Not Long Left!

I have nearly finished my GCSEs! I take my final 2 exams this week, and then I am free until September. There is a part of me that is pleased it is all over, but I am upset it means I won't be coming into school anymore. There are a lot of people I will miss, including people from the year above and teachers as well as my classmates.

However, in weather like this, it is hard not to get excited about the prospect of an extra long summer of freedom. And after 2 months of revision, it can't come soon enough, even if it does mean leaving people behind. Are you leaving school soon? How do you feel about saying goodbye?

Summer Plans

Over half term, I have got a new swimming costume! It is a bright turquoise tankini from Kulu, an Australian swimwear brand. It has gathered sides and the word Kulu in diamante at the bottom. I love it, although I have not had a chance to wear it swimming yet. Hopefully I can try it out this summer.

This summer, I am going to Cornwall for a few days with my parents. I am going to do some body boarding with my dad, as well as hanging out on the beach and walking my friend's dogs. My dad is also going to try and learn to surf, which I think is going to be hilarious to watch. The rest of the summer, I am going to be at home, doing arty stuff, reading, listening to music and going out with my friends. As I have nearly finished my GCSEs now, I do not have long to wait!

Love Island - Brilliant Entertainment Or A Waste Of Time?

At my school, quite a lot of the girls are big fans of Love Island. I had never watched it before, so I decided to watch the first episode of this series to see what I thought. I was a little bit horrified. People going on TV to get a boyfriend, fine. People doing it in very little clothing, maybe. People doing it on such a sexist program, no. I am definitely not on board with that part.

From the girls arriving in bikinis and high heels to the boys being allowed total control in picking the girls, it is definitely not feminist friendly. That coupled with the fact they have to sleep in a bed with people they have only just met, it is definitely not a show I would want to go on. Also, they are probably just on there to get on TV and win the money, so the relationships are not going to be genuine. Some of them do need the money though, it seems they can't afford a whole bikini!

But, do I recommend it as entertainment? Well, I did find it quite fun to watch, but not good enough to follow 7 weeks worth of it. Personally, I think it is a waste of time, and I can think of much better ways to spend summer evenings. Do you watch love island?

Manchester You're Strong!

Did you watch the Manchester One Love Concert on Sunday?

I did and I thought it was brilliant, both because of the music and the reason behind it. My favourites were Robbie and his adapted song (see title), Coldplay's Oasis tribute and of course Ariana Grande's song with the choir. I am in a choir myself and would love to sing on a stage like that! I really liked Little Mix too, as they are my favourite band!

Ariana organised it all, and has even been to see victims. I am upset she feels so responsible when it was not her fault, but it is amazing how she has turned it into something more positive. I thought it was especially good how she got free tickets for everyone involved, as they were able to go to an event where they were safe after what happened.

Mostly though, I love the fact that it was broadcast in 50 countries and raised nearly £10 million for the victims. Millions of people all around the world watching a concert about love shows unity, and that is what we need right now. Well done Ariana!

Exam Board Screw-Ups

At my school, we do AQA exams for most subjects. However, this year, the exam board have been less than reliable. My very first exam was AQA biology, where I found instead of being asked about important science, I was being tested on whether or not I knew why Darwin was drawn as a monkey. This it turned out, set the tone for the rest of the exam period. In Geography, there were only 3/75 marks for the case studies I spent hours learning, and yet 8 marks for drawing pretty sketches of landforms we were given pictures of.

In Ireland, several copies of a maths exam were found in the street before the test was taken by students. Then, to top it all off, they misprint one of the English papers so hundreds of teens who studied Romeo and Juliet have to re-take the exam. All of their hard work, last minute prep and good writing has gone to waste. Clearly AQA think GCSEs aren't stressful enough already. They seem to have taken it upon themselves to make it even harder. At this tough time in our lives, we have enough to worry about without feeling like we cannot rely on our exam boards. They are professionals, they should be able to get this right!

What really upsets me is that if we make a mistake in our exam, we can't blame other people and justify our grade on the news. We have to live with them. So should they. No more excuses AQA!

Paws For Thought

Ellen has always been someone who loves her pets. So much that they now feature on her show. Her 3 dogs and 2 cats have their own short animated episodes called Ellen's Pet Dish. The clips show them watching Ellen's show and commenting on it, as well as taking the mic out of each other.

 

As I am a big animal lover, I love watching these videos. I especially love her cats, who are sarcastic, torment the dogs and get very embarrassed when Ellen talks about them on her show. I can definitely imagine my cat Bumble doing the same if I had a TV show.

