Blogmas Day 2: The Ultimate Christmas Tag

Hey Guys!

 ⭐ Welcome to Day Two of Blogmas ⭐

Originally I was going to do 'How To Decorate Your Student House on a Budget' but I've pushed it back as I wanted to do 'The Ultimate Christmas Tag 2018' created by Kat from www.femenish.com. I wasn't tagged by anyone but after reading Kat's Blogmas Day One post I wanted to do the tag too! I thought it would be a great post while it is still the beginning of Blogmas instead of later on ❄

The Rules 

Link back to the original post by Kat (Femenish) when you have written yours and link back to the person who tagged you!

Tag as many bloggers as you like ❤

Answer the questions! If you want to you can make up your own questions to ask the bloggers you have tagged, or you can use these ones!

The Questions

What is your favourite thing about Christmas?
Do you have any Christmas traditions you CANNOT forget about each year?
Is there a song that just gets you into that Christmas spirit?

What is your favourite Christmas movie?
Which food is your must-have at Christmas time? 

If you had to choose between Michael Buble’s Christmas album and Justin Bieber’s Christmas album, which one would you choose and why?

What is your favourite memory about Christmas?

When do you start decorating your place for Christmas?

If you were at Christmas Karaoke, which 5 songs would you choose to play?

What are your top 4 Christmas movies?

What does Christmas really mean to you?
How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa?
What do you think makes Christmas so magical?

Share your favourite photo from a previous Christmas.

My Answers 

What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

Now that I'm 20 years old, nearly 21 my favourite thing about Christmas is going from university back home for three weeks to celebrate the festive season, see all my family, eat way too much Christmas food and have a break from the busy student life ❤ Christmas for me is a time I get to see all of my family, spend quality time together, watch great movies all together, drink way too much prosecco and play loads of family games! 

Do you have any Christmas traditions you CANNOT forget about each year?

We recently changed our Christmas tradition again by staying back in England for Christmas when we would normally go away to Lanzarote to celebrate the festive holiday. But one tradition we have is no matter where we plan on spending Christmas we always decorate the house till it looks like Christmas threw up and we always have either a Christmas meal or a Christmas bar crawl with all of my extended family. All of us meet up for the day, have either drinks or a big meal and spend quality time together catching up. 

Another Christmas tradition that is very important to our family is wearing either our Christmas jumpers or our Christmas t-shirts. We had personalised t-shirts ordered for us all to wear together on Christmas Day ❤ (you can see them in the photo of the group of us)

Is there a song that just gets you into that Christmas spirit?

There are two songs that always get me in the Christmas spirit! 'All I Want For Christmas is You' by Mariah Carey and 'Last Christmas' by Wham! Whenever they are on, either it is on the radio or in a shop it puts me in the festive spirit straight away. At Newcastle's Christmas lights switch on this year they played All I Want For Christmas Is You and straight away I was singing and bopping! Christmas is one of my favourite times of year and Christmas songs are one of the best parts!

What is your favourite Christmas movie?

My ultimate favourite Christmas movie is The Holiday. Which is hard because I love all Christmas movies, I have a huge list of Christmas movies I HAVE to watch in December. But The Holiday is the actual best Christmas movie. I know a lot of people debate it isn't really a Christmas film like Elf or A Christmas Carol but it is a film I have always watched when the countdown to Christmas begins so it is my all time favourite ❣

Which food is your must-have at Christmas time?

Pigs in blankets and stuffing from the Christmas dinner; then turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwiches from all the leftover food and the party food we have on Boxing Day! Party food is always the best ❤  I love all the food we have at Christmas!

If you had to choose between Michael Buble’s Christmas album and Justin Bieber’s Christmas album, which one would you choose and why?

Definitely Michael Buble's Christmas album! Justin Bieber's song Mistletoe is a great one, however, his album will never beat that of Michael Buble's ❄ Michael Buble does some classic Christmas tunes and then adds some of his own and I think others can agree that when Michael Buble's Christmas album comes on you know it's Christmas time!

