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

New Beginnings.

I start my second year of Uni on the 29th September, but a lot of people are beginning a new chapter of their lives and starting their first year of University! I'm in no way an expert but I thought it would be useful for some people to share some pointers and advice for the next year of Freshers!

1. You don't have to go out all the time

Before I got to Uni, I had never been clubbing or had many drinks, unlike most of the people I met! It got really tiring trying to go out every day for two weeks straight so I decided to go out a few days a week during freshers and nobody minded! It slows down a lot as you get into the year and start having more work so don't worry about keeping up with the insane pace of the first part of the year. However, although there is a lot of clubbing, there are also plenty of societies and activities for non-drinkers - at my Uni there is a society for non drinkers and movie nights are organised by others!

2. It's okay if you don't make friends with everyone

I tried to be friendly to everybody I met last year in an attempt to make new friends but the reality is that you won't get along with everyone and that's perfectly okay. There are so many people at university that you'll rarely have to see them anyway, even if you live in the same building!

3. Be open minded

University is a huge clash of cultures and backgrounds so it's a great time to learn and try new things, but to also be open minded and do things in a different way to you're used to. It's a great time to reinvent yourself or just shape who you are already. You could join a society that is different to what you would usually go for or choose a module you think sounds interesting but challenging. 

4. If you need to, ask for help

There are plenty of people at University to give you support and advice so if you need them, don't be afraid to ask for help or advice, it's what they do best and they'll do it sensitively and confidentially.

5. Make sure you meet your tutor

They're there to help you throughout the three years you're at University so start off with a good relationship and meet with them soon after you arrive - they're there to help you with academic and personal matters so being able to feel like you can trust them is important!

6. Everyone takes their own time to settle

Don't worry if you get homesick when others seem perfectly fine, people adapt to new situations at their own pace. New situations can be scary but eventually it'll become the new normal and I'm sure you'll love it!

I hope those of you moving back to Uni soon (be it your first or third year) enjoy it and make the most of it!

Jess xx

Bring On Christmas!

I've finished my first term of University. It feels very odd to say that as it still doesn't seem completely real that I'm doing this! 

Since my last post, things have got a lot better as I've written 2 assessment essays, done a quiz that counted for my final grade, written three coursework essays and got all but 2 coursework marks back! I'm working at 2:1 and even got a first in my first assessment essay I got back which makes me really happy as that's the equivalent of Bs and As - my previous doubts about being good enough have diminished quite a lot luckily. It makes me realise how messed up A levels are as I was at B/C level for those but I'm getting better grades in a higher level of study?! I think I suit independent working a lot more as I like using a lot of books and finding my information from them which is exactly what is needed for University essays!

Even though I seem to be doing well in my work, it's taking its toll as it means that I'm up quite late at night finishing my essays off and I'm not able to see my friends or even my flatmates that much! I'm starting to feel a bit distanced from them which isn't too fun. Luckily I get to see my old friends in my month off so I get back into a good social environment with a much needed break from working, it will be a nice change! 

Christmas is easily my favourite time of the year so getting nearly the whole of December and the beginning of January off from Uni is so exciting! The fact that I'm going to have 2 weeks of nothing means I'm going to have loads of spare time to get presents and cards for people which is great! Hopefully I'll also be able to work more so I'll earn money that I can save up and spend later on next year! The time off also means I'm going to have loads of time to blog and read again so be prepared for more posts (I mean it this time!) - I intend to get back into the swing of things again as I haven't had any inspiration over the last couple of months as nothing very exciting has happened! I do however have a few things to catch you up on! 

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

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

The Perfect Pair!

Topic 15 of the 2014 Blogger Challenge was to write about a pair that we think works perfectly together. The first thing that came into my mind was my favourite colour combination - navy and white! It's classy, pretty and suits me really well, plus there are so many pattern combinations that it's just perfect! Navy is basically a neutral so it also means that make up colours I can use isn't restricted!

I've decided to bring together my favourite outfits featuring navy and white that I found online as inspiration.

1. Casual chic.

Picture from here

I love this outfit, it's so casual and chic, I'd happily wear this out to meet up with friends. I also really love the mint colour trainers, they're so pretty! I'm also a sucker for a good scarf so this is just an all round great outfit!

2. Classy casual.

Picture from here

This outfit is more classy and dressed up and something I'd be more likely to wear out and about. I love the riding boots and the stripes!

