Ever since I was 6, I have wanted to write books. The genre has changed over the years, but I still want to get published. It was one of the reasons I started a blog in the first place, so people would be reading something I had written.
I always have a story on the go, although I rarely finish one. Currently, I am editing the draft of a short adventure story, part way through writing a romance novel and beginning to work on a mystery about the disappearance of a young girl and her family. I also have several half-written stories I started years ago that I sometimes revisit.
I guess my problem is that I have ideas for books quicker that I can write them. I also often know how I want to start it, but have few ideas about where the narrative is going after that. One day though, I think I will finish one, I just have to put enough time into it.
As well as my ambition to get a book published, there is one other thing that keeps me writing, and it is summed up nicely in this quote by Larry Brookes:
Whatever we write, we are reaching out. We are declaring that we are not alone on this planet, and that we have something to share, something to say. Our writing survives us, even if nobody ever reads a word of it. Because we have given back, we have reflected our truth. We have mattered.
Friday, 15 July 2016
Thursday, 14 July 2016
The Freedom Of Summer
For me, today is the first day of the summer holidays!
There is a real sense of freedom about having nearly 2 months off school! For a lot of this time, I will be at home, free to do whatever I feel like doing at the time. I am also going to Wales for 5 days for an adventure camp and spending a week on a cruise ship in Europe.
However, I was a bit upset yesterday as some of my favourite teachers left the school. It is always sad when people who have helped you so much and you have a good relationship with leave. Also, next year, I will be going into year 11. I feel like year 10 was our last year of fun at school before things get really serious. But then, this time last year I was worried about going into year 10 and starting the study of my GCSE subjects, and that was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. So maybe year 11 won't be too bad either.
We did have some nice surprises though. Two of my favourite teachers who left last year sent us a video message all the way from New Zealand. I was so shocked I didn't take in everything they said! It was good to hear from them though.
Overall, it was a great last day and I think this summer is going to be even better.
There is a real sense of freedom about having nearly 2 months off school! For a lot of this time, I will be at home, free to do whatever I feel like doing at the time. I am also going to Wales for 5 days for an adventure camp and spending a week on a cruise ship in Europe.
However, I was a bit upset yesterday as some of my favourite teachers left the school. It is always sad when people who have helped you so much and you have a good relationship with leave. Also, next year, I will be going into year 11. I feel like year 10 was our last year of fun at school before things get really serious. But then, this time last year I was worried about going into year 10 and starting the study of my GCSE subjects, and that was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. So maybe year 11 won't be too bad either.
We did have some nice surprises though. Two of my favourite teachers who left last year sent us a video message all the way from New Zealand. I was so shocked I didn't take in everything they said! It was good to hear from them though.
Overall, it was a great last day and I think this summer is going to be even better.
Monday, 11 July 2016
Gender Equality- Are We Nearly There?
Soon, we will have a female prime minister in charge of our country. Labour may also be led by a woman. It will be the first time in history both the leading parties will be under female leadership. This is not the only sign that our society is becoming more gender equal. The women's and men's prize for winning Wimbledon are now the same.
However, we still have a long way to go. Some people (and some companies) are refusing to treat everyone equally. For example, watch Ellen's take on Bic's new pen range:
However, we still have a long way to go. Some people (and some companies) are refusing to treat everyone equally. For example, watch Ellen's take on Bic's new pen range:
So, we are definitely not there yet. I do think though, that one day we will have a gender equal society and it might even be within our lifetimes. For that to happen though, we do need everyone on board, even Bic!
Friday, 8 July 2016
Live Performances
Over the years, I have done quite a few live performances. I love that you are there with the audience, experiencing it with them and seeing their reactions. However, sometimes things don't always go to plan. When we performed Guys and Dolls last weekend, we had several problems. Two of our cast members even ended up falling to the floor. But then, that is part of the excitement of live theatre. Anything can happen.
Yesterday, I sung 7 Years to the whole school as part of our annual talent contest. One of my friends played the piano with me. Although I had sung solo before, I had never sung by my myself to so many people. Mostly, I had only sung on my own when I was a lot younger, and much more fearless. Then, I was unaware of the implications of what I was doing. Now, I am old enough to realise that all those people will be judging me, it is a lot more daunting.
