Summer Reading List!

I love reading but because of my A levels, I've had trouble finding time to read books not to do with my courses for the last two years! This summer is the longest I've ever had so I'm intending to use it to my full advantage and read as much as I can! 

I've come up with a list of books I either want to finish or at least start before I hopefully start University in September/October!

- Aristotle: Philosophy in an hour by Paul Strathern

- David Golder by Irene Nemirovsky

- Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

- Confronting the Classics by Mary Beard

- Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

- The Civil Wars by Appian

- Isis and Osiris by Plutarch

Most of these books are still to do with Ancient History/Classics or Archaeology but I'm reading them for fun instead of for classes (the books I read for classes were still good though!) so I'm excited to read them! Hopefully they will actually be useful for next year as well!

I know the list isn't huge but some of the books are quite big and I'm quite busy until mid way through August so I don't want to set myself too big a goal as I'm pretty sure I can read all of these by the time I get to Uni!

Thursday thoughts.

Despite handing my English coursework in last Monday, life has still been trundling along at quite a relaxed pace with not a lot going on. I've figured out that going into college for first lesson and doing my homework there takes away a lot of unnecessary stress so I have time to read and do outside research and work for my subjects which is really great!

A few things that are/have been happening or running through my head recently: 

- Just over a month until my birthday - I'm so excited but scared to turn 18!

- I can't wait to start Uni; I drive past Reading in my lessons so it's just out of reach taunting me!

- I get to go to the British Museum with my Classics class after half term and I can't wait!

- I had to go to the hospital for a diabetic check up yesterday and they told me I have the option to see a psychologist for my needle phobia which might be a good thing, I haven't decided yet. 

- I've decided that when I get to Uni, I want flowers in my room. I don't have any in my room now and I think they're really pretty so I want some when I have a space that is 100% my own. 

- I've finally got a proper, close group of friends and I couldn't be happier! I always feel a bit detached from friendship groups so it's nice to be able to get this now.

- My love for American sweets has been rekindled, I can't believe I forgot how good they are! 

- My driving test is 4 weeks yesterday which is rather scary! I think I'm doing pretty well though and I hope I pass first time! 

- I have to go back to Cardiff and Birmingham Unis within the next two months and I'm excited because I get to look around them again! It will be difficult to choose between them.

- I still haven't heard back from Exeter Uni which is really annoying...I don't want to go there and I have to wait for them to reply which is stopping me from being able to do anything with the rest of my choices! Even if I wanted to go there, I would be put off by now purely because they're being so long with choosing! 

Hope you guys enjoyed reading this! It's nice to just put down my thoughts sometimes! 

Jess xx

Discoveries.

With all of the technology we have available to us now, we assume that we've found most of the ancient material that has survived since Roman and Greek times. This is why I was so excited to read about a brand new discovery - a poem by the Greek female love poet Sappho which hasn't been read aloud since roughly 300 AD (according to here - an alternative translation is also available at the bottom of the post)! 

A translation by Tom Payne, available here:

Still, you keep on twittering that Charaxos

comes, his boat full. That kind of thing I reckon

Zeus and his fellow gods know; and you mustn’t

make the assumption;

Rather, command me, let me be an envoy

praying intensely to the throne of Hera

who could lead him, he and his boat arriving

here, my Charaxos,

Finding me safely; let us then divert all

other concerns on to the lesser spirits;

after all, after hurricanes the clear skies

rapidly follow;

And the ones whose fate the Olympian ruler

wants to transform from troubles into better –

they are much blessed, they go about rejoicing

in their good fortune.

As for me, if Larichos reaches manhood,

[if he could manage to be rich and leisured,]

he would give me, so heavy-hearted, such a

swift liberation.

Another translation is available here. 

It's almost the entire poem which is surprising, usually only small fragments are found and only one complete poem of Sappho has survived! As a Classics student, I got so excited - it's hard to imagine people living that long ago so to find more pieces that were written and performed so long ago is incredible! 
There is also another poem that was discovered (both given to an Oxford Classics fellow together) which is only fragmented so it's an incredible discovery (a little on that here)!

If you want to read the full article with a little historical background and explanation, click here.

Jess xx

The writer and the philosopher.

Lately, I've been feeling like I should be doing homework and work which I haven't actually got any that I can do properly and it's causing me to put more unneeded pressure on myself. Does anyone else feel like this sometimes? 

