Tag! You're it.

So Kate has tagged me in some question chain things (http://smilingismyfavourite.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/tag.html) which would be awesome if I knew 11 bloggers I'm friends with...

Here are the rules

- You answer the eleven questions the tagger has given you and make eleven more for the people you're going to tag!
- Tag eleven more bloggers
- Tell the people you have tagged to get their bums in gear (tell them you tagged them)
- No tagging back!

Already I'm having to say that I'm going to have to break some of these rules; I don't know eleven bloggers, let alone being friends with eleven bloggers, and I'm tagging Kate again so I don't look like a complete loser!

So, the questions...

1. Favourite drink ever? I will have to say either Diet Lemonade, Appletiser or Peach Ribena...they're all so good!!
2. The best film you ever saw and why? I have a lot of favourite films... Notting Hill - it's funny and cute and such a good rom com, Avengers - Iron man, Hulk, Thor, Loki and Captain America just shouldn't be allowed in a film together, too much awesome and WAY too much sass...honestly so so good!, My week with Marilyn - I love Marilyn Monroe and this film has Eddie Redmayne in it, what other reasons do I need? There are more but my final one of this list is... Aristocats - obviously I had to add a Disney film in here somewhere! It's such a cute film with the most awesome songs! What's not to love?!
3. The best book you ever read and why? The first book that jumps to mind when this question came up was Adorkable by Sarra Manning; It's the reason I'm writing this blog post after all! It's made me accept that being different is okay and I've accepted my weirdness! I'm happy with who I am and I'm not scared to stand out and be different from everyone now! As Jeane says, We have nothing to declare but our dorkiness and Never shield your oddness, but wear your oddness like a shield.
4. Your most worn pair of shoes? Both pairs are boots, one are my heeled riding boots and the others are a pair of snow boots that have been very useful over the last couple of weeks!



Snow boots! Aka the life savers!

My riding boots!





















5. Most recent purchase? Yay! A short question! I bought a bag of blue raspberry bon bons today from the weekly market in town! They're my favourite sweets ever!
6. The website you spend the most time on and why? Either Twitter because I find some funny conversation between people, or Tumblr because I get distracted by the awesome pictures! I do spend a lot of time on Facebook talking to people though...
7. Your favourite place in the world and why? I have a few. My bedroom because it's quiet and I'm surrounded by all of my stuff, it's nice to have a place that's completely personal. I like my living room too because then I get to spend time with my family which is always good. I love going to my grandma's too because it always smells nice and its just so warm and nice, and obviously the piano is there so yay for that! My last is Starbucks, doesn't really matter where but I do like the one by college because it's small and cozy. I always get my best ideas for my blog here, even though it's busy, it's where I get my alone time where I can just relax and think, and obviously hot chocolate!!!!!
8. What colour is your bedroom? It's a pale green, I got it done for my birthday when I moved up from secondary school so it looked more grown up from the purple, pink and blue with fairies I had before that...
9. Your favourite song? I answered this yesterday! My favourite song is Good Morning Sunshine by Alex Day, it always makes me happy! The link is on my last post!
10. What is your favourite season? I LOVE Autumn. Everything is changing colour and making the world pretty reds, golds and oranges. Plus it means that it's not boiling hot or freezing cold so you can wear nice clothes that don't cover up or show too much! Just in the middle and I love it!
11. Favourite word and why? Intricate - very complicated or detailed. It's a pretty word, and when I think of it, I imagine a huge tapestry that's got loads of patterns and stories woven in to it, and the more you look at it, the more you see.

I'm now tagging:
Clara: http://angrybirdssucks.blogspot.co.uk/
Sweeney: http://sween-bean.blogspot.co.uk/
2 good friends at college that created blogs after I told them about this one!

My questions to them:
1. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
2. Favourite book and why?
3. Space invaders or pacman?
4. If you could be a superhero, what would you be called and what powers would you have?
5. Favourite band and why?
6. What is the one thing you can't live without?
7. What job would you have if you could get any?
8. Favourite piece of clothing?
9. Favourite food?
10. Pirates or ninjas?
11. One band/artist you want to see live, dead or alive?

