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

Fire Is Catching.

On Wednesday, me and a secondary school friend went shopping and saw Catching Fire in Reading. I'd read all three books within 4 days of buying them, just before the first film came out so I really love the series and couldn't wait to see what they did with the second film after the overall disappointing Hunger Games film compared to the books. 

I was so impressed! They stuck so closely to the book and almost cried at some bits! I thought the casting was down to a tee and I loved Sam Claflin and Jena Malone as Finnick and Johanna. I loved where they ended it too, I can't wait for Mockingjay parts 1 and 2 - if they stick with the same director, I know it will be amazing!

I completely recommend this film, the last Hunger Games film (not as good but still pretty good if you detach it from the books!) and of course the books!

Jess xx

At World's End

I went to the cinema with some of my best friends from my secondary school to watch At World's End today.....weirdest film I've probably ever seen. It was one of those films that were so bad it was good, but one that you would only watch if there was nothing else on and it was free or as a freebee off one of the Christmas apps where you get free unpopular films and games. 

It started off as a normal film but got about half way and just had a plot twist that I'm still not quite sure could be thought up by any sane person. The ending was also rather strange and unexpected too. If it didn't have the funny lines and the crappy slapstick violence, I would have hated the film completely, and even though I enjoyed those parts, I still wouldn't go to see it again because it wasn't worth the money. 

See it if you like silly films that make you speechless from stupidity and look like they were thought up on a pub crawl like the (original) one in the film, feel free! However, if you more enjoy big-budget films with lots of well done CGI and other special effects, don't waste your money and use it as a boredom buster when it comes out on TV...if you're desperate. 

Jess xx

Personality

I'm a bit of a sucker for personality quizzes. I like to see how close they get to the truth. I found one the other day that asks you questions and gets you to answer by choosing a picture. I was really interesting because the result at the end was the most accurate and detailed result that I've ever had.

"You're a culture vulture - Sophisticated and inquisitive, you have a real passion for art and culture. You pride yourself on being in the know when it comes to the latest music and films and you always like to have a good book on the go. You believe in immersing yourself in interesting experiences that make you look at people, places and opportunities from now angles, Being sensitive and creative you want to feel connected to the world around you and seek out opportunities to explore it. It's all about broadening your horizons and living life to the full. Anything else would not fulfil your curious nature. 

Open minded and inquisitive, you're the sort of person that likes to tackle problems head on, and you are not afraid to get your hands dirty in the process. You enjoy being really involved from the ground up, and love the sense of satisfaction that you get from seeing something through to completion. 

Asking about the latest book you've got on the go is probably the best way to get you talking. You like to lose yourself in another world or lifetime, as each page is turned you become more involved with the plot and characters and increasingly enjoy the sensation of fuelling your imagination and knowledge. 

You love the fast-paced city life. You are open to be inspired by vibrant urban culture so when you have some spare time on holiday, the lure of the bright lights is irresistible. You love to try new things. After all, holiday time is precious, so it's important not to waste too much time just lounging around! 

When all is said and done, you are a true optimist at heart. You like to laugh at all life's little calamities. Better to see the funny side and ride the ups and downs with a smile on your face."

Annoyingly, I can't find the link for the quiz but it was so good! I remember it was an advert but that's about it!
Jess xx

20 days

It's been 20 days since I last posted.....work truly has taken over my life. After Easter, I've basically been working the entire time. I went on a biology revision course for one week in Easter which surprisingly turned out to be quite fun! The people there were great and I ended up learning a lot of stuff that I didn't really understand before! Hopefully it rubs off properly and I can remember it all in my exams!
I have literally been eating, sleeping and working 9am-11pm every day so I'm shattered. I've had at the most, 8 hours sleep each night since about Christmas so it's really starting to catch up now and it's not nice, I can tell you that!
On a brighter note, I got a timed Ancient history essay that I wrote before Easter back this week, I got 23/25 which is an A so I'm super happy! Hopefully I can do that in the exam!
I also went to see The Host last weekend which was just amazing. Me and my friend kept laughing through it though because some parts were rather cliché and hilarious so that was pretty fun!
My life is so so boring now it's unreal. Nothing exciting is happening until the end of the year really which sucks! We had to do our 2nd year enrolment forms this week too so I finally got to say I'm dropping biology! This also means that I don't have to take it after half term so I finish biology after my last exam on 3rd June so I'm really happy about that!
I finished my extended project and have handed it all in now so I'm REALLY excited to find out what grade I got! My teacher predicted me an A so if I got that or an A*, I would be so happy! It would really make me feel proud because I've worked hard on it, and it would be nice to actually get an A* for a subject overall!
Anyway, I don't have time to write long blog post so I shall post again some time soon I hope!
Jess xx

Tag! You're it.

So Kate has tagged me in some question chain things (http://smilingismyfavourite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/tag.html) which would be awesome if I knew 11 bloggers I'm friends with...

Here are the rules

- You answer the eleven questions the tagger has given you and make eleven more for the people you're going to tag!
- Tag eleven more bloggers
- Tell the people you have tagged to get their bums in gear (tell them you tagged them)
- No tagging back!

Already I'm having to say that I'm going to have to break some of these rules; I don't know eleven bloggers, let alone being friends with eleven bloggers, and I'm tagging Kate again so I don't look like a complete loser!

