Episode 1 Being Sixteen in 2014

Filmed over a year, all over Scotland,

these two films are a snapshot of our lives.

We don't claim to represent this generation...

..but we do know what it's like being 16.

Your parents expect you to act like an adult,

but they will still treat you, and see you, as a child.

There's an overwhelming sense that the future is coming.

It feels always unstable.

You are making life decisions here.

It's a big year for us.

For all of us.

Older people probably look down on our generation

and think that we just know absolutely nothing.

People can have a stereotypical image of us

which kind of makes them think they can't trust us

with bigger responsibilities.

I guess at this age you think of so many great things

and so many fantastic ideas

but you kind of think that now's not my time.

But now SHOULD be our time.

My name's Ida McVarish.

I live in the depth of the Highlands,

a place most have not heard of that goes by the name of Morar,

which sounds a bit too much like Mordor, if you ask me.

It's a terrible place filled with a never-ending torrent of rain,

too much trees, mud and not enough people.

It's in an almost constant state of cold.

If we ever had real sunlight, I'm pretty sure we would shrivel up

and burn like some sort of Highland vampires.

I'm not the popular kid or the pretty kid at my school,

I'm not even one of the smart kids.

I'm just me - the slightly odd,

easily ignored kid with too much ambition and determination,

and a weird love for screamo, metal, rock music and the colour black.

I don't fit in much, but I couldn't care less.

I will get out of this place after completing my education,

and I'm pretty sure I'll end up vowing to never return.

Other than that, I'm just like any other teenager, I guess -

I spend too much time online, I eat when I'm bored,

and school sucks.

This is my brother.

His name's Kian.

SHE LAUGHS

We don't talk.

We just sort of stand here.

Like, we don't have a proper bus stop or anything, so if it rains

we have to stand here in the rain for ten or 15 minutes

or whatever.

BELL RINGS

CHATTER

If the prelims went great, and your scores were pretty much close

to your target, then you don't have anything to worry about,

and your bright future that you have planned is unfolding before you.

There are some of you, though, where there's quite a considerable gap

between what you thought you could do,

or what you want to do, and what you actually achieved in the prelim.

My grades weren't the best they could've been.

Like...I'm hoping to get better in the actual exams.

I think I need to both, like,

readjust my expectations and work harder.

You will leave school eventually,

and for some of you that's coming up really quite fast.

What we want to do

is get everybody to the end of their school education

with the ability to choose,

for the rest of their life,

to do things that they are happy with.

I know if I do get into university,

I'm going to have to have, like, five jobs just to be able to pay,

to stay in university.

I'll probably end up homeless in a sewer.

The biggest sources of stress in a teenager's life,

realistically, is school.

You're constantly being forced to work and being forced to stress.

You need to work and work and if you don't work, you won't get a job,

you won't do well, you won't make money...

At this age, you're expected to choose what subjects

you're going to do, which will then determine which jobs you can do,

and you're meant to know what job you WANT to do when you leave school.

I know that I will work hard to achieve what I want to achieve,

and sometimes it scares me to think that I might not, you know.

How will I feel?

I think what scares me the most would be me sitting my exams,

like, trying so hard to pass them.

If I can get into college, I can get a really big change in my life.

I think my mum and my family would be really proud of me.

You are making life decisions here...

..even though you haven't even lived most of your life.

Wow, that's scary. But, yeah.

My name's Brandon.

I live in a small flat in Cumbernauld...

..with my mum,

my mum's dog and my mum's pet snake.

That's me when I was three years old.

A rascal then and I have been ever since.

I don't hate school, but I'm just bored with it now.

Teachers moan at me all the time.

I've been going through really angry phases the now,

and I don't know why.

Sometimes I feel like no-one listens to me.

You look a bit nervous, there's no need to be nervous -

-you've been in this office a few times before, haven't you?

-Aye.

Well, it's come to that time, Brandon, where you've to make

-a decision about your future, eh?

-Yes.

So I understand that you've made an application to college,

-is that right?

-I have.

I'd like to go into motor vehicle maintenance.

I've always had an interest in cars.

You've been to the college for an interview, haven't you?

That's a really positive step.