Hope you guys enjoyed!
Jess xx


Mentoring captain america!

It's surprising how tiring college is after being ill, even though I was only in for 2 lesson, I'm shattered!
You could tell I was feeling rubbish today though, I was wearing my Captain America jumper and hat - the ultimate lazy day outfit! Comfy but still looks half decent!

I do mentoring at a local secondary school with the gifted and talented section of College and it officially starts next week! I'm quite excited because the girl I've been paired with is actually pretty nice! It's going to be entertaining actually getting to the school though...I'm bound to get lost or be late!

I emailed my biology teacher to get my work from the lesson I missed yesterday so I could catch up, turns out she sent me the work for Friday's lesson so now I'm a lesson ahead of everyone else which is awesome! Means that Friday will really end up being a revision lesson for me which is what I need!

One of my favourite songs came on shuffle today. I hadn't heard it for a while because I go through phases where I listen to different artists or playlists for a week or so constantly, but it came on shuffle and it automatically put me in such a good mood! I love it when music can have that much of an impact on you!
Good Morning Sunshine - Alex Day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7q1bHK8te0
It's written by one of my favourite YouTubers and contains 2 of the others (Crabstickz & ItsWayPastMyBedTime - Chris and Carrie are amazing!) so it's awesome!

Sorry my posts have been all over the place without saying proper things that are interesting! I'll think of something soon, promise!
Jess xx

I'm moving to new york 'cause I've got problems with my sleep.

I've been ill and off college again today! I hate it so much, I got 2 hours solid sleep last night then teeny bits of sleep for 8 hours after. Not fun. I really don't like missing college because it's so hard catching up with work. Luckily I only have 2 lessons tomorrow and then I get to go home and hopefully get better quicker!
I also got a few emails today telling me the date for my UCL taster course has changed and the programme for the classics open day at Oxford in march! It looks really interesting and there's an opportunity to go to 2 different lectures which will be really awesome! I'm so excited!
Anyway, I need an early night to get better for tomorrow!
Jess xx

P.S. I have a slight obsession with 'Moving to New York' by The Wombats, it's such a good song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD92J4W9n04

American sweets and a miserable film!

I went to see Les Miserables yesterday, it was a fantastic film! I was so sad, but great. And all of the performances were fantastic, especially Eddie Redmayne!
I also bought a couple of packs of American sweets that I haven't tried before; Dots and Swedish Fish, they're both so nice!

They're both so good!

I babysat a couple of girls from the brownie group that I volunteer at last night so that was fun, I ended up watching a few programmes from when I was about 10, talk about blast from the past! I also got to watch Pirates of the Caribbean and Drillbit Taylor which was good! I also got paid which replaced the money I spent in the cinema - it's crazily expensive to go to the cinema now, almost £8 for a teen ticket!
I got my drivers licence photo taken today...I look like a complete idiot!!
So happy that Top gear is back now, I'm watching that while listening to Dan and Phil's radio show!! S'all good :)
Jess xx

San Fransisco video

My friend sent me this video of a tram going down a road in San Francisco in 1905 and I found it so interesting! It's so amazing because you can see everything going on around with their everyday lives and it's really quite interesting to see what people were like and how everything has changed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NINOxRxze9k

Just watch, it's so awesome going down that street like that! It's like a time machine!
Jess xx

Piano

Piano - D. H. Lawrence
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

We had to look at this poem in English yesterday and I found it so beautiful and interesting. Our teacher played Clair de Lune to us while she read it and honestly, our class had never been so quiet. It's such a beautiful piece and it fits perfectly with the poem, I love them both.
I love poetry so much and I find it such a beautiful way of expressing words; if I find a poem I like I will make a note of it somewhere because then I can go back to it if I want some inspiration or want something to calm me or make me happy, there's a poem to create any emotion really!
I think Piano is such a nice and sweet but sad poem, it makes me think which is always a sign of something good. If something provokes thought then it's pretty awesome!
As a pianist myself, I find piano pieces beautiful, but this one actually gives me goosebumps. If you haven't had the chance to, listen to the link below, it's so peaceful and calm. Just sit somewhere with headphones in and shut your eyes, it's so worth it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFH_6DNRCY

If you want, tell me your favourite poems in the comments!
Jess xx

Fruit Pastilles

It snowed again today which is annoying because I liked being back at college again and seeing all of my friends! I have to do a performance of a section of 'Agamemnon' in classics on Thursday though which could be interesting!