3. Pop of colour.

Picture from here

I love that this outfit is nearly all navy and white apart from the lipstick and shoes - it gives the outfit another dimension and it's gorgeous! 

4. Just add a blazer!

Picture from here

This outfit is everything I love - blazer, navy, white, polka dots, heels and pretty coloured jeans. Yes please. 

I love all of these outfits and I wish I had everything to create them as I'd wear them all! 

Jess xx

Topic 14

1 down, 7 to go!

I've just come home from my first exam of the year which went quite well so I decided to do a quick blog post! 

- I hit 200 bloglovin' followers the other day which I'm so happy about, such a nice thing to have happen - I love that people are still reading my blog! 

- I've been quite ill for the last three days, pyjamas and flat lemonade have been my best friends.

- The only thought that has been getting me through revision is my plan to go to London the day after my exams finish...hurry up 18th June! 

- I bought a ticket to my secondary school's year 13 prom that I get to go to with my old friends and I'm so excited! My dress is so pretty and in the post! I should be getting it in the next couple of weeks so look out for that!

- I will be posting all of my 2014 Blogger Challenge posts that I've missed after exams, I'm going to try and make them extra special instead of rushing them and not really doing anything for them! 

- I haven't painted my nails for ages and it feels so weird. I just don't have the time to paint them at the moment sadly! 

Hope you guys enjoyed this little post, I hope to do a couple more as the month goes by - only 1 month and 2 days left until my exams are finished! 

Jess xx

This week.

I've been on Easter holiday for the last week which only means one thing for people in my age group: exams are just around the corner. 

As well as revising, I've actually been giving myself little breaks and have managed to meet up with friends! 

On Wednesday, I went to my friend Rob's for a movie night which was awesome fun! We ended up playing a lot of cards, eating pizza then watching Lord Of the Rings at about 12.30am! I've never actually seen it and it was good when I was actually paying attention! We also watched part of the second one on Thursday morning too before leaving and that was also good - Gollum made me laugh quite a lot! My boyfriend also cooked us all bacon so I was pretty happy when I woke up! I had to drive there by myself which was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be - I can drive surprising well considering I didn't know the area! I also drove to Waitrose with Rob to get some snacks before the party started and I managed to park which is a feat too! I haven't been to many parties with college people but they're a lot of fun and not as alcohol filled as I would expect - people just got happy instead of completely incoherent which lead to a really nice atmosphere and I ended up having a lot of fun, it was a nice break from revision!

Today, me and my family also went to the cinema to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier! I've been wanting to see it pretty much since it came out so I was really excited and I was right to be! It might actually be one of my favourite Marvel films so far, each character was brilliant and the whole thing was interesting, it didn't take too long for the action to get going which was great! I also loved the end of credits scene as per usual, they always make me so excited for the next Marvel film! If you haven't seen it yet I really recommend it, it'll make you feel pretty much every emotion available on the human spectrum which is pretty impressive for a film that's just over 2 hours long! 

The next week will be pretty much solid revision which may be a bit dull, but hopefully it pays off in the end! 

Jess xx

The Liebster Award #3!

In the last two weeks I've been set about 5 essays and a million years worth of reading to do so I haven't had any time to blog - I'm sorry for my absence! I have a few posts lined up for the next couple of weeks or so, hopefully having one written every few days to give me little breaks from revision over the Easter holidays!

I've been nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Kate again which is awesome and very kind of her! 

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 have a serious love for Pink Marc de Champagne truffles from Charbonnel and Walker currently, they're the nicest things and they aren't too expensive!

2. I spent most of last week in the library when I wasn't in lessons and it actually wasn't bad! I used to hate it in there but I've learnt to love it this year.

3. I lost a couple of followers this week and it makes me sad that people have stopped liking my blog because I can't post frequently.

4. I have my exams in a month and a half and I don't feel as stressed as I know I should be - this blog will definitely be part of my exam breaks!

5. I'm actually looking forward to spending two solid weeks revising...I love my subjects so much so it will be good!

6. I'm deathly afraid of spiders. I was in the library three days ago and I almost cried because a big one was on the wall next to me.

7. I have a strip of clear floor going round my room but that's it...I need to tidy up.

8. I haven't read any books for fun since The Rosie Project and that makes me sad - I hate not having time to even pick up a book!

9. I'm determined to organise myself properly with these upcoming exams and I plan to make lots of resources, lists and timetables to sort myself a schedule!

