Student Jobs

I have been looking into getting a job this summer, to help me save up for Uni. However, based on what my friends have told me, and what is often written in the advertisements, getting one that doesn't take advantage of you is easier said than done.

Many involve working quite long hours, more than the college recommends. Others though, say 5 or 6 hours, and then say "must be able to work longer when busy at no notice", which would suggest you just have to work whenever they want you to. This would make planning when you are going to do college work difficult, as well as not being able to know when you are or aren't free to do fun stuff. One of our teachers even said she has known students being expected to work when they have college! Others are 0 hours contracts. And of course, the few that are a reasonable number of set hours have a lot of people applying for them!

Personally, I think that if companies want loyal workers, they need to stop messing us about! Just because we are young doesn't mean we should be expected to drop everything and work with no notice. They are taking advantage of the fact that students really want the money and have a restricted choice of jobs. Have you got a part time job? Or have you been put off like I have?

It's Not Coming Home

I had started to get really hopeful about the football this year. I genuinely thought that this might be the year we brought it home. I was particularly looking forward to the final of us against France, because my friend is French, and we were going to watch it together. Of course, that would have probably have ended badly, and we might not have spoken for a while afterwards, but it would have been interesting! I suppose we can cheer France on together now! 

I have finished college for the year now. It has gone really quickly, scarily so, and I am definitely not ready for next year! However, I have a whole 8 weeks off to prepare myself for the nightmare that is A level course work, so it should be ok. If I can figure out what I want to do for Uni in that time too, then even better! And maybe I can get a bit better at the guitar too. Are you off for the summer yet? 

Football Fever

Well, my new plan to post every day has not got off to a great start so far. But hopefully, I can do better over the next week. If I am not too distracted by the World Cup, that is!

Up until now, I have not been a huge fan of football. I pay attention to where Southampton are in the leagues, but that was mostly so I could chat to the boys at school without looking stupid! But this year, I have got properly into the World Cup. It all started when I watched our first game against Tunisia. I was horrified when they scored on a penalty, and caught in suspense for the rest of the game to see if we could win against them. The final goal left me elated.

Since then, I have watched every single England game. I have become a Harry Kane fan, as he is a really good striker and didn't get angry when the other players kept fouling him. I hope he gets the golden boot! I can't wait to see how we get on tomorrow against Columbia to see if we can make the quarter finals. Hopefully, we might actually do well this year! Have you been following the football?

I Am Back!

As I am sure you have noticed, I have not been blogging for over a month. I needed a break from it as I was enjoying it less, and had other things going on in my life. Now though, I have started to miss it, and with the summer holidays soon approaching I should have no excuses, and will hopefully be back to regular service! I am going to try and write a post every day from now until we go back in September, so watch this space!

One thing I have not been busy doing though, is watching Love Island! My parents are hooked, but I hate it! I get enough boyfriend/girlfriend drama at college, I don't want more of it! I'm also not keen on how extremely image focused the show is. I think we are exposed to enough images of what we should look like as it is. I will admit though, that if you are just looking for eye candy, it is perfect!Have you been watching Love Island?

The Greatest Showman

At first, I was sceptical when everyone first became obsessed with The Greatest Showman. I didn't think it would be my sort of thing. After I had heard a few of the songs from it, I was a little keener, and went to see it at the cinema over the Easter holidays.

I loved every minute! I was completely amazed, I had no idea it would be that brilliant! What surprised me most though, was that I liked the storyline itself as well as all the singing and performing. The songs were still my favourite part though, I have been listening to them constantly. The other side is my favourite, as I really like some of the comments they make about each other's lives!

So if you haven't seen it yet, no matter how sceptical you are or if you think it is not your sort of thing, you should still watch it. Prepare to be converted!

University Fairs - Avoid The Sales Pitch, Talk To The Students!

On Friday, my college took a group of us to a UCAS fair at Winchester University. It was a huge event with Universities from all over the country, and would supposedly help us with deciding where we wanted to go to study.

