Living in the Present or Contemplating the Future?

My life at the moment revolves around exams, school and preparing for university...

The past few weeks I've realised that i have been dropping in the topics related with Uni into everyday conversation. Like the fact I cannot wait to decorate my room there, like the fact it will be weird going out with new people and not any of my school friends, like the fact that I will be somewhere completely different. I will leave school in 5 months time. That in itself is very freaky, school is something that is always a constant in everyone's children years. We attend it since we were so young that you cannot remember anything different in your life. I like routine, and I like the fact that I have a specific routine very week that I rarely shy away from. My friends at school know me as being the organised one who likes to plan ahead and know what we are doing. Uni won't be like that, Uni will be full of spontaneous conversations, a bunch of new people and a lot of 'going with the flow,' it will be fun and exciting and full of new things however the prospect of leaving this small village, my school and my dance school; all things which I've known forever, is very daunting. But it's very exciting at the same time. It is bittersweet. 

In a way when I write this I realise that I need to focus on the present and put the future in the back of my mind. I need to enjoy this last five months of school (not matter how much stress they bring!) as, they are my last! I should just embrace the whole school atmosphere, embrace the vast array of people in my year, and embrace the opportunities I have to learn and grow at school. Right now I need to be doing my photography work but I had a sudden spurt of inspiration to write this post - I may or may not have just finished Girl Online by Zoella/ Siobhan Curham (awkward...) and been inspired by the blog and general fuzziness that the end brings!

Just to say, I think for the next few months I may have to turn this blog into a 'once a week' type thing, which does irritate me a bit but school comes first etc etc, I also am going to leave you with my favourite quotes/photo's I find from the week or in general life...

Now Reading // Girl Online - It was such a cute cheesy fun read!

Now Watching // Pretty Little Liars again!

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Reflecting on 2014

So I started doing a reflections post on the last year yesterday and it turned into a more of a personal in depth reflection (and was 2,500 words) so I thought I'd spare you the personal essay type reflection and put it in bullet points (as every other reflection post seems to be) after last year I don't think this year has been as dramatic, my life hasn't changed hugely or anything, it's just continued and that's the main thing I've learnt I suppose - that Life goes on and that Life is good. 