So four years at secondary school, Abronhill High School.

Good times, some tough times as well.

I think that's true for most young people,

but life outside of school has been tough for you as well, hasn't it,

with your mum and her situation.

And that has had an impact,

-sometimes particularly, for example, on your timekeeping, hasn't it?

-Yes.

Sometimes she can get up and be in so much pain

she can't move out of her bed

until 12 or one o'clock in the afternoon, and sometimes even

when I get in after school she can still be lying in her bed in pain.

So I need to do stuff like, I need to shower her,

or take the dog out for her

or help her in and out the shower,

make dinner for her, dress her,

make sure she's got plenty of food and water,

do the dishes and that - just chores and that in the house.

You've been through most things that some people never

go through in their lives, and you're only 15,

so you've been a credit to your mum and to yourself.

My mum's got a condition called hypermobility syndrome,

which means her joints can dislocate very, very easily.

She's in constant pain throughout the day

and I have to do a lot for her.

What we want to do today is to push on with the argument for evolution,

that suggests that belief in God is a non-starter.

If scientists are right, all of us started in Africa,

and you're all black.

LAUGHTER

Think about this -

Europeans have noses like that.

LAUGHTER

They do!

If you were living in a place which was humid,

some jungles in Africa or somewhere,

and you're trying to breathe through that, you'll have difficulties.

But if you have a nostril like that...

..no problem.

You adapt to your environment.

When things get tough, the weak, young or sick, injured, they die.

It's just a fact. The strongest animals will survive.

Robbie, get the lights, my son, will you?

-That's the fastest land animal that we know, and it's the...

-Cheetah.

-Cheetah, yes.

70 miles an hour.

TV NARRATOR: 'Individuals having any advantage, however slight,

'over others will have the best chance of surviving

'and procreating their kind.

'Natural selection or survival of the fittest...'

You kind of do need to stick up for yourself in this place, like,

people that are weak, they won't survive, they'll get singled out.

But if you just keep yourself to yourself,

and talk to people and don't be cheeky, you'll probably survive.

See if you bullied someone and call them names

and they just say something, they're just going to keep doing it, but

if you stick up for yourself, they might not bully you as much.

It's just some people don't fit in as well as other people do.

Basically, where I live, loads of people don't like me.

And basically I stand out, and they don't like that.

I guess that means I'm not a normal teenager.

I do tend to not go with trends and I just do what I want,

but I still worry about the fact

that people think something funny of me

because I'm not wearing certain clothes or

I don't have certain ideas or I'm into certain issues.

I've kind of accepted that not everyone's going to like me,

and there will be people in life who just, I don't get on with,

and I just need to deal with that and kind of ignore those people.

You have the most popular with everyone following them about,

and you have the people that don't have that many friends that

find it hard in school.

Growing up, we all want to be the best, and do as well as we can.

'I guess that it's like a race, almost.'

'Hi, I'm Natalie.

'I'm 16 and have three brothers, which makes life quite eventful.

'I enjoy spending time with my family.

'I also really enjoy spending time with my brilliant

'friends from school.

'I am an extremely determined person.

'Many teachers have advised me to sit four Highers, but I am sitting five.

'I don't like to be held back or underestimated.

'Naturally, I would like one of those dream jobs earning lots of money

'and travelling the world.

'Singing is one of my favourite pastimes, along with books,

'watching quiz shows with my family, and making jewellery.

'I would also really like to help other people, which is

'partly why I want to adopt children, as well as have children of my own.

'I also enjoy raising money for charities.'

APPLAUSE

As you now know, I'm Natalie.

And as you may already know, I can't see particularly well.

I've been asked to speak to you today about my experiences

of losing sight, and living with that loss.

I lost my sight officially at the age of nine,

though I started the sight loss process about a year before.

I had a brain tumour called a craniopharyngioma which had started to grow

and push up on my optic nerves.

Naturally, this caused a great deal of pain,

but it also caused me to be sick almost every time I ate.

The doctors, however, believed I was lying about my sight

loss in order to receive more attention.

They told my parents that I was psychologically blind,

not actually blind.

By the time an ophthalmologist discovered the truth,

the tumour had almost destroyed my optic nerves.