Many of the stalls had real students from the universities there as representatives, and talking to them was really interesting, as they were able to answer questions not found in prospectuses and on websites. They could tell me what the social and night life is like as well as whether they like living in that town or city. I even found out about what it is like to study a certain subject area at degree level when I was lucky enough to come across one who studies in the area I want to. However, the staff of the Universities were not so helpful, as quite a lot of what they said wasn't even true! They were just desperate to make you think their Uni was the best!

Once we had found out all the information we wanted, we started a new game: freebie hunting! By targeting the stalls with the best free stuff on offer, I had managed to score a set of good quality earphones, a canvas shopping bag, a packet of seeds to grow flowers, a balloon, a rubber and 3 pens. However, I missed out on a beach ball, because by the time we had worked out which stall was giving them away, they had run out!

I would recommend going to these days as they are fun, but I would suggest focusing on talking to students at the university rather than staff, as they tend to be more honest, and can tell you more about what it is actually like to go there. Have you been to any university fairs?

Am I Normal Yet?

When my mum handed me a book with the title "Am I Normal Yet" just over a week ago I had to laugh. Mostly because the answer for me was "No", and probably always will be! On closer inspection, it was about a girl who was recovering from an anxiety disorder going to college and trying to act just like everyone else so they wouldn't know what is wrong with her. I recognised author Holly Bourne as the writer of another book I like, Soulmates, so I decided it was well worth a read.

When I read it though, I realised it was about feminism as well, as her and her new friends set up a group called "The Spinsters" to discuss feminist topics. They are trying to prove that they can be happy without boyfriends, and not become totally dependant on them when they do get them. It also discusses friendship, boyfriends, music and general college life, as well as what life is like when mental illness is slowly closing you off from everyone around you. The way it is written realistically portrays what it is like to be constantly attacked by your own thoughts.

I would recommend it to all girls at college, especially if they have ever been effected by mental illness.

University Choices

As I am heading toward the last year of my A levels, I am starting to properly think about University choices. Up until now, I have always thought it would be fairly straightforward, as I thought I knew I wanted to study graphic design. However, it turns out that every Uni's graphic design course is slightly different in content, and there are other courses like illustration and visual communication that are also interesting.

I guess the problem is we are no longer in the world of A levels, where there is a limited choice and they are all fairly standardised from college to college. Now, I am in a position where there is a huge range to pick from, and as the choice will determine which area of design I end up working in, that is pretty daunting.

And then there is the problem of where do I want to go? Home or away? City or closed campus? Huge lively University, or friendly art college? It is proving to be a lot more complicated than I thought. And one look at the employment statistics from each Uni prove how important this decision is. The percentage of people with a career after 6 months can vary dramatically.  For my courses, it can be anything from 80% to only 32%.

At least I have some idea though. If it is this hard when you know what career you want and are just trying to work out the best way to get there, how difficult must it be when you have no clue? How are you coping with the decisions?

Chaos In The Kitchen

As Channel 4 are going to be hosting Stand Up To Cancer soon, they have been showing a variety of programs that are also raising money for the cause. My favourite of these is Celebrity Great British Bake Off, as it is hilarious. I am a Bake Off fan anyway, but I like the celebrity one even better.

Each week, 4 celebrities (often comedians) with various amounts of baking experience tackle 3 challenging tasks, with limited amounts of success. This year there has been so many disasters, especially in the technical challenge, and I have been in hysterics watching Paul's face when he sees what they have made. The biscuits that looked like a Jackson Pollock produced a particularly special reaction! Nick Hewer also had quite a few problems.

What is really lovely about it though is that some of them genuinely improve. Lee Mack started off producing bakes that were inedible, but by the showstopper managed to do surprisingly well. However, Nick Hewer also struggled, but did not manage to pull it out the bag later on. Some of the celebrities do actually make some impressive bakes, a few of which even got Hollywood handshakes!

The show is on at 8pm every Tuesday on Channel 4, and you can watch the previous episodes on All 4. Have you been watching Celebrity Bake Off?

