January Favourites 2015 ~ Pen and Key

So, today, I'm going to try out a new thing. I know Maya's going to be filming a favourites video soon enough, but I want to try it and see how well I can go about it.

Body Shop ~ Lip Butter and Body Butter ~ Strawberry

As I mentioned in my anniversary post, I want to focus more on me this year, mentally and physically. I've loved the Body Shop strawberry range ever since I first found out about it, and even more so in the last few months. The lip butter has been especially helpful after my realisation that I need to take better care of my lips, because they get chapped so easily, I swear. Also, who doesn't love the smell of strawberry?

Avon Nailwear Pro+ Top Coat ~ Destination Peach

I've been wearing this matte top coat to school for the last few weeks. As you can see, I've already used a good amount of the stuff. It has a really pretty sheen to it, even when you wear it over a clear coat of polish (how I've been wearing it for the last few weeks).

Classics Pump it Up Nail Polish Remover

I swear, I will stop with beauty-related things in a second. I don't know if I've told anyone this, but my dog has been sleeping on my bed a lot recently, and a couple of weeks ago, at about 5 in the morning for a few days, he would get up and start wandering around my bed. It got so annoying. Then, one day, I discovered my bottle of nail polish remover on the floor, top off, nearly empty. Thankfully, my laptop was under my pillow that night, or I may have had a bit of a problem. However, because of that, I now have a stained table leg and wallpaper. After that, we decided to try a different approach. Rather than a lid that you can forget to screw on properly, this bottle clicks in place so that it can't be pumped to release remover.

Law of the Lycans Series - Nicky Charles

As well as the Maze Runner Series, I've been reading the Law of the Lycans series on my kindle and my phone (my battery hates me for downloading the kindle app). When it comes to detailed universes, even though this is set in modern America, this series is up there. It includes so many details about Lycan lore, I'd love an entire book just explaining it all. I also love how each of the stories are intertwined. Like in the prequel, Bonded, Damien, Ryne and Kane are introduced as small characters, who later go on to have their own books (Betrayed, The Keeping and The Mating, respectively). It's a really cool detail I'll have to think about using. (Note: these books do get explicit at points, so if you don't want to read something like that, don't even bother, I don't want to be blamed)

BiC Brite Liners

Now I'm halfway through year 10, GCSEs are a whole lot more real. So, I'm taking a whole lot more care and attention for my lessons, as a lot of it is course work that leads up to controlled assessments or information I'm going to have to study for my exams. In order to do this, my work has become a lot more colourful. I myself am a visual learner, so having things that are bright and colourful really help me to notice things. We found these in Lidl a while back, and we found them again the other day, so I may have a second set as a back up :)

* * * * *

That's all the favourites I can think of, really. I'll try and keep this going, I enjoyed talking about products I like. Maybe I'll start reviews or something like that. I swear, I will try and get a post about braces up sometime, seeing as I've had them for a year. Have a good weekend everybody, Eve <3

Writing Wednesday #4 ~ Salt

Worth Your Salt

The hand landed across his ear, the clap of flesh on flesh ringing through the kitchen. The shattered plate lay at his feet, ribbons of blood running from the lacerations the ceramic had caused.

"You clot!" screeched the housekeeper. "How do you expect to be worth your salt if you can't even keep a dish complete?" Her face had become ruddy as she scolded the boy.

"I'm sorry, Margaret." He forced his tears back, knowing he'd get nowhere with them when it came to the strict housekeeper.

"I know you don't want to be here, Merlin. How many of us do you think wants to be here? But this is your lot, and you might as well make the most of it!" Sighing in frustration, she went back to work, leaving the boy in the corner, clutching his throbbing ear.

It hadn't always been this bad, he mused, swiping salt water from his eyes. Back when Arthur had been the king, things had been fine. Merlin had enjoyed work, even if he did have to clean up after His Royal Pain. He had become a friend of sorts to the crown prince, then an adviser to a king, then...

Well, now with Morgana firmly on the throne, Merlin couldn't help but feel alone. He'd lost his best friend, and now he had nothing; no one to turn to, no one to insult, no one to laugh at him.

