joel – long form video essays on leftist politics, and philosophy through
TV, film, political media, and YouTube. - Cheyenne Lin – Long form videos essays and commentary on pop culture
through a lens of intersectional feminism
These are a spread of some of my absolute favourites, including new and old, big
and small channels. Hopefully there’s at least something you like although I
recommend checking the all out, and finding many more of your own.
5. Register to vote!
I’ve put it off too I totally get it. But we have to get involved and do it! It’s one of
the most meaningful and direct way to make local change. Its easy and you owe
it to your community and to the people who need your help.
Vote! Vote! Vote!