Today I used my free to do some extra research work for my most recent English Lit and Classics lessons which was quite fun, I got to research about The Knight's Tale by Chaucer and then researched Friedrich Nietzsche for Classics! 

We're studying War in English which is covering Ancient Greece (a modern re-working of the Iliad) to World War 2 (The Ghost Road) so it's a really interesting module! I've always meant to look into the works of Chaucer as he is widely known as the Father of English Literature and the best poet of Medieval times so it's quite exciting getting to learn about him and his works! So far he seems pretty interesting and once I get time, I fully intend to read The Knight's tale in full as the story seems to be really interesting! 

We're reading the Iliad and the Aeneid in Classics so to introduce us to the topic, my teacher is doing some lessons that introduce the Greek and Roman concepts of Heroism which is also really interesting as it's quite different from modern times and they actually greatly differ from each other! It's quite philosophy based at the moment so it can be slightly hard to understand sometimes as I don't study it, but once it's all explained, I'm finding it all amazing! I was considering philosophy for AS level but I didn't want another essay subject, I regret that decision quite a bit sometimes! My teacher mentioned Nietzsche and as I'd heard of him before from when I studied The History Boys at GCSE (also another fantastic piece of work, I highly recommend the written play and the production) so I decided to research him which has been super interesting but sometimes a bit complicated as I've been clicking on links trying to understand concepts left, right and centre! 

I love this sort of researching work as I feel more like I'm becoming independent and closer to University work, I'm honestly so excited for September now, I just hope I get in! 

Jess xx

First day back!

It was my first day back at college today which, to be honest, I was quite excited about as the modules I'm going to be learning about this term are really interesting! The only problem was that I didn't sleep very well so I was working off four hours sleep instead of the eight or nine I've been used to over the holidays. My last lesson was cancelled so I only had to be in until midday so it was a nice, relaxing morning to get me back into the swing of college!

The second episode of Sherlock was on yesterday which was amazing! I'm not sure how I feel about the direction Mark Gatiss is going with the plot this series - I like how the relationships are being built up and how much character development is happening but I almost feel as if the focus has been shifted to that which is detracting from the actual point of the show; a crime solving drama. I think they might be using this series to build the bridge between the old ways and the new (with Mary) and instead of jumping head-first back into the crime solving as it was before Reichenbach, they're showing the effect the last two years have had on the characters which I really like. I think that the new episodes work well, but knowing that there is only one episode left until an unknown length wait for the next series makes it more difficult to accept the more dragged out episodes and has me hoping that this last episode on Sunday will bring Sherlock back to its crime-solving glory. 

Jess xx

P.S. Thank you to those of you that have filled out my survey, it's really great seeing what you guys think I can improve on! If you have any other suggestions that don't fit within the survey then feel free to pop them in the comments! You can fill out the survey here.

I've had this stuck in my head for the last few days, it's so sweet! The way they look at each other is just adorable. 

Bad day.

(I need somewhere to rant so don't bother reading this if you don't want to.)

You know where you get those days where everything seems to go wrong and you just want to curl up in a ball and hide away from the world? I've been having one of those days. Big time.

This holiday, I wasn't set much homework aside from reading, but what I did get was quite large and takes quite a bit of time up. 

I was given a project to complete with a friend in Classics and we split the work up between the two of us as it was easier to complete most of the work individually but had planned to come together once we couldn't do any more without talking about it. 

To start the day off, I ended up oversleeping again as I've not been sleeping very well the last few nights anyway so it's starting to catch up on me. This meant that I was already behind by a few hours and didn't get to work until about 11.30/12. I had almost finished my part of the document when I accidentally managed to reload the page (on a Mac, this can be done really easily by swiping left to right) when looking at a picture I was using. As it's an online document with no automatic saving features, I lost everything I'd done over the last four hours. I had one last page of my booklet to complete (I had done 10 others today) so I've been pretty upset for the last hour or so. 

I know it doesn't seem like much and I can just re do it but it really annoys me how I got so close to finishing and I ruined it in a second. It also really upsets me because I feel like I've let my friend down as we were going to meet up today once it was all finished so I've ruined the chance of us being able to meet up and get the very last part done.

I really needed to do something to clear my mind a bit so I decided to write a little post on here as writing always makes me calmer and happier. 