Oh, he'd tried to make friends among the staff, how he'd tried. No one had wanted to know him when he was the king's servant, something about him supposedly reporting servant's gossip back to the royal. Now, everyone had spent so long ignoring him, it was a part of life to leave the boy alone.

Where are you now, Arthur, Merlin mused, resigning himself back to work.

* * * * *

I feel like my first Writing Wednesday for this prompt was great, and now it's sort of gone downhill, and I'm only on number 4.

Side note, I hit 2000 pageviews this week, which is amazing! Thank you to everyone who looks at my blog. Maybe this time next year I'll have hit 5000, but I'll stay happy with what I've got now.

Have a great week everybody, Eve <3

Things I Like About Me Tag

Before I actually start this, I'd like to say thank you to Layla for nominating me for this, you're making me think for once, and secondly, in no way am I trying to brag here. I can certainly list things I like about myself easily, but I can also easily list things I don't particularly like about myself too, but we'll be saving that talk for later.

* * * * *

Physically, I'd say I most like my eyes. I like that they're not on solid colour and that they can change depending on certain things. I like that a little bit of eyeliner can make them seem bolder and maybe even darker. I don't know, but if you asked for my defining feature, it would be my eyes.

I like my hair too, I suppose. Some days it annoys me to high hell, bu that's the fun of natural hair. The fact that it's long and can be done in so many different ways is amazing to me, and I'm still learning different styles I can do.

Ask me about my character, and I'll probably be able to describe the ones on the page better. If you asked for a definitive 'type' you'd have to let me get back to you, in a few years when I maybe have a definitive 'type'.

The Eve behind the screen, she's book-ish, laughs too loud, and isn't quick to make decisions.

FOUND ONE

I like the fact that I'm stubborn. Weird, I know, but I know that I can stand my ground. Yes, I may stutter when it comes to public speaking, but I know what I'm trying to say, and it may take a few tries, but I'll get my point across. I consider things before I say them, and just like the way I take ages to write a sentence whilst wanting to get it right, I will backtrack whilst speaking because I think I've worded it wrong.

I like that I've become a person that people enjoy being around; whether it's a teacher who defines me as a pleasure to teach, or a friend who, no matter my weird actions and strange personality, still somehow sticks by me (shoutout to you guys, you know who you are).

* * * * *

I can't really think of anymore right now. I'm rubbish, I know, but part of me, I think is still stuck in ten year old insecurities. Hopefully this year will be the year to work on those, if not beat them. Maybe I'll tell you about them, maybe I won't.

Quick little thing today, enjoy your week, see you on Wednesday,

Eve <3

A Little Rant

Sorry about the lack of Writing Wednesday; we've already established that I'm crap at this, so let's just leave it at that!

Today, I'd like to talk about logic, or rather a lack of.

You see, at my school, we have planners that we're given in September to be used from then until July (or in my case, until March, at best). These planners, to make sure you're using them right, have to be signed weekly by both your parents and your pastoral tutor.

For the last three years, across two different pastoral tutors, we've taken our planners home on a weekend, brought them in signed by our parents so that, on a Monday morning, or Tuesday at the latest, they would be signed. This is done to acknowledge that the parents have seen what we've been doing over the week, any praise or criticism from teachers, and leave their own notes for our teachers in school. Usually, though, I just shove my planner under my parents' noses and get them to sign it.

Imagine our outrage then, when on Wednesday afternoon, during the 20 minutes of 'enrichment' time we have every day, our two pastoral tutors suggest something so illogical that a class of around 25 students, who couldn't band together to save one of our lives, is up in arms for a good 15 minutes.

They suggested that we go home on a Thursday night, have our planners signed for the Friday!

What is this madness?

It made no sense to any of us. Why have a planner signed for an incomplete week? It's mad to us, as you can see from us all arguing over it. Apparently in our female teacher's last school, 'they used to get theirs signed for Fridays'. Good for them! It makes no sense to us, though, so of course we're going to argue against it. Then our proper form tutor came out with 'Things change, that's life.'

Majority over Authority, I say. This is a democratic country, so surely, we should be able to argue against it and have our voices heard?

The most ridiculous part? As well as the afternoon enrichment everyday, we have ten minutes every morning, which are assigned PREP times. PREP, stands for Planners, Registration, Equipment and Presentation (uniforms). And what do our form tutors use our PREP time for? I would tell you if I knew, but all I see them do is chat; some days we're not even marked in.

