How I Feel About Going Into My Final Year Of Uni

It is official. I am growing into an adult.

This time 2 years ago, I can vividly remember packing up all of my belongings and preparing to move into halls... and it only feels like yesterday. Today, I am currently sat writing a blogpost about how I feel about going into my final year of uni and ordering pretty stationary. 

If I am going to be 100% honest, I feel distraught about going into my final year of uni and nearly completing my degree. These past couple of years have legit flown by, and been the best 2 years of my life. I have met my life-long best friends, learnt important life lessons and found the person who I really am. 

Alongside learning everything from my degree, I feel as though I have also learnt the basic things in life which will stick with me throughout my future. I've learnt how to do a food shop every week (even though some may not see this as necessarily 'hard', trust me), I have figured out how to manage money for rent/bills/food shopping/luxury items, how to lead a balanced life and how to live my life and make the most out of it. 

As much as I do not want my uni experience to end, I have to accept it. It definitely has been a rollercoaster of events, but the best years of my life. 

For those considering university, I would always say go. Do not just go for the university lifestyle- always have a life plan ahead of you and focus on your goals and education, but the lifestyle will follow.

Make the most out of it. 

"Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings"

- Salvador Dali (1904-1989)

Little Stationary Wishlist // Lifestyle & University Advice

Stationary is one of my all-time favourite things, and I just love to buy it. 

Seeing as though I am going back to university next month, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to put together a little wishlist with the things I am currently wanting, stationary wise! The majority of this stuff is from Paperchase, as their selection is just the cutest at the moment. Even though it is quite an expensive outlet, I just couldn't help myself.

(1) 10 Subject Notebook / £8.00

Last year at university, I had a NU Pad which had different sections in it. This was so handy for my different modules in lectures etc. however, I found that I had to purchase more and more as it just wasn't big enough to fit everything in. With this notepad, it gives you room for your different modules or subjects, with extra room for added notes. It is also colour co-ordinated, so that you can link everything up with different coloured pens etc.

(2) IKEA Candle Holder / £2.00

Even though this is labelled as a 'candle holder', I couldn't help think that my pens would look so cute in this on my desk. Firstly, its white which means it will go with practically every room decoration or design and secondly, they look large enough to fit a good amount of pens in. I myself would get a few of these, purely because I would want to sort out my pens into different pots so they are easier to find. For example, I would put all of my writing pens in one, coloured pens in another, tools in another and highlighters in another one. Bits of ribbon could also be added around the pots to add further decoration.

(3) Floral Journal / £4.50

Even though I have already displayed the 10 Subject Notebook, I think it is always handy to have a journal with you. I carry one in my handbag at all times, because I never know what list I might have to make, what phone number I have to write down etc. I may also have different ideas which I know I will forget, so having this is extremely handy. You can also keep this on your desk, or also in your handbag.

(4) Staedtler Pencils / £2.00

Pencils are a good shout. In lectures, I always get given photocopies of book parts which need to be read and annotated. I always use a pencil for this, because you can rub out any mistakes you make. Pencils are also good for doing first-drafts of essays. This way, you don't have to worry about making a mess of the paper with the pen, and little parts can also be added in easily.

(5) Standard Colour Gel Pens / £6.00

Like the pencils, these are a necessity. When it comes to revision, these are a God-send. Pairing these up with the 10 Subject Notebook (or any other divided notebook for that matter) will make things so much easier, as you will know what is what and what goes where!

(6) Pineapple List Pad / £5.00

This year I have moved into a house with 3 other of my friends. Even though we are not properly living there until September, we have all still been making lists as a group of what we need to buy and do to the house. Having one of these will be the saviour of our lives. It can just be stuck to the fridge, things can be added to it and then the paper can be torn off and off we go. It is so much easier than reading through old messages to try and find what somebody said needed getting, or whether we need full-fat or semi-skimmed milk!

So those are a few of the stationary bits that I am lusting over at the moment... What are you guys wanting so far?

