Weekly Summary #26 (on a Monday again)

Started re-watching Buffy, Presents from Mum from Brid, Booked in for a tattoo,

Home sweet home in Manc, Brand new bedding, New trainers,

Blistery feet, Dominos for tea with Lauren and Lyd, Best cookies ever,

Platt Fields Park, Left over cookies for snack time, Fave food,

New shirt from Ark, Walkies, Package from Monki,

'Boris Johnson' followed me, Outfit, CV editing

1. It's been a long, busy week this week. On Monday I went to Ikea to buy some things for my room in Manchester, which is now all lovely and gorgeous. I can't wait to move back in September. So ready to get away from home again.
2. I've been at work as usual, but on Thursday I went to Manchester for the evening to spend some time with two of my housemates. We had Dominos and watched Kes. It was good to be back.
3. The weather was lovely too, so Lauren and I went for a walk around Platt Fields Park while Lydia finished an essay (lol). We had a long chat and formulated an action plan for me. I'm planning on (hopefully) living in Manchester full time once I have completed my degree so I'm starting part-time job hunting in a couple of weeks! I've applied for a couple already, so fingers crossed!
4. I have also definitely sorted a start date for my work experience. I will be working at an independent book publishers in the Northern Quarter for three days a week. I am so excited!
5. Alexisonfire have announced a farewell tour in December so I'll be fighting tooth and nail to get tickets. Even if I have to travel to London to see them. I've never got to see them live so I need to go to this show!
6. I bought the last pair of size four lo Nike blazers in Footlocker. I am in love. They were obviously meant to be mine ;) even if it meant being a bit irresponsible and breaking into my overdraft to get them. I also booked in for a tattoo with the lovely Tom Flanagan at Oddfellows Tattoo Collective in Leeds. I get tattooed on Friday and cannot wait! Mum isn't happy.
7. Last night I joined my friends as we all went to Oakwell to play games and have fun. We played kick rounders, timebomb and duck duck goose. Because we are five. It was good fun though!
8. Overall it's been a good week. Going to Manchester gave me the break I needed from home and I feel more settled. 3 weeks and counting until I move back completely!

Sorry it's a day late! I've just been really busy this week :)

Hope you're all well, and thanks for reading xx

Weekly Summary #21 (on a Monday)

Liverpool, New coat, Short shorts,

Oops, fruits of sale shopping, Scariest part of the trilogy,

Came in the post - make me Margot, Night out on Saturday, Dog vs. Dad

1. This week has been a complete mixture of ups and downs; the first half was fantastic - I went to Liverpool with one of my best friends (Lydia, I luv ya) and had a brilliant day chatting, catching up, eating and shopping. The second half wasn't the best. Someone I consider a very close friend managed to insult me and has really hurt my feelings, but I'm working on sorting things out. I can't bear a grudge.
2. I went out on Saturday night with the girls from work; we haven't actually ever had just a girls night before. It was a lot of fun and we all danced our little feet off. I wore my new shoes from River Island (middle photo, £20 in the sale!) and they were comfy, which is also a plus.
3. As usual I worked a lot, had a good driving lesson and finally booked my driving test. Let's hope it's fourth (shh) time lucky. 
4. The upcoming week is going to be an odd one. I'm working a lot, as per usual, but I also have a funeral to attend on Thursday. A fabulous teacher from school unexpectedly passed away just over a week ago at the age of 51. She was my head of Sixth Form and a brilliantly inspiring woman. It just goes to show you have to treasure your time and loved ones. It will definitely be an emotional day.
5. The lovely Natalie gave me a shout out in her 'Share the Love' post here so I just wanted to say thank you :) I love her blog and she is a true sweetheart. Go give her blog a read!

I'm off to go tidy my room before I go on a driving lesson at 3. Hope you're all well!

Also, thank you for all the lovely comments on my previous post, I've really enjoyed replying to them all :)

Thanks for reading x

Weekly Summary #15

Freckling up, Oakwell walks, Yummy ice cream

Finished this (review here), blogging, night in

New dress from River Island for a friend's birthday (linky), Lobster ravioli (gross), Oakwell Hall at sunset

1. This week has been making the most of the sunshine, hence not too many blog posts. It's been seriously hot around here, about as hot as I can cope with! I'm not made for warm weather at all! It's been lovely to be able to go out without tights on though!
2. I've bagged myself even more work experience too! It's ridiculous how much I'm doing, but I just want to do the best I can. I'll be working at Manchester University Press in November for three days in three different departments which will definitely help me to decide which route I want to go down regarding my career. I have been thinking about doing a Masters, but I'm not sure. I'll have to research more. If you've done/are doing one let me know what you think!
3. It's my Dad's birthday today, he's 64, an oldie, but a goodie. We got him some Pete Posthelwaite books and some whisky, seeing as we had no idea what to get him. We went out for a meal tonight, and I had that lobster ravioli. It was disgusting.
4. After the meal tonight, a friend from work texted out of the blue and a few of us met up at Oakwell Hall where we played a game of touch rounders girls vs. boys which just ended up with us all chasing each other and rolling around on the floor.
5. This coming week is going to be yet another busy one. I plan on getting a 'To Read Booklist' post up this week, but I'm hopefully meeting a friend on Tuesday, who I haven't seen in forever, working all week, and then getting my tattoo started on Friday (!!!!) so we'll see. Overall this week has been good.