On another note, I really hate it when people only talk to you when they want something or feel down. It's like they only think you're good for sorting out problems or doing them favours and it really annoys me how people think that's okay. Why would someone want to help you if you aren't good friends and don't talk to them when you're in a good mood? It makes me for one not want to help as much because seeming to only be in a bad mood when talking to me makes me feel like the person only finds them interesting or helpful if there's something to help with, not someone who they can talk to and just have a good conversation with. I don't really have to say much about people that only talk when they want something; that's just rude and selfish. For both, it's taking advantage of the person's kindness and friendship. Anyway, rant over!

I'm sorting out my driving license application as well which is exciting and scary too! I have to get it sorted out by the doctors though which will take ages so mine provisional probably won't be sorted for few months yet.

We were learning about amino acids in biology today and my teacher who was absent last week got us to make amino acids in groups from cocktail sticks and fruit pastilles! It was so good because our group did it well and then we got to eat the fruit pastilles afterwards! A whole big bag between 3 of us!! It was a great start back to college!


The awesome fruit pastille amino acid!

Sorry my posts have been a bit random and jumpy recently, I haven't had much to say! Hopefully it'll improve soon!
Jess xx


Coffee shops and swing dresses

I've realised that yesterday is the only day I didn't post during this entire week! I'm sticking to my goals pretty well!
I spent all of Friday watching films and managed to get through Notting Hill, The Holiday, The Proposal and Love Actually.
I watched My week with Marilyn on Saturday, it's about Marilyn Monroe and it's an amazing film, I really love it. Today I watched the real Marilyn in Some like it Hot, it was fantastic, if you haven't seen it, a full version is on YouTube, it's well worth the watch!
It's reinforced my love for Marilyn and the 40s/50s style. I've always loved how pretty and feminine the clothes were for women in the 40s and 50s, I wish it was fine to wear swing dresses nowadays, they're so pretty!
I always like thinking about what the 50s in New York would be like, just sitting around in a coffee shop, I don't know why but I really like the idea of it! Just the thought of sitting around with jazz playing in the background too...it would be amazing.

I love Marilyn Monroe though. We had to research her for history last year and I found her story so interesting but tragic. She was such a good actress and singer, plus she was beautiful and not a stick like most celebrities today. She wasn't perfect and she got where she did because of her talent. I really love her because even though she had all of the problems, she was still amazing.

I have the day off college again tomorrow so I get a 4 day weekend which is pretty cool! I think tomorrow will be a Disney film day...
Jess xx

Snow days and university!

So college texted everyone last night to say it was cancelled today because of a severe snow warning; boy were they right!

I got a lie in today for the first time in ages, I definitely needed it! When I woke up it was white outside!! I don't usually like snow because it disrupts everything, but because college was cancelled anyway, it's awesome! I've decided that I'm spending the day in my pjs, in bed with my laptop and phone with hot chocolate, lion cereal and a film! Perfect day if I do say so myself! I do wish I had someone to cuddle with though, that would be nice. I miss cuddles though tbh, the one cruddy thing about being single D:

 

The view from my bedroom window, you can barely tell the pavement from the road!!!

My amazing Gingerbread hot chocolate with cinnamon and chocolate
 in my Starbucks mug that I got for Christmas, its so good!!!
 

I just got an email from UCL saying that I've got a place on the taster day that they've got on 13th February!!!!!!! I'm actually beyond excited because the course is Ancient worlds/Classics which is the course I want to apply for at UCL when I have to choose my Unis next year!!! So if it goes well I'll know if I want to go or not!!! I had to choose from 3 workshops so I decided to pick one where I get to study Greek writing and books, and seeing what the papyrus say about culture and society of ancient civilisations which is amazing and so interesting! Today has just turned out AMAZING!!