Jess xx

It's not everyday you fangirl with your teacher...

Today has been an odd day. I set my alarm earlier than I thought I had so I ended up having loads of time to get ready this morning which was lovely! It also meant that I got to spend more time choosing what to wear and putting my make up on so I was happy with everything!

For my make up, I used Max Factor whipped creme foundation in Natural, Urban Decay eyeshadows in Drink Me, Eat Me and Mad Hatter from the Alice in Wonderland eyeshadow palette, Ruby & Millie blusher (don't know the name as from an old palette), Benefit BadGal Lash mascara and L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipstick in Lovely Rose.
Vest is old from Next and the cardigan is from Crew. 

I get in to college half way through lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I tend to take a walk by the river because it puts me in a good mood and today I got to feed some ducks and geese which was really lovely as I haven't done that for quite a while!

In Classics, we watched The Big Lebowski which was a really odd but funny film, it's a shame we didn't get to see how it ended though! 

In English, we had a quiz in the last half of the lesson which was really fun, our team came second by half a point! One of the questions was "Who lives at 221B Baker Street?" and someone didn't know! Me and my teacher were completely shocked because we just assumed it was common knowledge. We ended up fangirling over the imminent return of Sherlock in the New Year and it's made me even more excited because now I get to talk to her about it when we come back for the Spring term!

I love the end of term as the lessons are always so relaxed with minimal work which is great fun! There is also nearly always food involved which is also great!

How have the last few days been for you guys? 

Jess xx 

P.S. Thank you to all of my new followers, I'm one away from 50 now and I've reached 60 on my Bloglovin so I'm really excited and happy that there are so many more of you reading! 

The University Chronicles: My interview!

On Wednesday, I had an interview at Reading University. As I've been going to their Archaeological field school for the last three years, I was feeling quite confident but also really nervous as I didn't quite meet their grade requirements.

The interview was at the end of the day after a couple of lectures explaining various aspects of the Archaeology and Ancient history course and a visit to the on-site museum (one of the largest Greek vase collections in the country apparently! It was amazing!). It ended up being with one of the lecturers that I had met this summer whilst at the dig so I was extremely happy to be able to talk to someone who already had a vague idea about what I was like! I ended up just chatting to her about my A levels, the books I've been reading for my english coursework, lectures I've been to and, of course, Silchester. 

At the end of it, I got the chance to ask questions which was a really good opportunity for me to get to understand the course more! 

She eventually told me that they would be making me a 'non-standard' offer so I was so excited because they lowered the grades for me! The next day I had an email telling me that I've received a BBB offer from Reading which I'm super excited and happy about! 

The day made me realise how much I also didn't want to give up the Classics side of the ancient world so it's now made it very difficult to choose which University I like the most as Cardiff don't have a Classics department, so if I went there, I would be losing out on that aspect which I don't think I could do without regretting my decision. I think now that Reading is my first choice and Birmingham and Cardiff are joint second. The visit day really helped me understand the University more so I'm quite excited to see what the other two are like! 

The people at Reading were so friendly and welcoming and made me feel at home which was really lovely - I can happily see myself going to University which is always a good sign!
For my interview, I didn't want to go too dressy but also didn't want to look slobby so I opted for my black dove dress from Shikha London, my new brown suede boots from Next and my peacock design coat from Desigual. I also wore Essie's Bahama Mama on my nails as it's dark and a pretty colour that I thought went with the outfit pretty well! I also found that painting my nails was a good de-stressing activity to do the night before!
My one piece of advice for anyone who has an interview coming up is to make sure you're confident, you smile and you make eye contact - you will stand out more if you aren't shy and trying to fade into the background - your interviewer wants to know that you want to be there!
Jess xx

The Versatile Blogger Award!

I was originally nominated a couple of weeks ago by my real life awesome friend Kate and I found that I've also been nominated by the amazing Amy today so I figured that I should actually do this! I'm honestly so grateful to these girls as they both have great blogs and it's lovely to think that I do too! You should definitely check out both of their blogs, they're great!

The Rules:
1. Once you've been nominated, you must display the Versatile Blogger Award somewhere on your blog.
2. Make sure to thank your nominator and leave a link to their blog.
3. Write 7 facts about you so new readers and old followers get to learn a bit more about you as a person and not just 'the blogger'.
4. Nominate your favourite bloggers for the award too!