George Ezra Latest Release

I have always liked George Ezra. I often play his song "Budapest", and I also like "Blame It On Me". However, his new single "Paradise" is his best yet. I have listened to it 3 times today already and I can't stop singing it. It is so uplifting, every time I listen to it I am instantly in a good mood. You can have a listen to it below:

I have listened to his other singles Hold My Girl and Pretty Shining people too, and they are very good as well. I think the lyrics are brilliant, although they are quite different as they are much calmer. I can't wait to see what he releases next! Do you like George Ezra?

A New Favourite Box Set

Recently, I have started watching an older series called Dawson's Creek that my mum watched when she was younger. We spotted that is was one of the Box Sets on All 4, and I decided just to watch one episode to see what it was like, not really expecting to like it. It was brilliant and I am now slightly hooked. I often watch it in the mornings before college when I have a free period.

The show is about a group of 4 friends who live in a small town in America in the 90s. Dawson, Joey and Pacey have been friends since they were children, but then just before they all start high school, a new girl Jen turns up who moves next door to Dawson, and changes everything. Suddenly, Dawson is trying to impress her with his movie style romance, Joey is suddenly jealous, and Pacey is finding forbidden love in other places. And as if that is not complicated enough, their families add some more problems to their young lives!

The show is quite simple, but that is what makes it brilliant. It is about the characters, not the fancy lifestyle they lead. I also think it is very true to real life. Have you ever watched it?

New Discoveries

I have two days off now! Woohoo! We are having whole days of subjects this week, instead of normal lessons, so we can have mocks, which means our free time will be in whole days too. This leaves me plenty of time to practise with my guitar. I have been learning since September, and am getting better at it, but still struggle with a few of the quicker chord changes. I love playing it though!

Another thing I have recently become a fan of is Pinterest. At first, I just joined it to access some images I needed for graphics, but once I started looking at it properly, I found lots of inspiration for my own art projects as well as things that helped me with my college work. It is perfect for students of creative subjects. Have you ever tried it?

We Got Snow!

We did get lots of snow as promised! I had two whole days off college, and managed to go down the park for a snowball fight with my friends. I ended up with quite a lot of snow down my neck, but managed to get them back for it! It has all melted away now, so business as usual Monday. Shame.

I can't wait for this evening though. I have been watching call the midwife lately, because I love the character Trixie. The last episode has a really dramatic ending, with one of the Midwives Barbara being rushed into hospital with a serious illness that she might not recover from, and I have been in suspense all week. I hope she is ok, she is one of the nicest ones! I guess this is why people binge watch a series all at once, they don't have this problem! Do you watch programs as they come out, or do you like to watch them all at once?

My Wish May Have Been Granted

As you know, I have been complaining about our lack of snow here on the south coast. Well today, my wish has been granted. College has been cancelled for tomorrow due to a weather warning for large amounts of snow over the next couple of days! I have already planned a snowball fight with my friends who live locally, and am hoping it stays long enough that I will get a nice long weekend.

Yesterday we got a taste of snow too. I was sat in the cafeteria at college chatting about how I am hoping for snow, and suddenly it started floating past the windows. Soon it started settling, and we even got enough for a snowball fight, although they were pretty small snow balls. It melted soon after, but according to the weather report, that will soon be fixed.

Some of my friends in other parts of the country have already had snow! Is it falling where you are?

All The Bright Places

It has been freezing this week walking to college! And yet here on the south coast, we have had no snow all winter, and it does not look like we are going to have it this week either. Some of my friends who live further up the country have had lots, and I have had to endure many photos of snow covered gardens that have made me very jealous. Shame, I felt like skiving off college! It would be like having two half terms!

The book I have just finished reading even features snow, as it is set in Indiana in the middle of winter. It is All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, and it is brilliant. The book's main characters, Violet Markey and Theodore Finch, are complete opposites. Theo has spent his whole life standing out and wandering free, yet is still so unhappy he wants to kill himself. Violet has gone from the popular cheerleader to a girl who never travels further than the streets surrounding her home after the death of her sister, and yet is content to live a life that limited. Together, they begin to explore new possibilities in their lives. But as Theo manages to get Violet to leave her comfort zone, he becomes more and more miserable, and Violet does not know how to help.