WHAT I LEARNT IN MY FIRST YEAR OF UNIVERSITY // ADVICE

Before moving to university, everybody has their thoughts and perspectives about how their first year is going to 'pan out'. I had visions of my first year being completely different to what I have encountered. Definitely not in a bad way though, as I wouldn't change it for the world! But I thought that I would share with you what I learnt throughout my first year of uni, and maybe you could take a little bit of advice from this too!

All that lovely new kitchen-ware you bought?...

You will not use it. Not in a bad way, because you can save it for when you move into your house for the second year. When I moved into halls last September I brought plates, bowls, cutlery, mugs and everything else you can imagine. Except, Victoria Hall in Manchester supplied us with everything we needed without informing us first. So there was all of my nice new kitchen-ware sat in the cupboard, not being touched. However, even though I barely touched it, it still managed to get lost and when I was packing up everything of mine from the kitchen area to take into the new house, I noticed how many of my pans didn't have lids and how only 3/9 of my shot glasses actually made it.

What dignity?...

Okay so that is a bit of an exaggeration. You will have dignity - don't you worry - but I am focusing on how you look. It will get to the point at university where you really don't give a stuff about what you look like. I would stroll to the Spar in my dressing gown, and makeup from the previous night. It's just how I began to roll, and you will notice that everybody else around you is exactly the same. 

You're lovely and quiet?...

If you make friends with the type of people I made friends with, you will definitely not see your quiet  side very often. This isn't a bad thing, as I had so much fun hiding my quiet side and showing my true colours. I began to feel like I could be myself around complete strangers, who became my best friends. 

Oh THAT reading list...

Reading list? Nope. Every lecturer always bangs on about how you need to buy certain books for the course you're studying, because they will be needed and extremely beneficial. Beneficial maybe, but certainly not needed. I study Philosophy, and my lecturers would give us text book photocopies to take away with us, regarding what we had to learn. Don't get me wrong, I bought a few books off my own back to annotate, but I didn't need them. I just thought it would be easier than me scribbling my life away on photocopies. 

Who said your diet would consist of pasta and soup?

This myth is one of the biggest lies I have heard during university. Everyone always says "you looking forward to living like a student?", or "get ready for your diet of pasta and soup!". All vast lies which shouldn't be listened to. Me and my friends would often cook together, and the meals we would make up were amazing! One time, me and Minnie from Through Minnie's Eyes even had steak. Now come on, if you find the right shop e.g. Aldi, Lidl etc. you can eat meals which are half decent and enjoyable!

Night's out will become your new favourite hobby...

So when you go home and your parents ask "you found any new hobbies that you like?", maybe not mentioning that you attend all of the student nights throughout the week apart from a Sunday is a good idea. No matter how hard you try and stop this vicious cycle, you will always find yourself at the local student night, sipping away on £2 doubles pretending to be Kanye West. And yes. You WILL enjoy it.

So there is just a few of the things that I learnt throughout my first year of university. I will write a follow-up post on this, but for now here is a few to get your heads around.

What're you most looking forward to at university?

SIMPLE SUPPERS // BACON, SPRING ONION AND CHEESE PASTA

I have decided that I am going to introduce a new segment into my blog, and that is 'Simple Suppers'.

Since being at university, I have definitely learnt how to cook with a small amount ingredients, and also learnt how to make something tasty out of them.

Pasta is a really good main ingredient when it comes to cooking with a small number of items. I find that anything can be thrown into a bowl of pasta, which is why I decided to share with you this recipe that I put together whilst being at university!

First you have to put some pasta on to boil. Any pasta can be used, but I love spaghetti so I always choose this.

Whilst your pasta is boiling, get together 4 spring onions, some pre-chopped bacon and some cream cheese.

I began with frying the chopped bacon until it was very nearly cooked. I prefer to have my bacon crispy, as it adds a bit of 'crunch' to the dish. Also, cooking it a bit longer gives it more of a smokey taste and makes it taste better.

