University Take Two.

I've now been back at University a week and a half and so far I'm completely loving it! The first week was freshers where all of the first years get settled in, get to know the Uni and their courses and get horribly drunk every night! It was nice being able to spend the week catching up with friends, making multiple trips to the pub/bar and doing some work to prepare for lectures!

This week marked the beginning of lectures and so far I'm loving every module I've picked! You get a lot more choice in second year and I'm really excited to see what the rest of my modules will be like. I've had three lectures so far (Artefacts, Greek Comedy and Peoples and Societies of the Ancient Near East) and I'm set to still have a few this week, introducing me to the rest of my modules (Greek History: Archaic to Alexander, Prospects for Ancient Historians and Egypt and the Greco-Roman World) which will be great! Most of the modules I picked this year with an ancient history side are Greek focused which is easily my favourite period and I'm glad I've been able to specialise that side of my degree that far already as I feel it will give me a good start for doing well this year!

For my Artefacts module, I had to choose 2 of 6 options to focus on. I've picked Pottery and Archaeological drawing with Small finds and coins as back up so I'm incredibly excited to start, no matter which combination of those three I get, as they all look amazing! I think it's awesome how we get to try completely new things like technical drawing as it'll be useful in the long run if I decide to go into Archaeology as a career (most likely!). 

My lectures are a lot more fun this year already because I know so many more people thanks to the dig this summer - I now know the names of most of the people in my lectures compared to maybe 5-10 last year which is really nice! I feel like I've also got a pretty solid friend group now so I'm already feeling like this year is going to be amazing!

This year I've become a student mentor for 12 first year students. The aim is to help them feel more settled and to be able to ask questions to someone has gone through what they're going through. I'm really enjoying being able to help the people who have emailed me with questions and who I've met up with for a chat! It's a really rewarding feeling as I know that a lot of people struggle to settle properly at Uni for a while.

I've moved into private halls this year and so far it's been pretty good - there have been a few problems with doors and radiators but nothing that's too problematic! My room is really lovely with more than enough space and the kitchen is gorgeous with a breakfast bar! It's about half an hour's walk from campus but it will really help me become fitter having to actually travel instead of just rolling out of bed like last year! 

I don't know how much I'm going to be able to post as I have a lot of work to do this year compared to last year...I'll post if and when I can! 

Jess xx

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

First week back!

The first week back was a mix of introductory lectures for my new modules this term and getting grades back from last term's modules!

I ended up getting a 1st in 5th Century Athens and a 2:1 in Ancient Song which I was really happy about because the lecturer was terrible for it so getting a 2:1 basically off my own back makes me feel incredibly proud. I also got a 2:1 in Practicing Archaeology but I was given that grade last term. I'm happy with those as my first grades of university!

I look back at my posts from last term and I already feel like this term will be better as I've proved to myself that I can do university and I can do it well! A levels obviously just didn't suit me and University does luckily! I just hope the exams go the same way! 

I feel so much more optimistic and I'm going to push myself to do more of the reading as I slacked a lot last term - I only really did the work necessary to pass and didn't do a lot of background reading which will give me a better understanding of the topics. I think it also helped that I'd done the Athens module at A level so I knew the information I needed to get the grades - this term I don't have that help so I'm going to need to work a lot harder to get the same level of grades! I just hope I do it as they're all really interesting subjects!

I'm having to balance University, work and various medical appointments whilst not becoming a complete recluse so it could be difficult to do as much as I want over the next few weeks but hopefully after that, I'll be able to really crack on with working!

I also applied again for halls next year so I'm going to actually have somewhere to live which is exciting! I'm going to be sharing with one of my flatmates from this year which is nice as we get on really well.

Jess xx

Long time no speak!

My last blog post was over a month ago but I've been so busy that I've had no time at all to write one! 

The last four weeks at University have been so amazingly great but I've been constantly on the go working, studying or socialising - it's hectic! I thought it would be a good time to show you my room and give you a little update on how life is going so far as I've settled in and I have a spare couple of hours in between my seminars to actually write a post for once! 

The first two weeks here were freshers so we went out most nights and got to know people better over 1am pizza! We bonded pretty quickly as a flat (thanks Facebook chat before we got here!) and then met the flat above as someone in ours knew someone in the flat above before which means we have a big group of us which is really lovely. 

Some of G.3 and 1.3! 

Me, Lucy and Jack. 

Geek night! (cue me blinking...)

Me and my flatmate Alex at Zoo night!