Still, it went reasonably well and lots of people have come up to me telling me they enjoyed it. My friend was a great help as he was very supportive and a brilliant piano player. I am pleased I did it.
Do you enjoy performing live?
Yesterday, I sung 7 Years to the whole school as part of our annual talent contest. One of my friends played the piano with me. Although I had sung solo before, I had never sung by my myself to so many people. Mostly, I had only sung on my own when I was a lot younger, and much more fearless. Then, I was unaware of the implications of what I was doing. Now, I am old enough to realise that all those people will be judging me, it is a lot more daunting.
Still, it went reasonably well and lots of people have come up to me telling me they enjoyed it. My friend was a great help as he was very supportive and a brilliant piano player. I am pleased I did it.
Do you enjoy performing live?
Wednesday, 6 July 2016
What Couldn't You Live Without?
Last night, I saw a really interesting program on Channel 4 called Stripped Bare. A group of people had all their possessions removed from their houses: their gadgets, their furniture, even their clothes! They were then allowed 1 item back per day for 21 days, so they could find out what items they really need in their lives and what they can live without.
They had to go to their storage container each day to select their item. It was not that close to their house, so they had to run through the streets naked on the first day! At first, all their items were similar: clothing, mattress, duvet etc. After that, their choices were much more varied. Some focused on technology, while others wanted sofas or shampoo. It was interesting to see how varied peoples priorities were.
First I think I would want a onesie to cover myself up. Then a duvet, my hoodie, soap, toothpaste, shampoo, plates, a mattress, pants and money. After I had the basics, I would want more clothes, cutlery, sketchbook, pencils and a book.
Some of the people made changes to their lives after the show, others lived very similarly to before. The program showed being naked is terrifying, just how much we take clothes for granted and that when you have almost nothing, what you do have becomes everything. Overall, I thought it was a really interesting experiment. What items would you want back first? Tell me in the comments.
They had to go to their storage container each day to select their item. It was not that close to their house, so they had to run through the streets naked on the first day! At first, all their items were similar: clothing, mattress, duvet etc. After that, their choices were much more varied. Some focused on technology, while others wanted sofas or shampoo. It was interesting to see how varied peoples priorities were.
First I think I would want a onesie to cover myself up. Then a duvet, my hoodie, soap, toothpaste, shampoo, plates, a mattress, pants and money. After I had the basics, I would want more clothes, cutlery, sketchbook, pencils and a book.
Some of the people made changes to their lives after the show, others lived very similarly to before. The program showed being naked is terrifying, just how much we take clothes for granted and that when you have almost nothing, what you do have becomes everything. Overall, I thought it was a really interesting experiment. What items would you want back first? Tell me in the comments.
Tuesday, 5 July 2016
Strappy Shoes For Summer
With the arrival of summer, there are all sorts of strappy heels and wedges for summer events and parties. Here are some of my favourites.
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| This shoe is simple but classic. The heel is not too high. New Look, £14.99 |
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| I love the bright colour and cross over design. it also comes in yellow and black. New Look, £14.99 |
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| These wedges come in a variety of colours and have a simple but effective design. H&M, £19.99 |
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| These shoes are perfect for parties! Dorothy Perkins, £35 |
Monday, 4 July 2016
They Have Done It Again
As my regular readers will know, my school has a habit of punishing everyone for a few incidents involving only certain pupils. However, recently, they allowed the senior prefects to use keep their phones on them and use them in a common room. Today though, they decided to take that away from us all.
Because of ONE incident in the common room, nobody is allowed in there for the rest of term. Some people were not in there at the time, some of us were not even on the school site because we were performing in the school production. And yet we are all getting punished. Also, we are no longer allowed to keep our phones on us during the school day, even though that is an unrelated privilege.
We have been told that if we want to be allowed to have our common room back again, we all need to earn back their trust. This is an interesting concept as some of us did nothing to break their trust in the first place.
