Book Reveiw: Where Rainbows End

As I have more free time during the week now I'm at college, it means that I have more time to do one of my most favorite things...reading.

While trying to adjust to college life, I decided to read one of my all time favorite books, Where Rainbows End by Cecilia Ahern.

Where Rainbows End is about a boy and girl, Alex and Rosie who are best friends and are neighbours until the age of 16, when Alex moves to Boston, USA with his family as a result of his dads new job, leaving Rosie behind back in Dublin, Ireland.

The story follows the best friends through letters and messages sent between them from the age of 4 and into their adult life, through the twists and turns along the paths of their lives and the problems they face, until they get the chance to be with each other once again.

I enjoyed reading the book as it reminds me of my own friendship with a friend I have also known since the age of 4 and how now we have gone to separate colleges, it's important to stay in contact with each other no matter how each of our lives plan out. I always saw my friend as an older brother that would always be there if I needed someone to talk to, confide in and help me, but not being in the same college and them not being there and seeing them day to day makes you realise how much you really miss them and value their friendship.

By reading Where Rainbows End makes me all the more determined to stay in contact with friends more.

Adjusting to college!!

Six weeks ago, at the start of term, I was so nervous about starting college, feeling lost, getting used to different ways of being taught and A-levels. However the thing that worried me the most was not going to the same college as most of my friends (some that I had been going to school with for the past twelve years). Fast forward a month and I think I'm finally starting to settle in and adjust to all the changes.

One of my first worries of starting college was finding the quickest and easiest way to get to college. This involved trail runs, checking train times and ticket prices. Before starting college I always used to walk to school as it was about twenty minutes away, however my college is about an hour and half away so I have to take a train there which means I have to be at the train station and on the train by a certain time each day, which is a lot harder than it sounds. hopefully my time keeping will improve as time goes on.

For my AS subjects I decided to take photography, geography, sociology and English literature. I was a little bit sceptical about doing English lit because I have struggled with English in school (as a result of having a combination of bad spelling and grammar) for as long as can remember, however my love for reading took over this and I decided to take literature as opposed to language or a combination of both. Geography and Photography were 100% definite subjects that I was to do at college because geography is my best subject and want to have a career based on in the future and photography has been one of my interests since being a little girl running round with cameras taking picture of anything that I saw to be interesting weather it be people or things, so to have the option of taking photography this year made me really exited to finally be able to learn how to take 'proper' photos on my SLR. I decided to take sociology because it seemed interesting and to look at how society works and to look at it in a different way.

Probably the biggest struggle I had to face was walking into to college on my own, not knowing anyone (as  the few people I did know didn't have to be in college at the same time) and going to my lessons and tutor for the first time and finding out that not one person I knew before college was in any of my classes. As a shy person, the idea of having to get to know everyone in my classes was daunting, but despite my fears I have made some great new friends so far and am still making more :)

Now after a half-term at college, six weeks later, I have finally settled in, made some great new friends, enjoying my subjects (especially photography), got used to waking up at 6 in the morning and traveling. Finally I look forward to the next two years at college.

Back to school haul

Getting to go back to school shopping is probably one of the most exiting events of the year, as it means I can buy new stationary to add to my already massive collection. This year was even more special as I am going to sixth form collage this year, so I don't have a uniform and I had the chance to buy new clothes to wear. On with the haul...

Cute diary from WHSmith £9.99

Cool lever arch folder from WHSmith £2.99 to store all my collage work instead of numerous note books for each subject.

US flag t-shirt from New Look £9.99

 Satchel bag from New Look website £24.99



I also bought a pair of straight leg denim jeans from New Look £19.99

Leaving school and Exams

On the 12th May 2011 I officially left secondary school, however I still had to go in to do my GCSE's (school leaving exams in the UK), so in my eyes it was not the end of my time at school and was not the last time i would see everyone that I had spent the 5 years of my life with, so it wasn't that upsetting to find out I'd had my last proper day of school.

My exams went on for about a month in total, as each exam was over, it felt as if a load had been taken off of my back after so much time and effort i had put in, in the last five years leading up to that point. However the end of each exam was also a reminder of the little remaining time that I had with people in my year group as not everyone had the same exams or had exams at the same time.

Walking out of the hall after that very last exam (Geography, which just so happens to be one of my favorite subjects), all I could think was I had reached the point were I could do no more, and that I can say I tried my hardest, however well I've done in my exams, which is all that matters.

If I could give a tip to anyone doing is exams it would be, once you have finished an exam try to block the thought of how you did out of your mind as it will only make you worry.

A much needed update!!!

I'm back after many months of being AWOL from here, and I am determined to write more blog posts as I have so far been lacking on that front. Since Christmas quite a few things have happened, and for my come back to writing blogs, I will write about these things...

The first event this year was my 16th birthday, which is probably one of the biggest events in any teenage girls life. Since it fell on a Friday and i had to go to school, i decided to have a meal in the evening with a few friends in a local Italian restaurant. After i celebrated at home with my family and my best friend (more like my sister) stayed over.

This year I had two birthday cakes, a chocolate one at the restaurant with my friends and a sponge one to celebrate the next day with my family that i didn't see on my birthday. Here is a picture of the sponge cake.

In April I went to Antigua with my family for a week during the Easter holidays. The trip was a very relaxing and was great to spend some quality time with my family as I have been really busy in school this year preparing for exams, which meant that before I went away I was under a lot of stress with school work. I had been to Antigua once before when I was about five but as I was so young i had little memory of it. Getting the chance to go back gave me the chance to add to the memories I already had and also it was a chance for my little brother and sister to see it as they didn't come with us the first time.

Here is a picture I took on the beach showing the familuar warm Caribbean sea.

Also here is a picture I took on the beach at sunset.

Hope to write more blog posts soon bye!

Looking Back

This is a blog poat that i wrote sometime after christmas and forgot about until now so i thought i would upload it anyway. Even though it was written almost six months ago, it has a good meaning to it and shows part of how i was feeling at the time and in a small way still do now.

Over the Christmas period i have found myself thinking of old memories both from when i was little to more recent ones, and it got me thinking about how so many things can change in a short space of time without you really realising. However, there have been a few things that have happened or changed over the last year or so that have really had quite a big impact on me and how i see myself and other people.

For example, i have realised that no matter how much you put your trust on someone they can still stab you in the back and you end up seeing a completely different side to them, and for someone who is as quiet and shy as myself it can be a very upsetting time which can knock any confidence that you may have. Also it can leave you feeling extremely isolated from everyone else and for a while can effect relationships with other friends that you still feel close to.

Happy New Year!!

So 2011 has finally arrived which for me means new year = new start! I spent new years eve at home, my grandparents, my cousins and my aunt and uncle came over to celebrate the new year. in some ways it felt weird spending new years eve in England as my family normally spend Christmas here then a few days later go over to Ireland (where i call my second home) for new years, however we decided to spend it here for a change.

As always there are the new years resolutions and mine are...

• Try and study more for my exams this year (As I'm in year 11)
• Try and become more healthier
• Aim to Upload my first video on to YouTube
• Be happy and not be afraid to be myself.

I hope 2011 brings great things for everyone and be a year to remember!! =D