So, why don't they just use the time we have every morning to sign our planners? 'Ten minutes doesn't give us enough time'. I'm calling bull! Our pregnant form tutor managed it last year in those ten minutes, so I'm sure you can.

What about you? Is there anything about your teachers that drive you mad, or is it just England?

I'm currently sat waiting for my parent's evening in school. It's not until half 6, but as I explain to everyone, it's easier for me to be in school than for my dad to leave work, pick me up from school, drop me off, only to leave work again 3 hours later when he could be working for the 30 minutes he spends getting me at 3 o'clock. So I'm sat in an IT room wondering which websites I currently have access to.

Eve out <3

The Handwriting Tag

Yesterday's post was kinda short, so I'm throwing in a random tag just to make up for that. Thankfully it isn't as long as last year's TMI Tag, but it did take a while.
Would this be counted as truthful? I don't know if my English teacher would say so. This is my neat handwriting; the one I use in my history book after writing out my notes in my horrendous handwriting in class. I have literally resorted to writing notes on the front of my geography assessments to apologise for the monstrosity that is me trying to answer all the questions in the time I have (apparently my test was the most amusing in the class because of it) so I think I may add a page of my notes to the end of this as a comparison just to show you.
I've kind of jumbled the questions together, because there were two different sets I came across.

And here are those History examples I promised, because I cannot let you believe that this ^ is my true handwriting! All of these examples are waiting to be copied into my actual History coursebook. My method for notes is write as legibly as I can on lined paper in class (my teacher changes slides so quickly) then copy it out in my spare time with colours to highlight certain points of my notes (that's why, in the education page, some parts are underlined)

Do you see how small this is?

So, there you go! Just a little tag to break up all the stress and stuff I've been posting recently.

I would now like to say again, I am tagging!

Maya of ohemgeeitsmaya

Jake of Hairychimp123's blog

Jack of music and more

Layla of Laylatheawesome

Lucy of Open Letters

You have been tagged! 

Have a nice weekend everyone, Eve <3

At the End of the Day

This is a follow-up to last week's Stress Vent. Just a reminder:

Nothing lasts forever

That's it; your stress won't last; the things that are upsetting you now, you'll look back and wonder what you were worrying about; people who annoy you now, in ten years, they probably won't be around unless you want them to be.

At the end of the day, nothing is permanent. 

In the heat of the moment, it can feel like everything's surrounding you, but the moments pass and you can grow. In geography today, we learnt that the word 'advance', in terms of glaciers, means to grow. For glaciers, it's in size, but for us, we can advance in so many ways; our knowledge, our personality, our understanding of the world.

To relate this to me, this time last week, I was writing about being stressed over a geography assessment and chemistry homework. Today I learned I got A's in both, which I am so happy about, and that's my wake up the the span of things. I've been worrying about those for a week, hoping I got a good grade so that my tears weren't for naught, and now I know they weren't, I feel kind of stupid, but not completely ridiculous, because you don't cry for nothing. 

You cry because you're impassioned.

You cry because you're angry, or you're sad, or scared, or even happy (though I can't say I've cried out of joy much before). Never underestimate your emotions, because, confusing as they are, they are the windows into you and your feelings, and they explain a lot more than your mouth can.

At the end of the day, these things, they're gone, over and done with; they can't be changed, only improved upon.

Please remember that,

I'm always here to message if needed, remember that too.

Have a nice weekend everybody,

Eve <3

Writing Wednesday #3 ~ Sand

Back on schedule! I actually have two different Writing Wednesdays for this prompt. When I thought I would be posting #3 last week, as I mentioned in last week's Writing Wednesday, I actually incorporated the prompt into my English homework. I already had something written for today, so I've just rounded that off quickly, and am also adding my English homework to the end, which I ended up extending for my EBI, so you can have that paragraph too.

* * * * *

Three days and she was sick of it. Sand as far as the eye could see with no way to escape the stuff.
'I'm a survivor' she had to make herself think, but that only brought her to the conclusion that she'd survived hell only to be sent to Purgatory.
She had tried to escape, yet all that led to was defeat. Her weakened arms would fail her, the cramp in her feet would draw her to a halt, the salt water in her lungs would leave her gasping for respite, and she would return to the sand, beaten once again.
Would she ever escape? Or would she, the last survivor, be defeated?