I then chopped spring onions into the frying pan using scissors, and fried them until they went a bit softer. At this stage, I took some of the pasta water using an ice cream scoop, and placed it into the pan with the bacon and spring onions. Doing this means that when you add your cheese to the pan, it makes the sauce a little thicker and easier to eat with. It will also prevent the pasta sticking together in clumps.

I took the pasta off boil, drained it and then put it back into the pan I cooked it in. I added the bacon and spring onions and 2 table spoons of the cream cheese. After mixing it all together, I added pepper and bowled up!

This dish literally took 10 minutes to make. It is simple, doesn't create too much washing up to do after your meal, and it tastes like a carbonara!

Double cream may also be added when cooking the bacon and spring onions, to make a more creamier sauce.

What pasta dishes do you like to make?

QUICK & EASY CADBURY'S 'CRUNCHIE' BROWNIES

I love a good brownie. I like the way the outside of it is crunchy and then in the middle it is all soft and gooey.

So, I decided to root through the cupboards and see if there was anything I could use for baking. Luckily, I came across brownie ingredients along with Crunchie bars. I have never made Crunchie brownies before, so I thought that I would experiment! I am so so glad that I did. This recipe is so easy to follow, takes little time and makes delicious brownies!

Firstly, I preheated the oven to 180 C / gas mark 4. Following this, I crushed up the Crunchie bars and broke up the chocolate into small squares. I placed these into a bowl and put them to the side.

I then added everything to one bowl in the order shown above (excluding the Crunchie chocolate and the milk chocolate). I made sure to give this a thorough stir, so that the consistency was velvety. 

After I achieved the velvet consistency, this is when I added 5 of the 6 bars of Crunchie and the milk chocolate chunks. I made sure to mix fold these well into the mixture, so that the chocolate was hidden.

Make sure you have a tray deep enough for the brownie mixture to sit in, and that it has been greased of is lined with greaseproof paper. Pour in the mixture and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

When it got to around the 20 minute mark, I took the brownies out of the oven and topped them with the rest of the crushed Crunchie. I placed it into the over again for another 5 minutes, until taking it out for good.

Allow the brownie time to cool down and set. It may seem very gooey in the middle, but once it has cooled down it does set into a more dense texture, and it is also easier to slice!

Have you got any recipes you have discovered recently?

TOP 5 TIPS FOR MOVING HOUSE // STUDENT STYLE

So recently, I moved into my uni house for my second year. I'm not going to lie, I am not brilliant when it comes down to packing. Trying to put things into order and deciding what goes were is not by strong point! So the point of this blog post is for me to show you what I have learnt, and what tips 'n' tricks I have learnt within the process!

1. GET RID OF ALL OF THE RUBBISH YOU FIND: don’t lie, you're bedroom is full of pointless objects and items that you have acquired over your time at university. My room definitely was when I came to the packing stage. If I a honest, I think I could pass for being a hoarder! Getting rid of the things that take up unnecessary space in your room will not just one, make unpacking easier but two, also make the whole moving process and lighter for you in the long run!
2. DECIDE WHAT COLOUR SCHEME YOU ARE GOING TO GO FOR: there is no point moving if you do not know what colour scheme your new bedroom is going to be. I was okay with this, as I decided to keep the same colour scheme as the room in my halls. The colour scheme I went for was a mixture of pastel colours with a vintage twist. This colour scheme is so so easy to keep up with, as practically everything goes with each other, and it's simple to add little things  in too. 
3. BEGIN PACKING EARLIER THAN THE NIGHT BEFORE MOVING: I feel very hypocritical writing this tip, but it is something I learnt during the packing process! Me being as stupid as I can be sometimes, decided that packing the day before the moving day, was going to give me enough time to get everything together. I was wrong. It took me hours and hours and hours to get everything together, and I spent half of the time gathering boxes to actually put my belongings in, which links into the second tip…
4. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH BOXES TO PACK WITH: again, I feel super hypocritical. Instead of having everything packed into big cardboard boxes, (which would have been waaay easier to move with) I packed everything into little boxes. I felt the need to use the big Pandora box that I had stashed underneath my bed, and filling every single Selfridges bag that I had hidden underneath my desk!
5. PACK IN SOME SORT OF ORDER: this will make things a lot easer when unpacking. You will be able to go through an order of one box at a time, instead of rifling through different boxes making the process a lot harder than it should be!