What is your favourite memory about Christmas?

I have so many memories from Christmas that are my favourite, but I have two that are the ones I always remember and look back to. My first memory is when I was much younger, we were celebrating Christmas at my grandparents, all my family were there and my grandma had done the best Christmas spread, there was so much food! I just remember my grandma getting a huge sack full of presents out and putting them in front and me and my cousins and we all sat together on the floor opening all of our presents. My auntie got me Disney Princess pyjamas with my name personalised on them! I got changed into them straight away and there is now a lovely picture of me with all my cousins in the arch of my grandma and grandad's living room with me wearing my new pyjamas  ❤

My second favourite memory is our second year spending Christmas in Lanzarote. Unfortunately, I was really ill with either a bad cold or flu but I spent a lot of it indoors trying to get rid of it, but I remember having cocktails on Christmas Eve in one of our favourite bars, getting ready on Christmas Day with my little reindeer antlers and we had an amazing Christmas dinner! Every night after coming back from having dinner out we would put on a movie and all snuggle up on the sofa with some prosecco, it was such a fun Christmas ❤

When do you start decorating your place for Christmas? 

Well because I'm at university until the 15th December we decorate our student house in November so we can make the most of celebrating Christmas together as a house. Then at home, my parents decorate on the 1st December so all the decorations will be up when I'm home for Christmas, but my dad waits till I'm home to put the special ornaments on the Christmas tree 🎄 

If you were at Christmas Karaoke, which 5 songs would you choose to play?

Firstly, I love Karaoke so if I was to do Christmas Karaoke you wouldn't be able to take the mike off me! The songs I'd choose are Last Christmas by Wham, Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande, All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, Santa Baby by Kylie Minogue and It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas by Michael Buble ❄

What are your top 4 Christmas movies?

I love nearly all Christmas movies! Christmas movies and Christmas songs are the two main things that get me into the festive spirit. But the four that are my top choice are How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Holiday, Elf and The Polar Express ❤ If you haven't seen any of these Christmas movies you need to add them to your Must Watch Christmas List because they are some of the best Xmas movies!

What does Christmas really mean to you?

For me, Christmas means family time, food and relaxing! When I was younger it was all about going through the Argos Catalogue and choosing what I wanted for Christmas, but now for me its about spending that special quality time with my parents and the dog, seeing my extended family (even those I've only met a few times), relaxing and doing Christmassy things like going to Christmas markets, drinking mulled wine, finally getting to see my best friend again (after 4 months!) and seeing my friends ❤

How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa?

I actually can't remember when I stopped believing in Santa as it feels like so long ago! I did believe in Santa for a long time though. My parents did such a great job of making Christmas so magical, so that is probably why I believed for so long. My parents would put fake snow in our living room from the fireplace to the Christmas tree and would put boot marks in the snow to show how Santa Clause had come from the chimney to deliver my presents ❤ Thinking about it now, it must have been an absolute nightmare for my mum and dad trying to clean up all that fake snow! But they really did make it a magical Christmas every year, and they still do ⭐

What do you think makes Christmas so magical?

I think what makes it so magical is that it is such a widely celebrated time of year. You go out into the city centre and there are Christmas trees and decorations everywhere, everywhere is selling mulled wine and hot chocolate, Christmas movies are all on the TV and Christmas songs are all being played on the radio. Everywhere you go its Christmassy and I love that everyone gets so excited and happy for the festive holiday! 

But I think it is important to remember for some people Christmas is the worst time of year, so we should respect that not everyone wants to celebrate Christmas.

My Christmas Photo From Last Year

We spent Christmas Day in the pool playing games and drinking Prosecco 🍸

I Tag

Hannah from @han_bookshelf 

Ellie from @ellieblakeney

Meg from @a_meg_life

Katy from @KatyMackenzie19

Hannah from @justhannahhere

Soph from @Sophlouisep

Jade from @jade_allesse

Abby from @abbyclareblog

Emma from @lifeofemmax

Chanel from @coc0chanel_


Tag me on Twitter if you do the Ultimate Christmas Tag too. I'd love to read your posts!

