Goodbye to the Road to University!

So, this is it. For over a year, everything has been leading up to this weekend. It all started with the millions of prospectuses, going from looking for History courses, to History with Journalism courses, then finally settling on straight journalism with an NCTJ course attached. I spent a lot of time looking for a university in Wales and I'm not entirely sure why. I think (and I say this with much shame) that it might have been because I was going through a phase of having an obsession with welsh men and I once said as a joke that I wanted to go to Cardiff university where I would meet a Gavin Henson and that would be my life sorted, but then I took it a bit far and became convinced I needed to go to Wales. I'm not going to Wales. I soon realised that there were more important things to consider than what accent the majority of people at your uni will have.

Anyway, if you've been reading this blog for the past year you'll know most of my story on the road to university which I've now reached the end of but I just want to say a final thank you to any one who has ever liked, shared, favourited, retweeted, commented, said to me in person "I liked your blog" or just read it.

I've been saying my goodbyes to everyone for the past couple of days and they haven't actually been as difficult as I'd expected, there have been hardly any tears, which for me is really saying something. I know that I'll still talk to my best friends all the time and Christmas isn't that long away. It was a little difficult to say goodbye to my best friend tonight. We have been friends for about 10 years and it's going to feel a bit weird not being able to just walk over the road to see her when I'm having a crisis or I'm just bored. I know we'll see each other soon though so it was fine, she's not getting rid of me that easily ;) The hardest goodbye will be to my Mum, Dad and brother tomorrow. My brother has been getting quite upset about me leaving recently but I know he'll be fine, he is without a doubt the person I will miss most but we'll be able to talk on skype a lot. Although it will take a bit of getting used to because I don't remember him ever not being there and he's been my favourite thing in the world since the day he was born when I begged for him to be called Spike (he's not Spike, he's called Ben) it won't be long before he'll be used to me not being there!

Now it's time to say goodbye to this blog. I feel a little emotional to be honest, it's become a little part of me and It's difficult to leave it. I'm not leaving blogging behind though. I asked for suggestions for a new blog concept and I had a few people telling me that they like this one so after having the same name suggested by both my Mum and my Best Friend I am pleased to say that the new blog will be www.theroadthroughuniversity.blogspot.com and hopefully the first post will be up sometime this weekend when I'm all moved in to Bede Hall at De Montfort University in Leicester and starting The Road Through University!

The Pain and Pleasure of Packing!

Packing is bad enough when it' s for a week or two's holiday but when you're packing up most of your stuff to move away it feels like a massive chore.

I'm a list maker. I genuinely feel like I need to make lists in order to live and if I hadn't made lists pretty much every day of the summer, especially during the last 3 weeks, I wouldn't have got anything done. 

The idea of packing is overwhelming but I actually surprised myself at how little I use in my house after making a list of the things I need to pack. I've bought a lot of kitchen stuff (mostly all pink); new bedding and some new clothes so I'm not actually taking that much stuff from my own room which will hopefully make my room look a lot less sad than I'd imagined it, with many Katy traces left behind! 

I don't have much to say about packing apart from that at first it feels hard but there's something very satisfying about getting bits of it done. What I thought might be helpful though for anyone that may happen upon this blog when leaving for university this year, next year or however many years down the line, is a list because I'm good at those. 

• Make up and toiletries (obviously up to you how much/what of this you take)
• Sleeping bag and airbed (for visiting friends)
• all kitchen stuff (Try and start to cook a bit at home, I'm a rubbish cook but I've made my mum teach me a few key dishes to see what kitchen stuff I actually use) 
• all bedding stuff (my halls don't include duvets and pillows and stuff but others do, so check things like that!)
• Stationary (it's easy to forget that you're going to study and not just meet people and get drunk, folders pens and papers and stuff but also watch to see if your course has specific things you'll need to buy)
• printer, paper and ink
• nail varnish (time to split mine and my mum's collection!)
• jewellery
• clothes, socks, underwear etc
• shoes (don't forget these like my friend did when she moved in at the weekend!)
• bags
• hairbrush
• laundry bag
• extension lead
• curlers
• hairdryer
• GHDs
• umbrella
• ipod dock/alarm clock

This is the list I've been working off. This isn't a definitive list, it's more general, there's lots of stuff on the internet to tell you all the specifics you'll need, although definitely look and see what is included in your halls! Obviously, I don't know if all of this is useful because I haven't gone yet but do let me know if you've gone to university if I've forgotten anything major! 