10. I've managed to find a make up look I like and only takes 5 minutes at the most for when I'm running late! It also all fits in my tiny make up bag so I can do it at college if needed!

11. My favourite piece of clothing at the moment is my pair of lounge trousers! They're the comfiest thing to wear around the house when I'm not going anywhere!

Kate's questions

1) What's your favourite song at the moment?

Umm....I have So Long by Ingrid Michaelson stuck in my head currently so I'll go for that!

2) How happy are you on a scale of 1 - 10 right now?

I'm pretty happy but I'm also relatively stressed which always brings my mood down a bit so maybe a 7?

3) What's the saddest thing you've heard in the past week?

There hasn't been anything that I can think of which is actually really good! 

4) Write about the person you think of the most.

Oh gosh. I will probably say a group and they're honestly some of the best friends I have. I don't see them often at all now I'm at a different college but when I do get together with them (like my birthday film day), it's as if I was never away from them and I think that's when you know they're true friends and you belong in the group with them. They're the only group I truly feel like I belong in and don't have doubts about ever which doesn't mean I don't like my other groups of friends, but I fit with this lot like clockwork. 

5) Do you overuse any words or phrases?

 

I can't think of any! I'm quite sarcastic though...

6) Where do you want to be in ten years' time?

 

Either travelling and doing Archaeology or working in a museum - as long as I'm near history I don't mind what I'm doing at all!

7) What's your favourite time of the day and why?

Probably when the sun is going down - the sky is so pretty and it changes colour daily, sometimes it's orange like the sky is on fire and other times it's bright pink and purple!

8) Do you have any disgusting habits? Please divulge.

I click my fingers and toes quite a lot which is bad...

9) Talk about your earliest memory.

When I was in playgroup, we had a day where we got to dress up in saris and my friend took the one I liked - I still remember that it was red with gold stars but I can't remember the one I had in the end!

10) Is anything hurting you right now?

I haven't seen my boyfriend much this week even though we're at the same college which is a bit of a bummer...

11) How does blogging impact on your daily life?

I randomly think of good blog posts and have to write them down, I'm on the look out for good pictures and absolutely anything can inspire me to write a post. I've actually written several posts on my notes on my phone when I have 10 minutes of inspiration!

My nominees

Amy (Blending Beauty)

Caitlin (Fox tales)

Caitlin (Thistle and tea)

My questions

1. Do you believe in fate?

2. Favourite smell?

3. If you could, what would you change your name to?

4. Current favourite song?

5. What was that last book you read?

6. Favourite sweet?

7. If you could have two superpowers, what would they be?

8. What is one thing you wish you were better at?

9. Favourite piece of clothing?

10. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?

11. Top three favourite blogs?

Thanks for reading and hopefully you'll be seeing more of me over the next couple of weeks!
Jess xx

Hopeless.

Sorry that I haven't been blogging lots recently, I've had so much work to do and I just haven't had any motivation! I have a few things in the works over the next week or so though so I should get some posts out soon!

It's my birthday on Thursday and I'm honestly so excited! I'm turning 18 which in reality isn't much of a big thing but it feels huge! I know that I won't suddenly turn into a responsible adult and know where my life is heading but it'll be nice to actually be an adult officially! 

I'm going out for lunch with my college friends on Wednesday and having my old friends over for a film day at the weekend so it'll be so much fun!

I shall do a post on Thursday/Friday about my day so look out for that! 

Jess xx

Parties and cookie dough.

It's half term this week which in A level terms equals crazy amounts of homework and essays. 

I did however get to go to a party with my college friends on Monday which was amazing. 

Yes, people got a bit drunk but it wasn't out of hand like I know some people can get - it was a more relaxed and happy atmosphere which was great. 

My friend Milly had it round her house and we stayed in her living room pretty much the whole night. She brought in a few mattresses and we put them on the floor so there was loads of space to just lounge about which was awesome! We watched Frozen which was AMAZING. I loved it so so much and I can't wait until I can get it on DVD so I can watch it lots. We also watched Tangled while eating Dominoes and pots of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (me and Chris shared a pot of Cookie Dough pretty much between us...perfect? I think so.) while a couple of people sang loudly and drunkenly along to the songs.

In the end, 6 of us stayed the night with a couple of people on the sofas and 4 of us sharing the two mattresses pushed together which was quite entertaining!