7 facts about me

I'm in my final year of sixth form studying Ancient History, Classical Civilisation and English Literature.

I want to study Archaeology and Ancient History at Uni and am applying this year, I'm hoping to go to Cardiff because it's such a lovely Uni and the course is fantastic!

Reading is my favourite hobby and even though I don't have much time on my hands, I always carry a book around with me incase I get a spare 10 minutes or have to wait for a train!

I have a very mixed music taste and most of my favourites are pretty unheard of. Orla Gartland, Hudson Taylor, Lauren Aquilina, Lewis Watson, Lisa Hannigan, Regina Spektor and Ingrid Michaelson anyone? Passenger, Gabrielle Aplin and Paolo Nutini are other favourites of mine. I also like bands such as Madness, Johnny Get The Gun and The Wombats.

I have never dyed my hair and I don't want to. I have copper tones running through my hair already and I love the way it shines in the light! People always used to say I'd look good with black hair though...I disagree.

I have an unhealthy addiction to nail polish and lipstick. I own 22 of each and I love them all, I haven't worn all of the colours of nail polish yet though. My next product I'm looking at is a MAC lipstick though, I really want to say I own one!

I said this a couple of weeks ago but Autumn is my favourite season, October is probably my favourite month too. I just love the changing colour of the leaves, the fact that Christmas is just around the corner and that you get to wear cuddly scarves, jumpers and boots, my favourite pieces of clothing!

Writing this has been really fun and I hope you guys have learnt something new about me! It's hard to choose because there are so many amazing blogs out there, but I'm going to choose these bloggers as they're lovely and have a great writing style!:

Alexi

Rosie

Emily

Lauren

Caitlin

Barbs

I hope you check these girls out, they're all great!
Jess xx

Picking my pieces off the ground

After a bit of a rocky start to the year, I'm finally feeling comfortable with all of my subjects at college. 

Everything makes sense and I'm enjoying all of the lessons and participating on a level I've never done in my entire time in education. 

And I'm so happy about it.

I'm actually excited to work and go into college every day and I feel so optimistic about this year and my inevitable exams. It's inspiring me to work even harder this year so it all pays off come August when I find out results and if I get a Uni place. 

Today is the first of October. This month I'm going to make sure I do extra work/reading to help me understand and consolidate the work I've done in the lessons. I've already bought note cards and started my Classics notes this morning which is a great start!

My teachers are also really supportive so if I have any problems I can just talk to them and explain what I'm struggling with. 

Learning is actually one of my favourite things - you can never have too much knowledge and it's fun getting to learn new things. It's like unlocking a whole new piece of the world and I can't wait to unlock more.

Jess xx

Sick Days.

I'm not feeling particularly great as the moment as I've caught the cold and sore throat that seems to be going round. It's only a cold but it's one of those nasty ones though which drain you so I'm not feeling like doing much. 

I took a couple of books out of the library today to help me with this year and to add some extra items to my personal statement read list so at least I can do some reading whilst curled up on my sofa. I love looking through the classics shelves in the library because I always end up finding new and exciting books that are relevant to my course!
I found a book about my Ancient History course this year and then I found one linking my art course to Archaeology which I am finding really interesting! I'm glad I'll be able to read them and link passages in the book to what I'm currently learning!
I'm lucky that I don't have any proper homework for this weekend so I can take it easy and get better in time for Monday!
Jess xx

Moving on.

I've been so busy sorting out various things for Uni and it's been a really hectic week! 

I've been talking to my teachers and I'm now predicted BBB after my AS results which I'm quite happy about to be honest! It means that I'm more likely to get lower offers from Uni so I will be able to get in to the Unis I really like! I think BBB is more realistic than AAB for me and it's still good enough which makes me happy! It takes a bit more pressure off me so I have realistic goals, not unachievable ones. 

I've also sorted out two lectures at Roehampton Uni over the next couple of months which I'm really excited about! They relate to my Classics course so it'll be great for my exams too! 

I'm starting my Young Leader and Adult Leader qualifications with my Brownie group over this term as well so I'm quite excited that I'll get to do this before I leave next year - it's a great thing to put on my personal statement and CV so I'm excited!

I also found out that I can talk about my blog on my personal statement so I'm happy that I will get to use this for something finally!