See you tomorrow for Day Three of Blogmas ❤

Amy x  

University // My Thoughts On Going into Third Year

Hey Guys!

Fresher's Week is over and I've had my first official week back at university. Now that everything has settled back down I've been reflecting on the last two years I've had here at Newcastle University and what I'm to expect in my third and final year ❤

Moving back up to Newcastle after a long three-month summer wasn't as stressful this time around (probably because we are staying in the same student house as last year, so all of my belongings were in the room I had in second year). Not having as many possessions to take and knowing I was going to the same house I've already lived in for a year was reassuring as I didn't have to settle in to somewhere new like we all had to do in the first and second year. One thing that has changed this year is that I feel old! I know that sounds ridiculous as I'm only 20 years old, but seeing first years arriving and embarking on a new adventure makes me look back at when I first moved to Newcastle and started university, it makes me feel so old! Also, don't even mention the hangovers now that I'm a year older. You'd think after all this time I'd be able to hack all the nights out and I'd be making the most of Fresher's Week but the hangovers last about two days and I can't deal with it. I just want to sit on the sofa every night and watch The Cry and Goggle Box with a cup of tea haha! 

My Dissertation

This year I am to write a 10,000-word dissertation, along with completing four modules. For my dissertation, I've decided to research and conduct a study on the sexualisation of women in contemporary music videos comparing western music videos to South Korean music videos, exploring why women are sexualised and whether it was their choice. I'm excited to research this area and write up everything but doing a dissertation is so daunting! Especially as it has such a high weighting on my final grade. Third year is going to be stressful! I might as well move into the library now! If any of you have written a dissertation I'd love some advice on how to stay productive and get the most out of my third year!

After Graduation

There are so many things I'm considering to do when I finish and graduate but it's deciding what is the right move to make.  I might stay and do my masters up here in Newcastle, but I'm also contemplating getting into the field and getting some experience, or to go abroad and teach English for a year, or even try something different. There are so many different options after I graduate, but at the moment I'm taking one day at a time. 

I'm sad to be in my last year of university! I'm not ready to leave yet. Going to university has been the best decision I've ever made and I'm sad to leave, my time here has gone by so quick! I've made so many great memories and moving away has helped me become a lot more independent and appreciative. I don't want the experience to be over just yet, so I'll definitely be making the most of it this year ❤

You'll be seeing a lot more university-related content on here this year so look out for that! 

What year are you in now? Or have you already graduated? Let me know in the comments below ❤

See you soon! 

Amy x

*Disclaimer: All photos are my own. 

What I'm Currently Reading | August 2018

Hey Guys!

After going to Shakespeare and Company in Paris my love for books and reading has been reignited so I've given myself the challenge to read a lot more books this year, so far I've completed three books! 

I'm currently reading two books at a time but luckily they are very different genres and one is pure fantasy/fiction and the other is fact. 

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling

Over the last two years, I've slowly made my way through the Harry Potter books and finally, I've got round to the fourth book! I have loved the Harry Potter films since they came out when I was younger but I never read the books until I went to university and set myself the goal to read all the Harry Potter books and Harry Potter and The Cursed Child.

I loved the first three books as it was just like re-living the films all over again but with more details that they missed out. The fourth book is considerably bigger compared to the other three so it is taking me a bit longer to get through but when you love the Harry Potter collection it is so easy to read and these books are the only books I've been able to read at a considerable speed.

One thing I've realised from the fourth book is that there are a few facts and events that the film didn't mention or show but I can see why they made the decision to miss them out as they are just small details and don't affect the main storyline (but they are fun to read in the books). Also, a lot of people didn't like the fourth film compared to the others but for me, I really enjoyed the Triwizard Tournament and meeting the other wizarding schools so I'm really enjoying reading this book in my spare time ❤

If you haven't read the Harry Potter books I highly recommend it, especially if you've watched all the films!