The subsequent operation lasted 12 hours,

and put my parents through more worry than I think I will ever know.

The tumour was successfully removed, but I was left with hardly

any vision, and an inactive pituitary gland.

I am actually extremely lucky. I have my family and friends

around me, to help me.

Many people don't have that, so please

donate, because every penny in the pot helps to make a difference.

I feel close to tears, frankly, cos that was really difficult,

more difficult than I was expecting emotionally.

'I don't want to be seen as any different to anybody else'

and quite often I am mistaken for sighted.

'It reassures me that I look no different.

'Being a girl, I'm quite stereotypically fashion conscious,'

and I don't think, "Oh because I can't see exactly what I'm wearing,

"nobody else can," I'm not that narrow-minded.

But I am shallow enough to care about it.

My hair used to be ginger,

then I dyed it kind of blueish/ greenish, so the colour of the sea.

And then I dyed my fringe pink, and a bit of the underneath pink.

I quite liked that.

You want to be seen as different, you don't

want to become somebody who's just copied the latest fashion

image because that's what everyone else is doing.

'There are some girls at my school who are perfect, in my eyes.

'But the majority of us aren't.'

I think the only person you should try and fit in with,

and the mould you should try and fit is the one you set yourself.

When the summer is over, I want to get pink underneath the blackish,

have a purple fringe with blue through it, that goes into the pink.

That'd be cool.

SHE LAUGHS

'Hi, my name's David.

'That's me walking my dog with my brother and sister.'

We live in a small village in Dumfries.

It's an idyllic setting to grow up and live in.

In the eyes of a kid, there's adventure everywhere, places

for den building in the summer and hills for sledging in the winter.

'We all get along reasonably well,

'but I won't deny that brothers and sisters can't help but fight.'

Stu, no phones at the table.

'My family are really supportive of everything I do,

'and they are willing to help me in any way possibly to achieve what I want.

'Which generally means my mum's turned into a free taxi service.'

I really enjoy coming to school.

If you're going to spend the best part of 12 years getting

'an education, you might as well try and make the most of it.'

'I'd like to go into politics when I'm older,

'and possibly run my own business, but that would have to wait

'until after I've been to university.'

I think politics is really important

and it's a shame that more young people don't really take an interest.

I'm running as a candidate to become

a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament. Fingers crossed.

I've spoken to your class already

but I'll just outline a few of my points already just so you remember.

If I can find the sheet!

I should know it off by heart by now, I've done it about 20 times.

Right, um, some of the points I'd like to bring up, to create

maximum homework limits to prevent unnecessary stress, to introduce

practical lessons like carpentry, metal work and agriculture, and

to reduce the age limit on alcohol, to let pupil councils inside

school communicate with the Scottish Youth Parliament representative.

Has anybody got any questions? Nobody?

This is the normal response.

OK, if you can all log on and go on the Young Scot website.

The Scottish Youth Parliament does have quite

a lot of influence on what is done in the UK.

It's argued quite a bit that it was them

that mean we can ultimately vote in the referendum for independence.

I voted for David White because he's from the school

and I liked what he was trying to promote.

-Today I voted for David White.

-David White.

David... Oh, I forgot his last name.

Well, he's quite responsible, and he does a lot for the school already.

He's always going on about it.

I know him quite well and I think he's a lovely person.

I read everyone's portfolios.

I looked through them in detail, I read them a few times,

and after some discussion with friends,

we all decided David would be the best candidate.

I've not voted.

Neither have I.

David is a hard-working man. He knows what he's doing

and he's kind of the voice for the pupils here.

He's my mate's big brother,

so that's one reason why I voted for him.

It's something I've wanted to do since the last one,

'it was a couple of years ago since the election was here,

'but I was too young then. I was in first or second year.

'So it's been quite a long term ambition

'to be in the Scottish Youth Parliament.'

And tonight I find out whether I've won the election or lost the election,

and I've got to prepare my speech for them.

They've asked that I prepare a five-minute speech

in case I win the election, so I've still got that to write today.

What is politics? Wow.

Sometimes I feel that politics is just old men arguing in a room.

