So... You Got a First?

Yes. I've been away for a long while. But, in that while, I have gained a First Class Honours Degree in English from University of Birmingham. Or, to elaborate, I am two weeks away from officially obtaining the paper for said First Class degree (and slightly terrified of walking up those stairs in heels!).

So... Now what?

I feel like the above three words are the most often used in relation to the situation I now find myself in.

I should be scared, right?

Well, every fast-paced millennial (and somewhat slow-paced older family/extended family member and acquaintance) would like me (and many others in this situation) to answer 'yes'. Yes, I should be slightly scared that I have my degree and, as yet, no source of income for the next few months. That I don't know immediately where I'm going from here, that I'm seemingly going to 'waste' my education on the wrong career.

But... I'm not.

And I want to remind anyone reading this in my situation that it is ok, contrary to popular belief, to not have a master plan. Aged 21, you do have the time and ability to take a step back, breathe and not get caught up in the degree --> graduate job --> immediate money cookie-cutter mould.

For me, these next few months are those of personal growth, re-evaluating my passions and motivations, travelling, and deciding on my next move.

After spending a good 18 years in education, and having the past three years of stressing over deadlines, balancing said education with some sort of social life, it's been easy to lose track of my overall aim. So, rather than rushing into an anonymous graduate scheme for immediate money, I want my job search to be more related to gaining experience, following up possible leads and recognising that I'd rather be in a job that I love than simply work for the sake of it for an as-yet unknown outcome.

So, let's take this leap together.

MY TEACHFIRST EXPERIENCE

I applied for TeachFirst out of intrigue more than anything. I still have a year until I finish university, so my application was quite far in advance and I wasn't expecting much, despite my interest in the company and its aims. Somewhat surprisingly, I made it through to the assessment center in London, and thought I'd share my thoughts my experience of the TeachFirst application. Although I wasn't successful this time around, I think the experience was really great, so here's a bit of an insight into my day.

20 Things I've Learnt In 20 Years

My teenage years are way too close to being over, and I thought I'd step on that bandwagon of looking over the past 20 years. To think about what I've learnt, and why it's been so important. Being a teenager brought with it so many changes, but I'm so so happy that, despite the bad, I've pulled through to become the person I hoped I'd be at 20. There's still a long way to go, but hey, that's the beauty of life. Stay tuned for a whole lot of nostalgia, photos and musings from a wandering Millennial.

1 Year Anniversary! Day 1 - Hotel du Vin!

Nathan and I celebrated our 1-year anniversary on 18th February, and spent a perfect night at Hotel du Vin, followed by an amazing breakfast at a quirky cafe!

                                           

Keep reading for a makeup look and a quick tour of the hotel / cocktail bar!

VALENTINES 2016

Hope everyone had an amazing Valentines weekend! 

                                                  

Mine was spent with this one ^^, we went for a lovely meal at Pizza Express since one recently opened in our town!

VALENTINES WISH-LIST 2016

Strangely enough(!) this will be my first Valentines in a relationship. Despite recognising the clearly money-centric nature of this 'holiday', there are a few good finds on the highstreet at the minute. Who says Valentines needs to be spent staring longingly into a half-finished tub of Ben & Jerry's watching that re-run of Bridget Jones? Here are a few ideas that are sure to make Valentines 2016 a good one no matter the circumstances, so get your pen and paper ready to note these options, whether with a SO or as an opener to the perfect anti-Valentines!

 

What happiness feels like | 2015 in review

       

Happy 2016!

While I'm still finding it pretty crazy how much happened last year, Instagram's new 'Bestnine' feature made me realise just how much I accomplished, just how many happy moments were shared and just how much of a whirlwind 2015 was.

 So I thought I'd share a few with you guys! 

Marco Pierre White | Birthday

I spent the past weekend in town with my boyfriend for his birthday, and we went for a pretty special meal at Marco Pierre White's Steakhouse Bar & Grill at The Cube.

Gorgeous views, beautiful, filling food and some really amazing cocktails made this the most perfect birthday treat.

It's seriously worth spending the extra for a window seat, as the views across Birmingham add a special touch, and the rooftop terrace across from the bar is stunning!

The Laurent-Perrier champagne bar on the same floor is another must-visit, and we rounded off our meal with another drink overlooking The Mailbox - such an amazing birds-eye view!

From Brighton With Love | DAY 1

Earlier this week I went on a short break to Brighton with my boyfriend and two of our close friends. We had such an amazing time exploring the Lanes and chilling by the seaside (Not to mention spending way too much on arcade games!)

