Ben's introduction

Hello readers!

My name is Ben Brands and I am 21 years old. For my first post I would like to give you a quick introduction to who I am. If I do not become lazy halfway in, I should be posting 24 blog posts here over the course of the next four months, so it would be nice to give you some background information on the writer. These posts will be about all kinds of facets of my life, especially pertaining to the University of Utrecht though.

In High School I focused more on natural sciences (physics, chemistry and biology), rather than cultural studies (French, German and history) or economical. I also took on additional subjects for fun such as informatics, management and organizations and Latin, as well as participating in school plays, the student council and the school news paper.

Wanting to become a judge, I signed up for law school in Utrecht since it seemed to be the only university that offered a full programme rather than require students to choose a particular field of law right from the outset. I lived with my parents for the first two years of the study, moved into a flat with my older sister for the third year and am now living with my boyfriend for the final year. No matter where I lived, the commute has been a real problem; no sense going to something like a go club if it requires you to spend four hours of travel for two hours of fun.

I am currently doing my master for Dutch criminal law and heading towards the final stages of earning my degree. I will start writing a master’s thesis in a few weeks after figuring out the subject, while taking one last course on alternative criminal laws, and also trying to procure an internship at a respectable law firm close to home. It will be quite an exciting time for me, not in the least because after this period I will start job hunting and actually earning money.

I spend most of my spare time playing video games (especially RPGs) and enjoying televised series. In my house there are always at least two computers and a television turned on. I own three laptops and have two others I can occasionally borrow. On Tuesdays I go swimming with the inlaws, on Wednesdays I go singing in a choir, and the weekends are filled up with birthdays, recreational visits to various locations and entertaining an assortment of close friends. About once a month I borrow my mother-in-law’s sewing machine for tailoring purposes. This Sunday I will be making new pillow coverings, but I hope to soon find a new project with some more interesting results.

One last very important comment: I am open to any suggestions for blog posts you may have and am willing to answer all questions you ask me. Just comment below or mail me at ben.brands.1990[at]gmail[dot]com.