I think the role of government should be to ensure

the prosperity of the country, to ensure that its people

have the resources they need to build themselves a good life.

I would like to have unbiased politicians that are doing things

not for the money, not for staying in Cabinet,

but rather for the benefit of the people.

Politicians, they could be doing a bit better

to really look at the way real people live their lives.

'My name's Halima.'

I live in the City of Discovery, Dundee.

'But, to be honest, the place isn't quite as cool as the name suggests.

'I know this because I've lived here for around eight years.

'I always think of Dundee as being constantly cold,

'even when it's not, but this could be because I was born in Nigeria,

'and I always dream of going to live somewhere hot, like Bora Bora.

'This city is too quiet, with very little things for teenagers to do.

'But moving on from the negatives...

'..I do genuinely enjoy living here

'and I am thankful for the opportunities it has given me.'

I just don't know if I'd call it home yet.

'Being 16 is the best thing ever.

'This is the time to try everything.

'Well, most things anyway,

'and to mainly not take things too seriously.

'You've got to be able to express that inner child within you

'once in a while, or in my case, every day.'

The most important thing in my life is my family,

and I'm very lucky to have a very big one,

with four brothers and a whole load of cousins.

'We meet up all the time to have a meal and talk

'through everything that's going on.'

I never want to leave. This place is like heaven on Earth.

-Dundee?

-I do like to be in Scotland, it's a nice environment to be in.

I want to live where it's hot, where I can have a big house.

THEY LAUGH

You can have big houses here. I'll design it for you.

But it would cost you a lot. I wouldn't mind living in Nigeria.

Nigeria is the kind of place where you're either really rich

or really poor, there's no middle ground.

Divide in class. I just want equality.

But that's never going to happen.

-That's never going to happen.

-That's not true.

Do you know there's immense inequality living in Scotland?

I know there's inequality everywhere,

but what I'm trying to say is here you get the middle class.

You can just have a normal life.

You work really, really hard and you get back that hard work.

But in Nigeria you have to fight against corruption and bureaucracy.

All these problems. I want to work hard and get back what I worked for.

For me, to be honest, if I was to move away from Scotland,

I would probably still think Nigeria and Scotland are both home for me.

-Yeah, Scotland is home for me.

-So is Nigeria. Especially Dundee.

'I was seven when I first moved over here, and it was a big'

change for me, cos I didn't know what this country was like.

Now I've grown up here,

I know more about this place than I do about Nigeria.

I think when I go back, when people finally see me

after eight years they'd be like, "She's changed so much."

It will be weird seeing everyone again, but I'm excited.

'I think your environment shapes who you are a lot.

'It was a good place to grow up as a child.

'I think if I lived in a city as a child, I'd be less creative.

'You could imagine more fantasy happening in a place like this.'

In Glasgow, you couldn't really see people riding unicorns and stuff,

but over here, you could.

I remember a lot of being young,

and it's all very colourful in my head as well.

I used to enjoy dressing up,

although the thought of dressing up now makes me cringe.

I'd dress up in all these outfits. I had loads of princess outfits.

I was one of those who was just happy.

I wasn't thinking ahead or anything,

I was just there in the moment, enjoying myself.

No-one actually cared about anything back then,

literally nothing.

Nowadays, things are so different.

'Because it's my birthday,'

my mum thought we could go out for a wee while

and go for lunch and play pool.

Mate, my granny's better at pool than you.

I'm not even kidding you on, man.

'I'm going to leave school in August cos I'm going to try

'and get into college, try and get myself a job.

'I'm just fed up with school.'

I'd like to go and do mechanics in college.

Done an interview during the week.

He said he'd let me know in the next couple of weeks.

It felt right being there, cos I've grown up and that,

it felt right to go and have an interview

to see if I can go out into the world of work.

I'm looking forward to it.

I can start paying for my own things once I get a job...

A house, furniture, somewhere to sleep.

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday to you

# Happy birthday, dear Brandon

# Happy birthday to you! #

You killed my caterpillar.

-Happy birthday, mate.

-Cheers.

You're heavy embarrassing, do you know that?

'When you're younger,

'you kind of think you look forward to being this age.'