My favourite thing about the book is the stories about the weird, wonderful and unique places they travel to, as they show how the world around you is often more interesting than you think it is. My personal favourite is the women who runs a second hand book store in several caravans in a field, with a separate van for each genre. I wish we had one of those round here!

However, I am slightly annoyed that the Author is compared to John Green on the cover, with readers saying this book is the next Fault In Our Stars. Personally, I think they are completely different. The characters, the writing style, the sort of places they go, and the reasons the characters are the way they are all unique to each book. I love both books, but think they should be admired individually!

 I recommend All The Bright Places to all older teens. Have you read it? Comment with your own views if you have.

Scarlet

Now it is nearly spring the new season trends are beginning to appear in the shops. My favourite is all the scarlet clothes and accessories that are appearing, as I love wearing bright colours, and red is one of my favourites. Whether is a casual summer skirt or an evening dress, you can find it in red this season. Here are some of my favourites from around the web.

This simple ribbed jumper is perfect for the next
couple of months of cold whether.
New Look, £14.99

I love this dress. 
The halter neck and tie detail make it unusual.
New Look, £19.99

This simple top has a zip and slit at the back

Peacocks, £8.00

I love the gathered detail and tie on this cold shoulder top.

River Island, £24.00

This skirt is perfect for summer days at college.

Topshop, £29.00

This flats are smart enough to wear in the evening

when you want to be able to dance.

Topshop, £19.00

This small across the shoulder bag is perfect for

everyday essentials in the summer.

H&M, £7.99

Valentines Day

In only a couple of days it will be valentines day. This can be a difficult one for teenagers, as many of the things adults do cost too much money or involve having the house to yourself. You can't go to an expensive restaurant, buy posh jewellery or even champagne. So I have compiled a list of things students can do on valentines day, for a variety of budgets. Whether you have no money whatsoever, quite a bit to spend or somewhere in between, there is plenty of inspiration below.

Try out a new café - often more cosy and interesting than your standard Starbucks, an independent café makes a good place for teens to hang out anytime, especially valentines day. They often have a nice secluded sofa near the back!

Go to the cinema - this classic date is affordable and suitable for all ages. Better reserve that back row! 

Go for a walk along the beach - as long as it doesn't pour with rain on valentines day, this will be a perfect opportunity to find some space to be alone. You can always warm up with a bag of hot chips!

Go to a theme park - as it is out of season, you should not have to queue for hours, and it is definitely a more fun filled way of spending a day together.

Go Ice Skating - if you are feeling active, try some skating. You can huddle up together in the café afterwards. If there is a fairy lit outdoor one near you, even better! 

Have a night in - If you are lucky enough to have the house to yourselves, you don't need to go anywhere. Have a movie/boxset marathon, You could try making your own popcorn, or maybe share a chocolate fondue. If you are feeling really brave, try cooking! Or a takeaway is cool if it all goes wrong.

Half Term Plans

I am on holiday for half term! And I do not have too much work to do unlike at Christmas, which is great. I have plenty of time to see my friends from my old school, who I don't often see in term time. We are going to see the Death Cure, which is the last in the Maze Runner trilogy. Although I have read the books, I still don't know what is going to happen as the previous film was so very different from the original storyline, so there is still some suspense. I am a bit upset though, as one of my best friends who I saw the first two films with now lives in another part of the country, so won't be able to come with us. She is going to watch it too though, so we can still obsess over it afterwards.

Here is The Death Cure trailer. It looks brilliant:

Are you a fan of the Maze Runner? Have you seen it yet?

Missing You Already!

Since September, our college has had some exchange students studying with us from all over Europe, mostly Italy. Some of them I did not talk to regularly, but there was one student from Germany who was in my graphics and photography class that I became good friends with. Sadly, she had to go back to Germany last week, and we all miss her. Hopefully we can stay in touch.