Jess xx

One Way, or Another.

As we enter our final year of mandatory school life, my year group has to start choosing our next steps in life, whether they lead us to University, an apprenticeship, a job or something else. 

Now I've had my grades back for this year, I've had to face the rather tough reality of the possibility of not reaching the grades I need to be accepted into the course I have been wanting to do for the last four years. This means looking at other options. On one hand, I love all things ancient and classical, and want to go on to do Archaeology and Ancient history (who's childhood dream wasn't to crawl around in the mud and dig for things for their whole lives?!) somewhere with a good reputation and teaching. However, on the other hand, I'm an Internet-savvy blogger who spends quite a lot of time (okay...most of my time) on the Internet, whether it be for social networking, research about yet another scrap of information I've found interesting and want to investigate, or doing something as simple as checking emails or reading the news. I forgot my phone on a day out on Sunday and I felt so lost, I kept checking my bag to see if it had magically turned up but sadly it hadn't and I felt like there was an odd space in my brain...and hand. With all of this in mind, my second (back up, if you will) choice of Uni course would be journalism of some kind, preferably Fashion journalism though. (One of the courses I've researched said I'm the description that all media should be understood, including Twitter! Perfect for me!) It looks so interesting and would incorporate the other side of my life which is equally important to me as the classical side of my life.

I really really love both things, modern and ancient, and in an ideal world I'll manage to get a weekly or monthly column for a paper or magazine whilst working on fieldwork or in a museum somewhere. My idea of heaven. But before I get anywhere near that, I'm going to have to pass this year and get on to one of my preferred Archaeology and Ancient history courses so I can progress how I want to. 

I'm going to have to work my arse off if I'm going to achieve my goals, but eventually I'll make it if I'm resilient enough and try my absolute hardest. If my hardest gets me Bs, great and I'll be super excited because come September, I'll head off to Uni to do Archaeology and Ancient history! However, if it gets me Cs, then look out Fashion journalism! 

Jess xx 

Last First Day of School.

I'm always nervous to return to school after summer but this year I was more excited! I can't believe that I've already done my last first day of school!

I already knew my timetable as it is the same as last year which is awesome because it means that my teachers are the same and I'm with mostly the same people which is nice, it means I don't have to get used to anything new apart from rooms! 

I really enjoyed going back and seeing my friends, and going back to lessons that I like instead of ones that I don't like, which is what I had with biology last year! My first Classics and English Lit lessons were good, and I got to look at the coursework questions for my English today and I'm so excited because there are quite a few questions that I can use the books I've already read for! I was hoping for some questions relating to Women, Madness or Obsession and I got two of those three in the form of six really nice questions so now the only problem will be choosing which one looks the best! My english teacher said that I have to resit my exam which isn't great though, I was hoping to avoid doing loads of exams but it seems like it's not going to happen! 

Even though I know this year's work will be hard, I know I'm going to enjoy it and I'm looking forward to it already! 

The only not so good thing about college this year is that the first years seem like a bunch of idiots which is annoying!

Jess xx

Results and disappointments

I got my AS results back today and to be honest I was pretty upset and disappointed when I found out my grades. I got BCCCC which I wasn't expecting at all. I was expecting an A in extended project (my B) and I really wanted Bs in Ancient History and Classics so I was quite disappointed and confused about what I'd done wrong. I expected a C in English lit so that was okay. The only result I'm actually happy with is Biology because I was expecting much lower. I'm still dropping it though so yeah...not a good day for me really. It also makes me quite worried that I can't do A level exams properly and that I won't get any offers from my Uni choices or get into the ones I do get offers from because my grades won't be good enough (if I get some). I'm having to re-think my uni choices at the moment to make sure I have myself covered if I do mess up next year too.
I guess the only things that I can do are revise earlier and make sure I understand everything. I will have to get more help with exams from my teachers so yeah.
I have to re take at least one module in Classics to try and get it up to an A but I'm not sure if I'm going to re sit anything else yet, I'll have to talk to my teachers.
I guess my problem is that I've always been quite smart so to now get rubbish results when they actually matter, it's not good!
It can only get better next year I suppose!
Jess xx

It's time to grow up, little wildflower.