Looking back, you wonder why you were looking forward to it.

You have a bit erratic hormones and you're a bit grumpy

and moody half of the time, whereas in your childhood

you can have more fun and a bit more freedom,

and you're less knowledgeable, which...

They say ignorance is bliss.

Your teenage years, they're kind of...

They're that part where you're not a child any more

but you're not quite out there as a working adult,

and it feels rubbish.

'You just feel sort of trapped.

'These are the only places I can really go.

'There's no other option there for me, currently.

'There's no shops, I can't meet new people cos I know everyone already.'

I know there's more to life than here,

and I think that's what gets me down,

cos I know that I'm not out there doing stuff and,

like, everyone else expects me to be happy with here and this.

And, I don't know.

I want to be somewhere else, doing something different.

'My dad gave me my computer

'and I think that's when I became more interested in stuff.

'Without the internet, I'd be bored out of my mind.'

My generation is the one where we are getting all the new stuff,

we can access so much at just the touch of a button.

I think the internet and technology plays a huge part in our lives.

The internet can play a bad role by taking over people's lives,

spending too much time on the internet and not in the real world.

I think that without the internet...

..we wouldn't be, my generation wouldn't be who we are.

You find people who have gone through hard times

or have gone through amazing times,

who have done some really inspirational things,

and it helps you almost reconsider your own life,

it helps you realise there are other people out there

who have dreams or fears or hopes or even are failing at something.

Some YouTubers also grow up in isolated areas

and you're like, well, they escaped, and they did something beautiful.

Straight edge, that's pretty cool.

'I've always been straight edge.

'I've never drank alcohol, I've never smoked cigarettes,

'I've never done drugs.'

On YouTube, I follow Patty Walters, and I really like his style,

I like the way he performs and he's just a really cool person in general.

'They stopped seeming like my friends when they got drunk.

'They weren't fun or nice people to be around.'

I was talking to my friend about Patty Walters, my friend Kelly,

and she was like, "Oh, well, he's in a band."

And I was like, "Oh, that's really cool."

This band, As It Is, are playing in Glasgow,

so we've got tickets, got a place to stay,

just need to wait for them to come.

I can't even... Ah, it'll be amazing!

It's my physics prelim today.

It's my last exam, I'm hoping it's going to be OK

but I am really nervous.

Especially because of the length of it more than anything.

It's three hours and 45 minutes long

so I'll probably be slightly dead by the end of it.

'Braille does take longer to read.

'There's much more of it.

'To give it a bit of perspective on this,

'a pocket-sized French dictionary was 32 volumes long.'

'Prelims are really important to me because I need to be able

'to prove to everybody that I made the right decision

'when I picked five Highers,

'and that it wasn't a humungous mistake on my part.'

'I want all As.

'I'll be disappointed with anything less.'

This is us arriving in Nigeria now.

We are having some family time now.

Weddings in Nigeria are really, really big.

Everything they wore and the way it was all set up was just amazing.

'People were quite shocked at how we had all turned out,

'cos they would have thought I'd be all proper Scottish

'and they loved the fact that I was still...

'..I still had my Nigerian self in me.'

That's basically the wedding done now,

all that's remaining is the wife to go back home with her husband.

So that's my filming over and done with. Bye.

My mum always tells me if I was to go back to Nigeria I'd be surprised

with the amount of kids that can cook, and I never believed her,

I just thought it was a way to get me to start cooking.

But when I went back, everyone could cook,

and I got a bit embarrassed when they were like,

"Can you cook?" and I was like, "Not really. I can make noodles."

And I tried making noodles and I burnt it,

so that was quite embarrassing.

So that's what has, like, made me want to cook more.

She likes eating, so she must learn how to make it.

Have you told them the name of the chicken you're going to make?

-Peppered chicken.

-In our language, we call it suya.

Yeah, in Nigeria, suya.

It's cold.

I will leave you to it.

I don't really know what I'm doing, but...

I always classified myself as British.

"I'm not Nigerian any more, I'm only Scottish,

"I'm British, I'm only from here."

But going back, I'm not.

I'm still Nigerian. I miss the place.