I'm off to snuggle in my duvet, eat cereal and watch Notting Hill, I'll probably write another post later!
Jess xx

Moving on

This year I'm trying to, and have to, move on in lots of aspects in life.
One thing is that I'm having to start looking at universities and open days and courses which is so exciting but scary at the same time! I've also been trying to get on to summer schools and taster days for ancient history/classics so they look good on applications and to see if it's truly something I want to continue with at Uni. It's quite scary because the summer schools and taster days need what is essentially a personal statement which I shouldn't really have to write until next year so that's quite hard! Moving on in my school life is difficult and scary but it's also really fun! Moving from GCSE at secondary school to A levels at college was a big move but it was so worth it, hopefully moving on from college to Uni will be just as good!

On an awesome note, I'm improving my confidence with talking to people! I've been talking more to the people around me that either hang around with the friendship group I'm sometimes with, or people I don't usually talk to in classes and it's really good because I've met some really nice people!

Sorry my posts have been so short recently, I don't have much time and I don't have many ideas which is a bit annoying! Any ideas would be appreciated! :P
Jess xx

Card games and late nights

So today has been pretty uneventful. I got to go to the pub with some friends after college though which was good, I'm so rubbish at card games though!!

I still have quite a lot of work that I need to be getting on with for various subjects which is starting to stress me out again...hopefully I'll be able to get on top of it before it gets out of hand completely. I hate feeling really over worked but it's strange because I don't mind being under pressure, it's just if I have a lot of work I start to worry that I won't be able to get it done on time.
I'm getting so tired because my lack of sleep over the holidays has messed with my body clock so I can't sleep until late, it's really rubbish because I have to get up at 6.30 every morning...

Anyway, I've run out of things to say!
Jess xx

8 reasons why YOU should start blogging!

At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to start writing a blog; I wasn't sure if I was interesting enough, funny enough, smart enough etc. but I found that it's great fun, you meet awesome people and once you start it's really difficult to stop!
I encourage anyone that's thinking of blogging to start, and if you're not, try it anyway! If it isn't for you, you don't have to carry on anyway!

So here are a few reasons why I think you should start blogging no matter who you are or where you're from!

Why you should start blogging and how to just have fun doing it!

1. It's completely personal - It's your blog. This means you can write about what you want. Guaranteed, if you find something interesting, there will be at least one other person on the internet that shares your interest and will enjoy reading your blog!
2. It's a good way to vent  - Sometimes it's nice to just sit down after a difficult day and just write about it. Who knows? Maybe you'll get someone nice giving you an encouraging comment or some advice?
3. It's your blog, work around you! - you control your blog, so you control when you upload a post. If you don't have any ideas, that's perfectly fine! If you have a million ideas, also fine! Do what you want when you want; that's the great thing about the internet, you can do and say what you like because the blog is completely yours and yours alone. No one tells you what to write or when, blog around your schedule and work load.
4. It improves your writing skills - I'm being serious. I had to write a piece of journalistic writing for my English coursework last week so I wrote it in the style I usually do; my teachers both love it and my style!
5. You meet people you wouldn't have otherwise! - I've actually made a good friend through blogging which I find amazing; our lives are actually pretty linked which we found really creepy when we first started talking, but you have the opportunity to meet and talk to people from around the world which is amazing!
6. It shows dedication - being able to keep a blog running and updating it regularly will show people that you can keep at something over a long period of time which is always a good thing! Not that you'd want to show your blog to anyone... :P
7. It gives you a chance to be creative - I love being creative but I lack the time and motivation to do anything properly arty. A blog is great for satisfying my creative side because I can do and say what I like without thinking much about what others think of it.
8. It's FUN! - I found blogging quite hard to begin with, but once you get in to the swing of things, it's really great! It's a great way to be productive but take a break from work at the same time, and you're doing something interesting!