 

Below is my favourite episode, where Ellen's pets are watching her interview Oprah.



 

There are more episodes on Ellen's YouTube channel if you enjoyed this one. Do you like Ellen's Pet Dish?

Discovering A Great Author

One of my friends has recently got me hooked on a brilliant author, Jandy Nelson. So far I have read two of her books, "The Sky Is Everywhere" and "I'll Give You The Sun", and they were both brilliant. They have emotional storylines, unique characters and a writing style that weaves the characters artwork and poetry into the story.

"I'll Give You The Sun" is written from the perspective of a pair of twins. Noah's section are from when their are 14, and Jude writes about what is happening two years later. Together they tell a story of family tragedy, all mixed in with Noah's artwork, Jude's crazy superstitions, teenage friendships, and first love.

Whilst the book focuses a lot on the family, friend and romantic relations in the story, it also looks at the relationships between artists and their art, a topic I've never seen in teen fiction. While the large number of ideas being discussed in this book makes it very complicated, it is still a fun read. I recommend it to anyone who loves creating art themselves.

"The Sky Is Everywhere" also has a large number of themes, but not quite as many. This book tells the story from the point of view of Lennie Walker, who is grieving the death of her older sister, Bailey. However, as well as grief, this book is filled with family secrets, friendship and a love triangle with Lennie at the centre.

Instead of art, this book looks at the relationship between musicians and their music, as well as what it means to be a musician. It is also filled with the poetry Lennie writes about her sister, which is how she comes to terms with everything that happened in the book. However, the most special part of this book is probably how convincingly Nelson writes about what it is like to be in love. That is what makes it really special.

Have you read any books by Jandy Nelson?

Prom Perfect Clutch Bags

Although I am now doing my exams, I do have one thing to take my mind off it. Prom. In a month and a half, our school has our big night. And while everyone has their dress, accessories can be hard to find. Here are my favourite evening bags from around the web.

This clutch might be in a subtle colour,
but the metallic shimmer will make sure it still gets noticed.
New Look, £19.99

The unusual a-symmetric folds make this simple black bag
into something more unique.
New Look, Was £9.99, Now £7.99

I love this little black sparkly bag.
The beads and gems add texture and make it stand out.
Accessorize, £29

This simple design comes in a range of eye catching colours.
Debenhams, £15

The flowers on this bag are embroidered and embellished with gemstones,
making it detailed and unusual.
Debenhams, £19.99

I love the bright colour of this bag.
The snake skin design makes it more edgy.
Debenhams, £30

This bag has a really eye catching design.
I love the shapes the silver areas make, it looks like flames or leaves.
The sparkly silver contrasts brilliantly with the bright pink.
River Island, £30

This sparkly embellished bag has a trio of hearts.
An unusual twist on a classic black bag.
Zara, £29.99

The Pros and Cons of Study Leave

Tomorrow is my first day of study leave. I have mixed feeling about it, but I'm mostly just pleased my alarm will not be going off tomorrow! Here is why:

Pros:

• You have the freedom to study exactly when, where and what you feel like at the time.
• You get more sleep, as you do not always have to get up for school.
• Some weeks, you get whole days at home. This week, I only have to go into school twice!
• You have freedom and independence.

Cons:

• You might not be as productive as you are at school.
• The constant access to the fridge can be dangerous to your figure.
• There are cat, parent and internet distractions.
• When your friends all go home after an exam and you are stuck at school alone cos your mum can't pick you up yet it will get pretty boring.

Are you on study leave?

My Last Day

Today was my last official day at school. From now on, I just have study leave and exams. In the morning, we had a leavers assembly with speeches from staff members, photos of us all though the senior school and video messages from ex staff member. Nearly everyone cried, including me! Then we had a few lessons and a church service in a cathedral, where I sung in the choir. Finally, we had a leavers tea with our parents.

There were also a few pranks going on. The best one was when someone stuck a picture of Shrek's face on the picture of our Head Teacher. The entire school saw. It was hilarious!

I have left two schools before, and I wasn't very upset then. But the first was when I was quite little, and the second I did not like very much. I was not attached to either of them in the way I am attached to this school. This time, I really did not want to leave.

I'm not quite sure it has all sunk in yet. I think I have accepted the fact I have left the school, but I am still struggling to come to terms with the idea I sit my first GCSE exam in 3 days. That is too soon! The exams do still mean I will see everyone for another 5 weeks though, so that is ok. But then I really will be leaving, and I am definitely not ready for that yet!

Are you leaving school soon?