But I've picked up how to be a woman

and just be mature, I'm more mature now.

Yeah, I'm more mature, I've grown up.

SHAVER BUZZES

I think that's about me. Ready. I'm off to take over the world now.

-Give me a ring when you find out.

-Yes, I will do.

Tonight's the announcement of who has won the election,

who's going to be the MSYP for West Dumfries and Galloway.

I think I've done as much as I can do to able to win.

I'll write a list of thanks first

and then I'll go about the rest of it. So, who should I thank?

I hope you're going to thank your mum in this speech.

What am I thanking you for again?

-Driving.

-OK.

-Being your mum. Supporting you.

Brother and sister? Nah.

My siblings, Mum, Castle Douglas High School. Thank the whole school.

I think at the moment I'm feeling slightly less confident

cos I'm getting closer to the final event.

It's 40 minutes until it starts and then it'll be all over,

a couple of months of work will be either ruined or it'll pay off.

I don't care. As long as I win. If I don't, I'll be gutted.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

In the first round, David Blain, 223.

Sam Glendinning, 239.

And David White, 244.

In round two the number of votes cast were David White, 373...

..and Samuel Glendinning, 435.

On that basis, I hereby declare

that Samuel Glendinning has been duly elected.

APPLAUSE

-Hello. I'm a bit shocked.

-LAUGHTER

First of all, I'd like to say thank you to my parents,

my friends, and the staff and pupils...

Gutted. I'm feeling absolutely gutted.

It doesn't really matter, coming second, I just still don't get it.

APPLAUSE

-Oh, well.

-Never mind.

David, you should apply for a job at Screwfix.

No, I don't think Screwfix is going to be right.

I don't think it's the end of me going into politics

cos there's still a lot of things I can do.

It's just a little bump in the road.

'You don't get everything you go for,'

which is why I go for lots of things.

'I'll put up on Facebook to say I'm sorry I haven't been able to win.'

They'll probably be a bit disappointed too but,

you know, there's nothing I can do about it.

If you're pausing to get a tear, I'm not going to cry!

LAUGHTER

I think they were song lyrics about someone being heartbroken

and someone else leaving them,

and how that every day was just a torment of memories.

And I think one of the things they said was time passes

but not fast enough, and that was one of the things in the song,

and I was like, that's so sad, so I wrote it down.

They don't really reflect me as a person,

although there is the whole depression thing.

Especially living over here, its quite easy to sit here

and, like, it's so sad and lonely.

It's just the place and it affects you,

just the fact that you're not close to anyone.

I went to a psychiatrist and they were like,

"You're depressed." And I was like, "OK."

'People think depression is you just crying in your room occasionally,

'and loads of people don't actually understand what it really is,

'despite the fact it's such a big thing.

'It's just cos of a chemical imbalance in your brain

'and everything, you just do think of yourself'

as sometimes occasionally worthless. You're like, "Why am I here?"

At some points it's really bad, other points it's OK,

it's manageable, sort of under the surface.

At this age, you can't really be like...

There has been good times, cos I've had depression for, like...

I've been properly majorly depressed for about a year,

but it's sort of been there for two or three years,

so you can't really look back and be like,

"I remember when I did this, though."

Because a couple of years back, I was seven.

Maybe if you did have something good to remember,

something to cling on to, that might help.

But again I'm not sure cos it's not happened to me yet.

I think young people are more prone to mental disorders

or depression cos they're more vulnerable than adults,

they have less experience with things,

and they haven't built up coping mechanisms

to deal with these kind of things.

It's kind of...

..a reflection on the pressure society puts on people

my age and the expectations that they feel they have to live up to.

'I get to a point where I can't take any more

'and I just start lashing out.

At that point, I don't care what I do,

it's one of them moments where you turn off and cause carnage,

and you don't care what happens until afterwards,

when you have a look at what you've done.

I am one of those people who eats more with stress

and that has shown in my weight, and that doesn't make me feel very good.

I don't know if it's just the teenage sort of phase,

but I hate the way I get sort of either totally emotionless about

something or really emotional and upset about stupid little things.

Yeah, my experience is definitely hormones all over the place

and emotions all over the place, and I really hate it, I can't stand it.