So there are the top 5 tips of mine for when moving. These will literally be a lifesaver… especially for a ditsy person like me!

Do you have any other tips for packing?

BEING AT UNIVERSITY WITH DEPRESSION & ANXIETY

Photograph can be found HERE

When I submitted my university application last year, I knew exactly what I was going to be letting myself in for... And it was not within my comfort zone. 

Being a sufferer of depression and anxiety, the thought of branching out and going to university absolutely terrified me. I did not like the thought of moving away from my family, friends and small town into a city which I didn't know my way around, to be thrown into living with people that I did not know. Thinking of this led me to suffer more frequent panic attacks, and shutting myself away from everyone and everything. 

However, I was not giving up. University was what I wanted to do in order to achieve my dream.

Now that I have been at university for 9 months and being so, so close to finishing my first year, I would not have changed it for anything. I have made the most amazing friends whilst being here, created some of the most incredible memories, and if anything eased of those dark thoughts of depression. I have also had less frequent anxiety attacks and learnt to become a little bit more independent.

If you are going to university this September, and you too suffer from depression or anxiety, my advice is that you should not worry. Everything will fall into place, and find a way to make your university adventure absolutely amazing and special. Also, remember that each university offers support and guidance if you ever need it, so you will never be alone. And remember, make the most of everything. 

Little Uni Posts: The Build Up To Leaving Home & Moving In Day

Even though I moved away from home and to university around 2 months ago, I thought now is the time where I can put together some posts to display on my blog about university life. This is purely because I have experienced a handful of things since being here, and I thought I could document some university ongoings here on my blog every now and then. What do you think?

So the week building up to moving in day was absolutely terrifying. I'm not going to lie about how I was feeling because at heart I am a home bird, and I love to be surrounded by my family and spend the majority of my time in their presence. So when my mum dragged the box full of kitchen essentials through to my room to start packing away, I did have a little sob at the thought that I wasn't going to see her everyday, and we weren't going to be a part of each others lives everyday like we used to be. Then, my nan surprised me with a bathroom hamper full of cute little things for my bathroom, along with towels, bleach, shampoo & conditioner and other necessities and then I thought "wow, I really am growing up."

So Saturday 20th September came around very very quickly and me, my mum, my nan and my brother all hopped into the jam packed car full of all of my belongings and set off to move to Manchester. The whole journey I felt so ill, because I had thoughts about the people I was going to be living with for the next year, if they were going to like me and what they were generally like as people. Mum kept on crying and my brother kept asking the most random questions but eventually we arrived at my halls and it was time to unpack. 

When I went to the reception area to pick up my keys, my aunty jokingly said to me "I would laugh if you were on the top floor with all of them stairs", and I just brushed off her little comment. Later did I find out I was on the top floor and the stairs were an absolute nightmare to keep on walking up and down to drag all of my stuff into the flat. That day I noticed how unfit I really am! But alas, I got everything set up, tried to work the internet, nearly broke the wardrobe door and then had to say goodbye to everyone. I knew I would have to do this at some point, but I just kept on brushing this off and when it came to face it I 100% was not prepared. My mum and nan were sobbing and my brother looked lost. I have never seen them look like that before, and top tip for you here guys- just hug it all out. I found that hugs bring everything to the surface and tears explode, and that weight that was sitting on your shoulders comes off and you know everything is going to be OK. When they eventually peeled themselves away from me, I didn't know what to do with myself. I sat in my bedroom with the door open eating cashew nuts, and then this little head popped around the door and said 'hi!'. This is Ali and she is the first person I met when I came to uni. We got out the vodka, and then the rest of the night was completely entertaining.

So there is my first little uni post, and there definitely will be more to follow!