• Around February time I chopped off my long thick blonde locks to a shorter style. I wasn't initially pleased with the actual cut but was happy that I had taken the plunge and done it. After that my hair felt fuller, thicker and I didn't feel like I was hiding behind it anymore.
• I started reading Rookie more regularly after I got the second yearbook for my birthday and immediately became obsessed.
• Most of March and April were spent leading up to my dance exams, I took my Advanced One Tap, Intermediate Modern and Intermediate Ballet, and although I wasn't overly happy with the outcome I am happy I powered through and did them, and am happy I never have to do a dance exam again!
• During April I travelled to Russia with school and had a great experience. I remember feeling happy when I was in Russia but not ecstatic or anything but I know that as soon as I returned home I missed it. I missed the country, I missed the people I shared the experience with and I just missed travelling. It was a really great experience that I don't think I can ever match. 
• Although my youtube channel was not updated regularly I was really happy with these few videos that I took, a vlog, a chatty one and a lookbook.
• Had my annual dance show this year and once again it was amazing. It takes so much hard work the couple months before but when your on that stage surrounded by the friends that you love, all the literal blood, sweat and tears are worth it! 
• After a week work experience in a PR agency in London I got asked to go back so spent three week of my summer working there. This must be one of the highlights of learning in my year, although I didn't have the greatest time of my life - I wasn't that interested in what I was doing and didn't feel a connection to the work - looking back at it, I learnt a lot. I learnt what it's like to commute, I learnt what an office environment is like, I learnt the standards expected of you in an office, I learnt how beautiful London is in the summer. One of my main highlights of these three weeks were my lunch breaks when I would go out to Soho square and sit and eat my lunch int he sunshine of London and people watch, there was so much hustle and bustle and so many different types of people around that it was just so intriguing and captivating to watch.
• I travelled to Chicago and Florida with my family which was an unforgettable experience. Chicago was a dream, an absolute dream. It was exploring another corner of the world that I've never been to before, seeing new sights, seeing new people, learning new random things about American culture. It was bonding with my family. It was eating too much. It was sleeping in a hotel next to a fire station. It was walking in the boiling hot air in the windy city. It was sitting on the pier looking at the fireworks on the last night, staring at the skyline lit up in the night sky. We then travelled to Florida which was even more of a dream. It was spent eating, laughing, tanning, shopping. I treasure these holidays with my family a lot as I never know when the last one we take with all five of us will be (because of changing lives - jobs/uni etc)
• I got my exam results which I was relatively happy with. Happy with English (the main one!), Photography and Classics but not so much with History but I knew I just had to work harder the upcoming year.
• Starting Year 13 was really exciting - our senior year! It didn't feel like the movies but I felt we all had a collective feeling of making the last year the best one. 
• In October I passed my driving test! It gave me the freedom to get out of this village when I want to and not rely on many other people to do so.
• I sent off my UCAS and got three offers and an interview! All the stress surrounding personal statement etc was definitely worth it.
• After becoming Editor-in-chief of my school magazine in March, the first issue came out beginning of November and I felt so proud! So proud of all of my team to put it all together, we felt it looked so professional and it got a great reaction from the rest of the school which was a needed plus.
• I became of one of the 'head pupils' at my dance school which is what I've dreamed of (I suppose) since I was little. It's odd being one of the oldest at the school but I've been attending it since I was three so it is a honour to be a head pupil of it with three of my best friends.
•  I got my first ever PR sample of a divine bracelet from Tales of the Earth jewellery. I was really pleased with this as I felt that my blog had suffered from school etc in the past few months so getting given this gave me an extra small boost of confidence!
• Christmas has to be my last highlight of the year - It was spent laughing, eating and talking loudly with my cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and close family. It was divine and just what the holidays are supposed to be about.

2014 was a good year! And I have a sneaky feeling that 2015 will exceed it, I've got lots of exciting things happening - A mass of parties, a ski trip, my 18th party, (exams etc) leaving school, girl holiday to Aya Napa, Final Fling, the dance show then off to University. I'm not sure where I'm going yet but I suppose it makes the upcoming year very, very exciting. But wherever I'm going, and wherever my life takes me I plan to take this blog with me. I know I haven't excelled or anything this year in my blog but I will continue to work hard on it and dedicate my are time to making it bigger and better!  My life isn't precisely planned out like it has been all my previous years, it changes drastically this year and I cannot explain how bittersweet yet excited I am!

Happy New Year!

P.S. Congrats if you made it this far - it was a very very rambl-y post!

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Rainy Cities, Magical Worlds and Future subjects: A General Life Ramble

Hi there, I'm back again. This blog is turning into a one post per week type blog and although I'm not really okay with that I'm just trying to juggle everything and sometimes it proves difficult. So today I thought I would go on a good old ramble about life because I haven't taken outfit posts in about 4 weeks and sometimes a ramble is just what is needed. So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy...

 I'm not actually that big fan of the rain. I hate being outside in it and it generally just makes everything gloomy but sometimes I find it quite calming. There's a romantic side to the rain, it reminds me of the Taylor Swift lyric -

There's somethin' 'bout the way the street looks when it's just rained 

There's a glow off the pavement, you walk me to the car 

And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there 

In the middle of the parking lot,

 There's a sense of vulnerability if your stuck outside in the rain and a sense of strength if your shielded inside, either way I think it can be seen as as a really interesting concept. Then this photo just stood out to me because as you know I am a sucker for cities and right now I would love to be stuck inside looking out at a rainy city and all the different mix of people that would run past.

Over the past couple of weeks I've returned to the world of Hogwarts, Muggles and Butterbeer and was reminded of the fact that 'Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home' (All hail Queen Rowling.) I was instantly transported back to the world of Harry Potter and it made me feel warm inside. It was like going home to such a familiar setting, people and story. I think I almost forgot how much I love the world of Harry Potter but recently I have been fully reminded and now know that you can never fully leave it.