I didn't think I would like going out to clubs but with this group, it's a lot of fun! The one thing I don't like is that I didn't listen to music I like for 2 weeks straight because it was all club and chart music!

We obviously aren't going out as much now freshers is over and work has started properly but it's still fun to go out once or twice a week to get away from the studying.

In the second week of freshers, we also started lectures which was really exciting - I'm loving all of my classes so far minus one which has a rather boring lecturer but it's mostly a lot of fun! My A levels are helping a lot as some of the material in 5th Century Athens is the same as my old course! I had to buy quite a few books for my course which got expensive as they were £20-£30 each! Luckily they will be helpful/interesting for me after this year so it wasn't a waste. Books from my A levels have also been useful/will be useful so I'm quite lucky in that aspect!

Most of my course books.

I love my flat and room - I have a 4 ft bed which is pretty much a double. Compared to my bed and room at home it's quite big which is great! I'm surprised at how clean I've kept my room so far as I'm usually a really messy person but I love how organised it looks and I want to keep it that way for as long as possible! 

I love my desk so much, it's huge and the chair is really comfy with my cushions!

My make up storage shelf.

I have far too many odds and ends on my desk.

Bed covers are from John Lewis - I love them so much!
Fun fact: it smells like marzipan in front of the shelves!

Cute Edward Monkton illustrations above my bed!

My wardrobe - most dresses, skirts and shirts are hung up,
everything else is in the boxes!

My roof tile bookends I took from the spoil heap at Silchester!

Organisers.

Cute anchor details on my towel in my ensuite.

I love these storage jars, so pretty!

I brought quite a lot of my stuff from home with me so it looks like it's messy on my desk but in reality, there's just quite a lot of stuff! It feels really homely and nice - it's just the right size so I can work and live in it at the same time!

I hope you enjoyed this update and tour of my room!

I have a couple of assessments due at the end of October so I don't know when I'll be able to post again in the next couple of weeks. 

Jess xx

New Beginnings.

Topic 16 of the Blogger Challenge was to write about new beginnings. As I'm moving to University in 13 days (eek!) and I started my first job yesterday, it's a perfect topic!

I've been wanting a job pretty much since I started A levels 2 years ago but could never find anywhere to hire me as I had no experience and wasn't 18. During A2 exam time, I applied for a few jobs for over the summer and heard back from Marks and Spencer and Waitrose. The Marks and Spencer job didn't work out (luckily as it wasn't particularly nice in that one!) but I got an interview and job offer from Waitrose which I was really surprised about! I did my first shift there yesterday and really enjoyed it, I love getting to talk to the friendlier customers! My co-workers are also really friendly so I know I'm going to love it there!

I've started talking to a few people from my course and everyone is so lovely - it's making me really excited to start at Reading! I was a bit hesitant originally as it's so close to home but the more I think of the pros vs cons, the only con is the distance so it's an overall winner really! The course is fantastic, the campus is gorgeous, the people are amazing and the lecturers are enthusiastic about their subjects so I can live with not moving away from somewhere I know.

I'll keep you guys updated with my Uni stuff as it happens - not long now!
Jess xx

I'm going to University?!

Since my not so good AS results last August, I've been working crazily hard to make sure I could get to University this coming September. 5 days ago, I got to pick up my results from college to find out whether I got in or not. 

I woke up at 7am and I had received an email from Reading University telling me that I'd been accepted into their Ancient History and Archaeology joint degree! I had to wait a couple of hours to find out the actual grades I got and I achieved BCC! It isn't as good as I wanted to get, but it got me into the University I've been wanting to go to since I started helping at Silchester in 2011 so it's good enough! For all of the exams I did resits for, I actually got at least a grade higher so I'm really proud of how I did, I also got a grade higher in Classical Civilisation as last year I got a C and I got a B this year! 

I've been helping at Silchester Archaeological field school for the last 2 weeks so I was actually with Reading Uni when I found out that I got in so I got to celebrate with my friends who I'll actually be at University with next year which was really special!

I've also got my accommodation sorted out so I have somewhere to live - it's a really lovely room and I can't wait to start looking for things to make it more homely and pretty! I've been looking at the different societies I can join which look really interesting so I'm looking forward to actually getting to Uni and starting to get involved with it! 

I can't wait to share this next part of my life with you all as it's going to be amazing! 

Jess xx

Life in letters tag!

All the way back in February, I was tagged by Amy from Blending Beauty to do this tag! I didn't have time to do it as work started piling up around the time I was tagged so now I have time, I'm doing it! 