* * * * *

Always running, but never moving forward

You walk away, footprints in the sand serving as a reminder of just how far away you already are. How did we end up like this? Tears fall into the waves, milling with the salty waters as they recede. Reaching for you, I wonder why I bother; we've been here before. My feet won't move, the only part of  my body that doesn't want to be near you. Why is it, we're always running, but never moving forward.
My knees hit the sand, waves lapping around me; they go about their natural process whilst mine crumbles into the saltwater. Perhaps the waves can carry me away from this, away from him. "I'm done with this!" His agitated voice had filled the beach, and now it fills my head, repeating itself until i overpowers me, sending me backwards into the waters. Seaweed tangles in my hair, like hands trying to keep me there. Thrashing against them, I look to the sky, fighting to be back in the world above, no matter how miserable it may be.

* * * * *

I do love doing creative writing in English! I didn't say, but the actual task for homework was to take  a six word story  like Ernest Hemingway did, and write a paragraph about it. My six word story came from my friend Jam, and if you hadn't guessed, it's up there ^!

I don't know what I'll be writing on Saturday. Push comes to shove, you may end up with more of my English work! Have a nice week everybody,

Eve <3

Liebster Award 2.0 times 2

So, I have been nominated for the Liebster Award once again by Georgia of This Teenage Blogger.

To go over the rules again, they are as follows:

- Thank and link the person who nominated you

- Answers the questions given to you by said nominator

- Nominate 11 other bloggers (who have less than 200 followers) and link them (oh God)

- Create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer

- Notify all nominees via social media/their blogs!

So, my questions from Georgia are:

1. Do you have a favourite T-shirt, if so, what's it like?

    Errrrrrrm, probably my plain red shirt from Sainsbury's, cause I'm cool!

2. Do you have a certain drink you order when you go out?

    J2O Apple and Mango, or Orange and Passionfruit :)

3. Pugs or Labradors?

    Labradors!!! (chocolate/black)

4. Do you have any pets, what are they?

    I have my 13-year-old border collie, Tip, who decided 5 o'clock this morning was a great time to play 'I can't get comfy' by clacking around the laminate floor of my bedroom. *sigh*

5. Favourite music artist?

    MUMFORD & SONS!!! I kind of sat at the weekend and made a whole playlist of every single song, from every album and every EP. Click here to be enlightened! 

6. Where do you see yourself in the future?

    Five years into the future,I see myself in uni studying journalism, or on a gap year. In ten years, I see myself holding a steady job, living maybe in a city, or even abroad, with maybe a boyfriend on the cards.

7. What are you most proud of?

    Achievements-wise, I couldn't tell you. But, I'm proud to say that my friends know they can come to me whenever they need me; I'm proud to say that I know, rain or shine, I'll be there.

8. What is your favourite colour?

    Blue/Purple

9. If you could interview anyone, alive or dead, who would it be and why?

    I'd maybe like to interview someone like Abraham Lincoln, or Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, just to see what they'd think of the world today, because somehow in all this technology and chaos, we haven't changed.

10. What's your favourite song?

       Evil question! Probably -aaargh- I want to say Dust Bowl Dance, but then I think Sigh No More, or Awake My Soul, or even Below My Feet - all Mumford & Sons, by the way. Can you tell I listened to them way too much this last weekend?

11. If you could be any celebrity in the world, who would it be?

      WHY ARE THESE QUESTIONS SO DIFFICULT? Um, um, um, THATCHER JOE! Because I want to see Caspar Lee's face when he sees his tin foil room.

Whilst in the midst of writing this post, Maya decided to finish hers quicker than me and tag me again! So, because I'm a lazy arse, I'm going to mix the two together

1. What's your all time favourite item of clothing?

    My plaid top from Marks and Spencer! I've literally worn it twice and I've fallen in love!