However much I dislike getting up at 6:13 (Yeah, I'm one of those weird alarm clock people) every weekday I know there is something worth getting up for; the transportation of the day from dark to light and being awake in that hour, I get to see most days. It's so beautiful, seeing the sun rise from a misty cloud of grey to a beaming shade of orange. And do you know what I can't wait for even more? When it is all frosty and even snowy and how the sun rays catch light of the tree branches and sparkle. It will make my mornings magical.

I'm really excited for the future (although pretty scared but that's a whole other topic!) Next September I will be packing my bags, saying goodbye to this village and going to university. I'm not sure where yet but in the past week I have got 3 offers and an interview so I am definitely going somewhere! One of the things I am most looking forward to is just studying English. Although I don't actually mind photography and history  (my two other Alevels) this photo just really excites me for when reading will be the main bulk of work I have to do. It will just be so good to just study one specific subject and not have my brain burnt out by all these various completely random other topics. I can't wait when all I study is English!

This past week I've been in bed with a nasty cough for half of it and to cure my boredom I went back to season 1 of The Vampire Diaries, and I love it even more than ever. It's just one of those shows that I will never get bored of. It captivates you, keeps you guessing and you fall in love with each character in their own way. I'm still not sure who I want Elena to be with in the end but I love watching every twist and turn in their messed up and totally unrealistic lives!

So there we go, my thoughts and random feelings at the moment. All of these images are from my tumblr so if you want more of my random feeling and thoughts head on over there for a more regular updates like this! Hopefully I will actually post soon, but I cannot make a promise to that!

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London Days #1

On Wednesday I travelled to London to meet up with Jordan but completely forgot to take many photo's. I had been so intent on vlogging it and  because of that I forgot to take out my camera and take photo's! But these three photo's seem to be the only ones took whilst at Ed's diner. When we firstmet up after both being overwhelmed by the massiveness of Kings Cross and unable to spot each other we jumped on the tube to Camden Town. We wondered around the markets aimlessly for a while, browsing and looking at lots of different things. However due to the weather (rain rain and more rain) we decided to be all sterotypical and go to Starbucks. Here we just had the loveliest chat, chatting about I don't even know what! After some more wondering we decided to venture to Oxford Street. We ended up going to Ed's Diner which I ever only go to when I'm with blogger friends!  After taking a few selfies etc we jumped back onto the tube and said our goodbye's.

I feel like I have literally just given you a run down of our day like a schedule. Sorry for this bitty blog post. Last night I felt a bit overwhelmed with all the content I have from the last few days. I vlogged my three days in the city, I've got lots of new purchases and had some fun experience's so all of these will probably be posted in a weird and odd timescale, sorry!

P.S. I've also decided that this is going to be the first post of my new series that I will be starting on the blog; as I will be (hopefully) spending a lot of the summer I figure this is a good way to document them!

Now reading: I've just finished The Treatment by Suzanne Young - I really really enjoyed it, the concept is so strange and odd but found it really hard to put down!

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Reflections

 A moment of clarity. Head in the clouds. Standing over everyone.  I stood there, surrounded by my family and a bunch of strangers as a wave of peace flew over me. Standing over the ground, in this odd tower was an intriguing feeling. I felt like I was abroad: In some foreign country up a national treasure looking out at a historical city. Looking out at the sea, I could have been anywhere. The line between the sky and the sea was hazy, the view was neverending. The sea is such a scary prospect, its full of the unknown. But should we be scared of the unknown or excited for the opportunities it could bring? It's odd how at just reflecting on the view from the top so many things pop up in my mind. The buildings look like their own sea. The roads wind between the stones and the speckles that represent the cars could be small insects. Standing on top of this tower I felt authoritative. Although I was uncertain about what this view led to, I felt power and peace in my heart.

I don't really know why and how this piece of writing came out of me but on Sunday my family and I travelled to Portsmouth to see Matthew and celebrate his 20th birthday. We enjoyed a meal at Strada before going up the 'Spinnaker Tower.' - Basically a small version of that hotel in Dubai. The view from it was amazing and looking back at it gave me so many different feelings that I thought I would summarise in a different piece of writing compared to normal. It's nice to keep things fresh and new sometimes!