I've only been to one other party with college people and even then I only knew the host so this was really great - I got to spend time with my closest college friends and just have a laugh! Definitely one of my favourite parties so far - Disney, ice cream and laughs is always a good combination. 

Jess xx

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

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug review

Last night, I met up with an friend who I haven't seen for quite a while and we intended to go bowling but it was a Saturday night which meant all 4 bowling alleys around my area were completely full! Instead, we decided to go to the cinema! I've wanted to see the second Hobbit film since I watched the first one and it was such luck that the only film on at the time we arrived was The Desolation of Smaug!

All of my college friends seem to have seen it so I was really excited to finally watch it after their great feedback of it! 

I really loved the first one and this one also didn't disappoint! It was so exciting and I jumped at quite a few bits...I hate spiders so anyone who has seen it will know why I found one bit nearly impossible to watch, even through my fingers! 

I have never seen the Lord of the Rings films (I know...I'm disgraceful.) so this is the first experience with this world that I've had and I might just have to watch them now! 

It was much more action filled than An Unexpected Journey and I loved the fight scenes and even though some of the CGI was painfully obvious and made it look like something out of Skyrim or an updated Zelda game, it was still really enjoyable! 

I think one of my favourite parts of the film was the barrel ride as it was so funny and brilliantly done, I can imagine somewhere doing a theme park ride based on it sometime soon! 

I was amazed by the detail the sets had, Lake-town, Erebor and Rivendell were gorgeous and so intricate, you can imaging them being real places out in the middle of nowhere! 

As characters go, I loved Tauriel (who fought better than all of the men in this film together), Stephen Fry as Lake-town's Master (greedy and hilarious) and Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch portrays him brilliantly, making him perfectly imposing and threatening). I thought Martin Freeman as Bilbo was also great, I think he's completely perfect for the role!

I'm not very good at film reviews without giving loads away, so I hope this was okay! 

I recommend this film completely, it's great and it really enjoyable!

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

2013 vs 2014.

I know my Blogger challenge post is meant to be a substitution for resolutions/goals, but I find that it's always nice to have them written down somewhere so I thought I'd share mine from last year (2013 resolutions) and come up with some new ones!

2013

Revise work from the beginning - I sucked at this last year and it hasn't really changed if I'm honest. I just need to revise earlier.

Read more - Time is a problem for me. I work a lot and spend the rest of my time blogging. I did manage to read a few books just for the fun of it this year and I loved them all! I also read a few books surrounding my subjects which were good!

Take more photos - I fulfilled this when I went to Sicily with college but apart from that, I didn't get many chances to just take photos with friends. I've taken lots more photos for my blog though if that counts!

Don't get as easily distracted - I've been getting better at forcing myself to work but when I'm not motivated, I'm in trouble.

Be confident in myself - I'm so much happier than I was last year about the way I look and just myself in general. I feel like I know my style and what suits me better now so bring on 2014!

Talk to people more - I've spoken to some more people and made some good friends so I think I accomplished this!

Make an effort with friends - I met up with my friends quite a bit this year but still not as much as I would have liked. However, to get decent grades and get into Uni, work comes first (which they know) so I'm quite happy with the amount I did see people!

Blog more! - I blogged more because I had a full year instead of five months of blogging this year, but I added up the number of posts, and I did the exact same amount August - December which I find really creepy!

2014

Revise earlier - As I said above, I need to start revising earlier. Last year I assumed that I could fit all of my revision into less than a month which ended pretty badly. This year I'm going to start revising much earlier so I have time to revise it all more than once (I hope!) or at least have a firm understanding in what I've done.

Take better control over my health - I've mentioned before that I'm diabetic and sometimes it seems to become completely out of control. I also think that I need to start being more healthy so this year, I'm going to try and keep record of my diabetes and eat better and possibly try and exercise more when I get time. 

Be more organised - I bought a weekly planner last year and even though it was great to start with, I neglected it a bit in the last months of using it which is rubbish because it helped me keep on top of work and I even wrote blog ideas down! It was seriously useful and as my life is set to only get busier, I think it will be great to start organising my time and sticking to my plans using it. I also need to make sure all of my work is organised so I can fin everything I need to revise easier. 

Improve my blogging - My blogging has been so patchy but as I now have more followers and viewers than I've ever had, I really want to try and improve my blogging pattern, style and just generally how and what I blog about! I'll obviously still do the same sorts of posts because I love writing about nearly everything, but I'm going to try and be more organised, maybe write a post every other day or so? I'll have to try things out and see how they go! I'll also need to see how I can fit blogging in between my homework and revision too. 