Obviously blogging isn't for everyone, but I do recommend trying it, it's great once you start! If you don't like it you can always stop anyway, nothing is stopping you!
Jess xx

Stupid snow

So it snowed again today! Yay. I don't really like snow much if I'm honest. It's so pretty when its actually snowing, but the second it hits the floor it's nothing but trouble and its horrible. It was really thick on the grass outside the classroom window and when we got out of our lesson, the ground was slushy and there were people throwing snowballs. I hate idiots that throw them at anyone, they're just being stupid because snowballs can actually hurt quite a lot. Fair enough if you're playing with friends, but don't get everyone involved. I love having fun in the snow as much as the next person, but I prefer it when it's not at risk of trapping me at college and stopping lessons, and it messes up the transport systems so it's hard to get anywhere because of traffic and delays. Plus it makes it super dangerous to walk anywhere so it's hard to go anywhere! Anyway! Rant over.

I GOT AN A IN MY ANCIENT HISTORY ESSAY I DID AGES AGO! I'm beyond happy! I worked really hard on it so it was hoping it was going to be good! This is the 2nd A I've got and 1st for Ancient History so I'm really happy that I've shown that I'm capable of getting As at A level! Yay!

I got a late Christmas present from my parents today too, it's the cutest pair of pyjamas! The top has a beagle on it! I have a beagle so I'm super happy because they're so cute! The bottoms are like lounge trousers but they're fleecy and so warm, and they're stripy which is so cool! :')
Jess xx

I will survive!

I had my first driving lesson at Mercedes Benz world even though I'm not 17 today!
I didn't crash or kill anyone!
I was so nervous to begin with, but it was really good once I knew how to do everything. I was in a manual which made everything just that little bit harder, but I got the knack of it in the end which is good! So yeah, I'm super proud of myself that I actually did well!
I'm so excited too, Dan and Phil's radio show is starting in 5 minutes!!! I just know it's going to be amazing! I've got to listen to the rest of radio 1 at the moment and it's so rubbish...it's hurting my ears :( but I don't want to miss the start of Dan and Phil's radio show!!!!!!!!! The things I do for my favourite YouTubers :')
Jess xx

DRIVING!

Quick little post; I'm off driving at Mercedes Benz world now! Shall give you an update when I'm back!
Jess xx

Fashion is a crime...

So my English teacher told me yesterday that her and her husband (my Ancient History teacher) think I'm stylish! It actually made me smile that someone notices what I wear! I couldn't stop smiling all day.
I really love the way I dress even though its a bit old for my age, just means that I won't have to worry about buying loads of clothes when I get to Uni, that's always useful! It's nice to know that people actually like what I wear and I'm giving off the vibe I want to, it's honestly made me so happy.

On another note, season 10 of NCIS started yesterday in England! IT WAS AMAZING! I'm so glad everyone is okay :') at the end of the last season, there was a massive explosion and it was so scary! Does anyone else watch it? Not many people I know do and that means that I can't fangirl about it! I've actually watched every episode from every season I think, it's so good, watch it if you get the chance!

I got to go to Reading with a friend I haven't seen since before summer which was great! Also......I went in to a Starbucks and didn't buy anything. I'm so proud of myself!

I'm sitting at home doing homework on a Saturday night...living the wild life here!
Jess xx
P.S. did ya like the title after reading this? ;P I thought it was pretty clever because NCIS is a kind of crime investigation show and then clothes!!

2013

I know this is super late 2 weeks in to 2013 now but I've actually come up with some goals for this year! I'm not going to call them resolutions because these really are general things I just think will be good for me to work constantly. I don't want to say I need to do this within the year because I need to carry some of them on. But I suppose some could be counted as the usual type of resolution...
So here goes; My goals for 2013 and beyond.

Revise work from the beginning
I'm pretty horrible at revising. I end up leaving the bulk of it until about a week until the exam and then having a mental breakdown at the amount of work I have, resulting in me becoming a complete social recluse who only comes out of their room for food. I've decided that the stress isn't worth it so this term I'm going to try and revise what I learned in the lesson that night. Hopefully this way the information will start to sink in and I won't have to work as hard to remember everything!

Read more
Obviously because of the subjects I take, I have to read a lot of books that are on the syllabus. However, I get very little time to just read a book because I want to read it. This year I'm going to try and read more purely for the sake of reading instead of for a subject. It will be a nice way of taking a break for working while still doing something valuable and productive.

Take more photos
Not all memories stay in your mind so photos are the best ways to preserve memories of days, people, places or times. I don't take many photos of (or with) people I know so I'm going to try and change that.