So, the questions...

1. Favourite drink ever? I will have to say either Diet Lemonade, Appletiser or Peach Ribena...they're all so good!!
2. The best film you ever saw and why? I have a lot of favourite films... Notting Hill - it's funny and cute and such a good rom com, Avengers - Iron man, Hulk, Thor, Loki and Captain America just shouldn't be allowed in a film together, too much awesome and WAY too much sass...honestly so so good!, My week with Marilyn - I love Marilyn Monroe and this film has Eddie Redmayne in it, what other reasons do I need? There are more but my final one of this list is... Aristocats - obviously I had to add a Disney film in here somewhere! It's such a cute film with the most awesome songs! What's not to love?!
3. The best book you ever read and why? The first book that jumps to mind when this question came up was Adorkable by Sarra Manning; It's the reason I'm writing this blog post after all! It's made me accept that being different is okay and I've accepted my weirdness! I'm happy with who I am and I'm not scared to stand out and be different from everyone now! As Jeane says, We have nothing to declare but our dorkiness and Never shield your oddness, but wear your oddness like a shield.
4. Your most worn pair of shoes? Both pairs are boots, one are my heeled riding boots and the others are a pair of snow boots that have been very useful over the last couple of weeks!



Snow boots! Aka the life savers!

My riding boots!





















5. Most recent purchase? Yay! A short question! I bought a bag of blue raspberry bon bons today from the weekly market in town! They're my favourite sweets ever!
6. The website you spend the most time on and why? Either Twitter because I find some funny conversation between people, or Tumblr because I get distracted by the awesome pictures! I do spend a lot of time on Facebook talking to people though...
7. Your favourite place in the world and why? I have a few. My bedroom because it's quiet and I'm surrounded by all of my stuff, it's nice to have a place that's completely personal. I like my living room too because then I get to spend time with my family which is always good. I love going to my grandma's too because it always smells nice and its just so warm and nice, and obviously the piano is there so yay for that! My last is Starbucks, doesn't really matter where but I do like the one by college because it's small and cozy. I always get my best ideas for my blog here, even though it's busy, it's where I get my alone time where I can just relax and think, and obviously hot chocolate!!!!!
8. What colour is your bedroom? It's a pale green, I got it done for my birthday when I moved up from secondary school so it looked more grown up from the purple, pink and blue with fairies I had before that...
9. Your favourite song? I answered this yesterday! My favourite song is Good Morning Sunshine by Alex Day, it always makes me happy! The link is on my last post!
10. What is your favourite season? I LOVE Autumn. Everything is changing colour and making the world pretty reds, golds and oranges. Plus it means that it's not boiling hot or freezing cold so you can wear nice clothes that don't cover up or show too much! Just in the middle and I love it!
11. Favourite word and why? Intricate - very complicated or detailed. It's a pretty word, and when I think of it, I imagine a huge tapestry that's got loads of patterns and stories woven in to it, and the more you look at it, the more you see.

I'm now tagging:
Clara: http://angrybirdssucks.blogspot.co.uk/
Sweeney: http://sween-bean.blogspot.co.uk/
2 good friends at college that created blogs after I told them about this one!

My questions to them:
1. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
2. Favourite book and why?
3. Space invaders or pacman?
4. If you could be a superhero, what would you be called and what powers would you have?
5. Favourite band and why?
6. What is the one thing you can't live without?
7. What job would you have if you could get any?
8. Favourite piece of clothing?
9. Favourite food?
10. Pirates or ninjas?
11. One band/artist you want to see live, dead or alive?

Hope you guys enjoyed!
Jess xx


American sweets and a miserable film!

I went to see Les Miserables yesterday, it was a fantastic film! I was so sad, but great. And all of the performances were fantastic, especially Eddie Redmayne!
I also bought a couple of packs of American sweets that I haven't tried before; Dots and Swedish Fish, they're both so nice!

They're both so good!

I babysat a couple of girls from the brownie group that I volunteer at last night so that was fun, I ended up watching a few programmes from when I was about 10, talk about blast from the past! I also got to watch Pirates of the Caribbean and Drillbit Taylor which was good! I also got paid which replaced the money I spent in the cinema - it's crazily expensive to go to the cinema now, almost £8 for a teen ticket!
I got my drivers licence photo taken today...I look like a complete idiot!!
So happy that Top gear is back now, I'm watching that while listening to Dan and Phil's radio show!! S'all good :)
Jess xx

You've Got Mail!

I watched this film today and it was so amazing and cute!! If you like Rom com/Chick flicks, then you'll love this film.
It's about a woman who runs a little family-run bookshop in New York and about how it's being overrun by a new, huge big chain bookstore that is run by a multi-millionaire business man. Naturally, they become enemies because of him putting her shop out of business.
They both use an internet chat site called "You've got mail' and they end up talking to each other without realising that it's the other. Eventually, they go to meet up, completely unaware of what their mystery date looks like, and he realises who she is.
They become friends in the end and you can guess what happens at the end! :P
Obviously I'm not going to give it all away, but I do recommend watching it because it's such a cute film that's sweet, sad and funny all at once!

Such an adorable film - WATCH IT!