# Are you moving much too fast?

# And the good times that just don't last

# If you're always on the go

# Make an angel in the snow

# And freeze

# Do you feel like you're stuck in time?

# For ever waiting on that line

# If nothing ever moves

# Put that needle to the groove

# And sing... #

I get bored really easily, so if I'm not motivated to do something,

I'll be bored doing it.

If you try a lot of things then you're bound to get some of them.

And you'll eventually find the thing you like most.

If you end up doing something you don't like, you won't have any fun.

If you're not having fun, what's the point?

# Is it a dream keeping you awake?

# Is it the stillness that makes you shake?

# If you need to know for sure

# What's on the ocean's floor

# Just sink

# Are there dark parts to your mind?

# Hidden secrets left behind?

# Where no-one ever goes

# When everybody knows

# It's all right... #

I forgot my lucky pen.

'What's happening over there in Nigeria

'has changed my opinions about how things are here.'

With the kidnapping and bombings that have been going on in Nigeria,

any one of those girls would do anything to get a proper education,

'so I'm not going to take my education for granted

'while others are wanting what I've got.

'I have promised myself, by the start of fifth year,

'all the way until the end, I will stick into school'

and I will make my attendance above 90% no matter what.

It will be hard for me but I have to do it.

It's a promise and I don't break my promises.

'In my prelims, I've done as well as I hoped,

'that's four As and a B.

'I would've preferred five As,

'but I was only 2% off getting the fifth A in physics.'

It's given my argument that I'm able to do five Highers more weight,

and I'm really chuffed about that.

That doesn't mean I'm going to completely slacken off

and think that's it, I know there's a lot more work to go.

But I feel in a better place, I feel a lot more relaxed.

Thank you.

'We've come to Glasgow because a band, As It is, that we love,

'are going to be playing live.'

Cities are fun-er than where I live. More happens.

My mum was like, "OK, you can go shopping,

"but meet up at this place, at this time.

"Meet up every once in a while." She'll call every once in a while

and be like, "Are you dying or are you OK?"

It's like, "Yes, we're fine, please let us continue shopping."

-Oh, my!

-Whoa!

-Oh, my God!

'She'll take us to the gig and stuff, take us back from it.'

And we've got freedom but not so much freedom

that we can go absolutely crazy

and wake up in someone else's house or something.

This is a sponsored toilet cycle.

'We are cycling pretty much a Portaloo on wheels 66 miles

'to raise money for toilets in Kenya.

'Uphills are a bit hard cos you've got so much weighing you down.

'On a scale of one to ten of crazy things I've ever done,

'I think this is probably about a seven.'

-Cattle grid!

-Oh, no!

HIS TEETH CHATTER

-Are we OK?

-Yeah.

THEY CLAP

That's a pretty good fire.

-I'm going to do it with a rock.

-That you smash like a monkey.

We estimate we've raised about £600 so far,

which is enough to pay for one pit latrine,

which is quite good, and we hope to raise a bit more.

'Doing these things tries you and tries what you're made of,

'and helps you see what you're capable of.

'You get a great sense of achievement.'

Two groups have a turn now, we're the second group,

and it started raining on our turn, and it's not stopped since.

We have been drenched but your skin's waterproof,

so you can't get any wetter when you're wet.

He just overtook us! Not very nice.

'I think I am someone who has aspirations to become

'something bigger than what they are now.

'Quite a lot of excitement about the future,

'I'm excited to see how everything will turn out

'with my ambitions and dreams.

'I think about what I'm going to do when I'm older,

'who I'd like to be, what mountains I'd like to climb.'

THEY LAUGH

We've cycled 66 miles. Give me your money.

THEY LAUGH

Nicer than that, Sam!

Thank you.

You're looking for your tactile paving.

-Can you feel it?

-Yeah.

And your pedestrian crossing is at your left.

-We've got this traffic going.

-Yeah.

It's all one way, coming from my left.

-That's it spinning.

-Brilliant.

Today is all about building up a mental map of town

and learning a few of the shops,

which I'll build on over a number of sessions.

Big slabs and then feel this, yeah?

-It goes cobbled.