My life is normal really - school work is dragging and the thought of exams next weeks freaks me out but then the thought of study leave is very exciting! It's rare that I blog spontaneously in the middle of the week but I had a sudden urge to, I miss it!

How's your week going? What do you think about my little writing spree?

Currently listening - Why can't this get out of my head?! (Buuut, I love it)
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Recent Inspiration

All photo's from my tumblr

I feel like I have been so absent from the whole blogosphere/ social media bubble for a lifetime. I have been so caught up with school and preparing for my exams. As well as my dance exams which - I've finished! I'm so glad their over with as I have been preparing for them for a long time and to have them done and to be able to focus on school exams is just a weight of my shoulders. And I suppose I'm lacking inspiration for blog posts, although I've got a few random bits of clothes it's the whole production of taking outfit photo's that is quite a daunting aspect at the moment. I'm unsure why but I've gained a cold the last couple of days and the continuous dancing and pressure at school has really tired me out. Anyway enough of my moaning!

Therefore I thought I would come to you late of this Saturday afternoon with a recent bunch of photo's I've been loving and reblogging on my tumblr at the moment. Make sure you follow my tumblr - and be sure to ask me some questions or what not whilst your there, it's so exciting when you see that I have a new question!

What have you been up to recently?

 Currently reading - I was reading You Before Me by Jojo Moyes but I finished it in three days because it was such a lovely, beautiful and heartbreaking book. It had me sobbing and laughing and reminded me of the feeling of not being able to put down your book. Now waiting to get If I Stay by Gayle Forman to read!

Currently watching - Loads of cheerleading routines from Worlds 2014 and waiting for the vlogs of Itacon to come out from everybody.

Currently listening - Risk it All by The Vamps / Tennis Court by Lorde (My love for her album is being rekindled) / I Heard Goodbye by Dan and Shay

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#WWMeetup

I'm finally on school holidays again, well ignoring the day and a half I have this week; I'm thinking it won't really count as (fingers crossed) we'll just watch films and eat chocolate. Which mean A) I can finally get on top of my blog and B) It's christmaaaaaaaaasssss, well nearly. 

Sorry for the picture heavy post but last weekend I travelled to London to attend the #WWmeetup organised by Islay and Ellie. I have been super excited for this for  long time because I had never been to Winter Wonderland in hyde park before and I was excited to catch up/ meet some new bloggy friends! At the beginning of the day I met up with Jordan and Emily before we travelled towards Hyde park to meet the others. We then met up and walked towards the park. Initially we went of in small groups to wonder around before we met up to do some browsing along oxford street and eat something. Ellie, Ellie, Ellen and I (yup, I ruin the names beginning with 'Ell' thing...) we bought some extremely yummy German doughnuts before going on this indoor snow roller coaster thing. It was great to see Ellie again and meet Ellie and Ellen. After meeting up with the other girls again we headed towards oxford street (however a bit of confusion meant that we split up from other girls who were originally there) After browsing through Selfridges, having a picture with Father Christmas and obsessing over Ellie's Polaroid camera we headed to Ed's Diner. Overall I had a lovely day and to be frank I want to rewind time and do it all over again. Thank you to the lovely Ellie and Islay for organising it!

Other bloggers I met: Carissa and Lily

Now Playing - One Direction 'Midnight Memories' album

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Precious Moments #2

I can't believe I've only been back at school for a week since my break. I've had a heavy week with homework, parents evening this upcoming week and leaving my photography book at school over half term meant having to stay up til late to finish my work three night this week! The photo's for today's 'Precious Moments' are from last week but reflecting on them now and taking the time to appreciate the small moments is still calming on a Sunday Morning.

This week in English we're going to be studying blogs. I'm extremely exciting as obviously reading blogs is one on my favourite things to do!
Now I better be off and attempt this 45 mark Classic Essay...Help Me?!

 Now Playing -I Know by Tom Odell

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