Freshers, Flatmates and Friends Box Sets

Hiya!!

I am officially here! Despite most people's predictions, I actually made it through Freshers Week unscathed -apart from a slight case of Freshers Flu....

Where to start...well my flatmates are super cute!! There are 10 of us altogether, so cooking is slightly hectic (but we mainly cook pasta/pizza/jacket potato so it's not too bad...) and otherwise it's brilllllliant! In Freshers we went 'out out' some nights, and other nights we had flat parties (some successful...some not..that's another story).

Mostly we were getting to sleep at around 5am and waking up at 1pm the next day. SO, last week, when I found out that my shorthand classes are at EIGHT AM which means getting up at SIX FOURTY FIVE...Well you can imagine my reaction. It wasn't pretty. It was grumbly (if that's not a word, it should be). I was (and still am) extremely saddened at the thought of my flatmates enjoying their lie-ins, whilst I eat my cereal zombie-style and watch the News in the hope that I'll pass the 'news quiz' for the week. (Which I inevitably will not. I got 1.5/10 in my first Lecture, OOPS).

Overall it has been a fab two weeks! I was told to prepare for homesickness (good advice...but how do you prepare for moving in to a new place in a new city with 9 new people?)...Obviously it'll hit everybody at different times, but as long as you have good people around you (and a Friends box set) it's fiiiiine. Everybody's going through the same thing after all. (Plus it helps if you're close to home...I've already been back once!)

I hope you're all enjoying Uni so far!! And if you're in Year 12...power through the pain, it's all worth it once you get here! I feel weirdly old and responsible, doing my own washing, shopping and cooking (if making jacket potatoes and beans counts as cooking), but I'm also loving the independence of it, and finally being able to study such an interesting subject!

Anna x

Blogger of the Year(!)

HELLO FRIENDLINGS!

I won the Blogger of the Year competition!!! EEEEEK! Okay, maybe I'm being a bit hasty. Make a cuppa and I'll tell you the story. So, after nervously waiting for what felt like a LIFETIME, I finally found out on September 1st, when my brother and I were sat in a bar in Majorca enjoying a spot of free Wi-Fi. Naturally at the moment I decided to open the email from UCAS, my phone decided that it was a brilliant time to have a momentary meltdown. Not good.

Anyway, after a few painful seconds, I read the email and danced around the bar happily knowing that my often meaningless ramblings WON ME AN IPAD! How crazy is that?! I'm not blogging off my iPad right now (but that is a definite must-do...), instead, I am blogging off my new laptop for Uni! Very exciting.

I also got to my Dad's house today to this surprise...

From Red Bull to One Direction plasters (don't ask), this lil box is filled to the brim with absolute essentials - Yes, oreos are essential. 

One week today I'll be in Sheffield! I've found all 9 - yes, nine! - of my flatmates and I'm suuuuper excited to meet them all. If you're going to Uni next week like me, or if you're already there....HAVE FUUUUUUN.

See you in Sheffield,

Anna x

AUGUST 13TH

HELLO! Here is the start of a blog post I wrote on the night before Results Day...

Results Day. Those two, simple words are enough to frighten teenagers (and parents) all over the country. *See example. Safe to say, I'm terrified. Suddenly, this year Results Day means SO MUCH more. It doesn't just mean "Will I get an A in History?" or "I hope I get in to Sixth Form". Just the fear about grades is enough. But add in the fact that Universities are involved, and that's enough to tip me over the edge (or run away to a far away place). 

*Example: Earlier, I was out with my friends and one of us said "Results day is soon", and one of my other friends literally, DROPPED TO THE FLOOR. This is not a joke. She curled up in to a cocoon shape and muttered "Results day, results day...", like a crazed person.

I stopped there as I promptly fell asleep. It was about 1am, soooo. ANYWAY. Upon reflection, I didn't reaaaaally need to worry. I'm absolutely OVER THE MOON...I got A*AB. When I woke up this morning, I felt SO sick, as I'm sure thousands of other teens across the country did. But, I checked on UCAS before I went to school, and spent a good few painful minutes deliberating over whether "Congratulations, you have a place at the University of Sheffield!" meant that I was in or not. TURNS OUT IT DID, so lots of screaming/crying ensued.

At school, Harika and I nervously opened our results only to find that we got the exact same grades. YAHOOOO! All my friends did so well...I am crazily proud of all of them. Thank you to all of my besties and my amazeballs family for being the best support system ever during two years which have often been incredibly stressful.

I also told my Dad my results live on the radio this morning on his show...you can listen

here! After that aired, East Midlands Today heard it so rang me to ask for a TV interview! It was totally surreal having a film crew in my living room asking me about my results...If you want to watch it, I'll be on BBC 1 at 6:30 tonight, or Sky channel 960. I also went out for dinner earlier only to get a phone call from the Sheffield Star, asking if they could do an interview with me too...what a mental day!

Congrats to everyone who got their results today. Whatever your 'next step' may be, I hope it is an amazing, crazy, exciting one. Enjoy it. I'm off on my hols now, so have a superb summer!

