A Year of University.

A year ago today I received my A level results, also meaning that University has been a part of my life for an entire year. It's absolutely flown by, it feels like I've been at uni for years though! 

I thought it would be a good time to do a massive look back at all of the major parts of this year. I stopped blogging in January after hitting a major creative block and therefore you guys have missed out on hearing about the last 6 and a half months of my uni experience (basically 2/3 of the academic year...) 

Got a room for second year, February. 

I was originally going to go into a flat with my old roommate Lucy but I wasn't given a place so I decided to go into a private halls and try out a completely new group of people! I'm quite glad that I'm going into halls again as I don't need to worry about paying bills due to it being an all inclusive contract! I just hope that my flatmates are nice and I get on with them better this year (it ended up that I was only truly friends with Lucy, the others were bearable to live with but I wouldn't have out of choice again). Me and some of my course mates have already decided to live together in third year so I'm excited to see what that will be like! 

Went to Athens, March. 

This trip was incredible. Athens was always on my list of places to go so I jumped at the opportunity to go with the Archaeology society in the Easter holiday! I became closer with people in my year and the years above as well as making some new friends which is always a good thing! I got to see so many of the famous sites such as the Parthenon, Hephestaion, the Agora and some of the many museums dotted around the city. As I studied the Greeks in A level and 5th Century Athens this year, being able to see these places and things in person was almost surreal. The statues in the museums were far more beautiful in person than on paper and I throughly recommend a visit if you can afford it! If not, the British Museum houses some good examples of Greek sculpture which begins to scratch the surface of their beauty. 

A picture post of this trip will be posted soon as it's such a gorgeous place!

Passed first year, June. 

I ended up with 2 modules in the 50s and 4 in the 60s, giving me an overall mark of a 2:1 which I'm incredibly pleased with. I could have tried harder this year but as its a year for learning and understanding how university works, I'm happy I got to see what learning methods work for me, the best ways I write essays and how I revise the most efficiently. I've been given a reading list this year for some of my Autumn term modules so I'm trying to do as much of that as possible whilst writing notes down that I can look back on whilst I'm working during the year. 

Last September I was unsure whether I was good enough for uni and if I really deserved to be there so it's refreshing to know that the work I put in has proved that I am capable! It's a relief to know that I do suit University and academic life!

Boyfriend, June. 

You guys have seen how useless I am at keeping relationships and the one I was in when I was last writing fizzled out sometime around February. Before we were official, my current guy and I dated for a month and a half or so before to get to know each other and get comfortable around each other. It seemed to have worked well as we've been together about a month and a half (roughly since May overall!) and I'm joining his family out in Portugal for a few days of relaxation between work shifts at the end of the month which is exciting! This is going really well and I'm really happy with him so fingers crossed it stays this way!

Dug for 3 weeks in the Vale of Pewsey, June/July. 

The dig is a second year module but is also open to the public to volunteer and join. For the last 4 years I volunteered at the old Reading University field school which closed in 2014. This year was a new dig which obviously brought excitement and nerves as it was unfamiliar to me. Luckily it was equally as fun as the previous year's and I've gained several close friendships with people in my year from it which I'm grateful for. I love my friends in other years but expanding my friends in my own year is always good as I'm with them for the next two years! A Neolithic human burial was also found in one of the trenches which was incredible to see and just highlights the reason I love my degree - the thrill of not knowing what will be found is the best feeling when it comes to digging! The BBC also covered it and you can read more about it here.

This academic year has been challenging and at some points difficult, but I've really enjoyed myself and it's obviously paid off! I'm excited to see what next year brings for me and I hope it goes as well as this year!

Also, congratulations to everyone who received their results yesterday! I hope you all got what you wanted and are successful in doing what you want come September! 

Jess xx

Bucket List.

Earlier in summer I did a Summer Bucket List which got me thinking of general things I want to do. I've been writing this list for a while and thought it would be fun to share it with you as I've run out of ideas!

1. Visit New York

This is probably on the list on all teenagers everywhere but I still stand by it! I love busy atmospheres and cities, plus the shops look so amazing! I want to do this before I'm 30 in an ideal world! I would also love to visit the museums there!

2. See the northern lights

They're so beautiful and I would love to actually see them in person.

3. Go to a fashion week event (London, Paris or New York)

I think going to a show like Orla Kiely, Tory Burch or Kate Spade would be amazing as their clothes are gorgeous and quirky!

4. Have a best friend by the time I'm 20

I haven't had a proper best friend as such for a few years now as my secondary school friendship group was a big group of close friends, but I've never been closer to one person than everyone else - I would love to have that sort of thing with someone!