I went shopping with my mum on Saturday which was awesome! We don't spend enough time alone together so it was good just having a girls day out. The main reason we were going in the first place was that I've been eyeing up some polka dot loafers in New Look for about 2 weeks so I decided to go and buy them! With my student card discount, I bought them for about £11 instead of £13 so I'm really pleased that I got to save money! They're gorgeous and really comfy so I'm super happy with them.
Mum also bought me this really gorgeous tunic dress from White Stuff, again polka dots!
If you haven't already figured out, I'm a bit of a spot lover! I find polka dots so cute! They make everything look amazing!


Absolutely love these shoes!

This dress is so pretty and comfy!

 

I've finally finished my classics notes for the Greek tragedy plays which has made me incredibly happy, I spent Sunday writing the last of them and I'm so glad they're done! I just hope that I've done them right now...
I found a really lovely song on YouTube which was suggested after listening to a couple of Lewis Watson songs (go and check him out, seriously. He's amazing!) and I've been listening to it for 5 days straight, not even joking. I haven't listened to any other song unless I'm listening to TV or the radio. It's called Little Wildflower by Andrew Simple and it's easily become my favourite song. It's another acoustic but what else is expected of my by now?! It's a gorgeous song and the lyrics are actually so relevant. I listen to it whilst revising and doing my work and most other times at the moment because I'm so stressed, I'm literally ready to crack at any second so it calms me down and makes me happy. I can't even put into words how much I love it! Listen to it and see for yourself! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpWz6TiYj6o
It was actually sunny today which was brilliant, always means everyone is in a good mood! Unfortunately, I then went to the extended project exhibition at college with my family to find that mine wasn't on display which was quite disappointing and upsetting because I worked really hard on it!
Ah well, things can only get better!
Jess xx



A week in the life of Jess

Well this week has been rather hectic to say the least...I'm just glad to be back blogging again! I've missed it!
I've had a crazy amount of work, with exams looming, it's only destined to get worse sadly!
So...as I said on Monday, Friday and Saturday I actually went and did stuff!!
On Friday I went to the Classics open day at Oxford which was amazing! I met up with some friends by accident and ended up spending half of the day with them until I went for a quick tour around the Ashmolean museum. It was completely amazing!! The other people at the open day were so smart though, one guy read Ancient Greek backwards off a gem on display! It was amazing but scary that he could be a potential rival in getting a place at Oxford...
I lost my friends after the museum tour and I hung around with a girl that I met on the tour! Obviously being me, we ended up in the sweet shop!
I went to a lecture about Hercules and how he can be related to various colonies popping up and some events in history and stuff. It was actually pretty cool! And I felt quite proud that I recognised some of the authors of sources and knew something about them!
Oxford is absolutely breathtaking though, the buildings are gorgeous and they have all the shops anyone could ever need! The colleges are spread out over the whole city which is good because you have to actually walk to get to places so you get to see more of Oxford as you move around which is great!
It just looks crazily hard to get in to, and seeing the people I'm up against, it seems my chances of getting in there are dwindling by the second.
On Saturday I had a few girl friends round and I had a movie day/party for my birthday which is on Wednesday!! It was great seeing all of my old school friends again because it's been ages. I love how it always feels like it's only been a day or two since we last saw each other when we meet up, I love them so much! It was nice to see my college friend and outside any school friend got on with the others super well though! Always makes things easier! They got me some fantastic presents too, they know me so well!

The Dan & Phil top is amazing; Katie, you're fantastic!
The Colin the Caterpillar and Percy Pig sweets are from my friend Phoebe,
a reminder of our awesome GCSE Geography lessons!
The Exploding TARDIS mug, mini malteaster bunnies and stickers are from Julia
 who definitely summed me up in 3 presents!!
I love these girls!

My mum's dog walking friends also got me a gorgeous Roman bird pendant and it's just amazing and beautiful and I love it!

How gorgeous is this?!

I got a free today instead of Extended project and my presentation (YAY!) so I went to Boots and took advantage of their 'Buy 2 Barry m nail polishes, get £1 off' deal and bought these beauties! I ended up spending £10.96 which isn't a lot for 4 nail polishes for a fairly decent brand! I'm currently wearing the Gelly nail paint (far right on the pic) and its super shiny and it's gone on pretty well! They're all great colours for when Spring/Summer finally show up so I feel super prepared for then with regards to my nail colours!

