Update :D

Hi all!

So I'm nearing the end of my year as a postgrad - eek. With just under two months to go it's safe to say I'm bricking it to enter the real world. Yeah I'm gonna have a full time 9-5 job!!!! As much as I'm excited to have some independence back I'm going to miss being at home so much, where the house is always clean and there's food in the fridge.

Moving away can be scary and daunting, granted I did it a few years ago when I went off to Uni but this feels different somehow. I'm not going to be surrounded by like-minded people of my age. I'm entering a work-place where I'm going to have to make my own opportunities! I want to set myself some goals for when I move to ensure I make the most of it.

1) Make some friends - this might sound daft but this year I felt I haven't had an amazing social life, I have made some fantastic friends but then again at times I've felt lonely.

2) Find a new hobby - probably another thing to combat loneliness if I'm honest, whilst I've been at home I've relied heavily on one of my closest friends and now that she won't be a 6 minute drive away I'm going to need to find something to fill my time!

3) Maintain my fitness levels - I don't know how many of you know (or care) but this past year I've worked on my fitness, I want to be strong!! I'm slowly getting there and I don't want this move to be an excuse to let it drop. I've already decided I'm going to try out every gym in the area before I commit, I can't be dealing with joining a bad gym!

4) Budget and eat sensibly - I've ALWAYS been bad with money. However, I feel myself getting a little better and I want next year to be the year I crack down on saving haha a girl can dream hey! I want to find ways to eat well without spending a fortune.


5) Make time to travel and see pals and family - this might be a bit contradictory to my previous goal as travelling is expensive! But one of the reasons I want to budget is so that I have a bit more money to go and see people, I mean if I'm going to have my weekends back for the first time in 6 years why not!

There you have it, I've written it down now so I have no excuses for not sticking by these goals! Hopefully next year will be interesting and provide many challenges and I'll continue to grow :). For now it's back to assignments. (Yes okay this kinda was procrastination lool)

:)
U x

Five Things I'd Like To Thank My Mother For

As you've probably guessed this is going to a bit of a soppy tribute to my mother! As it's Mother's Day I thought I'd say thank you for five rather non-trivial things I'm ever grateful for. Whilst I'm so lucky to have a woman who has fed, clothed, housed and supported me for 21 plus years there's so much else my mum has done for me.

#1 Thank you for encouraging me to try so many different things as a child. With the exception of sport (well I mean you tried but let's face it I was having none of it) my mum encouraged me to take part in so many activities, from flute and piano lessons, dance lessons to being a girl guide, throughout my childhood. So I might not have been the worlds best ballet dancer but I did achieve a number of things. In addition to actual achievements I learnt the importance of hard-work and dedication, I also learnt to appreciate other people's talents and my own.

#2 Thank you for supporting me in everything I do. From the obvious financial support to the emotional support you're always there to tell me I can do this, you've never prevented me from doing anything I wanted to do. From day one when I looked through University prospectuses and said "I want to go to Reading" you supported me in getting there and once I was there you supported me through the tough times and were there to celebrate with me at my graduation.

#3 Thank you for trying to educate me culturally. Yes I may have complained once or twice when we traipsed around castle after castle in the bleak Welsh weather, or frowned when you said we were off to ANOTHER art gallery in Cornwall. But truthfully, I'm so glad you did! Now you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you I enjoyed walking round new towns and discovering old history but there's a first for everything.

Here's a snap of one of our most recent outings :D

#4 Thank you for bringing me up to be the person I am today. I always remember reading the "Children learn what they live" poem as a child, it's always stuck with me. Thank you for being patient with me whilst I was a stroppy teenager, thank you for working hard at everything you do, and most of all thank you for being polite, kind, caring, and understanding. If I turn out to be half the woman you are I'll be happy!

#5 Thank you for giving birth to me. (Ew I know) If you hadn't I wouldn't be able to say thank you. Hopefully I'm going to make you proud as pie. Not only that, but thank you for my darling siblings too, growing up with them may have been testing at times but I know I'm so lucky to have all of you!

I know, you can all stop throwing up now. I guess that's another thing I have my mum to thank for, I'm such a soppy git when I want to be. Hope you all have a lovely day with your mummas!
Urs xxxxxxxxxx

Just Another Week

Hey guys,
Made it to the end of the week phew!
This week's been a hectic one for me so I thought I'd write a short and sweet little post reflecting on how far I've come recently. This week I attended my first assessment center, yes I know entering the real world, scary stuff right? No I'm not going to disclose much about it I guess you'll have to wait and see! Here's what I will say though, it was a great experience and I loved putting on my suit (those who've heard about the suit will understand my excitement regarding this!). I think I may be coming to terms with the fact that I can't remain a student forever and it's inevitable I'll have to say goodbye to my lovely life of studying. Until I do a PhD (possibly, we'll see).
Here's a cute pic of me in my suit (pose was on request of my mother)