If I could crop it, I would, but have an awkward webcam picture of me on a Sunday afternoon :)

2. Name your top 3 favourite people.

    1. Maya

    2. Sarah

    3. ME! Joking, joking, probably Jack :)

3. Name your top 3 favourite celebrities.

    1. EMMA WATSON

    2. Emma Watson

    3. Emma Watson

Joking, 2 and 3 are Peter Capaldi and Colin Morgan

4. First memory?

    I'll have to say either complaining to my mum and dad about child vaccines, or getting a play jeep for Christmas one year.

5. When was the last time you laughed the hardest?

    Have you met my friends? Every-bloody-day!

6. Favourite book?

    Maya why? Probably the Maze Runner at the moment (I was halfway through the Scorch Trials last time I picked them up)

7. Favourite movie?

    Can I take favourite out of my vocabulary, because I obviously don't know the meaning, otherwise this wouldn't be so difficult. I got Maleficent for Christmas, that's a pretty cool film. I like things that put spins on the norm that everybody knows.

8. Favourite band?

    See above ^

9. Are you left or right handed?

    Righty :)

10. Favourite song?

      See above ^ :)

11. Look behind you. Which shoulder do you look over?

      Right!

So, those are my two Liebster Awards I was nominated for! Now to turn the tables!

Nominees I choose you!

* Ohemgeeistmaya (payback time!)

*This Teenage Blogger

Oh God, why do I follow so many people?

* A Bundle of Contradictions

* Open Letters

* Bean's Beauty Blog

* Confessions of a Teenage Writer

* Glitter and Carousels

* Hairychimp123

* Keller Can Talk

* Laylatheawesome

* music and more (Jack)

* xBeYOUtifulx

My questions for you are:

* If you could learn any language, what would it be?

* If you were to go back to school (or repick your options) what would you study?

* If you had a one-way trip to anywhere, and a spare ticket for someone else, where would you go, and who would you take?

* If you could rewrite the ending of any book, what's the book and what would you change?

* If you were stuck on an island, what three things would you want with you?

* If you could share a house with any 5 people (dead or alive), who would you share a house with?

* If you could take charge of your country for a day, what would you do/change?

* If you could collect anything, what would you collect?

* If you were to set yourself a reminder that popped up everyday for the rest of your life, what would it say?

* If you were to travel back to any historical period, which would you visit?

* Fire or Ice?

Those are my Liebster Awards, now I have to go mess around with my layout to fit the two badges on! Yay!

See you Wednesday for another Pen and Key Writing Wednesday :)

Eve <3

Take a Break

If you're in any type of schooling, you're probably a little bit stressed, unless you're 11 or under. Do me a favour and enjoy it! And sometimes things can pile on top of you, and it starts to bend you, like a pencil, and that pencil can snap.

That happened to me last night

With a chemistry presentation to complete for Friday, as well as a Geography test to revise for, an RE mock exam in two weeks, a Spanish controlled assessment in three, I snapped. Whilst talking to Maya (complaining really), I broke. There were tears, despair, and the inherent need for my mum. I didn't want to hide from her, not when I was struggling.

She ended up telling me that I would shower, then have another ten minutes to do some more chemistry, and geography, if I didn't have it in my head already, I'd have to make do. The test was just an end-of-unit, which just gives a grade, but doesn't impact my GCSE. Then I'd go to sleep, because my parents are sure that I can't run on 6 hours of sleep forever, which I suppose I can't, but it's just a manageable time for me, just like 6:30 is for waking up, and 7:00 is for making my tea on a night.

I couldn't tell you why it took me two hours to do that one chemistry presentation (this did include a 20 minute fanfiction break, but whatever). I ended up finishing it in the 10 minute time limit I gave myself. 7 slides of random chemical stuff that barely made sense to me, that took two hours. The reaason I've been able to figure out is that, I got a D last term, and I don't want to keep that. No way. Unfortunately, I'm not my sister, who did an A Level in chemistry, and even went on to university to study it. Chemistry is probably my worst science, followed by physics, then biology is definitely my favourite. Covalent bonds don't interest me; clinical trials and heart dissection does.

But I wasn't writing this to talk about my personal struggles, I want to help you if you're feeling stressed. We all have different methods for relieving ourselves of stress, but here are a few that help me out when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

1. Take a step back

When you're stressed, it's a counterproductive to be near the thing that's causing you grief. Take a walk, go make a drink, or just close the window on your computer and go do something else.