The End of an Era but the Start of the Future!

Tonight was difficult.

I've only been excited for starting university, I haven't been sad or nervous at all. I'm still not nervous yet and I'm still excited but tonight I got sad. Tonight was the end of an era, my last event as a Plume student: presentation evening. I won the year 13 music award and the year 13 mentoring award, both of which I am proud to say I also won last year in year 12 (always good to know that you're consistent). This is the 3rd presentation evening I've been to as an award winner but I have been to 5 to perform with
the choir and I was nowhere near prepared for how hard it would be to not take part in that performance.

Honestly, I don't think I have found anything more difficult than watching the Plume School Choir perform without me.

That might sound dramatic but until you've been a part of that choir, you don't understand how hard it is to leave them. I feel like a big sister to everyone in that group and it truly felt like a family to me. It hadn't quite hit me that I'd left them until tonight and it took everything I had to hold it together. I didn't really think that me blubbing in the front row on the stage was the look the school were going for. I did feel incredibly proud though, after so many years of being in that choir it was great to listen to them and I think they sounded amazing, although I am a little bias.

A reaaaally old picture of the Plume School Choir

At the end of the evening, there was a guest speaker. An ex pupil who has gone on to play professional football. I found him inspirational, although for this blog, not for my life. I have LOVED my time at this school. So many friends said to me when we left school, how sick they were of it and how they couldn't wait to leave the place. I, however couldn't have been sadder. The school have been so good to me over the past 7 years. There have definitely been occasions when I've felt annoyed with them, (for example a certain english teacher in year 10 and a certain drama teacher in year 11) and there are plenty of things I won't miss, the headmaster's rambling speeches which make everyone simultaneously roll their eyes and fall asleep as he tells them how qualifications aren't really very important at all, being a significant one.

BUT, despite anything that annoys me about Plume, I have a lot to thank it for and a lot I'll miss about it. I've met some great friends; been taught by some great teachers and ultimately learnt a lot about various subjects and life in general! My school played a big part in making me who I am today and I don't plan to ever fully sever ties with it. That doesn't mean I'm going to want to teach there or even necessarily send my children there but what I'd like more than anything is to one day be someone who is asked to come back and speak at presentation evening. Obviously I plan to be successful in whatever career I enter into and presentation evening tonight inspired me further to work really hard at my degree and I'm more determined than ever to become a successful journalist or maybe a successful something else, who knows right now but I would like to be able to go and speak at the Plume one day and tell people how much I loved it. Honestly, it wasn't the only reason I got into university (and maybe became a successful whatever) because I actually worked really hard throughout my school life and it paid off. I completely agree with this guest speaker and my headmaster that it's not ALL about the results and qualifications you get, it's about the experiences you have too but I like to think I've had a really good balance during my school life between hobbies, time with friends, time with family and school work and that's what makes me feel prepared for real life.

My First day of year 7! 

Year 10!

Year 11!

If you are one of the people who can afford to do no work and still do well then congratulations but don't you want to actually feel proud of yourself for achieving something through hard work and determination rather than what could be described as a fluke? I'm not one of these people at all but in some ways I'm quite grateful that I'm not because I feel like it's made me able to work for whatever I want and I'd encourage anyone still at school or sixth form or even at university or work to be as busy as possible doing things you enjoy as well as working for your job or studies because it's made me appreciate everything so much more. I'm not at all saying I'm a perfect person or I've had the best school life ever, I can't judge that because I haven't lived anyone else's life but I'm really happy and incredibly proud of what I've achieved so far, so it can't be that bad a tactic.