Don't get distracted as easily
I know, easier said than done, but I really have to stop getting so distracted because it doesn't help with my work. Yes, breaks are good, but I need to know when to stop and know when to get back to my work.

Be confident in myself
I need to be more confident with what I look like and myself in general. I need to just accept who I am, because no matter what, I'm stuck like this for life, happy with it or not, and there's no point being awkward/miserable about what I can't change.

Talk to people more
If I know them, I can talk to someone for days. Annoyingly, if I don't, I'm as awkward as anything.  want to try and be more confident when meeting new people because you can meet some lovely people if you just talk to them!

Make an effort with friends
I feel like I neglect my friends due to my work load which I feel really guilty about. I'm worried that if I carry on just solely focussing on work then I'll lose my friends which I really don't want to do. I love them all loads but my work always take priority over everything which is good if I want a good education and good results at the end, but I don't want to become a social recluse that only works and doesn't ever meet up with people. Hopefully I can change that this year and see everyone more!

Blog more!
Even though I had over 100 posts last year, I feel like I've neglected the blog quite badly this year and I feel bad! I lovelovelove blogging but sometimes it's so hard to think of something new to write about. However, I also feel bad if I just leave it for ages until  come up with something! I'm compiling a list of ideas that I can write about if I ever get stuck though so fear not! I'm going to aim for a post every other day at the least, but I really want to try posting at least once every day; it's a nice break from proper work and I can just write for ages about whatever I like instead of a book or source I've been set!

So hopefully I'll be able to actually stick to these goals, it will be fun and exciting to try new things and do more of things I love!
Jess xx

Clothes!

I got two of the cutest tops today, I'm so happy! I was originally looking to buy this really cute dress that was in the window of the shop but I couldn't find it anywhere else, and being super socially awkward, I didn't ask the guy to get it out of the window for me! Instead I found these two gorgeous tops!
The first is a super cute mustard 3/4 length sleeved jumper with a black collar attached and PENGUINS on the front! How amazing is that?! I don't normally like yellow clothes, but this is amazing!
The second is that I've been wanting for ages. I've seen lots of variations on lots of different websites and I've been searching for one that is affordable and from somewhere I can actually try it on at! So this is perfect, it was £10 in the sale and it fits perfectly! It's made from a really nice fabric, it's like a shirt but softer material, I can't really explain it! I love it though. And what more needs to be said other than polka dots. I've been looking for something pretty with polka dots and this is perfect, I'm so happy I've found something! Plus it has that cute pussybow collar which is adorable!
They're both amazing and I love them to bits, two very good purchases I think!


PENGUINS. £30 for this, so worth the money, it's really warm and soft!

POLKA DOTS! I love this so so much,
looks better with the belt added to it though, gives it more shape.



I also forgot to say on my previous post, another couple of my favourite books are A Place called Here by Cecelia Ahern and P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. P.S. I love you is such a fantastic film but the book is 10 times better, always is! I definitely recommend reading these, they're so good!
I have to try and write a personal statement for a summer school I'm applying to at Oxford Uni...my tutor has also given me a couple of books to read so I can add them to show that I'm interested in Classics and read more than what I'm meant to! It's going to be hard but hopefully I'll get it done!

I'm so happy I'm blogging again though, I didn't realise how much I missed it until I came back yesterday!
Jess xx

Clothes, books and lip balm.

For Christmas, I was given this cute little package of two tinted lip balms from Burt's Bees; they're amazing! As I'm someone who wears the bare minimum of make up, if any make up at all, these are perfect! The rose one (the bottom one in the picture) is a little bit dark so it's subtle but noticeable. The pink blossom is about the same colour as my lips so it's great because it just gives my lips a bit of a shine, I love them, definitely would recommend buying them if you want a bit of colour without having to go OTT with the lipstick.

 

 

Easily turning in to my favourite cosmetic!

My tutor has decided that our form, being humanities based instead of science, therefore excluding us from most emails circulating college at the moment, have to become more cultured and she's made us write down our top 10 books. Obviously being the massive bookworm that I am, this was a piece of cake, the only problem is that I can't cut my list down to 10!!!!!!!! I love most of the books I read but I have a list of books that are my favourites and even though I have most on my kindle, I need in hard copy because they're my favourites out of all books I've read!