The Secret Life of Bletchley Park by Sinclair McKay

Back in Easter my parents and I went to Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes as it is now a heritage attraction and you can go and see where the codebreakers from the Second World War decrypted German codes. So, after visiting the heritage site and having a great time I wanted to learn a little bit more about the Government Code and Cypher School and what happened throughout the war (I'm very interested in the events of the first and second world war) so in the gift shop my mum brought me The Secret Life of Bletchley Park as she said we would read it after me (we are big fans of history and history books).

I'm about halfway through the book now and it is so good! I've learnt so much about the lives of those who worked at Bletchley Park and how hard it was to be a codebreaker decyphering messages and sometimes working three days straight without sleep to break a particular message and save the lives of thousands of people. 

It is an incredible book and if you are someone like me who is interested in the events of the second world war and you want to find out what was going on in the background this is a great book to read ❤

What books are you currently reading? Let me know in the comments below ❤

See you soon!

Amy xx

Monthly Playlist // February and March

Hey Guys!

I've done a few of these playlist posts now, so I want to start doing a post once a month on my monthly music playlist to share my favourite tunes and what songs I've discovered recently. I go out quite a bit in Newcastle so there is always tons of great music being played at our favourite places! 

If you hadn't guessed by now I'm into a lot of Korean music and chart hits from the UK and United States, so if there are any songs you recommend let me know ♡ 

1. To Do List by Hyolyn

2. Starry Night by Mamamoo

3. Por Favor by Pitbull & Fifth Harmony

4. I Promise You (I.P.U.) by Wanna One

5. Magic by Craig David

6. Dive by Joo Young

7. Bad Boy by Red Velvet

8. Forget About Tomorrow by Jay Park

9. Notorious by TRAX & LIP2SHOT feat. Sophiya

10. Black Dress by CLC

11. One Shot, Two Shot by BoA

12. Friends by Marshmello & Anne-Marie

13. All The Stars by Kendrick Lamar

14. Bad Vibe by M.O, Lotto Boyzz & Mr Eazi

15. Blinded By Your Grace, Pt. 2 by Stormzy feat. MNEK

16. Him & I by G-Eazy and Halsey

17. Holiday by Suzy feat. DPR LIVE

18. IDGAF by Dua Lipa

19. Love Scenario by iKON

20. Pray For Me by The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar

21. River by Eminem feat. Ed Sheeran

22. Thanks by SEVENTEEN

23. Zero For Conduct by Block B - BASTARZ

24. Daydream by j-hope (BTS)

25. 17 by MK

26. Bouff Daddy by J Hus

27. Sober by Suzy

28. Alors On Danse by Stromae

What is your favourite song this month? Let me know in the comments below!

See you next Sunday my lovelies! ❤ 

Amy xx 

University // Why I'm So Grateful To Be Here

Hey Guys!

It has been a while since I've wrote anything on here. After I got back to university in January I had finals and assignments to complete all in the space of two weeks and then the new semester started at the beginning of February so I wanted to concentrate on my new modules and keep on top of all the work. So, I took a hiatus from writing and prioritised my school work. But now I'm back and trying to fit more time in my week to write blog posts again ❤

I'm constantly trying to focus on things I'm grateful for, especially when I'm having a bad day. So, one thing I'm constantly grateful for is getting the opportunity to go to university. I always think about what my life would be like right now if I didn't go to university or even more specifically Newcastle University, so I wanted to express how grateful I am having access to education and being able to go to a great university ♡

1. Friends: I have met the most amazing people while I have been here in Newcastle. My housemates, course mates and those I've met through mutual friends have made my time at university so much better than my expectations! Living with some of my favourite people has been such a blessing, having people around who are so supportive, always having something to joke about and the nights out has made my time in Newcastle for the past two years so fun! 