This week I also managed to squeeze in a trip to Reading, where I was lucky enough to catch up with two of my wonderful friends who're still in Reading. Although it'd been a while since I'd seen them, like true friendship, it felt as though nothing had changed and it was so lovely to see them and catch up. Promise it won't be left that long again girls!
I cannot stress how more organised I feel in comparison to my scatty self a year ago, I think I bought a diary and maybe wrote my name in it whereas now I actually use my diary to keep myself informed of all my plans and deadlines. One of my housemates had a diary and I was so impressed with how useful it was to her and I can only say thank you because now I've gotten myself into the good habit of writing everything in there and reviewing it before I start my week so I know exactly what's happening.
In an attempt to organise my personal life I'm having a bit of a clear out, mainly of clothes. So if anyone reading this wants any garms I an abundance of clothes all in decent condition that could do with a good home! It's always hard for me to say goodbye to clothes because they're associated with so many memories but I guess what I've realised is that those memories are my memories in my head anyway so why do I need a dress to remind me of that time we went to *insert cheap restaurant* for so-and-so's birthday!
So to summarise, I've had a busy but enjoyable week and I'm on my way to becoming a real adult (still have a long way to go ahaha)!
Ta for reading as always!
U

Living Positively

Hey,
I'm never very good at starting these posts like what do I say "Hey guys it's a drizzly Monday and I'm full of a stinking cold!"? Well I guess I just did the hard bit.
This post is about positivity and how it's not just a mind set but something you can actively work towards. Most people who know me will say I'm a bubbly, happy, chatty individual but there are times when I'm the complete opposite, I'm one of the worst cry babies I know but I'm trying to cry a little less haha.

I'm no psychologist but I can't count the amount of times I've given the following advice to friends "Just try and keep smiling, the more you make yourself smile the sooner you'll find yourself smiling without realising.". Like most people, I suck at following my own advice so as of today I've adopted this outlook and every time I notice I'm not smiling I'm just going to smile to myself - yes this might result in a slight Cheshire cat resemblance but it's for a good reason!

                                  

        

In another attempt to be more positive I've started doing some "adult colouring" (it may be "adult" but not like that guys c'mon...). I mentioned that I'd read that colouring was a great way to de-stress and relax to mum so naturally she bought me a book for Christmas, it's "The Art of Mindfulness, Happy and  Energising Colouring" and it really works, much to the amusement of one of my dear pals. During exams I completed two full pages and started another two, I know I really should finish one before a start another but hey you can't always live by the rules. Sometimes I just did a bit for a break from studying and other times I did it to calm myself down the night before an exam and it was as if I could feel all my stresses flowing through the pencil onto the paper and right outta my life 🙋🏼

I've always been a fan of incense, much to my mum's displeasure, and quite often I find myself just watching the smoke whirl upwards in a spiraling fashion and it's strangely soothing and relaxing. Couple this with a relaxation playlist from Spotify and after half an hour I feel so refreshed and my outlook on life is rosy I highly recommend it! Sometimes I'll go a little crazy and listen to music, colour and have incense burning in the background - is this overkill?  Nah, when it comes to positivity I don't think there is such a thing, what I'm hoping to highlight in this post is that it's about finding the little things that make you feel positive, some of the positivity challenges on the internet are a little intense I'll give you that, realistically I'm not going to sit for twenty minutes listing five things I'm thankful for, 3 positive things I did today and two positive qualities someone else has every day. But I will do these little things like wake up and say "Today, I'm going to smile and be happy!".

Something I'm sure you'll all agree with me is that tidying has to be one of the best ways to feel better about yourself, I'm a terrible creature when it comes to my room, I'm far too materialistic for the size of my room. However I'll go through phases where I do my best to tidy my room and usually in an attempt to clear my head or just when I'm fed up of not being able to find the top I bought yesterday...

I hope after reading this blog you've embraced the positive outlook on life and if not, there's always tomorrow! 

Peace out xx

So it's February...

Hey,

Okay I know I've been absent for a while but it's like the gym, you have to give it a few goes before you're fully committed, sorry guys! 

I can't believe it's February already, well, I can considering I lived in the library, or study (formerly known as the dining room sorry mum!) over Christmas and January. Setting myself high standards meant that I pushed myself so hard and I really hope it pays off, less than two weeks and we'll find out.

Even though I've been work focused for the past couple of months I managed to set myself three realistic news years resolutions:

1) to be more responsible with money - the reason behind this one is that I'm potentially entering the real world of work this September and I can't keep throwing money away on materialistic things such as clothes and make up, oh and food. This ones been going quite well as I managed to dramatically reduce my spendings for January and hopefully I'll continue this trend.

2) stop promising to meet up with people I know I'll never actually see - this one I have to confess I stole from a post I saw on Buzzfeed. We all know what I'm talking about, you'll bump into someone you haven't seen and one of you will say something like "it's been ages we should have a coffee" well I've vowed not to agree unless I really mean it, because let's face it it's probably been so long for a reason. No offence it might just be that I'm super busy and trying to focus on other things. It's weird how easily people pop in and out of our lives just the other day someone popped up and asked me how the blog was going and to be honest that's what prompted me to write one again, I just needed a little push. 