Have any of you gone to uni this September? How are you finding it? 

University: It Is All Starting To Get Too Real

So when I picked up my A-Level results on 14th August, I never thought time would go as quick as it has done. I thought that time would slow down as moving to university approached, and the apprehension I had/have would go away. But when thinking about moving to university in around 3 weeks, I still have that same apprehension and I do not feel prepared about going. I even thought about differing and taking a year out, but then I realised that knowing me I would never end up going to university and it would have been one big waste of my hard work that I have put in. 

During worrying about moving to university and whether or not I would enjoy my time there, I began to gather some pieces for the flat I will be living in, and for my new room. I don't think that I have got enough things for university, but there have been people that I have been speaking to and they haven't bought anything at all! I have done a lot of research of the different things that I should be buying, but this confused me a lot so I put lists together myself and with the help of my family I have managed to acquire a few different bits.

Kitchen

My mum decided to take on the roll of buying me things for the kitchen at university. Even though there will be appliances etc. in my hall, my mum wanted to make sure that I didn't starve so thought it would be a good idea to purchase some foods which would last for a few months. She knows I am a lover of mayonnaise and pasta so she made sure to buy those for me, and she also bought me tea towels, sugar, tea bags and scissors (I added the shot glasses ha!). There are still some things that I need to buy such as spatulas and things, but I can get them cheap at ASDA. I think my flat has crockery etc. so I will need to make sure before I buy something that I don't end up needing.

Of course I will do my own food shopping whilst I am there, and I won't be relying on my mum or anything to help me do so. I am beginning to learn to have independence on these types of things, but the one thing I need to learn is how to cook! I can cook the simplest of meals but there is a barrier between me and the more complex of meals, so this is something I will be asking my mum for help on! 

Stationary

Oh good old stationary. I feel as though I have been buying stationary for the past 14 years of life none-stop, and I probably will be buying even more of it over the next 4 years! So far I have bought a notebook and a pack of pens. I know that I will need a lot more stationary but I just don't know what to buy! I am definitely a writer and I love to take down as many notes that I can, but I just can't think of what to gather and take with me to university. I also ended up buying a Filofax. Some people may see this as something 'old people' buy to organise their extremely busy lives, but I looked at the content of them and they look so so useful. Inside you can swap and change where everything is, buy new things to put inside, there is a timetable section, an academic diary section alongside a standard 2014 diary, to-do lists and a lot more! I highly recommend one of these if you are venturing to university, because they will be so handy when you rock up to your lectures and have to take down important dates.

Many people I have spoken to are like "well can't you just buy it down there?", and that is a true point but I don't want to put that burden on myself when I will have books etc. to buy. I would rather buy the necessities up here at home, so that I am prepared for the 'Big Move' and breaking away from home. 

Decorations Etc.

This is something I am seriously lacking on. I have bought a vintage style cereal tin and 3 other tins which match together. I have no idea what I am going to use these for- probably not for their purposes but to store random objects and keep my room looking less untidy. I bought them because they looked pretty, and not because I had an idea of what I could use them for. As for the cereal tin, it is unlikely that I will be eating cereal at university so that probably won't have cereal stored in it, but something else like tampons or something shoved in the corner of my room or in the bottom of a draw haha. I want to get some fairy lights because they are cute and who doesn't enjoy fairy lights at night?! 

Bathroom

I have left my nan in charge of this job. Actually she chose to take on this roll, but I think this is down to her love for cleaning and organisation. She loves to buy things for personal hygiene, and cleaning supplies so I gave her the pleasure of stocking up on those for me. I know so far she has bought bleach, toothbrushes, toothpaste, flash, and towels, but I don't know if she has added anything else to the collection as of yet. I know it is only university and I am in halls for a year, but I want to make my bathroom look pretty also. I want to buy bright colourful things to store in there to make it look snazzy and less boring and white.

