Shining on in to 2013

Merry Christmas one and all!

Hope you all had a magical Christmas and all still feeling all bright and bubbly after all the festivities of the past week!
In the days between Christmas and New Year, normally have to be dragged kicking and screaming back to the real world of work and the everyday but this year I Have done it with such ease and a spring in my step (I even went to the gym last night!) This year feels so different to last year. My 2012 has been, lets say....................... up and down from day one. One lesson i have learnt is that, comfort doesn't always mean security. This goes for the 2 halves of my year - The bad half, having the ground swiped from under my feet. Then the good half -  I have never felt so secure in my life than I do at the moment I am following my dream of studying English Literature at university, I have a good job with good prospects for the future, I am surrounding my self and my life with positive people who bring out the best in me and as I've been told by people; I've got my sparkle back! While all this might sound outrageously selfish and self centred but like i say after the 2012 I have had I have one thing to say to that - I don't care! I deserve it! It is all about me from now on in my life! I am finding MY path now. Even if it does mean treading that path alone for a long time! I am well and truly ready to shine on in to 2013.

Surely like me you will maybe have a general idea of some New Years resolutions?? I bucked the trend of a lifetime last year and didn't officially make any, while it might not have started well, from July 2012 onwards it really was quite bright so I am going to make a tradition out of this and not make any for 2013. Don't get me wrong, I have hopes and dreams for the year but for now I'm just excited to see where my path leads me!

Wishing you all a wonderful New Year!

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Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas and magical new year!

That time of year already??

Don't get me wrong, I love this time of year, in fact i challenge you to find someone who is as excited about Christmas as me so forgive me if my title suggests other wise, it is just that Christmas 2012 has crept up on me like Sebastian Vettel would do after a can of Red Bull  (sorry i had to get one reference in there) It really is just as if i came up for air in the past fortnight after finishing my essays before December and realised that the shops were full of the sounds of Slade and The Pogues. Where has 2012 actually gone?????  It doesn't seems like 2 minutes ago i was sunning myself in front of Goodwood House eating lunch with Merrick listening to the beautiful sounds of cars head out on track while watching The Red Arrows fly overhead, quite frankly my favourite moment of 2012.

There is nothing i love more at this time of year than walking round an ice cold city getting lost in the stalls of a German Christmas market. If there is an activity as christmassy as this then i sure as don't know about it! There is something about the intoxicating aroma of mulled wine, baked apples and roasting chestnuts that sends my soul to another place. I am automatically transported from Leeds Millennium square to Cologne or Frankfurt. Oh if only!!!

Thanks to our supermarkets jumping on the Christmas bandwagon earlier and earlier every year (I'm sure i saw Christmas products in certain shops in August/September it really does puzzle me how this festive season still seems to creep up on us all Yet Brits seem stuck in the Keep calm and Carry on" way of life to enjoy the best time of year before we really should. Why does it have to be December and no earlier before as a nation we actually acknowledge its existence?? It's as if it gets to the 1st of December and we all jump out of the blocks as fast as Usain Bolt to the nearest shopping centre to crawl our way round rubbing shoulders and standing on the heels of  ever other Tom, Dick or Harry who has had the same brainwave. Why are we reluctant to allow ourselves to get in to the festive mood a bit earlier? We spend the rest of the year dragging ourselves through the normal 9-5 being fed news of tax increases, soaring petrol costs and corrupt politicians - Isn't it fair to give ourselves as much of the festive season as we can? We owe it to ourselves!!

I'm 23 and still welcome christmas with open arms like a young child. Inside of me there will always be the happy long haired girl who loves nothing more than seeing christmas trees covered in lights and the Coca cola advert on tv. While this year is going to be a bit different to the past 6yrs, i am going to throw myself in to the warmth of my family and celebrate with my loved ones!

23 days to go everyone!!!!

Sophie
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New beginnings

Firstly i need to apologise for disappearing off the face of the earth for the last few months. My life as taken a different turn. Quite frankly i am so darn happy. Happier than i have been in a long time. I have my purpose back again!

I am now an English Literature student of Sheffield Hallam University. I can officially say this without wanting to tear my hair out at the moment as I'm fully up to date with all reading and essay free for the time being. 3 months in and I'm absolutely loving it. Anyone who knows me will know that this has long since been a high rider on my life to-do list, so for it t be a reality is something amazing! While it might be hard work with a LOT of reading, i really do have to keep pinching myself that I've found myself in the uni I've always want to go to, studying the course I've always wanted to do. It has all happened so quickly. After a chat over a coffee with a good friend about what life at hallam was like to a last minute phone call on clearing day, to an interview to then start lectures 2 weeks later. I have really haven't had time to take everything in since the day of my interview.

It might sound like an obvious comment but WOW there is a lot of reading to do! 3 modules a semester so this normally means 3 books to read a week (Sometimes more) most of it is good and i do admit to loving a debate about it afterwards but some books just seem to weigh you down - the bad boy I'm talking about is Bleak House. 60+ chapters that i currently find myself drowning in. This door stop of a novel is the topic of my first university exam in January, but also the first exam i have faced in 6 and a half years. I will discuss my nerves about that another time. 

I have spent many train rides home thinking about my decision to finally go for my degree at 23. Thinking back on the past 3 months, i can happily say that it is the best decision i have ever made. I have finally found my way back to the place i always wanted to be and after a couple of soul destroying years of feeling like i was at rock bottom, i now feel like a new me and believe that i am where i am meant to be.  

Right, back to Bleak House i go. 

More stories of an English Literature student to follow over the coming weeks, months and years

Sophie

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