5. Work in a museum

Museums are one of my favourite places in the world - there's so much history under one roof and it's great being able to look at it all. Being able to work with it all would be amazing - I love learning and being surrounded by history, a museum would be a perfect for me.

6. Visit Paris

It looks like such a pretty city, it would be amazing to visit one day!

7. Get a 'usual' somewhere

It would be quite fun to go somewhere so much that the servers know what I have!

8. Go to Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park

It looks like so much fun but I've never been able to go because I've never had anyone to go with! Hopefully I'll be able to go this year!

9. Have longer hair

My hair has been above my shoulders for the last 7 years and I've been trying to grow it longer again - hopefully in the next year it'll be below my shoulders properly instead of mid way like it is now!

What are some of your guys' bucket list items?
Jess xx

"I’ve always thought of lipstick as my version of a superhero’s cape.You put it on and you feel like you could do anything!"

I saw the picture below on cocosteaparty's Instagram earlier and I followed the link to her interview with Lipstick Queen's founder, Poppy King. 

Picture from cocosteaparty on Instagram

I've been wanting to try this brand for a while but haven't really had any chance to buy any products as A) I haven't seen them in any shops I've been in to recently and B) They aren't exactly cheap for a lipstick. 

However, after reading this interview, I'm definitely going to make sure I at least look at the brand if I do see them as Poppy seems to understand that lipstick for some people is something they use to feel special and even powerful in everyday situations and that a good lipstick can completely transform a look and increase confidence. I love seeing passionate people doing what they love so I'll happily support her by buying one of her lipsticks!

I think the quote I've used from the interview as my title definitely sums up what wearing lipstick is to me - it isn't completely necessary but it does help to just give me an extra boost as I know it can improve appearance in seconds and definitely gives me that confidence I sometimes need! I would probably even say that if I had to only choose one beauty product, it would be a lipstick. When I'm feeling lazy, I tend to only wear mascara and lipstick when I go out as it can still look fairly put together. 

I also love the fact that Poppy says that she's inspired by all different types of art and media, even history and culture which I find awesome and really interesting myself! The world around us can be so inspiring and it's quite interesting to see how it can even inspire cosmetics. I know I get inspired to take photos or write posts from what I see, read or hear every day so it's awesome to see that same inspiration being used to create a product that is aimed to "show women the true power of lipstick" as she says. 

I think my favourites that I've found from the brand so far are:

Lipstick Queen Saint in Rose - £20

Lipstick Queen Sinner in Natural - £20

Lipstick Queen Chinatown in Pink Bluff - £22

I have a bit of a thing for neutral pink colours at the moment as I find them so wearable and pretty if you get the right shade! I don't think there's any point in spending a lot of money on a lipstick if you won't wear it because you got it in a bright colour that you can't wear often - you're not showing it off then! I'd rather have a special lipstick that I can wear everyday as something a bit more fancy instead of keeping it in my drawer collecting dust.

Have any of you guys tried a Lipstick Queen lipstick? What do you think of them?

Jess xx

It's an American brand so Lipstick Queen only seems to be available in John Lewis and Space NK Apothecary in the UK.

Once Upon A Time

It's time for the third 2014 Blogger Challenge post! This time we have been told to write about books!

I love books and I'm an avid reader - I chose my a level courses as I knew I would get to read a lot and be exposed to new books and I haven't been disappointed yet! 

Whenever I have any free time, I'm always either blogging, reading or downloading new books on to my kindle, I can't get enough! 

After this last season of Sherlock, I decided to compare the original stories with the series and downloaded Sherlock Holmes: The Ultimate Collection for 77p on my kindle.

The first novel I read out of the 4 included was A Study in Scarlet. 

I've said before that I read quicker on my kindle but I devoured this. It was so thrilling and I couldn't put it down! Arthur Conan Doyle has such a great writing style that makes it an incredibly easy read which is also easy to picture in your head. 

The actual plot is mostly different from the Sherlock adaptation and it felt like a completely different story once Sherlock and John were introduced which meant I couldn't predict it as I was expecting to be able to! The novel is split into two sections and I got extremely confused when reading the second but once you get into it, it makes complete sense and it was genius! 

I'm honestly so glad that I decided to read the collection as it's fantastic and completely different! The original novel was written in 1887 and I love the Victorian era so reading something from that time that isn't a school set text is really interesting! I've also studied about some parts of the history that is involved in this so it's also a very interesting read about early America (the pioneers - definitely worth researching about!) and the presentation from an English person of the time! 

I really hope that some of you have read or do read it as it's a really great book! 

Jess xx

Challenge post one.
Challenge post two.