2. Take a shower

Clear your mind, take the time to get yourself clean and just away from whatever's stressing you out.

3. Read a book (or do whatever relaxes you)

Relieving your own stress lies in relaxing yourself, for me at least. Get out a book, listen to some music, whatever makes you happy, do it.

4.Punch a pillow

I would say 'punch something', but I don't know how literally people will take that, and I don't really want to pay damages if someone punches through a wall or something, so punch a pillow; think of it as one way to plump it :)

5.Talk to someone

Whether it's your mum downstairs, your friend you're in a chat with, or just a silly little blog (ayyy), get your feelings out. For some reason, that helps me get over it quicker.

6. Sleep on it

As I said, my mum's initial suggestion was, after I'd had my shower and done the ten minutes of chemistry, was to go to bed, setting an earlier alarm so I could get my morning routine out of the way and use the extra time to finish my work. Luckily, I finished it before I went to bed, so I got the extra time to do some revision for Geography.

7. Let it out

If you feel like crying, then cry. Don't be ashamed of your tears. Tears actually contain antibodies that fight pathogens (thank you biology). So cry, it's human. Take hours if that's what you need;
if the end product is the same, who cares about the middle? You don't have to be strong all the time, which is something I need to remind myself. I'll be leaving reminders everywhere for myself that I'm not indestructible, and I don't need to pretend I am.

So, that was my Thursday night. Hopefully this can be motivation to become a more put-together, organised person (says the person who hasn't done any homework when she has two pieces due on Monday)
Have a nice weekend, Eve <3
PS. I forgot, but I would like to give a shoutout to the beautiful Maya, for being supportive when I was feeling rough, making sure I was okay in the morning, and being a brilliant friend in general. Love oo, Maya x

Writing Wednesday ~ The One with the Mad English Lesson

I know, I keep steering away from the 100 writing prompts, but I must document today's English lesson, which featured an angsty sock and a sexual starburst (ha! alliteration)
So, if you want to learn what I wrote in English, read on!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our first task was to describe where missing socks go when they disappear mysteriously in the washing machine. Accidentally, I actually started writing the extension task about how the sock itself feels (I was writing about the sock that's left behind as well!) So, here is my personified sock!

* * * * *

Imagine your soulmate, your best friend, the other side of your coin. You were made together, crafted in the same moments, packaged side by side. Imagine that one person who keeps you separate, but still keeping you together. After each separation, you are cleaned and then put back together. Imagine, though, you are cleaned, and when you emerge, you aren't brought together once gain; you look for them, your soulmate, your best friend, the one who completes you, but they aren't there. You are thrown into the pile of 'unpaireds' and wonder where you went wrong, how you lost a friend.

* * * * *

Don't ask me what happened, or what I was on, I honestly have no clue. Wait until you read about the sexual starburst!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, I'll explain the sexual starburst. Basically, we were focusing today on the senses. We were each given a starburst (a fruity sweet) and given a different task every few minutes to write about. First, there was sight, then touch (with wrapper), touch (without wrapper), smell, taste (without chewing), taste (with chewing).

I couldn't tell you if it's my teacher who's mad, or me for making a confectionery sweet sound sexual. You decide!

* * * * *

Small and inconsequential, it sits temptingly before me. In my palm, its wrapping crackles, the sound begging me to unfold the paper, to release it from its paper cage. Malleable yet firm, it breaks beneath my nail. The citrus hits my nose, surrounding me in a fragrant aroma that reminds me of foreign soul. Lemon and lime bursts against my tongue, sticking to the roof of my mouth against my will. As I chew, I suddenly remember my braces being tightened yesterday, my teeth grinding around the starburst igniting the pain that flares in my gums. Stupidly, I only now remember that I shouldn't eat such chewy delights, as it wraps itself around my braces, sending my tongue to release my braces from its citrus hold.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These are completely unedited, though I really wanted to. What was I on for that hour? Maybe it was just exhaustion from writing so much in history the lesson before.

Next week, I will hopefully be continuing with the 100 writing prompts challenge, which will also be my english homework, due tomorrow, so I need to go do that :)

Eve <3

One Year Blogiversary ~ The Year of Me

Just a post to celebrate that, a year ago today, I made a blog post.

