A move to new and exciting times!

Hello to all readers!

Once again I find myself apologising for not sticking to my word and updating this every month, however I've been extremely busy for the past month what with being back at uni and all. I've now moved into my second year at Salford University and am really enjoying it, although don't think I was quite prepared for how much harder second year would be! To all first years, honestly enjoy it while you can😬!

I've actually changed course so now no longer study journalism, just straight English literature. I do however still write for The Closet and Kettle Mag, and am extremely excited to announce I am now the beauty editor over at Kettle Mag!!! I'm so excited for the new and interesting things I'm planning on bringing to Kettle, so please go on and give them a like and follow to keep up with it all! 

(source: Kettle Mag - Facebook)

I've also been working in my job as a waitress a lot lately, and for anyone who juggles uni and a part time job I REALLY do empathise. It's near impossible to have a social life which really sucks, I know my two flatmates are in the same boat and feel the same😔 It's really shitty that without a job I actually would have to make a choice between eating and paying rent...

That's all for now, and seeing as I've taken on this role at Kettle I'm not making any promises about when the next blog will be...

Charlie 

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Return of the Blog

Hi readers!

I'm going to be honest, I've been pretty crappy at updating my blog over summer. In fact it's been over two months now since I posted. This summer has honestly flown by 😟.

This summer is my first as a university student, however it's really not been what I expected. You'd think with three months off from learning and another still to go I'd have had the most relaxing summer of my life, stress free. Nope! These past few months have been a fairly large sized roller coaster, (I know that probably sounds exaggerated but hey maybe that's my aesthetic and we all need to just accept that). What with work, exams (my own fault for messing up the first time though - oops...) and travelling up and down the country all the time, as well as my parents going through a lot of change too, this summer has worn me a little to be honest, but I'm finally settled for a little while and feeling focussed and positive about moving into the second year of uni!

Procrastination ---> complaining on snapchat 

Despite feeling a little down at times, I've been trying to get more creative over the past few months and I've learned that it really does distract me from stress, which is great. If anyone reading this is going through a stressful time, I'd really encourage taking time out to do what you feel most passionate about, whatever that is. 

A lot of great times were had with family and friends all over the country this summer, so just want to specially mention them all for making it so wonderful, particularly to everyone at home in Torbay 💓.

Some friends from home and I (plus boyfriend) before a night out.

 

Just to let any readers know, I've also started writing for two online magazines, Kettle Mag and The Closet (Hit the Floor), so be sure to check them out on Twitter or Facebook!

More posts to come soon,

Charlie 

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Summer time! Finally...

To any readers I owe an apology. I was up to my eyeballs in assignments and exam prep during pretty much all of May, which is why there has been no blog posted since mid-April.

However, I have actually FINISHED my first year of university and am free now for three whole months, which means (hopefully) I'll be posting a lot more blog updates on here!

Moody uni times: A disposable taken back in January. (I'm on the far left)

(Disclaimer: This post comes across ridiculously philosophical and potentially pretentious, but honestly it's meant to be purely positive!😳)

I've been itching to get creative with my writing ever since I finished exams, but unfortunately my part-time job up in Manchester has been pretty much all I've done for the past three weeks. Now I'm home in Devon for a little while though, and honestly cannot wait to let my pen (yes I actually write a lot by hand!) flow freely.

The message of this post is short and sweet; I've been feeling really negative energy coming from myself recently, which I put down to stress from exams, work and living situations just to name a few. However after speaking with a friend yesterday I'm feeling tonnes more positive. She suggested that instead of dwelling on the negatives of life, which sometimes I feel are physically dragging me down, take life as it comes, enjoy alone time, crave creativity, experience the world around you and make the most of time with family and friends, as much or little as you get. I know it seems like an obvious message, but sometimes people, such as my negative yester-self appreciate the reminder. 

With this in mind I urge any readers to take time, even just ten minutes to do something they really love, to indulge in their passions!

Stay tuned,

Charlie X 

Becoming a 'real' adult

Readers,

 I'm not sure whether I'm the only one feeling this way, or whether others in my position feel the same, but since moving out of my parents' house and into university halls last September, I can't help but feel extremely overwhelmed by the prospect of being a 'real' adult.

 At first the whole thing was exciting, as you can imagine. Moving into a flat with three strangers was a bit scary, but the idea of freedom, true freedom, greatly enthused me. After a month or so, however, the novelty of cooking and cleaning for myself had definitely worn off, and I began to miss the leisure of home life, as no doubt many hungry students do!

