THIS PAST YEAR: 2015

I hope you have all had a very Merry Christmas and are set to have a Happy New Year. Although I had a pile of university work hanging over my head I managed to have a very good Christmas and as another year rounds up I’m looking back at the where-did-it-go year that was 2015. I have also included a handful of my favourite photos from the year; if you want to see more selfies, dog pics or pitiful attempts at photography you can follow me on Instagram here. 
 

Every year has highs and lows but on the whole I have had a really great year. When I think about my year I can’t help but compare it to 2014. 2014 was a weird year, I started it feeling thoroughly miserable, within a month I had decided to leave university, spent months feeling completely purposeless and confused before starting a fresh in a new city and new university. I began this year knowing exactly what I was doing and I love doing it. 

I had my second Holiday with two of my best friends. I entered my 20’s and, as it seems to be a part of growing up, I have grown closer to some people and further apart from others. That’s life I suppose. 

I finish this year half way through my second year of University. Although I managed to get very ill three times within less than four months and really felt the pinch of second year responsibilities, on a whole it has gone well. I earned two firsts on my assignments, took advantage of careers help available to improve my CV and cover letters for the ongoing placement search, volunteered for Sheffield Live and discovered an interest in Sport PR. 

Oh and finally, I started this very blog! While I may sometimes let other things get in the way of writing posts I am proud of my little space on the internet and I am very grateful to every single person who takes the time to read it.

Happy New Year!

MY ANTICIPATED MOVIE RELEASES: DECEMBER

Here are my anticipated movie releases of December. However, it is now that I will admit that I have few plans to visit the cinema this month. With Christmas just around the corner, December is one busy and expensive month and my student budget just won’t accommodate to cinema trips on top of Christmas shopping. *sigh*

I have still picked out two upcoming releases that have captured my interest; you can read about them and watch the trailers below. You may notice the absence of a certain Star Wars film, here is my admission that I have never seen Star Wars. I have only seen a little of Star Wars: Episode III, (I know, I know it’s not the best). I do eventually want to get in to Star Wars and see what all the hype is about, but right now, I am not on the Force Awakens excitement train. 

Photo Credit: imdb.com

Sisters

UK Release Date: 12/12/15

 

My love for Amy Poehler is no secret; I found her hilarious as Leslie Knope and can’t wait to see her and Tina Fey in this comedy. The film follows two sisters who reunite to throw one last party in their family home before their parents sell it. Sisters also features John Cena, the years accidental comedy star? I just hope the best moments of this comedy aren’t all in the trailer. 

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R11L9cI1dFE

Photo Credit: imdb.com

In the Heart of the Sea

UK Release Date: 26/12/15

In the Heart of the Sea is a recounting of the sinking of a whaling ship by a giant sperm whale in 1820, the true story that would inspire Moby Dick. Starring Chris Hemsworth and Cillian Murphy, the appeal of this epic adventure seems to lie in its simplicity, a story of survival, man versus nature. While 2013 racing drama Rush made me a fan of Ron Howard, I will admit that my anticipation for this comes with a little trepidation, as I write this I have heard a series of mixed reviews and In the Heart of the Sea isn’t doing particularly well at the box office. 

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-H35Mpj4uk

What films will you be seeing over this festive period?

THIS PAST WEEK #17 HOME COMFORTS

It is three and half weeks since my last 'This Past Week'. Since I started my blog that is longest I have gone without my usual Sunday (more often Wednesday) post. I have missed it. 

Unfortunately this will be another post where I tell you that I haven't blogged because of being ill. Throw in two assignment deadlines and you've hit the no-post-jackpot. 

My old friend tonsillitis came back just over three weeks ago and as I tried to work through an assignment I was getting sicker, even with the prescribed anti biotics, I just wasn’t getting any better. It was one of the worst weeks, assignment stress and my throat being so sore was stopping me from sleeping properly. During that week I felt the lowest I had ever felt during my time at university. I was pretty much on the brink of crying at the smallest thing. After a visit to the walk in centre and another week of antibiotics, I am finally back to health. I would like to stay that way for the rest of 2015 please.

While I’d managed to get myself back to health from the comfort of my student house, I was massively in need of some home comforts. I have few complaints about my student life in Sheffield but sometimes you just need to go home, sleep in your bedroom of five years and eat a Sunday roast. My decision to quickly book a train ticket on Wednesday was definitely a good one.

After a week off from lectures and seminars to allow myself time to get back to health, I don't mind admitting that last week I struggled to fully concentrate on Uni work again. I write this on my way back to Sheffield from my weekend at home while also writing a to-do list of things to complete before I see home again for Christmas. Having time to properly recharge my batteries at home has made feel so much better about the next three weeks which I foresee being very busy. 

I hope you have a great week!