2. Being a student: I love going to university! I'm so sad that I've nearly finished my second year already. The time here at university flies by so quick, it felt like only a minute ago I started my second year and moving into our house. My course is perfect for me, it is everything I hoped for and more, so the fact I'll have to graduate next year makes me so sad. I love learning new things, I love being able to sit and learn about something new all the time, which is why I'm so grateful that here in the UK I got the opportunity to attend such a great university and take a course that is exactly what I wanted to do. It is just so sad that July next year I will have graduated and will have to move on to other things. 

3. Opportunities: I have had so many great opportunities since coming to university, especially in my second year. When I started second year I knew that I needed to start building up my CV and gaining experience. So I explored and looked into it and now I'm writing for The Tab, I work for the university's marketing department as a content creator writing blog posts and I've been able to network with people in the media and creative industry. I'm grateful that I'm able to have these opportunities through uni and gain more experience in the industry I want a career in.

4. Learning to become independent: One thing I learnt from moving away from home and moving to a new city is how to be independent and how to look after myself. I was always quite independent when I was back home and living with my parents, but I never had to do my washing, cook for myself everyday and if I was unsure about something my parents were always there. Whereas, since moving to Newcastle I had to learn how to do everything on my own, make my own decisions and look after my money (including earning my own money). I can confidently say now that I'm able to do everything on my own (unless I'm really stuck and I ring my mum and dad haha!).

There are so many more reasons why I'm grateful for getting the opportunity to go to Newcastle University, but they can wait for another time  💕

See you on Wednesday my lovelies!

Amy xx

My DIY Halloween Outfit and Make Up

Hey Guys!

As I'm a university student we are expected to dress up for a lot of occasions and one of those occasions does happen to be Halloween. Last year I wasn't really bothered about going out or really celebrating Halloween, but this year I'm trying to make the most of the festive occasion! Halloween is very soon and I got invited to a Halloween birthday themed party: SPOOKFEST! So, I wanted to share with you guys a simple DIY Halloween outfit that you can put together with clothes and accessories from your own wardrobe and also a very simple make up look. I'm no make up artist and pretty terrible with make up so I went for something very easy and simple!

Outfit

Crop Top: Primark

Skirt: BHS

Socks: Primark

Boots: River Island

Choker: Primark

Hoop Earrings: Borrowed

I went as a classic vampire for this Halloween themed birthday party as I didn't have time to go out and buy a costume, also being a student means funds can be quite limited as well so you have to end up working with what you've already got. I could of easily been Veronica from Riverdale as well so these pieces can easily be mixed with other items to appear as another character. All the items I wore were from my wardrobe and I only needed to borrow some silver hoop earrings from my friend and my outfit was complete. If you don't have any of these pieces you can always go to Primark or a thrift shop. There are so many characters and people you can dress up as for Halloween, people at the party were Bananas in Pyjamas, Batman, Ned Flanders, a mermaid, a nurse etc! 

Make Up

Primer: Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Pro Multi Action Make Up Primer | 002

Foundation: Bourjois Paris Healthy Mix Fond De Teint Anti-Fatigue Foundation | No. 52 Vanilla

Concealer: Rimmel London Wake Me Up Anti Fatigue Effect + Radiant Glow Concealer | 020 True Ivory

Powder: Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder | 003 Peach Glow 

Eyebrow Pencil: Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil | 002 Hazel