Focus - Even if it means forcing myself to sit at a desk and write or read anything, I need to focus on my work more, no matter how much motivation I'm lacking. This year will be the most important for me so slacking really isn't an option. 

I feel like 2013 has gone by so fast and I'm sad to see it go as it's been amazing - I've made better friendships with some people, found confidence (or at least the start of it) in myself and been much happier than other years. Hopefully 2014 will be just as good to me and I'm excited for it to start!

Jess xx

Christmas Eve!

I'm an absolute sucker for Christmas, it's definitely my favourite holiday without a doubt and I can't get enough of the happiness that seems to fill the air around this time - I'm always in such a good mood too! This year, all of my friends have been saying that they aren't feeling in the festive spirit as much as they usually are but I totally disagree, I'm just as excited as ever! Everything is so pretty with the Christmas decorations up and the presents have been put under the tree now so it's just adding to the festive feeling! 

Today I went round to my secondary school friends and dropped round presents and cards which was great fun - I love seeing them all, even if it's only for a short amount of time! It was great because I realised how much I missed them so I will definitely be meeting up with some of them over this holiday and catching up which will be amazing, spending time with them is always so much fun. I felt like Father Christmas as we went through three villages to get to everyone, we also managed to get a pretty decent route so everyone was included on the way! I was so tired by the end of it but I was so happy to have seen everyone.

I hope you all have a great day tomorrow and get what you wanted, eat as much food as possible and have lots of fun with your families! 

Jess xx

How can I not be excited when my living room looks like this ?! 

Monday Musings.

I can't believe how good this weekend has been. Since getting my offer on Friday, everything has been going amazingly well! 

A few things going through my mind currently:

- I am never moving out from under this duvet, it's far too warm.

- I'm super excited for Uni now, only have to wait until September!!

- I need to clean my room.

- I need extra hours in the day TO clean my room!

- The temptation to buy this make-up set is almost killing me...I have until Thursday to crack.

- My English coursework plan is due in a couple of weeks...help.

- People that you can talk to for hours or days on end and still not get bored are the best kind.

- DOCTOR WHO 50TH ANNIVERSARY ON SATURDAY. I CAN"T CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT.

- Finally feeling close with my college friends is the nicest realisation.

- It's so close to Christmas!!!!!!!!!!...I still need to buy my friends presents.

- I have never been more grateful for fluffy snow boots in my life - even without snow they're the best for cold days. 

- I need to find a pretty Christmassy nail polish for next month, but which to get?

- I need to re-watch the Aristocats again sometime, I miss this song.

- This is my 250th post!

That's pretty much what has been going through my head the last few days, mainly the song though...It's my favourite! 

Hope you guys had as great a weekend as I did! 

Jess xx

General Life

Everything is going pretty great at the moment. My UCAS has been sent off and I'm so happy! I have 4 emails from the unis to tell me that they've received my application which is so great but so scary! I just have to wait to see if I have offers now!

I went to college early today and got a costa with one of my closer friends which was amazing! We had a really great chat about loads of things and the christmas drinks came out today so that was super exciting! I love the Christmas drinks and food, they always taste so yummy and are absolutely perfect for this time of year. 

I'm loving college at the moment in general, we aren't getting much homework which is nice and the work is interesting and a lot of fun so I want to learn more! I'm doing my english coursework this half term, meaning I have to read and analyse a couple of books as well as the book that we are taught in class. It's so much fun getting to choose the books and question to do for my coursework - as long as it relates to identity, I can do pretty much any question I feel fits my books the best! 

Instead of choosing from the list we were given, I came up with my own question! 

To what extent do the writers of your chosen texts suggest that failure to live in the present inevitably leads to obsession and isolation? 

I think it's such a great question that fits with all three books and I'm so happy me and my teacher managed to verbalise my question after explaining to her what I wanted to say! 

My three books are: Translations by Brian Friel

Jezebel by Irene Nemirovsky 

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

If you read these, or the blurbs, they sound like they would have nothing in common but they're all fantastic for this question! I'm actually really excited to properly start my coursework now!

Sorry I'm not blogging much at the moment, there isn't much to talk about! I'll start posting some reviews of my half term purchases soon though!

Jess xx