A - Archaeology. I'm hopefully studying this subject at University come September/October and it's so interesting!

B - Books. I'm an avid reader and spend quite a lot of my spare time reading when I'm not blogging!

C - Clothes. I love fashion and always try to look my best when I leave the house no matter where I am!

D - Diabetic. I have diabetes and have lived with it since I was 11. It's pretty much become a part of every day life now instead of a big problem but I still hope they find a cure eventually as it can be really annoying and hard to deal with at some points!

E - Eyes. My favourite part of my body. They're a really lovely bright green that sometimes look different depending on lighting which is awesome!

F - Food. I'm such a big eater and I love food, not always the healthy options either! I hope to improve what I eat once I get to Uni though!

G - Greek. I want to learn Ancient Greek when I'm at Uni and I've already started trying to get familiar with the alphabet!

H - History. My favourite subject of all time. Ancient History is easily my favourite and I'm hoping to study it as a joint degree with Archaeology next year!

I - Inspiration. I find it everywhere in quotes, books, nature, people around me and loads of other things I see!

J - Jessica. My name! 

K - Kip. I struggled the most with this one...I do love a good nap though! Got to love British slang for creating words like kip!

L - Lipstick. I have a huge collection (over 50...) and I love them all! I love the way a bold colour can bring life to an outfit and add something special to it. I wrote about how I feel about lipstick here!

M - Music. I honestly couldn't live without music. It's such a great way for people to connect and concerts bring people together because of their shared love for a band/artist which I find amazing!

N - Nail Polish. Another thing I have tonnes of. I love the look of nail polish and I find that it's actually a good way to relax as you can't have a shaking hand at all when you are applying - it was a really good calming technique for me during exams!

O - Optimist. I try to be positive and look at things in a good light for the most part!

P - Piano. I played since I was about 6 up until 2 years ago when GCSEs forced me to quit. I hope I can take it back up again some day as I loved it!

Q - Quizzes. I'm obsessed with doing the online quizzes that come up on Facebook!

R - Reading. The University I'm hopefully going to next year!

S - Sweets. I have such a sweet tooth and love to try sweets from different places! English with probably always be my favourite, though the Haribo options in different countries are amazing and always so good, it makes me jealous!

T - Travelling. I love going to new places and I hope that choosing a career in Archaeology leads to visiting lots of historical sights all around the country and world!

U - University. Where I hope to be going in September. I really want to go and I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do if I don't get in - I'll know on 14th August which is terrifying!

V - Volkswagen Up. My car! I passed my test on 5th March and I love driving it!

W - Winter. One of my favourite seasons apart from Autumn!

X - Xmas. There aren't many X words that I like...but Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year!

Y - YouTube. I love being able to find whatever song I want and then be able to watch a stupid cat video 2 seconds later if I feel like it, Youtube is great!

Z - Zodiac. I love looking at astrology stuff as I find it really interesting. I don't believe it, I just like seeing what sort of things the websites say about each different sign and why!

I don't think I'm going to tag anyone in particular this time, but if you want to do this for fun then I say go for it and I tag you! Hope you have fun doing your own!
Jess xx

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!

Instagram snapshots #5

I haven't done one of these since the beginning of last month so I apologise for that! I have a good selection of snapshots for you this time around though! 

Absolutely brilliant book.

They actually are heavenly!

Costa date!

MY CAR! Absolutely brilliant 18th!

Beautiful silver trowel necklace, I'm so lucky :)

My minion birthday cake!

It's nice to treat myself sometimes.

My current favourite lipstick!

Because I like my make up and hair for once!

Captain America was so good!

Perfect revision snacks!

Hope you guys enjoyed this!

Jess xx 

Instagram snapshots #4

I'm 18!

I'm really sorry for not blogging much recently, the last four days have been filled with my birthday celebrations so all of my free time has been taken up by homework to make sure I could do all of the awesome things over the last few days!

On Wednesday, me and my college friends went to Pizza Express for a birthday meal as everyone gets Wednesday afternoons off college. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to do something with them that didn't include school! We had a really nice meal and I even got a mini chocolate cake with a candle on! I got my presents early from them as I don't see most of them around college apart from my friends who are in my lessons. 

Lots of chocolate!

Beautiful purse with a mirror in the back, a pen,
desk organiser and animal rubbers!