Eye Shadow: SEVENTEEN Easy On The Eye | The Big Smoke

 For my eye shadow I wanted to create a very dark bold eye to compliment the bold red lips. I put Warm Ivory all over my eye lids to create a plain base, I then took Slate Grey and placed it around the inner crease of my eye and on 2/3 of my eyelid as a base to put my creme silver eye shadow on the top. I then took Wild Khaki and with a small angled brush I placed it in the outer corner of my eye and swept it inwards towards where I'd placed Slate Grey. Getting a blending brush I then buffed it out as it is quite a dark shade and buffed it towards my brow bone and outwards where I would later apply my eyeliner wing. After buffing it out and both Slate Grey and Wild Khaki were combined I then took Cool Aluminium, a very silver creme eye shadow, and with my middle finger I dabbed it on top of Slate Grey all the way towards the inner crease of my eye, avoiding my outer crease where I had just buffed out Wild Khaki. Getting a small eye shadow brush that comes in the palette I then took some more of Cool Aluminium and  tapped some more around the middle of my eye and the corners. I then placed some of Wild Khaki on my water line, joining it with some Cool Aluminium so it reflected my actual eye lid. Then I applied my eyeliner. 

Eyeliner: Natural Collection Eye Liner 

Mascara: Rimmel London Scandal Eyes Reloaded | 001 Black 

Contour/Bronze: Maybelline New York Contour Palette | 01 Light Medium

Blush: Bourjois Paris Blush | 33 Golden Lilac

Lip Stick: Rimmel London Moisture Renew | 500 Diva Red

Highlighter: Soap & Glory The Perfect Ten Shadow Palette | Gold Coast 

I actually used an eye shadow for highlighter as it works better and is really pigmented, great for the cheekbones. 

Hair

I decided to leave my hair pretty simple so I just used my Remington Straightener 210 along with some dry hair shampoo in my roots for a little more volume so my hair didn't appear so limp :)

Who are you going as this Halloween? Let me know in the comments below!

See you on Wednesday my lovelies! ❤ 

Amy xx

Honest Truths About University

Hey Guys!

University has been honestly the best decision I have ever made and I'm enjoying every minute of it! Uni has both good and bad parts throughout your experience but there are also some honest truths that you should know! Here are six honest truths for university students ♡ 

#1 You Have To Make Effort To Make Friends 

When your in secondary school and further education a lot of the time you already know the majority of people because you have moved up with them and they have always been there through your lower education, however when you get to university you won't know anybody and everyone will be from other parts of the UK or international students, so you have to make effort to get to know people and talk to people. Even if it is just introducing yourself to people in your accommodation or while your around university, once you start to make the effort to meet people you'll make friends. Also, university is the perfect opportunity to not just make friends within your accommodation but also with people who have the same interests as you through societies! 

#2 You Don't Need To Buy a 100 Books For Your Course

You might get carried away when you go to the uni book shop and end up buying book after book when in reality you wont need 75% of them! For my course I don't buy any books whatsoever! All of the teaching materials I have to read are online or in the library! I'm sure your university library will have the majority of books you need for your modules and if not a lot of libraries have the ability to order them in if they are requested enough. In reality all those books you buy you will not use and will be put in a pile of unwanted books. Instead research what materials you can read online and what you can get from your university's library! 

#3 You Will Always Be Tired 

I always wonder how I coped going to secondary school and sixth-form because I go to a two hour lecture now and I'm already exhausted and feel like I need a nap! I don't know whether its because of the amount of information you have to retain or if I'm unable to function for long periods of time but I honestly find it hard to stay awake after half a day of university. You will honestly nap so much, especially if you know your going out that night and have been at uni since 9am! I'd say about three of my housemates and myself always nap, whether its been a long day or not! A night out also messes your sleep pattern up loads so you'll always be catching up on sleep!

#4 You Will Not Dress Glamorous For a 9am Lecture 

The first couple of months you try to make effort to look good when you go to your lectures; you'll dress nicely, wear make up, do your hair, but by semester 2 that will not be happening! You'll turn up to your 9am with last nights hair, a bare face and in your most comfiest clothes. It is such an achievement even getting out of bed that when it comes to getting ready there is minimal effort so just put on your comfiest and effortless clothes and head to uni!