Anna xxx

(As always....click here to vote for me as Blogger of the Year if you haven't already this month. THANKS.)

Where on earth do I start?

Bonjour!

I’m in a French mood…I have just got back from a few days in Paris with my boyfriend, and I’m so converted that I barely speak English anymore. Maybs. We had a FABULOUS time, and I must admit that I have truly fallen in love with this beautiful city. (That may explain why I took almost 1000 photos in just three days…)

ANYWAYS, I am here to blog about another, WAY MORE exciting adventure that I went on to...IKEA! Believe it or not, I am actually very prepared for University for saying there is still over a month to go. Some of you may be thinking "Where on earth do I start?", and I may just have some of the answers. 

Start by accepting the fact that you are going to University in just over a month. If you've already overcome that (very) large hurdle, next write a list of all the things you need to take. I mean everything. (Down to things like...a teddy, for example. This may or may not be on my list. Who am I kidding, OF COURSE IT IS.) If you're like me, and a sucker for cute stationary, a nice notebook is ESSENTIAL. Anyway...look at what you already have, and what you still need to buy. Then, bribe (or force) your parents to take you to get the things you still need. Nailed it. 

In the meantime...I will talk through what I bought in IKEA, and hopefully for those of you who aren’t as prepared as me (tut tut), this post will give you some ideas!

Here goes. I don’t know if anybody else feels the same way, but I have been kinda obsessed about getting a nice duvet cover for Uni. So when I saw this really cute flowery one, it was an instant thumbs up. (I also got the red spotty one too as it was £5 in the sale…who doesn’t love a good bargain??)

I also got the essential (but less exciting) cutlery…there was an expensive version and a cheap version of this…I went for the cheaper one just because I’ve heard that your stuff gets destroyed by the end of the first year anyways. Yay.

Next…plates/bowls and snazzy chopping boards, woohoo! There was a choice of colour for crockery, like grey/orange/purple/black, but I went for the classic white just because I didn’t fancy eating from a coloured plate. Also, I got two sizes of chopping boards, BECAUSE EVERYBODY LOVES CHOPPING BOARDS! Don't they?

Here’s an aerial view of everything together…So I also got a big red rug (which also acts as a nice backdrop to photos), a REALLY CUTE lamp, a glass with FLAMINGOS on it (I died), other glasses, kitchen-y utensils, and a negatives-photo-hanger-thing (on the left). Basically you hang it from the ceiling and put pictures in it. Oh…and the plastic white thing is a toothbrush holder. Exciting.

Since my trip to IKEA, I have also been to B&M with my Dad, where we bought stuff like tupperware, a jug, sharp knives, a bath mat, a colander, lalala. I’d definitely recommend this as somewhere to go for other bargain University essentials.

Overall, I reckon I’m surprisingly prepared for University! (I’m not sure if this would be the case if I wasn’t on holiday for the rest of summer). It’s good this way because I don’t feel stressed at all, whereas if I was organising things the week before I would most certainly be in meltdown-mode.

Hope everybody's having a WONDERFUL summer! The Blogger of the Year competition is still going....And as it's a new month, even if you have already voted, you can vote AGAIN here! Thank you:)

Anna x

Nostalgia

Hiya.

***Disclaimer: I am feeling VERY NOSTALGIC.***

So. I just went to pick my little sister up from school. Not just any school...my old Primary school. Now, on a normal day, this would be perfectly fine. Being the last day of term, the Year 6's came out of the doors with massive grins on their faces, no doubt excited to move on to Secondary School. Also, fine. Happens every year, right? Right. But, as I will be leaving home in *cries* approximately 8 weeks, this teeny-tiny event hit me HARD.

I must be honest, after a few minutes of watching kids- who were barely fetuses when I left Primary school - walk out of those doors whilst their smiling parents (and, erm, me) watched them, my hayfever certainly started to kick in. To make the situation worse, my not-so-little sister Maisie who is now 8 :( was running around crazily, flour-bombing the older kids excitedly.

Maisie then ran up to me screaming "ANNA! I'VE JUST SEEN JACOB WHO YOU USED TO LOVE!!!". Brilliant. So, as well as the turmoil of knowing that I left Primary School SEVEN YEARS ago, my sister then decided to publicly reference my boyfriend of 7 years old, which undoubtedly was met with stares from confused parents. 

I then saw my old teacher, and although I disliked her for making me do extra 'multiplication' after school, I was totally DONE. I had to leave. But, I accidentally ran in to my FAVOURITE DINNER LADY -who I remember holding hands with most lunchtimes, as I was too shy to talk to kids my own age. HAHA.)

Overall, a weird 30 minutes. I certainly did not expect to react to a few kids leaving school so very dramatically, but Primary School days were THE BEST DAYS. Sure, I'm SUPER excited to go to Uni, to study something which I know I will love, and finally gain that independence which I've rattled on about for the past three years of my life. But it's odd...it's all happened so fast. I'm trying my best to embrace the change, as I am more than absolutely sure that I would rather be going to a new, exciting city than staying in Sixth Form for another 2 years. But reflecting on Primary School, when your biggest concern was whether you'd be invited to Jessica's party...(Or in my case, how to speak to Jacob without blushing like a lil tomato)....Wowza.

