10 things that have made me happy since my last weekly update

Well it has been a while so i thought I'd do an update on the past month or so. Narrowing it down to 10 should be interesting! Wish me luck!

1. Handing in my final 1st year essay and finishing an exam - Oh i love that feeling of relief on your final day! Can't believe how quickly the first year has gone by and believe it or not I'm excited about getting back in September - I'm missing my uni life already!

2. Old friends coming back to the running club after years away.

3. Seeing one of my favourite human beings in Sheffield!! Eddie Izzard!! He was a fabulously hilarious as always on his Force Majeure world tour! Haven't laughed so much in an age, my ribs actually hurt afterwards! I could listen to that man talk all day everyday. I even had the honour of meeting the man himself after the show before he had to nip off for another gig in Sheffield. My night and life were made when getting a kiss on the cheek from the man himself! <3 

4. Ticking 'see the rock horror show' off my bucket list! The can be no better night out that seeing that show, it is so much fun! Next time I'll be dressing up

5. Afternoons with my lovely friends! I've had some fabulous days out with my lovelies in the past month! Saturday's in London town, Window shopping in Meadowhall and wet afternoons at the cinema. Love every second of these days and need them more often. Love each one of my girlies so much! 

6. Making plans - This just makes me sooooo excited! Got the best weekend of the year coming up - Goodwood Festival of Speed!! Highlight of the entire year! I think this year I'll mix it up with a trip to b-town and Eastbourne. Saying as the best race of the season has just past, my girlies and I are making plans to head to Monaco next year! Penny saving begins now but we will be there looking fabulous!! 

7. Inspirational/motivational quotes - I find these are often the highlight of a lovely bit of procrastination when you know you should be working. They really do bring a smile to my face and cheer me up when I'm having a tough day.This Oscar Wilde quote has to be one of my favourites!

8. Looking for my own place! So excited to be flat hunting! Feel all grown up! Doing this has inevitably guided me towards the mecca of Ikea and their pure loveliness! 

9. Finally using the camera on my iphone! This gives me so many smiles on the train home when i finally sit down to look through my album - full of happy places and faces.

10. I don't want to jinx it too much but now that summer is here (for now) I'm gonna get out and about with my camera again! I find it very therapeutic and it gives me a good excuse for some road trips and afternoons reading in cafes in beautiful little villages :-)

Secrets of an English Literature student: Book Shopping

We all know that uni can be an expensive experience, lets not get started on the tuition fees argument but once you get accepted on to your course, you then have to put the student loan to use to purchase all your course material. Which if you are an English Literature student is what seems to be a never ending list of set texts we are going to study and numerous text books which are never cheap. You are going to have to face the fact that you will spend significant hours of the next 3 years of your life in book shops of all kinds.
 Like most English lit students, i started my course with every book needed for that semester, all of which were recommended editions (I'm talking about you Norton!) You soon realise that you don't need brand spanking new  copies and you definitely don't need particular editions (although the theory in the back can SOMETIMES be handy as secondary sources for essay - You'll need many of this during your student career.)

Source: http://observando.net/page/4

Online
During your time as a student you will spend many hours online for researching purposes and perhaps a tiny bit of procrastination which often leads to spending the day on youtube, watching anything you can possibly think of, most likely a subject as far away from 'the respresentation of class in (enter novel here)' or '(novel) and the supernatural.' If you find yourself on line for book shopping then check out some of the following for good deals.

Amazon - Whilst everyone knows Amazon.co.uk is the mecca of Internet shopping, it is a pretty good bargain bin for book lovers. For the majority of modules you will only need certain books for a week or 2 so why waste a W H Smiths amount of money on a crisp new copy. You can find many used copies of classics as cheaply as 1p or for even for free if you have a Kindle! For as little as a penny you would assume that the book would be in poor condition but some are real gems. Plus every now and again, if the copy has been previously owned by a fellow student, they might be rather lovely and have highlighted passages from when they used it (always helpful!)
One thing with looking for cheap books like this, you do have to pay postage for each purchase which can soon add up, just try and get these in as many orders as possible if bulk buying.

AbeBooks - Launched in 1996, AbeBooks is an online marketplace where you can buy new, secondhand, rare and out-of-print books, as well as cheap textbooks. Essentially like your favourite book shop online!

Out and about 

Rare and Racy: Sheffield - This is by far my favourite book shop in the world. A fabulous second hand book store down Devonshire Street in Sheffield. It is a must for Sheffield English Lit students and a haven for any book worms amongst you. This isn't a shop you can just nip in and out of, you'll need to spend a long time searching the floor to ceiling shelves of everything from Classic literature, art, children's literature, and local texts to name a tiny example. I can promise you you'll find the majority of your reading list in this one shop at amazing prices!

Charity Shops - If you are like me, you can't resist a glance at the packed bookshelves in charity shops,you know that you can never guarantee what you're going to find but if you do then its always going to be for a great price for an even better cause. 


Do you have any shopping secrets?

   

Time to grow

I know some would say I'm a bit late in doing this but i think finally, at 23 I'm growing up. Don't get me wrong, I have always felt like an independent person - more so in the past year but the desire to spread my wings and fly is increasing day by day now!

Take today as a key example. I am spending the day flat hunting on line and also looking for a second job. Everyone needs extra pennies, right?? Especially with what i have planned - trips to see my fabulous friend in the Caribbean, F1 holidays with my girls starting off with Monaco next year and wanting to move down south after my degree.

Next year girlies!!

 I feel like i am in a truly positive place at the moment and have my fabulous friends to thank for this! After a bit of a shake up last year that i have mentioned previously, i have purposefully surrounded myself with only positive people who bring out the best in me who I know only have my best interests at heart and i have so much love for these people. I don't need a mile of friends, i just need the best of the best.

:-)

Farewell fresher year!

Hi all!!

Sorry for my silence over the past few weeks and months. I have been swimming in deadlines and exam revision but the first year of my life as a Hallam uni student is officially over! Can't believe i am no longer a Fresher! I am in awe of how fast this first year has flown by! It doesn't seem two minutes since i was sat nervously in hallam hall waiting for my interview!

The decision to do this course really has changed everything! It has brought me to some fabulous people and is opening up doors to great opportunities!

The new start is exactly what i needed!!