#5 You Will End Up Getting An Overdraft

You will 100% run out of money, whether its because of buying too many takeaways, too many nights out or just buying pointless crap your bank balance will become negative, so you will end up getting an overdraft to help pay for your necessities like food to survive and toilet roll. I'm so far into my overdraft that I doubt I'll ever have a positive bank balance again! But in all honesty it does help you out loads to cover costs, but don't just go with any bank look around first to see what they can give you and what deals there are for students! 

#6 You Don't Need To Read Absolutely Everything 

The reading list will look huge and there will be so many chapters of so many books that will be listed, but you don't need to read absolutely everything on the reading list! Most of the time each of your modules will have an essential readings section and then the rest will just be readings that will help you out with essays and for further understanding. I'd suggest definetley reading your essential reading as they tend to outline everything and give you the best understanding of your subject, but if the essential reading is ten articles and a novel of 300 pages don't feel stressed or overwhelmed! Pick at least a few different ones to read and write down the most important points! If you attempt to read every single reading you'll be there are ages and won't get any other work done for any of your other modules. It is all about choosing specific readings and learning to scan read for the most important points. 

If there are any honest truths about university you can think of comment below!

See you soon! ♡ 

Amy xx 

First Week Back At Uni: Second Year and New House

Hey Guys!

So I've officially had my first academic week back at university and wanted to reflect and talk about how second year seems to be so far. I did have an induction the week before but that was just an introduction lecture discussing our third year options and to ensure our module credits were all correct. Unlucky for me I made a mistake with my module credits and had to change a few things but I'm just glad it wasn't really complicated to fix. 

My First Week Back

So this week I only had three lectures and one seminar, a pretty broken down week having two lectures on a Monday, one lecture and seminar on Tuesday and then I had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off! It won't be like that every week though, I just had two seminars cancelled as we didn't need to discuss anything. I'm a media, communication and cultural studies student so our contact and in uni hours aren't much compared to other courses like Chemistry and Engineering but we do have to do a lot of independent studying and rely on ourselves a lot. 

In respect to my first official week it was pretty good! I feel like when your a fresher the first week doesn't seem too overwhelming or pressured as you slowly move into all the work and then you realise later on how much work you have to do, where as now I'm in second year I already know how much work to expect and what my lectures expect from me, so for our first week we cut all the introductions and instead got straight into our topics. Our lecturer was already talking about our research proposal for our dissertation which was pretty stressful to think about as I've barely thought about what I'm going to base my dissertation paper on. But it was exciting to think about what potential ideas we can propose and in what areas. As we are media students there are endless topics of discussion we can do for our paper, it can be anything from how violence in the media affects children, to public mourning and grime music. 

The modules I've taken for semester one are Advertising and Consumption, Research Methods and Representations: Identity, Culture & Society. It is quite a variety and I haven't taken too many credits to overwhelm me in the first stages of second year, I feel its easier for me to take more credits in semester 2 as I will have got back into the habit to be productive and focus! 

New House

My new house is great! It is so much better than what we were all expecting. When we viewed the house back in January we had to be really quick and brief as another group of students were coming to view the property too, so we were thankful it looked as good as we remembered! 

I live with five other people who I met from my flat and university accommodation in first year and through my university course. At first we had a few problems with the house appliances like the boiler and broken doors but now that we have been in the house for three weeks we are all settled and comfy! I definitely prefer living in a house with my closest friends than being in university accommodation. It is so nice just having our own place, it feels more cosy and our rooms are a lot more personal. University accommodation is great for first year as that is where you meet everyone and make your friends but after that stage having a house is so much better! At some point I'll do a room tour to show you all what my new room looks like compared to what my old room in my uni halls looked like ♡ 

Considering we live in a six bedroom house the space is great! Most rooms are pretty big and we only really have one tiny bedroom and that is an extension on the back of the house! The location of our house is gold! We are right opposite the metro which is so convenient when getting to uni and the rent we pay is amazing!

All in all we made a great choice when deciding on this house! 

If any of you are second year students how was your first week?

Let me know in the comments below :)

See you on Wednesday my lovelies!

Amy xx