STUDENT HOUSE HUNTING: MY ADVICE

This September I started my second year of university. This meant that I no longer call halls of residence my home from home. I now lived in a shared student house with eight housemates. This is the time of year when students have begun looking for houses for next year. While looking for a house may seem like some real grown up fun, it can be difficult and stressful. Student houses can be grim at times and negotiating electric bills and weekly rent isn’t the party it sounds. While I am not partaking in the wild fun that is student house hunting, as next year I will be on a work placement, I decided to write down a few pointers that I thought might be helpful. I am not an expert; these snippets of advice have come from personal experience and things that have come up when talking to friends about student house hunting.

Be sure of your future housemates

Whenever I’ve watched or read advice to Fresher’s, one of the first points is to not get pressured in to signing for a house before you really know the people you’re living with. It’s a difficult balancing act for sure but you want to be living in a happy environment for the next year. With more work and pressure, second year is a completely different ball game to the year of a fresher. Will that constant mess in the kitchen be as hilariously charming a month in to second year?

If you can, talk to the current tenants

This is a piece of advice I wish I had considered this time last year. When you’re viewing a student house it’s likely that some of the current tenants will be around. Ask them what it’s like to live there, things like broadband capability and efficiency of the heating are things you can get an unbiased and honest opinion of. 

Check crime levels

This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you’ve moved to a new city for university, after 2 months it’s unlikely that you’ve gained local knowledge about the reputations of student housing areas. Unfortunately some letting agents and landlords will take advantage of this and not mention high crime levels while they charge per room for a house. You can quickly check crime statistics by postcode here: http://www.crime-statistics.co.uk

Be Decisive

Getting a good student house is competitive, especially if you’re in a city with more than one university. Once you’ve found a house you’re confident about, stake your claim. You don’t have to have all the fine details sorted overnight but don’t make the mistake that my housemates and I made of deciding the house we saw a fortnight ago was the one we wanted to be told that another group had signed for it.

Bins are important

Ah, the glamour of adult life… I live with eight people, within a few weeks of living in our new home we realised that the amount of rubbish nine people make was too much for the wheelie bins we were allocated by the council. After months of emails and phone calls to the local council we have finally solved the seemingly simple problem. You may be thinking that this is not a significant issue but when you’re living with a hallway of overflow rubbish bags, it’s significant. This is especially important, if like me, you are living with more than five or so people. Look out for any signs that there is inadequate bin space and if you can ask the current tenants about it. (See above)

Happy Hunting!

THIS PAST WEEK #16 SOMETHING EVIL'S LURKING IN THE DARK

I hope you all had a spooky Halloween! No matter how you spent it. I spent my Halloween at a ‘Dismayland’ themed club night in Sheffield, dressed at what I decided to call “pollution Ariel”. ‘What the hell is that?!’ you may well ask. It’s something I made up but it consisted of me dressed as a mermaid in a purple vest and a pencil skirt with a cut throat of liquid latex, tissue and fake blood plus accessories made of litter. I had originally planned to wear a shiny scale printed skirt that I’d bought from amazon but it didn’t arrive in time. Note to self: don’t take a risk on delivery between October 20^th and November 9^th if you need it by October 31^st. Luckily my friend, Liz, came to my rescue and let me wear her teal pencil skirt. I also went to a Halloween themed night at the beginning of the week dressed as a zombie. It was a perfect excuse to practice our skills of making fake wounds and skeletal contouring. The picture above shows the finished results.

On Tuesday I went to the Sheffield leg of Steve Backshall’s ‘Wild World’ tour. If you don’t know who Steve is, the easiest way to explain is to say that he is like David Attenborough but more for children. If you’re my age or older you may remember him from CBBC’s ‘Really Wild World’ or you may know him from his more recent TV appearances on ‘Deadly 60’ or ‘Big Blue Live’. In his tour he discussed his recent adventures, talking us through different animals and basically why they’re so amazing. He also showed clips and outtakes from his shows. I only went because my house mate is a fan of Steve Backshall and she asked if I wanted a ticket, but ended up really enjoying it. I was sat in the Crucible theatre surrounded by many of Backshall’s clever young fans, many younger than 12 who probably know more about the ‘wild world’ than I ever will. He ended his talk with a quote by George Mallory that has quickly become one of my favourites:

“People ask me, 'What is the use of climbing Mount Everest?' and my answer must at once be, 'It is of no use. ‘There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behaviour of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it. We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron... If you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to live. That is what life means and what life is for.” 

It perfectly summed up his talk and his attitude towards living life one wild adventure at a time. 

Meeting Steve Backshall at the Crucible

On Thursday evening I went to see ‘Spectre’. I am very busy with assignments at the moment so I don’t know if I will have time to write a review so I will sum up my thoughts now. I am a little unsure on my opinion of it, I’m sure I liked it but I don’t know how much. Since everyone seems to be shouting and raving about how amazing it is, enormous budget, step up from Skyfall, Sam Mendes makes the best bond and all that I entered the cinema with high expectations. Because of this I felt a little disappointed. The opening scene was spectacular, Lea Seydoux made a fabulous Bond girl, Christoph Waltz made a sinister villain and Sam Smith’s ‘Writings on the wall’ is a fitting Bond anthem, but for me Skyfall is still the best Bond film. It’s a tough one to beat.

I hope you’re having a wonderful week!