My top books/series

1. Harry Potter series by JK Rowling - enough said on this one.
2. Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins - again, need I say more?
3. The Perks of being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - it's an amazing book that you will be able to connect to on probably more that one occasion.
4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - it's so well written, sad, funny, with some great quotes
5. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - set in the depression in America, so different to most books set around that time period though.
6. Paper Towns by John Green - another amazing book by John Green, just read it, he doesn't disappoint!
7. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - had to read it for GCSE English, ended up falling in love with a book! Always a nice thing to do.
8. Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman - they're so different and interesting, it's 16th Century Italy mixed with modern day London, it's so good! Anyone who likes History will probably like it.
9. Looking for Alaska by John Green - It's so sad but amazing at the same time.
10. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks - I love this book so much, it's one of my favourite Nicholas Sparks books.
11. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green - it's such a sweet story!
12. Before I Fall Asleep by S.J. Watson - it's fantastic, it doesn't tell you everything and it's such a scary and thrilling twist, it actually gave me goosebumps!
13. Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks - it's another one of my favourite Nicholas Sparks books, again its so sweet but sad.
14. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - it's a bit maths-y but it's not like you have to understand it properly; I didn't and it's still a great book.
15. The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss - It's vaguely Sherlock Holmes-y which makes it that little bit more awesome that he's one of the writers of the Sherlock TV series!
16. Adorkable by Sarra Manning - the reason I started this blog. This book taught me that being different is okay and it's given me the confidence to just be me, dress how I like and not worry as much about what people thing. If you're an internet addict then you'll love how relatable this book is. I've lost count of the amount of times that I've read it!

So this is actually longer than the list I did for tutor which is pretty awesome! I love reading, I don't get how people can just live their lives without opening a book, it must be so boring!

I'm currently in Starbucks using my laptop in my free! It's amazing and so much fun! I went shopping with my friend earlier aiming to buy a dress, I've ended up with a really cute spotty dress shirt and a penguin jumper!! It's a mustard/yellow but it's so cute! And Penguins. what's not to love?! I've also been looking for a polka dot covered piece of clothing for ages so I'm now super happy!!
Anyway, I have to go and attempt to start my English coursework piece!
Shall post pictures of my new clothes later!
Jess xx

Blogging & Stress

Biology exam is finally over! This means I can blog again without risking complete failure! Yay!
Sorry it's been so long, everything that doesn't involve my biology revision has become neglected in the last week and a half, I'm sorry and I'll make it up to you soon hopefully by making some cool posts! Or at least long rambly ones that are vaguely interesting... :P
On a side note, biology went pretty well, and I've finished my extended project background research so I can finally get on to making my Roman pot! Good day all in all!

On to the next thing, stress. I get stressed pretty easily. For the last week or so I have been slowly going crazy because of worrying about not being able to fit in the amount of revision I had to do in the quickly shortening amount of time I had. It got to the point where I stayed up until 11/12 pm just to finish a page or section I was on. Never a good idea. Doing this for a week has messed up my body clock so I can't sleep before 11 (if I'm lucky) yet I'm still tired. It's really catching up with me now, I can barely keep my eyes open and I almost fell asleep in Latin today! Not good!
Even though my exam is over and I don't have any revision now, I'm still under stress because of my other work. I still have a piece of English coursework to do which I have no clue as to which question I'm going to do for it. I still have a lot of work left over from before Christmas and have various application forms for things in the summer to send off with close deadlines so I'm feeling quite overworked if I'm being completely honest!! Luckily the teachers haven't really set definite deadlines for the work so I don't have to rush to do it, I can take my time and make sure I do it well which is always good.
I'm taking today off working because I need to have a bit of a break and to be honest, trying to work when being this tired doesn't work anyway because I can't properly focus on what I'm doing which is annoying because I know I should be working...but I need to give myself a break to recuperate my scattered mind sometimes! I swear, by the time the summer exams are over, if I haven't had a mental breakdown then it will be a miracle, I've been close in the last week and it's really not good!