So, it looks like they have done it again. How am I supposed to control the idiots in my year group when I am not even in the same post code? And there was me thinking the prefect privileges were a start in ending punishments for the masses when only a minority were involved. If we ran the world this way, we would all be in prison.
Because of ONE incident in the common room, nobody is allowed in there for the rest of term. Some people were not in there at the time, some of us were not even on the school site because we were performing in the school production. And yet we are all getting punished. Also, we are no longer allowed to keep our phones on us during the school day, even though that is an unrelated privilege.
We have been told that if we want to be allowed to have our common room back again, we all need to earn back their trust. This is an interesting concept as some of us did nothing to break their trust in the first place.
So, it looks like they have done it again. How am I supposed to control the idiots in my year group when I am not even in the same post code? And there was me thinking the prefect privileges were a start in ending punishments for the masses when only a minority were involved. If we ran the world this way, we would all be in prison.
Saturday, 2 July 2016
The First Performance
Yesterday, we performed Guys and Dolls for the first time! There was both a matinee and an evening performance. There were a few issues, such as when a metal pot got knocked off a ledge making a huge noise in the middle of a scene, causing everyone backstage to stop and stare in horror. Mostly though it went really well. The audience was laughing along, especially in the second performance. It was so much fun, particularly the big songs, which are definitely the best part.
The audience was loving it and gave big cheers for the main cast members. The girls even got whistled at. Is that just because they were amazing or do they have secret admirers? It is not my position to judge!
Tonight, we have another matinee and our last performance in the evening. Hopefully, it will go even better now we are all more confident in what we are doing. I can't wait!
The audience was loving it and gave big cheers for the main cast members. The girls even got whistled at. Is that just because they were amazing or do they have secret admirers? It is not my position to judge!
Tonight, we have another matinee and our last performance in the evening. Hopefully, it will go even better now we are all more confident in what we are doing. I can't wait!
Tuesday, 28 June 2016
The England Team Are A Disappointment.
If you are a man of the right age in Iceland, you have a 1 in 2000 chance of being picked for the team. Their players were bought for a total of only 16 million and their manager is a part time dentist. So, surely England would win easily in a match against them. But no, clearly not.
We played so badly yesterday it was an embarrassment. The goal keeper let in an easy save, and the only goal we scored was a penalty. Also, Wales are still in the competition, so they are better than us as well.
Our team needs to get their act together before the world cup, because at this rate we are not going to get very far at all. Did you watch the match last night?
Here is how Iceland selected their team. It just shows us up even more really!
We played so badly yesterday it was an embarrassment. The goal keeper let in an easy save, and the only goal we scored was a penalty. Also, Wales are still in the competition, so they are better than us as well.
Our team needs to get their act together before the world cup, because at this rate we are not going to get very far at all. Did you watch the match last night?
Here is how Iceland selected their team. It just shows us up even more really!
Saturday, 25 June 2016
New Top Gear- What Is All The Fuss About?
Over the past few weeks, I have been watching the new Top Gear. Much to the surprise of my friends, I do quite like it. So okay, Chris Evans can be annoyingly shouty and excitable sometimes. Well, most of the time actually. But I really like Matt Le Blanc. He is perfect for the show, as he has just the right attitude to make it work. I already liked him as an actor from friends, and now I like him as a TV presenter as well. Sabine Schmitz can be quite funny sometimes too. It is good to have a women on the show!
Most people are saying the best part of the show was the presenters, but the presenters have actually changed several times over the years. Only Clarkson has stayed constant, and he is my least favourite of the three, as he is very arrogant. I still miss Richard. He was fun. Mostly though, what I liked best were the challenges. And anyway, the most important part is the cars, believe it or not.
So although the new BBC Top Gear is not quite as good as the original, I do not think it is the disaster it is made out to be. What do you think of it?
Most people are saying the best part of the show was the presenters, but the presenters have actually changed several times over the years. Only Clarkson has stayed constant, and he is my least favourite of the three, as he is very arrogant. I still miss Richard. He was fun. Mostly though, what I liked best were the challenges. And anyway, the most important part is the cars, believe it or not.
So although the new BBC Top Gear is not quite as good as the original, I do not think it is the disaster it is made out to be. What do you think of it?
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