Future vs Past day at college!

Crazy Games at college!

Last official day at Plume!

So, despite the fact I came home tonight and cried a lot because it's only just hit me that things are ending and I'm actually moving away from the home town and the people I love so much and have been my whole life for the past 18 years, I feel inspired because I'm leaving to really start my life and hopefully in 30 years time or whatever I'll be back to say "look what I've done", partly for my ego but also because it feels like it's about time someone started saying I worked hard at school and I've done well because of it.

Bus Blogging

I recently took a bus from Maldon to Chelmsford as I have done many times in my teenage years. This bus journey was different though, I don't know if it's just because I'm a blogger now and I'm more aware of people around me, because I was on the bus on my own or if it was just a special day for the 31 but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and it made me realise just how much I love Maldon.

I was waiting at the bus stop drinking a Mocha alongside another woman who was smoking and rather winding me up as a significant amount of ash had ended up on my dress. At this point I wasn't particularly looking forward to the bus journey but a lovely old lady who came along changed it all. I was applying some palmers lip butter, which I love. This woman approached me and asked if it was for dry lips and when I said yes she started to recommend me a lip balm from boots. As someone who loves a good natter about beauty products I started to tell her that I love the palmers one because it smells like chocolate and we became bus stop besties. She was lovely and told me she thought my hair colour was beautiful , we talked about the weather and our love of Greek Islands. It was only a little thing but it really made my day and I felt a little sad when there wasn't enough space for us to sit together once we were on the bus however she made an effort to say goodbye to me when she got off at Moulsham Street and I stayed on for the Bus Station.

On the bus I was really impressed by the genuine good nature of people. There was a lady on the bus who I see a lot round town. She has an illness that makes her struggle to walk properly and often leads to a lot of people staring at her. She had blood on her dress and was clutching on to some papers that she kept dropping on the floor. She was really struggling and shoes she had bought were falling out of her bag. I was impressed that I didn't see anyone giving her funny looks which you often see in situations like that. Instead, people looked genuinely concerned and like me, seemed to be wondering whether to try and help. At one point, a woman stood up said "are you alright there darling?" picked up the woman's papers and put them in her handbag, put her shoes bag in the plastic bag and handed her both bags making sure she could get a grip on them. She then went and sat back down, it was so fuss free and genuinely thoughtful and in a world where people always seem too busy to even smile at strangers, it was lovely to see someone being so caring to someone they didn't know.

I was sitting on the fold up seats and a quite large man was sat next to me with one seat in between us. He was the smiliest man I have ever seen in my life and whenever anyone got on to the bus he tried to offer them his seat. He wasn't just being a gentleman for the sake of it, it was a busy bus and I don't want anyone to think I'm being rude because size is always a sensitive issue but because of his size he was slightly sitting on the seat in the middle as well as his own and he seemed really willing to stand up to give more seat space but everyone who got on was equally as kind and willing to stand. It seems like a silly thing to notice but he genuinely seemed like one of the sweetest people. This man also helped me to open the window when 2 women asked me to, noticing I was too short to reach.

Towards the end of the journey I noticed two men chatting away like the best of friends, despite getting on at different stops. They couldn't have been a more unlikely pair, one young, cool looking black man and one old, scruffy man with no teeth but they were having a lovely conversation and it was clear they knew each other from sharing the journey to Chelmsford on the 31 every day.

Maldon is a weird place filled with lots of weird people but that is why I love it and why I fit in so well here. All teenagers claim to hate living in Maldon, moaning that it's full of old people and there's nothing to do. That's true to be honest, the population of Maldon is mostly families and old people apart from in the holidays when the town becomes noticeably younger as everyone comes home from University. But this bus journey made me realise that it's the old and the slightly weird that make Maldon. I'm a weirdo in training compared to most of the population of Maldon but they're not only weird they're also genuinely nice and thoughtful. Obviously I'm not talking about everyone in Maldon, there are plenty of normal people and plenty of nasty people in my town but they aren't the ones that inspire blogs.