Anyway, on to better things! I found and restarted my old Pokémon fire red game!! Technically it was my brother's, but he gave it to me :D I've only got 8 hours of save time on it and I already have a gym badge and over 10 Pokémon saved on my pokedex! (Ones I actually own)
I feel like such a nerd, I'm currently addicted to Pokémon, my Sonic jump game on my phone (one of the 12 days of Christmas free gifts - so good!) and my new stylophone app on my phone that I downloaded today! If you haven't heard of them, go and YouTube stylophone, they're the coolest little instrument ever! The app gives you tunes that you can play like Final Countdown, Hey Jude by The Beatles and Star wars theme tune & imperial march! :') I also figured out how to play the tune for the Pokémon centre and the Mario theme tune! It's unreal how happy this made me! I wanted to buy an actual stylophone but they cost £15 and mum told me that there's an app, and at 69p, I wasn't going to refuse! I'M SO HAPPY!
Over the last week, I've also found the delights of Alex Day (Nerimon) and his weird and awesome songs and videos. He's so funny! Bit of a weirdo like the rest of the YouTubers, but let's face it, I'm talking to a bunch of random people through a blog, right?! :P He's definitely in my group of favourite YouTubers now though (Danisnotonfire, AmazingPhil, Charlieissocoollike, KickthePJ, Crabstickz, Vlogbrothers, CassJayTuck and ItsWayPastMyBedTime...I really have no life...)

So yeah! I'll blog again tomorrow and hopefully it'll be a bit more interesting than this!
Jess xx

2012

Yes, this is going to be one of those generic end of year posts, but this year has been such an amazing turning point for me that I couldn't help but feel like I should do one.

This year really has been the year for firsts. I've experienced so many new things that have impacted me and I've gained new experiences as well.

Prom
I can't explain how much I loved prom. It was everything I hoped for; dancing around in gorgeous clothes and having a good time with friends! It was nice to just have a thing with all of our year fully together again for the last time, and most of us looked really good! Obviously there had to be the girls that decided to go wotsit then wear a yellow dress...but that's just part of the fun, isn't it?!

Some of my closest friends in secondary school, I love these guys :)
That's me in the middle wearing the black dress :)

Sometimes I don't know what I'd do without these guys, Prom marked an end of a 5 year stint with them because I moved to a college away from them, but luckily, I'm still close with most of them and I couldn't be happier :)

Friends
As with most things, they begin and they end, same with friendships. I'm incredibly lucky this year to have made new friends, made stronger bonds with old ones and realised who my true friends are so I could move on and be happy.
Half the time I don't know where I'd be without my friends, they've been there for me whether I wanted advice or just a laugh, they know what I need to be happy though and I love them for it :) I love that I can have both a good laugh and a decent chat with them too, it's nice! If any of you are reading this (I know some of you do :P) then thank you for being here for me, I really appreciate it.

GCSEs, Results and College
I did my GCSE exams and got good results back, thankfully! Then I made the hardest decision of my life; I moved to a completely new college of over 2000 students where I knew a single person that is in the year above. I moved away from my friends, my old school, and basically everything I was familiar with. It was a big step for me and I was so scared, but I can confidently say, that even though I had to leave my friends behind, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm so happy and the courses that I'm doing are also fantastic, I love learning because all of the teachers are great and I think I'm actually doing pretty well! I'm also happy because it was a good decision that gives me another step towards University life. Plus I get to do subjects I enjoy and love instead of doing subjects I don't and being miserable like I would have been if I had stayed at my old school.

And obviously being the huge nerd I am, I also discovered Sherlock this year, which is fantastic and bad at the same time! I also went to Harry Potter Warner Brother's Studio tour which was just fantastic! I can't wait to go again in February!

My blog
I started my blog this year and I am so genuinely happy that I did; it's so much fun and it's really nice seeing that people actually want to read about the random stuff that I go on about!

I basically just want to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of my life in 2012, old or new, you're all great! And I also want to say thank you to my followers and readers, I wouldn't do this without you so thank you!
I hope you all have a fantastic new year!
Jess xxx