-I was eight when I started to lose my sight,

and no eight-year-old, seven, six, anything younger,

pays attention to where their mum drags them around shopping.

And they don't care.

But now I'm at the age where I do want to be doing things

by myself, and I want to have that freedom, so I do care.

It will be really nice to come into town

when my friends aren't available,

or when I don't want them to know what I'm getting them

for birthday presents.

Or I might just come in for a wander and enjoy the freedom.

OK. I'm going to kick back, right.

Ready when you are, Natalie.

'I think I was the right kind of person to lose my sight,

'in terms of I'm quite determined

'and I was once described as emotionally resilient.

'I think that's probably true.

'I'm probably quite a happy person on the whole.'

So you're looking forward to going to college?

Aye, I cannae wait.

-This is just a year's course you've got, isn't it?

-Aye.

-That's good, it'll be handy to have a mechanic in the family.

-Aye.

I want to try one year to see how it works around you as well.

To see how I can still do my caring role.

So, do you think you'll stay at home while you're at college?

-Probably. If that's all right?

-Of course.

I want to move out but if I was to go and I got a phone call

saying Mum's in hospital and she's done something worse than usual,

I think I'd feel more so it's my fault because I've not been there.

I've been like, "I want to go and live my own life, see you later."

And that's me away.

I don't want that to stop you from doing what you need to do.

Sometimes I do feel guilty that you haven't had the childhood

that you could've had, if I didn't have anything wrong with me.

But that cannae be helped.

-It's been hard sometimes, though.

-We get through it.

-But we make a good team, don't we?

-Aye.

We work together and it just makes life easier for both of us.

I'm always going to be here, I'm never going to go anywhere.

I maybe willnae be next door but I won't be too far away.

That's good to know.

# I'm not a vampire but I feel like one

# I sleep all day because I hate the sun... #

You need to remember to remind me about the tickets.

If you forget the tickets...

-They're right there.

-SHE LAUGHS

I've managed to get eyeliner everywhere but where it's needed.

I don't really mind that my mum's taking me down or anything.

She said it's a dodgy neighbourhood.

-Is it?

-She said it looks like a dodgy neighbourhood.

-Oh, well.

There's a higher chance that something bad will happen.

-Like dying.

-Like death or like drugs.

There will be a higher chance of drugs in dodgy neighbourhoods,

stuff like that. I've never taken any.

I've got friends who do drugs but I don't really want to do drugs.

I don't want to end up having my whole future taken away from me

-because I get high. Or something like that.

-It's really stupid.

If you see a drug dealer, punch them.

"If you do drugs, you will get pregnant and die!"

THEY LAUGH

"You're not allowed a boyfriend till you're 18...and out of my house!"

I never got that one. I got, "Ida, are you interested in anyone?"

"Er, no! Let's not have this conversation."

I shall inform my mother of the fact that we're now leaving.

-Are you all excited?

-Yes!

-Glasgow!

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

I regret to inform you that every single person in this band

has made a very big mistake in their lives. We grew up.

Growing up sucks. I don't know if you know that, but just don't do it.

This goes out to everyone under 18.

-Stay young. Enjoy it while you can.

-CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

This song is called Gone Years.

SCREAMING AND APPLAUSE

MUSIC

MUSIC FADES

I think "never grow up" basically means keep your mentality.

Like, don't let society destroy your youthfulness,

your creativeness, all the things that schools...

-Your energy.

-Your energy.

All the things that schools crush, don't let them crush it.

Everything that you have in your youth,

keep it on until your adult life,

because that's what will make you amazing.

We've heard that the parents need to be together to raise a child

but I'm sure we all understand a relationship isn't always

good for somebody and often relationships aren't

as nice and sweet and fairy tale as we imagine.

I can actually remember the first time that I kissed her.

And it was the best kiss of my life.

Focus on the positive and just attack it.

Life isn't coming for me,

I'm coming for it and I'm coming for it as hard as I can.

MUSIC: "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Paul Anka

# With the lights out It's less dangerous

# Here we are now Entertain us

# I feel stupid and contagious

# Here we are now Entertain us

# A mulatto, an albino

# A mosquito, my libido... #