I gave a thank you to the people of the 31, albeit accidental as I stood up and the chair folded lifting up my dress to show everyone behind me my pants. Maybe I'm not just a weirdo in training after all...

Nearing the end of The Road to University!

I am thrilled to say that the past year and everything I've blogged about all worked for me and I got into my first choice, De Montfort university in Leicester. I was way too attached to DMU, with it being the only uni I know of that lets you book your accommodation before you have an unconditional place, I'd already spoken to some of my future flatmates on Facebook and all the freshers groups made me feel like I was already going. My offer was quite achievable so it wasn't ridiculous for me to feel that way but I do wonder how I'd have reacted if things hadn't gone as expected.

The night before results was one of my best friend's 18th and if it was any other occasion then I would have most definitely said no to a night out in favour of an early night being boring and sensible ready for the following morning. It wasn't just anyone's birthday though, so saying no wasn't an option, toning down the drinking a little so there was no more sick in taxi incidents however, was definitely in order. I had a brilliant night and actually think it was probably the best thing for us. As one of my friends kept saying, it was the last night we had where we could just enjoy ourself with nothing to worry about and the alcohol probably gave us a better night's sleep than anyone sober enough to panic.

I went to bed at about 4am and woke up at 7am, making the mistake of checking my e-mails followed by twitter. I hadn't received any e-mails but I mis-read someone's tweet and thought they'd got in to DMU, which immediately made me convinced that I hadn't got in. For the next hour, armed with my laptop and my mum I sat in bed refreshing UCAS track until I read the words "Congratulations" and "De Montfort University" and screamed the house down waking my brother up and throwing my laptop at my mum. I'm sure that was one of the best moments of my life and it just got better with a phone call from one of my best friends telling me that her and another one of my friends had also got into their first choices, the good news kept coming in on twitter and Facebook and in some ways it was an even better feeling seeing everyone else celebrating too. It really seems that a lot more people, at my sixth form anyway, got into their first choice this year and even the hangover didn't ruin that morning for me.

It didn't even really matter to me then what I got in my A levels, getting in to Uni was making me happy enough. I could have got a B and 3 Ds to get into DMU and because it was point based I couldn't really predict for definite what I'd got but I was really happy to find out that I'd got a B and 3Cs. It's good to know that the hard work I put in gave me what I wanted.

So, it's almost over now. I move to Leicester on the 22nd September, which is nearly 2 weeks away now and I'm just starting to pack and buy all the new things I need. I want to make the most of the last couple of weeks at home in Maldon but it's definitely going to be hard with all the goodbyes I'm going to have to start saying to all the friends moving away before me; the people I'm leaving behind and also to this blog.

It's not over yet though and if I can tear my self away from watching friends and numerous youtube videos rather than doing anything productive then I'll update you with my last few weeks on The Road to University!

Time to lose the L plates!

Learning to drive is probably second only to A levels in the things taking up the average 17/18 year old's mind. I started driving in February last year. I'd avoided applying for my provisional license, starting a month after my birthday only because my Mum and Dad constantly told me it was a good idea. Most people I know turned 17 and couldn't wait to start driving, I was terrified at the idea.

My college takes part in the roadrunner course, where all the year 12s go over to Bradwell and learn about safe driving. As a part of this day, a driving school were taking us round for small off road drives. I'd never even attempted to drive before, I didn't know what any of the controls were, I didn't even know how to turn it on! It's safe to say I was the worst driver of the day, scaring all the other students and even the instructors, with one asking when I turned 17 so that he could stay off of the road. This experience didn't exactly make me less horrified at the idea of learning to drive so in the months running up to my birthday when I should have applied for my licence, I instead made a concerned effort to change the subject any time the topic of me driving came up in conversation.

Fortunately, I have extremely stubborn parents. They decided it was a good idea for me to learn to drive and themed all presents around driving lessons. I couldn't really say no any more when they were being paid for me so I finally admitted defeat and ordered my provisional. The next terrifying (I like to be dramatic!) step was deciding who to learn to drive with. Everyone who lives in Maldon always jokes about the large amount of cafes and hairdressers we're home to and I'm starting to think that driving schools should join that list! Luckily, my decision was made easy for me and to be completely honest, if it wasn't then I'd probably still be putting off learning to drive and arguing with my parents about it.