*Still haven't posted the Barcelona pictures, I know, but they really need to get organised so thought I'd update with a short series first ^_^!*

Here are a few of my favourite moments from Day 1 of our trip...

Travelling there was so easy! We'd pre-booked trains and all our changes were made so quickly - after 4 *Surprisingly short-feeling* hours or so we'd made it and I'd already fallen in love with the train station!

 After dropping our bags off at the hotel we took a walk to The Lanes (So nearby!) and found a really cute pub called The Mesmerist. Not only did they have some pretty cool wall-art, but they also had a photobooth! (Which I later realised was a pretty regular occurrence in the pubs/bars nearby - go Brighton! XD) alongside some of the best burgers we'd had in a while! *I went for the chilli-burger, and all were served with chips coated in spice - so good!*

 

Things can change in a day | Back-up

Had a perfect few months since I last posted, a lot has changed and so much for the better. Promise I'll be back in a matter of weeks once exams are over, till then here's a taster of what's to come..

Exploring the City

Welcome back!

Just a few pictures I wanted to share of a really cute day spent exploring Birmingham. Consisting of drinks, cocktails and a lot of food, I can never get tired of this city.

I'm a total sucker for some amazing architecture~!

Finally tried out the Jekyll and Hyde, a lost-but-found treasure tucked away just shy of the city center and their cocktails are heaven! It's the perfect place to sit back and enjoy something you won't find in many other places - sweet-flavoured drinks that wouldn't be out of place in Wonderland!

Left - Honeycomb  Right - Peach Drops

Left - Parma Violet   Right - Love Hearts

Great atmosphere and quirky setting, perfect for an evening out with a twist!

| CHRISTMAS WISHLIST 2014 |

So here it is! I realised after creating this post that it's mainly clothing items!

Hope this gives a few Christmas gift ideas! I'm honestly feeling so behind with Christmas present shopping at the minute, counting down the days (And the assignments...) to the 12th December!

*This will be a post I'll come back to in the next few days with updates, so stay tuned!

NEED -

*May have already bought...*

 

Jumpers by H! by Henry Holland at Debenhams (From £20)

I've been in love with Henry Holland's collection at Debenhams since I first set eyes on it - and I think his Christmas jumpers are honestly some of the nicest I've seen. I treated myself to a panda-with-3D-glasses jumper the past weekend, and it's honestly so warm and such good quality that I'm considering investing in another! 

*Plus Debenhams now appear to be having a 30-50% off sale!

 New Look Chelsea Boots - £24.99
*Bit of a splurge since I promised myself not to buy more until after Christmas, but it suddenly decided to get frosty and I realised my footwear seriously needed a revamp for winter - don't think canvas shoes would have cut it for much longer! These are really comfortable, easy to walk in and, I feel, could be dressed up or down. All in all, a good pair of boots to get me around campus for the next few months!

LUSTING -

Adidas Originals Typo Hoodie: £55

This just looks so warm, and the price was less than expected when I saw it in store! Would be great to just lounge around in / throw on for uni.

M&S Onesie: £27.50
Possibly the most luxurious onesie I've ever seen! Fell in love after seeing it at my local M&S. The faux fur is so warm! If only it had slippers/feet...

BREAKING THE BANK -

Jeremy Scott/Moschino Teddy Eau de Parfum: £80 (Online and exclusive to Harrods).

I've seriously loved Jeremy Scott's collections for both Adidas and Moschino since they started coming out,and this has to be one of the coolest looking perfume bottles I've ever seen. Add to that my love for teddy bears, and you have an amazing gift idea. If you're willing to spend £80 that is. While I'm pretty sure I won't be seeing this in my stocking this year, I think I might have to splurge if my results come through good in late January!

Catchup - Halloween Look | Fireworks | Christmas Prep.!

So, it's that time of year again!

As soon as Halloween is over (Oh, that went something like this...)

A fairly easy look - Goth/Vampire/Masquerade... thing.

Fair enough, my costume wasn't the most well-prepared thing ever, but Halloween 2014 was definitely up there in terms of drinking way too much, going to clubs and finishing off the night eating what was probably some questionable chicken, but it tasted like heaven somewhere around 4AM wandering around town.

And all the fireworks at the Vale were beautiful - reminder in advance that I need to be there again next year. (Ok, so maybe I need to upload those photos...)

It's the middle of November. And we all know what that means.

Aside from essay deadlines and scary workloads (Ahhh!)...

