17 days to go...

The end is finally getting near, it's like the light at the end of the tunnel metaphor that everyone goes on about. But thank goodness that the wait is decreasing and my exams are nearly over.

When you think about, I've been aiming at getting a good enough education to get me to uni since I was about 4 years old. That is a blooming long time, and it's going to be over in just 2 weeks and 3 days. Let's just hope the last 15 years have pay off and I get the grades that I need. 

Today was a bad day for me though. All the stress of these last couple of weeks and what lies ahead got too much. The pressure is insane for A-Levels, as with all other exams people are taking this time of year. But I started over-thinking and over-worrying more than usual about it all and couldn't really think straight and yep there was a tear or two. It felt pretty good though to just let it all out, let all the stress drain out of my body. And now I am raring to go with the next 17 days, yes I know that they will be hard and there could be more tears further down the line, but I have to keep the end in sight. Knowing that after all this working my socks off I will be free keeps me sane. I will be free from school, teachers, exams and all the worrying and negative emotions that comes with it. I will finally be able to enjoy the next few months and just relax and not have to worry myself sick with dread and fear. 

This summer is going to be best summer of my life and nothing will stop that! Just 17 days to get through first... 

PS. I notice this post was just a bit of rambling, just wanted to write it all down to be honest! 

Guild Wheel Disaster

Rob and I had planned to cycle around the Guild Wheel route yesterday. For those of you who don't live anywhere me, it's basically just a 21 mile route around my town suitable for cyclists, runners and walkers. It's almost all off road and goes past a river and in lots of countryside. However, I think someone was against us as just about everything went wrong...

To start things off, the weather yesterday afternoon and evening was horrendous, it was pouring down with rain although initially it didn't stop us wanting to get out on our bikes and have a go. But then there was a bit of a disaster, my bike had two wheels which were both completely flat. Fortunately, my mum headed out to go and get a new pump to save the day. But it looked like my bike had two punctures as they were not blowing up at all!!! Option B was to take my mum's bike instead and take the pump with us incase anything else happened so that's what we decided to do.

So we chucked the bikes into the back of Rob's van and headed off to get nearer the start of the route. By now, what motivation I had once had for the bike ride, had almost completely gone. The weather was horrible and this meant that I really couldn't be bothered - the weather always massively affects my mood. To make matters even worse, after going about a quarter of a mile, the back tyre of the bike I was on had gone completely flat. Rob tried to save the day with the pump but it snapped half way through! Rob offered to swap bikes but the one he was on had the most uncomfy saddle ever so I was stuck with a flat tyre. (You see what I mean about the whole thing being a disaster?!?!)

I was determined though to at least get somewhere with the bike ride, so we carried on until mile 3 and then turned around and came back. Overall we managed about 7 miles if you included getting to and from the van to the start of the Guild Wheel, so it wasn't a massive disaster but it wasn't what we had set out to achieve either.

We finished things off nicely with a drink at a local pub with one of Rob's friends from uni who we had bumped into when putting our bikes away and then headed off for a Chinese to round the adventure off .

We've decided we will give it another go when the weather is on our side and we've fixed my bike, I'm actually looking forward to it, yesterday didn't put me off to much!!

Top 5 Disney quotes

Now everyone loves a bit of Disney... Don't they?! As a kid I used to watch Disney films all the time just as a means of entertainment. But looking back, there are actually a lot of things you can get from just a small Disney film, and these things are all summed up in my top quotes.

1) "The past can hurt, but the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it" - The Lion King

2) "It's not until you lose everything that you can truly appreciate everything" - Beauty And The Beast

3) "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you see, and smarter than you think" - Winnie The Pooh

4) "Remember, you're the only one who can fill the world with sunshine" - Snow White

5) "If you can dream it, you can do it. Always rememeber that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse" - The Mr Walt Disney himself!

So if life is getting you down, then watch a Disney film as a massive pick up and take some inspiration and guidance from the princesses :P But seriously though, remember that no matter what, always believe in yourself, you are stronger than you think and whatever you put your mind to, I am sure you can achieve it!

Inspirational quote time

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life"

Everyone has those quotes that mean something to them or that they can relate to in some way. And this quote by Steve Jobs is one that strikes a cord with me. A lot of people do things because they feel pushed or pressured into it. Whether it's studying certain subjects because it's the path their parents want them to take; or if you feel pressured to drink, smoke, do drugs etc by people who you think are your friends or even something on a bigger scale.

A philosopher we study in RE called Nietzsche believed that the world would be a better place if we all became more autonomous and I couldn't agree more. We should act the way we want, dress the way we want and live for ourselves without being influenced by someone/something who isn't you. It's your life so you should live it how you want to, at the end of the day you're only going to regret it if you've been pushed into it.

So live life to the full, the way you want to live it. Don't worry about what others will think. Don't let anyone stand in the way of your dreams.

The end of an era..

So today marked the start of my last official week as a student of Fulwood Academy. I have longed for the day that I finally became free from school and I never have to go back again. But honestly, right now I couldn't think of a single thing worse. I 100% do not want to leave the sixth form after the most amazing 2 years with the most wonderful people.