I now have enough chocolate to last me until Halloween, let alone Easter! I love the little French purse so much because it's just so me! French themed and with stripes?! Yes please. I also love the pen and organiser, definitely helps for Uni in September! I really don't want to use the rubbers though, they're way too cute!

My birthday was on the Thursday and it was an amazing day! I woke up and had to get done quicker so I could open my presents - I GOT A CAR!!! It's also insured with Compare the Market so I got a meerkat toy with it which now sits in my car! I got baby Oleg and  he comes with the most adorable grub! My parents said I would get my car at the weekend but I came home from college and it was sitting on the driveway! My car is a red VW Up and I've decided to call him Perry! I've been out in him quite a bit considering I only got him on Thursday and I love him - he's really great to drive and has a lot of room considering he is actually only a 3 door car!

I love my car so much! And the bow on top!

Oleg, his grub and his bed!

I got money from quite a few family members but my grandma got me a couple of really pretty bracelets that I can't wait to wear. My auntie and uncle got me a gorgeous silver trowel necklace which came in a brilliant little box that is so clever as it looks like a special (small) finds box! It's possibly one of the prettiest and well thought out pieces of jewellery I've ever been given!

The bottom bracelet was given to me by a friend on Wednesday.

I'm in love.

My mum's friend also made me 24 minion cupcakes which are chocolate and taste amazing! After we got back from our meal out, I also got given a minion lemon birthday cake which looks and tastes just as good!

These are the cutest little cakes ever!

I can't believe how talented my mum's friend is!

On Saturday, I had some old friends over for a movie day as I didn't want to involve alcohol and we couldn't afford a big party. It was a lot of fun and we ended up watching Pacific Rim, Despicable Me 2 and part of Monty Python's Life Of Brian. I love catching up with my old friends as I don't see them much any more due to work which is sad, but we act like we only saw each other yesterday when we do see each other again!

The Fault in Our Stars poster, it's so gorgeous!
From Julia.

Loki sticker also from Julia!

Weeping Angel and TARDIS biscuits also from Julia!

Julia is basically the girl who gets me tonnes of fan stuff and it's always the best! I love it all so much!

Bourjois little round pot intense eyeshadow in 08, Maybelline jade high heel mascara in brown,
Maybelline illegal length mascara in black, Dainty Doll eyeshadow in 002 Treat Her Like A Lady,
Maybelline colorsensational lipstick in 380 Sweet Bordeaux,
Maybelline colorsensational lipstick in 720 Drive Me Nuts.
From Lisa.

Left to right: Sweet Bordeaux, Drive Me Nuts, Bourjois eyeshadow in 08,
Dainty Doll eyeshadow in 002 Treat Her Like A Lady.

I'll probably review all of these at some point but so far I'm loving them!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-glass by Lewis Carroll and
The Collected novels of The Bronte Sisters. Also got a really cute badge that says 'I read therefore I am'.
From Krissi.

Box of really cute goodies from Katie!

For when you're out and about and have the moments of inspiration for a blog post,
new outfit whatever it is, you can put it in this!

To get the creative juices flowing I guess you could say, or maybe just because
TASTY SWEETS!

This is a memory jar.  Any good memories from the day, write them down on the block then fold up
and put in the jar. Only at New Years eve can you look through all your memories from the year.
It's a good way to remember all the positive stuff and that maybe the smallest of things can be the best!

My old friends have obviously known me longer than most people outside of my family and their presents are all so thoughtful and basically cover every part of my life that I consider important and fun outside of people I know! I really love them and can't wait to use them all!

Kate also sent me a present which was super sweet of her - it's a scarf and mirror! I love them both - the green of the scarf is actually one of my favourite colours so I'm so happy! Thank you Kate!

Overall, it's been an amazing birthday and thank you to everyone who has been involved to make it a really special 18th! I'm so so lucky and it's probably been the best birthday yet! 

Jess xx

The University Chronicles: The final visit!

I have officially completed all of my open days and offer holder visit days! 

I went to my final one in Birmingham today and it was great! It started with talks about Archaeology and Ancient History, then we had a taster session about Sparta which was interesting to see how the methods of teaching varied from my AS Sparta module to University. It was a lot more relaxed and the lecturer even bought in a replica Spartan shield (minus the bronze plating...) which was really cool! 

We then got chance to ask questions and then we went to the Archaeology tech department. It was amazing. I haven't really been shown any of the technology that's used at any other university, only usual science style labs so it was exciting to walk into a room and come across interactive tables! They were basically massive iPads mounted on stands and it was incredible! There were loads of pictures of items they have in their museum and you could move them, enlarge and turn them which was quite entertaining - there was even an option to read more about the artefact! There were also videos showing different  artefacts that had been scanned and their 3D counterparts were being rotated and shown from lots of different angles to get a feel for the objects. 