Supreme driving school run a course with my sixth form where they do driving practice around the playground for year 12s approaching their 17th birthday. This was the best thing ever for me. I got to get used to being in a car when I could only endanger the school, the instructor, the instructor's car and me which is a lot better than the danger I'd have faced going on the road straight away! This made me feel a little more confident about the idea and I booked lessons with Dave.

It's taken me a little longer than most people to get to the stage of taking a test. I'm in no way a natural driver and I'm the sort of person who worries about looking stupid so I didn't want to even try and take one if I didn't feel confident that I could drive. I've finally gotten to that stage after about a year and a half of driving and I'm happy to say that it meant I passed first time thanks to Dave being patient with my driving skills, it took me a while but I got there!

So, as much as I REALLY didn't want to learn to drive, now I can I love it! Driving on my own is the least stressful thing in the world, I'm super careful to look in my mirrors all the time and for once I actually feel like I know what I'm doing in the car. I went out for my first drive alone yesterday afternoon up to town. It was the smoothest drive I've ever had and I did a perfectly straight bay park first time, which has NEVER happened before. I keep being reminded that I'm going to learn more about driving now that I've passed and I've got to be super careful and I completely see that, it feels so different. The most important thing though, is driving music. I'm finding that Olly Murs sets the perfect relaxed yet happy mood for good driving, I'm not sure my "ooh ah Malia" playlist will have the same effect...

I would recommend anyone trying to learn to drive if possible. Every one is different, you might be car crazy and learn to drive straight away and pass ASAP, or you might be like me and think it's scary and not really worth it but just give it a try because no matter how long it takes, it's just something good to be able to do.

What happens in Crete stays in Crete...until I blog about it!

It's supposed to be a bit of a rite of passage to go on holiday with your friends to celebrate the end of A levels and it might just be the BEST way to do that. I can't think of much that would be better than spending a week in the sun drinking cocktails with your best friends. 


Me and my friends decided for definite in about june last year that we were going to go on holiday this year. Me and another friend went to Dublin last year for a couple of days to celebrate finishing our AS' and most of the group spent a week in Newquay doing the same so we weren't really going to experience that first bit of real freedom that the media always talks about when criticising these types of holiday. Over the summer we became a bit obsessed with the BBC3 show 'Sun, Sex and Suspicious parents' and The Inbetweeners movie made us fall a little bit for Malia, (despite the movie being mainly filmed in Magaluf). When we went back to college in September, booking the holiday seemed to be the only thing we could think about. I've spent endless hours looking through photos of other people's girls/lads holidays and asking people for their stories so I'm writing a check-list for all the nosy people like me. This is completely unqualified holiday planning and enjoying advice. 


Before you go! 


Step 1) Who's going?
Not everyone will want to go on a holiday, it's not everyone's cup of tea and not everyone will be able to afford it. Make sure everyone's 100% certain they want to go and they can find the money, it's stressful getting everyone together but don't pressure anyone to make a decision and try not to brag about how excited you are to the people not going, the holiday doesn't make the whole friendship so try not to make them feel left out! 


Step 2) Who's in charge? 
It should be a group holiday, so no one should be in charge but if you book it at the travel agents then you need a lead passenger and even if you don't then it's still good to have someone to keep all the details and nag everyone to pay their money. I wouldn't call myself bossy but I do find myself trying to take the lead most of the time which I always feel bad about. Even if you are the lead passenger, still try and remember that it's everyone's holiday so you can't make decisions for them.

Step 3) What type of Holiday?
18-30s, quiet and relaxing, culture filled - you can have whatever you want. Being a control freak, I argued for something in the middle, a place with culture where we could relax and party, constantly saying that I didn't want to go 18-30s because I didn't want to go somewhere where there would "be sick everywhere". My friend said it was ironic because out of all of us I'd be the most likely to be contributing to the sick everywhere in one of the 18-30 resorts. I don't want to speak for everyone else but I think we were all happy with our choice of a less mental party resort.