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!

Expect a "Christmas Wishlist", a "Christmas Look" and even a Christmas Playlist *Because hey, at such a festive time of year, you can never have one too many... right?

Beginning to feel like autumn.

Some days it's beginning to feel like autumn. 

The leaves falling off the trees at university have kinda reminded me of how much of a new start I'm going through right now. At the risk of sounding overly poetic, since starting I've had so many amazing moments, but I'm also starting to realise how transient not only these moments but other aspects of life can be. This part of my life is already passing by so fast, sometimes it's difficult to sit back and enjoy it happening.

I'm way too excited for Halloween, the Pumpkin Spice Lattes are already back up there on my must-drink list and I'm getting more wear out of my new scarf than I thought I would at this time in the year. Despite the week-long warm spell, I think Britain (or the Midlands at least) is starting to get back on track weather-wise - the leaves are finally crunchy!

In all, this is almost another catching-up blog, but coming up soon will be some wish-lists - Halloween or Christmas, depending on when I can get round to searching (University is seeming pretty chill one day, then slightly daunting the next, so that will also be a factor in the amount of posts I'll be making).

There's been a change or two on here in the past month too - I've connected to Bloglovin'! A small step, I know, but I'm ready to start making the most out of this space, and I hope you'll be interested in watching this small section of the internet I'm trying to make my own grow into something more?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Starting University + Freshers

Friday 19th September marked the start of my time at university. It was daunting, scary... yet also a great day.


As someone who's not necessarily the best at speaking, let alone to groups of people I've never met, I was a bit apprehensive before attending the first 'Meet-up' for local students. These initial worries were soon put aside, however, as everyone seemed really friendly and ready to talk. After you start, you realise that you're all in the same boat - no-one's going to judge you if you're nervous, but at the same time you should be ready to make new friends and understand that everyone's hoping to meet new people.

A top tip for anyone, especially those thinking of staying at home / local, would be *cliche as it sounds* to get involved in conversations! Most of the time introductory sessions will be aimed at breaking the metaphorical 'ice' between all of you as new students, so the university should set up certain activities to do just that. One of the easiest to get talking would have to be 'Human Bingo' (basically walking around the room trying to find people that correspond with a certain trait on the bingo sheet - some of the most interesting we had included 'Can stand on their head' and 'Has been bungee-jumping'!), since you can naturally get to speak with nearly everyone in the room.

It's also probably pretty clear that, for the first few days at least, some of your favourite sayings will be along the lines of "Hi, I'm _____, and I'm studying _____, what about you?" and "Where are you from?". If all else fails, discussing how terrible that History A-Level paper was will always be a safe bet. While you won't necessarily talk to all of these people again, or even add them on Facebook (since these things usually end on a first-name basis, unless you're doing the same course / can somehow track them down), these introductory sessions are definitely useful to go to if you're worried about being the only one commuting. It's surprising how many different people you'll get talking to!

I'm planning to live at home for my first year, mainly out of convenience and affordability (not to mention the opportunity to keep a clean bathroom to myself!). In all honesty, there have been a few times I've had second thoughts about this decision, but I'm hoping that writing about my experiences over the next few weeks, months, or even years, can help others thinking of staying at home to recognise the opportunities that are still available if you choose to do the same.

The next week is packed with various freshers events, ranging from introductory lectures (Ahh!) to fairs - then ending with Freshers' Ball! I'm really excited to get started, especially with how fast the past few days have gone, and can't wait to meet more people on my course.

Summer / Autumn Transition Playlist

Just thought I'd share with you a few songs for this changing summer -> Autumn weather. While it's still pretty warm, September seems well on its way in and I'm really looking forward to the leaves falling from the trees. Autumn might be my second favourite season - bar winter - because my body just can't seem to handle really warm weather (even in England!).



Read more about these choices...

09.07.2014 - 11.07.2014 -- The Graduate.

"Per Ardua Ad Alta"

We stayed at the Premier Inn, Birmingham. This was the view from my room, which gave me the best nights' sleeps I'd had in a while! This hotel's right in the centre of the city, overlooking a coffee shop and park while staying close to the busy spots - and, perhaps more importantly, pubs / bars!        

The first evening, we stopped at a couple of these really beautifully decorated places - The Old Joint Stock and The Lost and Found. Both have great atmospheres, and the second especially, great drinks.

 University of Birmingham = beautiful campus. Not to mention the beautiful weather. They had deckchairs!

Post-grad.  Pitcher & Piano -