So. I've got 8 weeks to sort myself out and get Uni-ready (By that, I mean learn to control my emotions and EMBRACE CHANGE). LETS DO THIS.

Anna x

P.s (If I haven't mentioned it enough yet)...If you haven't already, it'd be fabulous if you could vote for me to win the Blogger of the Year competition. It's super easy and won't take any time at all. Just click here and wait for the magic to happen :)

Wimbledon in Wales

Hiya!

I’m currently writing this in my pyjamas whilst watching Wimbledon with Harika (she’s the one who wants to go to Leeds Uni. My only friend. JOKIN). We’ve got French baguette with cream cheese and salami, living the high life. We’re also in Wales! Having a chiiiiiiill holiday and celebrating the end of exams (and seven years of Secondary School) in style. If style consists of glamping it up in a caravan and bearing daily cold showers, that is. All in all, this is the life (and also why summer is most definitely my favourite season).

If you’re wondering, the sunglasses are an attempt to pretend that the overcast Welsh sky is ACTUALLY beautiful sun. I’m not just being a diva at the fact that I’m being practically forced to watch 3 hours of Wimbledon over being on the beach. Honest.

My main incentive for this totally Uni-related blog post (as always) is the fact that I went to the Sheffield Uni open day a year ago today! Weeeeeird, those 365 days sure did fly by. As Results Day gets closer, my blood pressure gets higher and the nightmares become more frequent. Only joking. Or am I? It’s definitely a waiting game, BUT in all honesty the days of Sixth Form and exams are long gone, and boring books about the French Revolution (Sorry Sally Waller) have been replaced with ACTUAL ENJOYABLE READING. Love it. I’m currently enjoying Insurgent –the second book in the Divergent series- but it has occurred to me that maybe I should be learning some Shorthand instead. Maybe. Another day? Most of all, I certainly need to treasure my sleep at the moment, as at Sheffield shorthand classes begin at 6am (HAHA).

In other news, I’ve started looking at jobs for Uni –Well. My Mum has a friend whose son knows someone who owns a restaurant in Sheffield…So that’s about the extent of my ‘looking’. But anyway, I have been advised by many people to start looking for jobs BEFORE Uni, and not just when you get there (when thousands of other people will be searching also.)

Hope everybody’s gooooood. I'd also love it if you could vote for me in the Blogger of the Month competition –all the votes go towards the Blogger of the Year comp next month. Oooooh. Click here to vote! Thank you!

Anna x

When Annie met Sally

Hola!

Firstly: I'M REALLY SUPER EXCITED TO BE BLOGGER OF THE MONTH AGAIN! Thank you so much to everybody who voted...Keep going because Blogger of the Year competition is coming up in August (this is basically a total of all the votes since we started blogging); VERY exciting. Ta daaaaa: www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting

Last weekend my friend from Wales, Sally, came to stay so I finally have something Uni-related to blog about. YAHOO! I met Sally in France when I was 15 and she was 14..so, being a year younger she's currently looking at different uni's and writing the dreaded personal statement. She wants to study Chemical Engineering (I attempted to understand what this is but my brain just couldn't hack it. Chemistry was never my subject. Or biology (or physics)). ANYWAYS, she came to see me in the wonderful land of Derby (no sarcasm intended) after an open day at Loughborough University, which she really liked. We spent the weekend attempting (and failing) to ride a tandem, having a massive picnic, and eating lots of ice cream.

Overall, Sally's visit made me realise a few things...

Firstly, although at the time of writing them, personal statements seem like THE. BIGGEST. DEAL. EVER, they're really not. Don't get me wrong, you can't spend two minutes writing it and produce 42 lines on how your passion for eating pizza can help you get to University. HOWEVER, predominantly I learnt that as long as you CRAM it with experience, along with a mega-enthusiastic passion to study your particular course, you're personal statement will be WONDERFUL. I spent hours changing teeny words and stressing about things like "DO I USE A COLON OR A SEMI-COLON??? THIS WILL DETERMINE WHETHER I GET IN OR NOT". It won't. Give yourself a slap in the face (or alternatively take a stroll) and remember that this is just another small step towards getting to the University you want to go to.

Secondly, enjoy it! Amongst all the stress, deciding what you want to do with your life is kinda a little bit exciting. Make your decision wisely and do what's best for YOU, not your parents, your friends or your great-auntie Hilda. Definitely not your great-auntie Hilda.

Speech over.

In other news, I started ACTUAL-UNIVERSITY-PREPARATION yesterday! My brother and I made home-made spaghetti and meatballs for tea, along with orange flapjack for pudding. I'm getting there right?

P.s After somebody pointed it out, I am starting to realise that I have a slightly extreme obsession with brackets and capital letters. I LOVE THEM. There I go again.

P.p.s Like the ingenious film reference?? Anybody?

Anna x