They also build and use virtual models to get a feel for what a place would be like, such as Rome, and then create a programme so you can 'walk' around Ancient Rome and see what it would have been like! 

It was really exciting to see the sort of technology that is available to use in Archaeology and to see how it can improve learning as well as being just an awesome tool to be able to access! 

Even though I probably won't end up at Birmingham, it's still exciting to see it all!

Jess xx

The Liebster Award #2!

The lovely Amée has nominated me for the Liebster Award again! It was only a month since I did my last post so it's nice to have another set of questions to answer! Thank you Amée!

The Rules

You need to link back to the nominator 

State 11 Facts about yourself

Answer the 11 questions given to you 

Nominate 11 new bloggers with less than 200 followers 

And give those nominated 11 new questions

11 facts about me

1. I absolutely love driving and I have my test on 5th March so hopefully it goes well!

2. I wish I could wear heels more, I love the look of them but my college is really hilly so I can't wear them a lot!

3. I love learning new things and will go out of my way to read new books about topics I find interesting!

4. I'm currently reading the Sherlock Holmes collection and it's amazing - book reviews to come shortly!

5. I love sleep. I will happily sleep for 12 hours if I can!

6. When I do homework, I will always get into my lounge trousers because they're so comfy!

7. I love Classical literature (Roman and Greek) and I really want to buy more, not just the books I do in Classic Civilisation!

8. I prefer sweets over chocolate.

9. However, I do still love chocolate and dark chocolate is my favourite.

10. I actually like Shakespeare unlike most people my age. 

11. I love History and aside from ancient Roman and Greek, the Tudor, Victorian and Medieval periods are my favourites.

My questions from Amée.

What is your favourite make and shade of Lipstick?
A firm blogger favourite - Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in 107 is my favourite lipstick by far but I really love my two MAC lipsticks; Viva Glam IV and Dark Deed.

If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?
If I had the money to spend, either New York or Paris.

What is the worst beauty product you have ever tried out?
I don't think I've ever bought anything that I've really disliked...the Body Collection maxi lipstick in Vixen wasn't great though as it was an odd shade.

Who are your favourite bloggers?
Carly
Lauren
Kerry
Jemma
Hannah
Sophie

What one item of clothing could you never live without?
I love all of my clothes...but currently it would be my panda dress from H! by Henry Holland or my burgundy slouchy, chunky knit jumper from Crew.

What is your favourite candle scent?
I'm not allowed candles at home as mum doesn't like the scent, but when I go to the Yankee candle shop in Reading, I always love the spiced christmas scents, vanilla and fruity smells.  

Twitter or Instagram?
Instagram. Twitter is good for saying when I've written a new blog post and talking to some people but Instagram is a bit more fun and personal as you see people's lives which I love! Pictures are so much fun!

What is your all time favourite song?
I don't really have a favourite song, but when I read the question, the first to pop in my head was Eet by Regina Spektor so I'll go with that! The music video is also one of the most brilliant things ever. I love typewriters so it's perfect.

If you were a superhero what powers would you want?
Teleportation without a doubt. Free travel is hard to come by these days and going overseas would be so much easier, you could pop home every day and sleep in your own bed, you would only have to spend money on shopping!

What is your favourite accent?
I've always loved Irish accents!

What shop are the majority of your clothes from?
I would have to say Crew I think. I have lots from other shops, but I own the most from Crew easily. Factory/Warehouse sales are the best things known to man and they do some cracking ones!

I was also nominated by the gorgeous Olivia so here are her questions!