Have you enjoyed the sunshine? It's apparently supposed to rain in the latter end of the week so I'm going to be outside in the sunshine as much as possible!

Thanks for reading x

My University Experience, so far... Part 2 - Fresher's, Making Friends and a Few Tips

Hello everyone!

I've been feeling a bit inspired the past couple of days so I thought I'd sit myself down and write the second part of my university series. 

I'll just jump right into it and say that my first few months at uni were a mixture of ups and downs. I chose to go to uni in a city relatively close to where I live (40 minutes on a train) but decided to move out. I was lucky and managed to secure myself an en suite room in Halls.  

A few tips to getting settled in Halls:

• make your room your own. Make it homely, take photographs and put them on the walls, take books and things to fill the shelves. Rooms in Halls often look a bit like cells, so to combat homesickness don't be afraid to spruce it up a bit; for example, I went and bought fairy lights from a pound shop to make my room a bit prettier. Home comforts are essential.
• make an effort with your flatmates. Nine times out of ten your flatmates won't know anyone else either. Keep your door open, be willing to make compromises about space in the kitchen for example. Just be nice and friendly. You can't get on with absolutely everyone but try. I didn't make as much of an effort with my flatmates as I could have, which I now regret as we haven't kept in touch at all. If you do struggle to get on with anyone, just be civil. Nobody wants to live within a tense atmosphere.
• share responsibilities. A girl in my flat made a cleaning rota (not my thing, personally) but don't let one person be the person who constantly takes out the bin, it just isn't fair. Ask before you take things, or leave notes on the fridge. It's really simple to get along with flatmates, you just have to make an effort really. Halls are great fun!

This may be a bit 'controversial' but personally, my Fresher's week sucked. I'm not too big on going out and drinking loads, but even for me it was a bit rubbish. Everyone is either, from my experience, really self conscious, or just out to get absolutely hammered. Don't expect too much from it, it is completely over-hyped!

The first week of classes at my uni are all about sorting out the timetable and finding your tutor groups. For me there was a big lecture, where I met one of my friends, Ailish, and through her I met Rosie.

Ailish and I - Christmas Market 2011, Rosie and I on a night out.

 Everyone is in the same boat, just be friendly and make an effort with conversations. I was pretty shy and found it difficult, but you just have to put yourself out there! Everyone says it, but it's true. It's not easy by any means. I spent a lot of my time outside of uni with Ailish, and made many other friends. The key, what I've found anyway, is just to get out. Even if you're feeling homesick and missing your mum, sitting by yourself won't make you feel any better; give your mum a ring and then organise to meet with friends. Talk to people, outside of uni and in classes. Don't be worried about coming across as a smart arse, you'll get along a lot better if you communicate with tutors. That way they remember your name, which is always a good thing.

• don't be worried about making friends; the friends you make in the first few weeks won't necessarily be the friend you make for life, or even last until the end of first year, but don't let that put you off.
• just be friendly! Smile at people, say hi, sit next to different people in classes until you find a group you feel comfortable with. 
• another thing I did was find people via facebook and tumblr. I first spoke to three of my friends, Ailish, Lottie and Alice on facebook and chatted a bit first. That way if you see them around campus, you can say hi. It just breaks the ice a little.

Rosie, Me and Ailish

Just a few other tips:

• go to classes! Once you stop going it can become a habit. You don't want to get into that habit. I went to (almost) every single class in my first year - mainly because I hate missing things, always have done, I'm a bit of a hard worker. First year is a doss year that (usually) doesn't count towards your final degree, but that doesn't mean that it isn't important.
• eat and sleep sensibly. Don't do what I did!! I was an idiot and often stayed awake until 5am, having to get up at 9am for lectures. It isn't fun. I also ate a lot of crap and put on about 10 pounds. There's the myth about 'Fresher's 15', and it does happen, you just have to try and avoid eating the 4 take aways a week.
• make a budget! Work out how much money you'll have once rent has gone and make a weekly budget to stick to. This also helps with food shopping if you plan meals and give yourself a bit extra for a few treats. Jade has mentioned here and here about the merits of budgeting. Her 'frugal fighting' posts are full of great tips for students too.
• before you start uni and apply to student finance, apply for everything you can get even if you think you're not eligible. Look into bursary schemes, because literally every pound extra you can get helps.

This has been a long one again, sorry guys. I hope it has been at least a little bit helpful if you're a first year student, or looking into going to university. 

In the next part of this I think I'll talk about house-hunting and maybe include a few study tips? Let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading! x

P.s. Fleur has made a video about her university experience recently here which I found helpful and interesting, if you want to take a look.

edit: I won't lie, my first year was full of ups and downs, I never truly felt settled in halls as I didn't truly gel with my flatmates. Instead, I pushed myself into making friends on my course and spent much of my time at my friends' flat. You will find people you gel with. Don't worry!