I'm not going to sit here and write about how brilliant the school was. Quite frankly, there were a lot of decisions made that the majority of people disagreed with. But I guess that happens whichever school, sixth form, college etc that you go to, so to be honest it's not really a big deal. When I first applied to join the sixth form, I will admit I was dubious, but it is the best decision that I have ever made and there are two things that were absolutely perfect and I couldn't fault: the teachers and my peers.

The teachers there are absolutely brilliant (especially GN and LS), well definitely GM for proving my whole RE class with donuts in our double RE lesson every Friday - definitely made learning about old blokes from thousands of years ago a little bit more interesting. I couldn't say a single thing wrong about any of my teachers, they have made the last year not only so much for, but also so worthwhile. Swapping schools and redoing the year has helped me change my original grades of CCDDU to ABBB within the space of a year. And for helping me to achieve those grades, I cannot thank the teachers enough, you are all wonderful. Ooooh and a massive cheer for BK and HG for being the best sixth form leaders ever!! And again to BK for providing the best banter in the whole of the universe... NOT!

And moving on the to the one thing that has kept me going when times have been tough.. the best group of friends that I could have ever wished for. Walking into the building on my first day not knowing a single person was probably one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life, but all you all made me feel welcome straight away and within days it was if I had been there right from the start of year 7, and not 6 years later on. You've made me smile every single day, made my cry with laughter on more than one occasion and just been the best bunch of people to spend each day with.

Knowing that in 3 months we will be spread across the country in different universities and not being together every day makes me sad :( But unfortunately for you lot.. you won't be able to get rid of me that easily.

So thank you to everyone at Fulwood for the most amazing two years and the even more amazing memories. You will always be close to my heart (wow, that's cheesy) and I will miss you lots :( :(

First exam tomorrow...

As the title of the blog post suggests, I have my first exam of the year tomorrow and it's a business studies one! Luckily for me, business studies is the subject I enjoy the most and in my opinion is the one that I am best at. It seems to be compatable with the way that I think and the way that I learn, so I am not too worried about it at the moment. I know though that when I wake up in the morning I will be a bag of nerves until I open that exam paper at 9:15

This particular exam tomorrow is actually a resit from last year. I did alright last year, but because I've found the subject a lot easier in the last 12 months, I thought I would give it another go to try and boost my result up a grade (or two).

The past few months have been building up to this moment, the start of the exam season, and I am so glad that it is finally here because that means they will all be over soon. In exactly one month from now, I will have finished my last exams and never have to go back to my sixth form for any lessons or exams, just a leavers assembly and results day. Once these exams are over I won't have any until the second year of uni and I can't even put into words how happy that makes me. These previous months I have absolutely worked my socks off because I am so determined to do well this year. I'm not going to let anyone down like I did in my first year of exams which made me feel distant from my family who are all complete brainboxes. But this year I am going to prove to everyone that I can do it and tomorrow is the start of that... I'm ready to get into that exam hall and just smash it!!!

Summer Bucket List

In just over a month I will have completed my A-Level exams and I will only have to go back into sixth form for Leavers Assembly and the dreaded results day which leaves me with 3 months to relax, kick back and just chill. However, that might sound great for some people.. but I get bored so easily and would much rather be doing something out with people rather than staying in and sleeping till 3 in the afternoon like a lot of people I know will be doing.

So to keep myself busy over summer, I have complied a list of things to act as my summer bucket list - a list of all the things I am going to try and do in my 3 months off. I will give an update at the end of August to see how many I have actually managed to complete.

1) Go on a camping trip with a bunch of friends. 

2) Maintain my running - hopefully enter into a couple of races

3) Climb Scafell Pike - the tallest mountain in England - and have a picnic at the top. 

4) Take as many beach trips as possible. I blooming love the beach 

5) Walk or cycle the 'Guild Wheel' - For those of you that don't know, it's basically a 20+ mile route around the centre of my town that lots of people cycle or run around. 

6) Have an old school "girls night" - you know the one I mean gals: facemasks, films, pizzas, sleepovers - let take it back to 2005 ey? :P

7) Have a BBQ with all my besties from sixth form going on till the early hours of the morning.

8) Explore a city I have never been before. 

9) Have a MASSIVE water fight with my best friends. 

10) Document all my summer in a scrapbook full of pictures and memories to look back on. 

Uni is getting close!

In 1 month and 6 days time I will have completely finished my time at sixth form and have completed all my A Level exams. Sixth form has taken me a year longer than it takes most people as I re-did my first year due to getting rubbish grades and absolutely hating the place that I studied! But it has 100% been worth it, the people at my sixth form are honestly the greatest and I couldn't have wished to spend the last couple of years with better people.

To know that in just over 4 months I will be on a new adventure and will have started university is absolutely nerve-wracking, but I am honestly so excited, I cannot wait. There isn't much to do now: I have applied to uni, gone to all my interviews, got my offers, confirmed University Of Cumbria as my first choice and applied for student finance. And then today I also got an email confirming that I got in place in my first choice halls of residence which was super duper exciting.

Things are getting close now and I cannot wait to start my course, start uni life and meet all my flat-mates I will be living with. Should be the best 3 years of my life, well my fingers are crossed are anyway :)