 And now here I am, seven months later, nearly at the end of my first year of uni, and I'm feeling like I'm constantly filled with anxiety. I've put down a deposit for a flat next year, I'm paying tax, I'm having meetings with 'real' adults and I'm having real life problems such as the shower head breaking, and my mum isn't here to sort any of this out for me! Call me naive, but I thought that these pangs of fret and the constant nerves would have withered away by now, that I'd be used to being an adult? Evidently not.

 So I leave this here with the question that dominates my life, does this feeling ever go away - will I ever become a 'real' adult?

 Feel free to comment on anything discussed in this post, and I'll be back with more soon.

Charlie X 

Welcome back!

It's been almost a year and a half since I've posted anything on here, and a lot has changed!

Not only did I survive the remainder of year 13 and my A2s (thank god), but I actually moved hundreds of miles away to University last September! I can now proudly call myself a student of Salford University, where I study Journalism and English Lit, and I absolutely love it. 

I've been so lazy not posting on here, but as I'm currently in the middle of a tiny crisis (what am I going to do with my life) I thought what better way to express myself than in the way I love the most, writing!

Unfortunately the magazine I used to write for has been shut down, so in the meantime I'm taking to Blogger to express my feelings and fears to the world!

Next post soon!

Charlie X 

Pistorius - freak accident or just cold blooded murder?

 A topic of huge controversy of late has been the Oscar Pistorius sentencing, which was finalised three days ago on the 21st October, over a year and a half after the crime was committed. I'm just going to come out and say it, personally, I think it was premeditated and that Pistorius was fully aware of who he was killing. There are a number of reasons why I have reached this conclusion, one of which being that he told the security guards for the housing estate that everything was "fine" when they rang to check after hearing gunshots. Now it could be argued in hearing this that perhaps Pistorius went into a panic mode, was freaking out after accidentally shooting his girlfriend, and didn't want to tell anybody in case they thought he had murdered her. However, there are so many more pieces to the puzzle which suggest that what he did was pre-planned and completely intentional.

 According to the Daily Mail (dodgy I know, but still believable) two witnesses heard SCREAMS between gunshots, which implies Pistorius was aware that he was not shooting an intruder, but Reeva Steenkamp instead. There is also evidence taken from his browsing history on his computer which suggests that a happy, romantic Valentine's evening was never on the cards.

 In the trial Pistorius's lawyer seemed to be frantically looking around for alibis, even resorting to mentioning his disability randomly at one point, a factor that should not have influenced the judge's verdict. However in my opinion I feel the evidence was not consulted properly, there was STACKS that pointed towards a man guilty of murder, and NOT culpable homicide. It's an atrocity that a man found guilty of killing his innocent girlfriend could be released from prison after serving just NINE MONTHS of his measly five year sentence depending on his behaviour. A disgusting and completely unfair verdict.

education at it's worst

Hey everyone,

 So the last thing I want to do is have a huge rant and get myself worked up about this issue, but I feel that in order to express my feelings I must use my literary skills to my advantage. After all, nothing makes a piece of writing shine like a flame of passion!

 To begin with,  I'll give you the facts; I attend a grammar school with approximately 120 (possibly more now) students in each year group. It's a selective school, meaning that you need to take an entrance exam at the age of 11. So clearly, there are a lot of people in the school striving to do their best, but also a lot of people with natural intelligence. 

 Now, every year, the school hosts a prize evening, commending the people with the most passion, or highest attainment in certain subjects. This is all well and good, until you sit there in your final and seventh year at the school and realise that not ONCE, have you received any sort of recognition, be it success in a particular subject, passion for something, or talent in a sport. Then you think back through the years to who else is in your position, and you see that it is pretty much the same people having to sit and hear how well others are doing, when they too are succeeding and progressing in their learning.

 As I said, I feel strongly about this, as I feel it a disgustingly unfair system, however my aim is not to take anything from the girls who do win prizes, as a majority do deserve them, however there are a few which I feel could have been more fairly allocated, or simply not at all. This is a topic which has been bugging me every year, and now I have finally plucked up courage to speak out about it.

 People will say I'm jealous and bitter, and I will completely agree with them, but it is not through my own doings. This system of prize giving has made me dislike my school, but more importantly dislike my classroom self for not being the best - not a feeling a teenage year old girl should have, what with all the other stresses we must endure.

 Giving praise is absolutely necessary in education, but why is that praise often in selective schools only allocated to those who achieve multiple As or A*s?

Many grammar schools and colleges wonder why the enthusiasm and thirst for learning is slowly dripping from their hierarchical education system, yet will they look in the mirror and see that they are the ones that need to make a change? Not a chance.

Charlie x