I really like having exchange students at the college. I learnt quite a lot from her about life in Germany, as well as lots of tips and artistic inspiration to help me improve my work. She made life at college more interesting, and every time I look at the empty seat next to me I wish she was still here. She was a lovely girl who has even been known to hug a few trees!

My senior school also had exchange students whilst I was there. They came from Chile, but only stayed with us for a few weeks, so I did not get to know them so well. I like it better when they stay for a while, you have time to become proper friends.

Has your school or college ever had exchange students?

The Music Videos You Have To Watch

I like listening to all sorts of different music, usually whilst I am working. Sometimes though, it is the music videos that captivate me. The reasons why vary. Sometimes it is because I like the story they tell, or remind me of something personal.

Below are all my favourite music videos with links to the video on YouTube. If there are any you think are particularly good that I have missed out, put them in the comments below.

Seasons - Olly Murs

I love how the scenery and clothes change to reflect the different seasons. Simple but effective.

Everything Has Changed - Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran

This video features a young boy and girl playing together, but what I love most is how much they remind me of my best friend in infant school and the things we used to do together.

Can We Dance - The Vamps

This video is hilarious, it shows the Vamps clearing up after a wild house party using some unconventional methods.

Wildfire - Seafret

Featuring a psychological experiment to try and make strangers fall in love, this is a sweet but unconventional video that perfectly fits the music.

Drunk - Ed Sheeran

I think this one is my favourite! Beer drinking, talking cats at pubs and parties! Need I say more?

Rock This Party - Bob Sinclair

This one is simple but brilliant. Just 3 kids in a house dressing up in clothes from different styles of music and dancing.

What is your favourite music video?

Disorder In The Courts

As I am sure you can imagine, all sorts of things are discussed in courts by Witnesses and Attorneys. What you might not expect though is that some of the things said are hilarious. Below are conversations that genuinely took place in courts. They are all published in a book called Disorder in the Courts, which is written by a court reporter and is a collection of hilarious interchanges during real trials. The first two are about witnesses giving stupid answers, which you might expect. My favourite ones though are the last two, when despite their education, lawyers still manage to get it very, very wrong. Enjoy!

Attorney: Are you sexually active.
Witness: No. I just lie there.

Attorney: How old is your son, the one living with you?
Witness: 38 or 35, I can't remember.
Attorney: How long has he lived with you?
Witness: 45 years.

Attorney: Were you present when your picture was taken?
Witness: Are you kidding me?

Attorney: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
Witness: No
Attorney: Did you check for blood pressure?
Witness: No
Attorney: Did you check for breathing?
Witness: No
Attorney: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
Witness: No
Attorney: How can you be so sure Doctor?
Witness: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Attorney: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
Witness: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practising law.

A Surprising Read...

Compared to most teenagers, I read quite a lot of books. But I have never really understood why people read plays until now. Even reading "Streetcar Named Desire" in the summer holidays didn't encourage me to read any more. However, that has now changed. Whilst I was in the performing arts block at college, I stumbled across shelves of interesting plays, mostly written in European countries and translated to English. I picked up one that looked interesting called Blood Wedding by Lorca. 3 pages in and I was already hooked. I have read 2 out of 3 acts and cannot wait to go and finish it in first period tomorrow!

I guess I always thought that with just the speech to read and no description as found in books or costumes and scenery as seen in stage performances plays would be dull to read. But actually, if they are well written with good storylines, they can be just as exciting. If fact, I like the fact that some things are left to the imagination. Also, without the description, they are much shorter, so make good quick reads. I think I will be reading more plays in future!

The Best Lyrics

Previously, I have posted playlists on here that are perfect for certain occasions, or feature a certain genre. This time, I have created a list of songs I think have amazing lyrics. This can be for a variety of reasons. The first group are songs that make you think, the next are beautiful love songs (unusual ones you might not have heard before) and finally the last group are ones with more fun, comical lyrics. As the focus is on the lyrics, the hyperlink to each song takes you to a lyric video.