That's it, that's all I'm commemorating. One little blog post, on a little blog.

A year on, I want to make my blog better. I realise that, in the beginning, I was a crap blogger. I'm proud to say that in the last few months, I've become at least a little bit better, and I hope to improve on that even more. 

Improving aside, I'd like to talk about my true new year's resolution. 

Not a resolution as such, but a promise, to myself; I'm not giving something up, or starting something new. I'm focussing...

This year, I'll be focussing on me.

Not in a vain way, I hope, but I want to do more things, not in the name of progress, not in the name of my future, but to benefit me, in the here and the now.

I want to tidy out my wardrobe, so I'm not sifting through five pairs of jeans, only to revert back to one of the three that fits me.

I want to write more; I feel I haven't written properly in so long, but it felt so right even to work on a six word story in English.

I want to watch more shows for my own enjoyment; my list is so long, it might take me the whole year, but if it's a good show, I'm sure it'll be worth it.

On the other side, I want to better myself in school. My grades, although good most of the time, could be better. My handwriting, it could be neater. My notes could be more in-depth. To be honest, sitting and copying out my history notes is actually a nice down-time for me. If it helps me out later, I might as well do it now.

I want to take myself out of stressful situations. I honestly can't be done with them now, not when I have other things to spend my time on.

So that's it. I want to focus on me, and I'm bloody happy with it!

All my love and luck for 2015, Eve <3

It Doesn't Seem So Long

In light of the New Year, I can't help but think on events of previous years, on moments and memories, and think, 'it can't be that long ago.' But it is, and I want to take the time now to think on times gone past, and maybe give you a bit more insight into me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It doesn't seem so long since I was holding my nephew for the first time

But it is. It's four years nearly, since he was a newborn baby in my hands; my 11 year old hands barely knew how to support a baby, now I can sit him on my hips without a thought (thankfully he can support his own head now). My headphones were looped through the sleeve of my jumper up to the neck, and my sister's partner told me he wanted to hear my heartbeat, not the beat of my music.

It doesn't seem so long since I started secondary school with the goal of making a particular girl my friend

When I was first inducted into my new secondary school in June of year 6, I had mixed feelings about the kids in my form class to be. I'd already developed a crush on one of the lads (who later went on to call me a mong), and had stuck to the girls from my primary when it came to socialising. However, if there was one person I was determined to be friends with, it was the girl who shared exactly the same interests as me. Four years later, she's now my best friend, and I wouldn't know what to do without her. Love you, Maya!

It doesn't seem so long since I was making seriously life-changing decisions based on my future CV

So, in year 8, we had to pick four subjects that we wished to continue (or start) studying for the next 3 years, which we would be taking exams on at the end of year 11. I myself chose History, Geography, ICT, and Spanish. I'll admit, I've been told they're boring - I even describe them as boring - but I know they're going to get me somewhere. That seems to be a crap excuse to put myself through three years of a subject that isn't even interesting to me, but I'd honestly rather have a worthwhile GCSE that can open doors than a GCSE that isn't all that good for my future, no matter how much I enjoyed it.

Ed Sheeran - The A Team

It doesn't seem so long since I was recording these two videos (I'm on the left)

When I'm Gone

I only realised the other day, but these videos are 18 months old. It doesn't feel like that long since we were in Maya's attic, with Sarah behind the camera conducting me through the Ed Sheeran cover, because I couldn't get the beat right. I want to re-record these. At the time of recording, I'd only been taking singing lessons for six months; now I have two years of experience, and I want to see how that has changed my voice and my performance.

It doesn't seem so long since I joined my choir

In reality, I've been a member of the choir for four years, and in that time, I've performed in a town hall, a cathedral, 3 churches (I think), two shopping centres, two castles, a music centre, and I've loved every venue. Yes, there are the complications - the in-choir bitching, the days of bad throats and low self-esteem - but those days aside, I've had some brilliant moments with the choir. I've made friends in pretty much every year group I've come across (apart from the current year seven), and I've improved so much!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That's pretty much all I can think of right now. What's happened that's surprised you over the years? What seems like such a recent thing when really you're five years down the line from it? Let me know, and Happy New Year everyone, all the best for the next 361 days ahead :)