3) take better care of myself - this is a bit of a general one whether it be getting back into the gym, which I have done, eating better or making better life decisions. This is also means having more self respect, knowing when to walk away and when to invest more of my emotions and time in someone.

These resolutions shouldn't be too hard to keep because I know they're designed with my best interests at heart. And at the moment the most important thing is to focus on me, to make sure I can be the best version of myself possible. 

Nice to be back, hope you enjoyed this one :) 

U x 

Week one as a postgraduate!

Hey guys,

So it's friday afternoon and the end of my first week as a postgraduate student at Loughborough and I think the first thing to note is that I SURVIVED! I know that sounds silly but honestly, I was terrified of starting a new course at a brand new uni, I mean making new friends is always a little daunting.

Being back in a lecture theater felt so right for me although the ratio of international to home students did shock me at first and I won't lie I did feel a little out place. By the end of the lecture the prospect of a group assignment was a little worrying, I'd gone three hours without conversing with another student how was I meant to find four other people to work with?!

Day two and three things got easier, and finally I've met some people who seem like they will not only become good friends but also intelligent allies on my course. Having completed my first week of lectures I'm excited to get deeper into my modules and weirdly nervous yet eager to tackle of all the work that's flooding my way already.

I am fully aware that the next year is going to be incredibly tough but I can't express how reassuring it is to have a routine again and to find myself being challenged again on a daily basis. It's clear, I love education, perhaps too much!

Here's to a year of hardwork with a side dish of fun
U x

Ah so I've already been a bad blogger, the past few weeks I've been either too busy or too tired to sit down and write this post! Seeing as my little brother, and many of his friends are heading off to Uni in a matter of weeks I thought I'd share my best ten tips for making the most of this life changing experience! There's no particular order to these so read away :)

#1
Be approachable - starting at uni can be one of the scariest life changes ever, everything as you know it disappears so in this moment it's important to remember that everyone is in the same boat! So put on your bravest smile and say hello to that stranger that's about to be your housemate for the next year. Doing little things like leaving your door open whilst you unpack can make a real difference so don't be shy (or try not to be...)!

#2
Budget - this is one thing I didn't exactly succeed in... I cannot stress how much easier your life will be if you don't blow your student loan in the first month, no matter how much you want those new clothes or new gadget, food is more important! I'm not saying be stingy, by all means go out and socialise just make sure you're wise with how you do it.

#3
Try something new - whether it's joining a new sports society or picking up a new hobby this one's probably a given, you should "give it a go". Literally, most societies and clubs will have try it out sessions where you can go along and see if it's for you without requiring any commitment.

#4
Do not forget your home friends - these people stuck with you through your school life and shared so many good times. Some of them will be going through exactly the same things as you, new uni, new life so undoubtedly they'll crave a familiar face or voice. Besides who wants to get home at Christmas time and have no friends...

#5
Take first year seriously - for most you, you'll hear "first year doesn't count" and yes although it won't count towards your degree classification it's stilll essential! Use it as a building ground for all those good habits you need throughout your degree, such as completing assignments asap rather than the night before, figuring out which lecturers to ask for help and familiarising yourself with your floor in the library! On the social side, make friends, find people with common interests it's so important to have a support network. Remember "a problem shared is a problem halved".

#6
Familiarise yourself with your campus and surrounding town - go for a self guided tour! Take an afternoon to discover the hidden gems at your uni, it took me until third year to discover my uni actually had this lovely private garden perfect for summer picnics! It'll make that rush to your 9am lectures just that little bit less horrendous if you know where you're going. Get to know your lecturers and your school office too, they're there to help you so get on their good side when you can.

#7
Be careful - Just remember you've most likely moved to an unfamiliar city, living with strangers. Don't take your personal safety as a joke, make sure someone always knows where you are, don't let strangers into your halls and if you feel unsafe remember there is a network of people there to make sure young people stay safe. Also, on a cynical note you ultimately have responsibility for your own safety whilst your new friends might seem nice enough it's probably best you keep your wits about you.

#8
Tell your mum your family you love them and let them know you're okay. This is one I got completely wrong, first term I got a bit lost at uni and didn't contact my parents for far too long. Unless you count being tagged in facebook photos...

#9
Sharing is (sometimes) caring - this is a phrase my first year housemates and I adopted. I'm not saying go and steal everyone's milk cause that's not cool however, if you get on with people they're much more likely to lend you a slice of bread. Do your weekly online shops together, take it in turns to sign up with everyone's different email addresses you'll get money off each time and if you've each got more than one email then you're winning!

#10
Have fun! Seriously, I know you're there to study and achieve but don't forget to let your hair down every now and again you wont be able to get through years of studying without going a little Brittney or Miley depending on who you prefer haha.

I know a lot of my tips are probably common sense and things you've heard before but hey if you take one tip from this then I'm happy!
Ty
Urs
x