Him - Lily Allen
A Team - Ed Sheeran
Blasphemy - Robbie Williams
Flaws - Bastille
Half The World Away - Oasis
Come Undone - Robbie Williams

Wildfire - Seafret
Who'd Have Known - Lily Allen
Wake Me Up - Ed Sheeran
Song Bird - Oasis

Foundations - Kate Nash
What a Buzz - Olly Murs
Rockstar - Nickelback

Derry Girls

16 year old girls, boys, nuns and the IRA. What could possibly go wrong?

E4 new comedy Derry Girls is only 2 episodes in and I already can't wait for the next episode. It is set in Ireland's Londonderry during the troubles, and centres around 4 teenage girls at an all girls convent school. But due to one of the friend's habit for finding trouble and the problems faced by the town they live in, their lives are rarely peaceful, and the chaos that follows is hilarious.

The 4 characters are all brilliant. You have the trouble causer, the one that is always panicking, the spaced out one, and finally, someone verging on sanity who tries to hold things together. Oh, and the English cousin who is slightly lost among so many girls! Together, they make funny yet believable storylines. It has been so popular that a second series has already been confirmed.

Here is the trailer below:

Derry Girls in shown at 10pm on E4 every Thursday night, and you can catch up on the first two episodes on E4.

Surviving The First Week Back

I have survived block week! My psychology mock was only 45 minutes long. I think her "The world will end if you don't pass this impossible exam" speech was just to scare us into actually doing some work. I find it a little annoying that they mislead us on purpose! Although it had a limited effect, so I think we may get death threats next time. At least I know to take it with a pinch of salt.

After that, I had a couple of days off, so I went shopping for the day and bought a very nice black lacy off the shoulder top and a new eyeliner with some Christmas present money. Next time there is a college band night I am ready!

Then it was back to college for a day of Graphics where we had to create our final piece (scary) and a more chilled out day of Photography where we worked on our digital sketchbook. Monday is back to normal, which is a shame, because I liked having a 3 day week!

Do you ever have teachers implying a test will be harder or more important than it is?

My Christmas Read

I got two new books for Christmas this year, and I have read both of them already! And one of them was John Green's latest release, which I think is well worth you reading.

The book is called Turtles All The Way Down, and is quite different to his other books. Gone are his usual badass girl and wimpy boy characters from Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns, and even more shocking, there is no mention at all of "how to live life to the fullest", which is his usual theme of choice. Instead, we have something that might actually be original.

Don't get me wrong, I love John Green Books. But they do tend to be quite similar to each other and although that does not stop me obsessing over them, it was nice to have such a refreshing change.

This story focuses on a 16 year old girl called Aza, who is a long term sufferer of Anxiety. And this is what makes this book so unusual, as the book tells you exactly what it like to suffer from a mental illness, which is very eye opening. Along side this, there is a very complex plot involving a billionaire's son, a national manhunt, lost family members, astronomy and falling in love, as well as the usual teenage dramas about working out what you want to do after school finishes, friendship and family. But it is the thought by thought account of how anxiety invades your brain that really set this book apart.

I recommend this book to all teens 14+, as although it had less adult content than his other books, it still has some quite grown up themes. Let me know in the comments if you read it!

A New Year Ruined By Mocks

It's 2018, and unfortunately for me, this new year of potential greatness is being kicked off by my first ever A level mock. And it turns out they are a lot harder to revise for than GCSEs, because even though I am only revising one subject, there is still so much to remember! 

For each of the case studies, you have to remember every little detail, including all the exact statistics for the results of each study. At the moment, we only have to know 5, which is bad enough, but there are 20 in total! Luckily for me, the second part of the test, research methods, is easier because I studied GCSE Statistics, but I am still a little panicky. 

The good thing is though, it is so much easier to remember when there is only one subject. And my new college is a lot less forceful with their idea of a revision plan than my school was! Not that my mum played along with their rules anyway, but still.... nice not to be told your only day off is Christmas day! Do you have mocks?