I love these, from left to right: Berry, Mint Green, Blue Moon, Prickly Pear

I'm beyond excited that it's my birthday in 2 days, this week feels like it's going to be good; I've already got an A on my last Ancient History essay which I'm super proud of! I think I'm getting the hang of my subjects now!

Anyway, I'm tired so I'm off! Hopefully I'll blog again soon, I've missed this crazy amounts!
Jess xx

Whistle while you work...

So, work has taken over my life, I don't have time to do anything but work and I'm still not getting time to revise!! What's that even about?! It doesn't make sense to me!
Luckily, I've been working from my bed so I can get home, slip in to my pjs and sit on my bed doing work until stupidly late hours for a school night. I'm super happy that I have a YouTube playlist of calm songs that I just have on in the background as I do my classics notes so it isn't as bad as it could be!

Song list
40 Mark Strasse - The Shins
Just Be - Paloma Faith
O Children - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (The song used in Harry Potter - DH 1!!)
Down the Drain - Orla Gartland
Moving to New York - The Wombats
World Without You - Hudson Taylor
Fools - Lauren Aquilina
Bones - Lewis Watson
Pompeii (acoustic version) - Bastille
King - Lauren Aquilina
Rings Round Roses - Gabrielle Aplin

So there you have it! Some of my favourite songs at the moment and all good to just do work to as none of them are really get up and dance!
I'll post on later in the week, some things are actually happening at the end of the week so I will finally have some bloggable material! Yay!
Jess xx

Mickey and Minnie

I did my classics timed exam practice homework today and afterwards when my hand was hurting, I decided to paint my nails because it gave my hands a rest!
I realised I had red and black so I decided to do Disney style nails and put the Mickey Mouse symbol on some of my nails! For the first time doing a design on my nails for a looooong time, I think they turned out pretty damn good!



I'm pretty proud of these!
Taken on Instagram

Next time I have a decent amount of money, I think I'm going to take a trip to boots and buy some White, Yellow, Grey and probably some more Black nail polish. (my black is enamel and its quite gloopy, not very good for anything apart from dots...shame because it's a good nail polish!)
If I get these colours I'm going to do this design again (It'll be ruined in the next few days because I'm rubbish at making nail polish stay on...) and on the currently plain nails, I'm going to do a yellow bow in the middle and then little white spots on them! Mickey and Minnie nails! I love painting my nails but I haven't really done designs...plus I only have bobby pins and cocktail sticks so I can't do any amazing designs...I can improve with practice though!

It's my brother's birthday tomorrow so that will be fun! We're going out for a meal so I'm excited!
Jess xx


I'm back!

I hope you enjoyed my little group of posts, it was really fun doing it actually! Now to catch up with life!

It's my birthday in a month!
I'm actually so excited, I get to start officially driving! I sorted out my health form today so hopefully that doesn't take too long to process, then I can get my provisional!! I'm scared but excited about starting to drive on the roads...hopefully all goes well!!
I also hit 3,000 views so I'm super happy! I can't believe I only started this 6 and a half months ago and it's amazing!
I also got my Classics essay that I did before half term back and I got 39/45 which is 1 mark off an A so I'm super happy! I'm predicted an A so it's really good!
I'm finally getting to meet Kate on Saturday!! We're going shopping for the day which is going to be super fun, I can't wait! It's going to be the first time we've met so I'm really nervous and excited! It'll be so awkward if we don't recognise each other though! People always look different in the flesh so it'll be awesome and interesting to finally meet!

I also was walking to the train station today and I saw this in a shop window!

I want to hug the maker of that sign!

I found it so funny because I wasn't paying attention then I saw it, did a double take and had to take s photo!!

Another thing I found in Tesco's today were these! BBQ LLAMA CRACKERS.



So yummy, AND LLAMA SHAPED. What more could you want?!

I keep walking downstairs when I'm writing this and grabbing little handfuls of llamas because they taste so good and they're addictive too!!!!!!
I'm mentoring a year 11 at a local secondary school tomorrow so I have to try and find my way there from college...Google maps is my only friend!!!

It's amazing what you miss in 4 days! I've also finished my English coursework and it's under word limit which is such a huge relief!
My ancient history teacher also let me call what is essentially the Spartan's secret assassins the 'Super ninja death squad' and he said it was right! I was so proud of myself! It's also funny because I'm now going to actually remember what it is!

Jess xx