University Facebook Pages
When I found that my offer at Manchester Metropolitan University had turned to unconditional, I realised that a lot of freshers pages and MMU pages had sent me friends requests. Once I had, had a little nosey at the page I saw that there were little individual ones for the different halls of residents. Having these pages over summer has made life so much easier. I joined the Victoria Hall page and started speaking to a lot of other people who will be in that accommodation too. They all seem so lovely and genuine that it has put my nerves aside for meeting the people at university. Even though I do not know who is in my flat, many members of the group have been so talkative so it doesn't worry me too much (touch wood!).

I also managed to land myself a job at university through Facebook pages, as a club representative and promoter. This excites me because it is completely out of my comfort zone and the job that I do at home. It doesn't stop me from being excited though!

So there we have it! Less than 3 weeks to go is getting even more scarier by the day. Are you going to university? What have you bought so far?

Life Update | Last Exam, University Doubting & Pep Talks

Hello lovelies,

This post is purely just me rambling on about what has been happening in my life so far, and my thoughts and views on a few things. Like the last post, there will be no photo's unfortunately, but I promise to bring you a post which is photo-filled soon!

So firstly and shockingly, I have my last A-Level exam on Thursday and then that's it. Poof. I've finished school for ever and ever and ever. It really scares me ya'no. I never thought I would actually see the end of my school days, and it feels as though I have taken off my comfortable slippers and put on a pare of really stiff, hard and uncomfortable shoes. I am going to miss going to school so much, and seeing all of the faces I used to see every day. I am also going to miss having that comfort of going to school, knowing the teachers and knowing my surroundings. I don't like change, I never have and to be honest I don't think that I ever will. Being a sufferer of anxiety, change and being uncomfortable triggers this and it panics me a lot, and I guess this is why I always find it hard to say 'yes' to a lot of things, and stick to the types of things that I already know and love. Because of this, I never like to stay away from home, go away for a long period of time unless I know my surroundings or try new activities. I even struggled trying caesar salad dressing yesterday! As I have know finished school and looking for things to do over the summer, I am hoping that this will encourage me to say 'yes' to a lot more things and be a bit more adventurous. 

I always used to be so set on going to university that nobody could ever change my mind. I was going to finish my A-Levels, have an amazing summer and then go off to university and study philosophy. Until recently. I have been full of doubt about going to university, that It has got to the point where I don't even want to think about my course or prepare for moving away. I am a family person and I never want to leave anyone behind. I know it may sound stupid, but I always said that everyone I have ever loved has left me, and I don't want to be that person that is getting up and leaving. I hate the thought of moving to a big city and being unaware of my surroundings- it should be exciting me but I am petrified already! Even though a good friend of mine is going to the same university and is extremely excited about moving away, I just can't bring myself to have the same thoughts and I panic whenever the topic is brought up. It is very silly I know, but I know I have to do this because like mum says to me, "it will be the making of you". If and when I get to university, I really hope what my mum says is true. 

I have also received a lot of pep-talks recently. These linking on to the topic of going to university, and the fact that I had a massive breakdown in front of my philosophy teacher before going into my philosophy exam last week. I was and still are certain that I have failed my philosophy, which will be such a shame and waste of 2 years of solid hard work. I love philosophy so much, and I just want to do well. Mum gave me a pep-talk last night about going to university after I told her that I was full of doubt about the whole concept. I do not want to disappoint her, but I couldn't not tell her that I was seriously reconsidering my future. Her pep-talk was amazing, and she made me feel 100% better even though I am still sort of doubting the whole thing. She explained that we all have to do things that we are not comfortable with, in order to have amazing experiences, meet new people and have the times of our lives. She really is good at those talks ya'no. When I had that breakdown in front of my philosophy teacher last week, she basically told me that I needed to calm down and pull myself together. I know she didn't mean it in a harsh way because I seriously think the world of her, but I am glad she told me that. If she hadn't have told me then I would have carried on crying and I really wouldn't have gone into the exam and done well. Her and my mum really are inspirations. 

So I know it is quite boring, and full of my basically crying about my future and exams but that is my life update for you. I promise, it will get a lot more exciting! Really!

What have you been up to in your lives recently?