1. What are 3 things on your wishlist for this month?
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, a replacement BadGal Lash mascara from Benefit as I think mine is running out and some more time to relax/get my english coursework finished!
2. What is your favourite social media?
Blogger if that counts? To be honest, I love them all but I use them for different reason - Tumblr is generally great, Instagram is fun to scroll through, Facebook is good for chatting, Twitter is good for news and Pinterest is good for outfit ideas and recipes!
3. Have you broken one of your New Years' resolutions? If so, which one?
I actually haven't for once! I haven't started revising yet technically, but I wasn't going to anyway so that doesn't count.
4. On which site do you do the most of your online shopping?
I don't shop online as I don't have a card of any sort!
5. What beauty product can you not live without?
Mascara and Lipstick. I also really need moisturiser to keep my face looking as good as it can without covering up my red patches!
6. What is your best quality?
I'm good at understanding when my friends need space and I'm good at giving advice. I guess I'm quite sympathetic and empathetic!
7. What is your dream job?
An Archaeologist, museum worker, journalist, blogger or a mix of them all!
8. If you had a time machine, would you travel to the past or the future?
The past - I love History and going back to see events in real life would be extraordinary. I would definitely have to pinch some dresses from the 50s!
9. You're at a dinner party with 5 of your chosen celebs (dead or alive). Who is there?
Oh gosh...Marilyn Monroe (she was great and has an amazing story), Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Watson, Tom Hiddleston and Benedict Cumberbatch. All perfect and amazing! 
10. If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Already answered above!
11. Why did you start blogging?
I love writing and Adorkable by Sarra Manning inspired me enough to start a blog! I'm so glad I did because it's definitely become a part of me now! 

Thank you for these questions! 

My nominees
Barbs
Alexi
Lucy
Emily
Rhiannon
Otilia
Menna
Kristen

My questions!
1. Which is your favourite season?
2. What do you want to accomplish this year?
3. What topic do you like to blog about the most?
4. Favourite social media?
5. Would you rather visit a museum/art gallery or go to a gig/concert?
6. What book are you enjoying lately?
7. What do you love about blogging?
8. What are your top 3 TV shows?
9. What is your favourite album?
10. Which post are you the most proud of?
11. One thing you couldn't live without?

Jess xx

Why I blog.

When I was younger, I always used to attempt to keep a diary but always ended up getting too paranoid that people would see it, start feeling silly for writing it in the first place or forget about it and then give it up. This blog is the longest I've kept a continuous stream of writing going for and I'm quite proud of it if I'm perfectly honest! I never in my wildest imagination believed that I would get anywhere with this blog, that I would give up after a week like my diaries, or just sit here and have no one read it. I've been writing for a year and a half and have over 10, 500 views and 55 followers so it's come so much further than I was expecting it to!

I can't really put my finger on why I love blogging or why I even blog in the first place, but these are some things I think probably help! 

I love writing.

The obvious one. I know several friends who tried blogging after my constant raving about it, wrote a couple of posts and then gave up. I understand that writing isn't for everyone but it did confuse me how they could start something and not want to continue it. 

I've always been quite creative, mainly taking arts and humanities subjects rather than science subjects at school and college and I've always loved writing, a poem of mine that I wrote as an extra piece of work for a year 9 English class was kept by my head of year and I was asked if I had copied it from Roger McGough! Over the years, the amount of creative writing I've been able to do in my classes has decreased to none which is quite disappointing, but that is why I love this blog so much, because it lets me write about whatever I want, in whatever style I want, when I want. It is still writing and it improves my individual style but without having to write pages of essays instead. 

If my current ideal job of working in Archaeology or History doesn't work out, then I want to become a journalist because I think my writing style suits the chatty but slightly formal tone of that line of work. 

The freedom.

Kind of leading on from the last point, I love thinking of this blog as having an online diary, and even though I know people I know read it (hi guys!), it feels nicer to just write and then send it off into the world wide web. A blog gives so much more freedom about what to write than a diary does because of that very fact. Other people read it and just talking about every day life can get rather boring, which is probably why I eventually gave up writing diaries in the first place! Blogging gives you that freedom unknown to other forms of writing as you have no barriers or restrictions unless you put them on yourself. One day, I could be talking about a book I've just read, a tv show I watched or a film I went to see, and the next, I could be doing a post like this, reviewing a make up product or having a little rant! There's no way of knowing because I just write what comes to mind that day. I thought this post up on the train home from college, there isn't really any planning that goes into these things, most posts are pretty much spontaneous! 

Some bloggers label themselves which I find limits what you can talk about. If I had to, mine would be considered a lifestyle blog as I will write about everything and anything!

The people you meet.

I've told you before that I met Kate from blogging and since then, I've spoken to lots of other lovely bloggers who are all amazing and super friendly! The blogging community is amazing and being involved in the 2014 Blogger challenge has made me become more involved in it which I'm really happy with, the girls that are participating are great! I get quite a few comments on my posts nowadays and each and every one makes me smile, I love replying and starting up a conversation with them, you never know what you could have in common!

Long story short, I'm so happy that I started blogging and I know that I'm going to continue for as long as I can, it's definitely become a part of me now! 

Jess xx