Step 4) Destination? 
Knowing what type of holiday you want will narrow the options but a country is a good place to start. It's good not to be too fussy but we were pretty certain we wanted to go to Greece, so that helped.

Step 5) Travel Agent or Independent?
The Travel Agents will help no matter what, they'll give you a good idea of prices and destinations but you might find that you can find it a lot cheaper on the Internet. We felt more secure going through the travel agents, we got really cheap insurance and were able to pay our own portion of the total off without having to keep track of it ourselves, I just felt it made everything a lot easier.

Step 6) Do the Research!
Trip Advisor became my new best friend, don't just trust what the travel brochures tell you, don't book anything until you're pretty certain what it's going to be like when you get there.

Step 7) Budget!
We were lucky enough to get pretty much the best deal ever: A 5 star all inclusive beach resort, 5 minutes walk away from a friendly yet lively bar strip for just £577. We all somehow found the money all on our own, even though I was a little worried I wouldn't for a while. Don't forget you need spending money from somewhere. I took 245 Euros and came home with 20 but we were all inclusive so all I needed money for was alcohol each night. I spent roughly 15Euros a night but you could spend less than that and still get very drunk.

Step 8) When to book?
I would recommend looking either early or late for the best deal. We booked our holiday in November and I'd rather have a long time to get excited rather than a rushed booking, we always thought that we wouldn't have saved the money ready to book it, but it depends what works for you.

Step 9) Last Minute Preparations
Don't pack too many pairs of heels, nights out are different abroad. Heels will just get in the way, you need lots of pairs of sandals and enough outfits to wear each night, 2 bikinis and a cover up and you'll get by. Also, other people might be different but I took 3 books and didn't get enough time to even read one, obviously that depends on the type of holiday.


Step 10) Leaving home! 
Decide with your parents if they want you to contact home and say you're alright. An "I've arrived safely" text is always worth it but if they're likely to worry if you don't ring them 5 times a day then find out before you go. My parents told me they wouldn't mind if they didn't talk to me until they picked me up from the airport and I was given the instruction, "do whatever you want, but I don't want to know!" from my mum but not everyone's the same.



When you're there! - more Dos than Don'ts! - 


Don't forget to check your flight status before you leave for the airport - we got there super early for our 4pm flight which was delayed until 6!


Do take advantage of any free alcohol samples at the airport and browse through duty free for hours!

Do go to bed if your flight doesn't get in until 1am - tired arguments on your first night because you have one control freak indecisive party animal who tells everyone they should stay in one minute and then wants to dance and get drunk as soon as she's on the strip, are not good.

Do have breakfast at least once during the holiday

Do have cocktails on the beach

Do take lots of pictures

Do buy a lilo, even if it deflates while you're in the sea!

Do a booze cruise, even if just to look down on all the over confident drunk teenagers who are happy to get naked for everyone to laugh at.

Do be sensible and drink less or no alcohol if you get travel sick!

Do jump off the boat!

Do find a favourite bar! SHENANIGANS!

Do stay up on the beach until the mad people in speedos come to reserve their sunbeds

Do have a holiday romance 

Don't give them your bracelet!

Do buy tacky touristy clothes to wear on your last night out!

Do look after your friend, Don't stop drinking!

Do eat pizza! It tastes even better when you're drunk!

Do fall in love/ become besties with all of the spotters outside the bars!

Do kiss random boys! (sorry Mum!)

Do dance on tabletops and bars and round poles!

Do quote geordie shore at every opportunity

Don't write all over yourself in sharpie unless you want #magicmike on your leg, property of ellie on your arm and a penis on your ankle by the pool in the morning!

Don't get too sad about going home, remember life just isn't as fun as a holiday.

BUT!

Do get post holiday blues - it's not possible not to so just embrace it!

Do have the best holiday ever!