Can I Get Through The Summer Without A Job???

Hi There!

So on my very last day at university, as I was walking out the doors, my seminar leader said to me, "try and do what you want to do this summer. Go travelling, relax. You don't get that many summer breaks so treasure them while you can." 

This is something I have managed to get away with so far this summer. I have currently been off for around 4 months, and if I'm honest, it feels like my feet haven't touched the ground. I've been travelling around to all my friends' universities, been seeing them once they have come home, been away on holiday, and had to deal with family issues, and this has seemed to take up so much of my time. My mind hasn't been complete for a while now, and I feel like I need to try and get that sorted. I'm so close to being myself again, but something seems to always get in the way, and this time it's my parents. 

I completely understand where they are coming from. I know I should get a job. I know I should try and get the experience. BUT I DON'T WANT TO! I can currently survive on my student loan. I haven't needed any extra money, go into my overdraft, or anything like that. It's definitely not about earning money. But I know I should get the experience. I should have a reason to get out of bed everyday. To get changed out of pyjamas. But for some reason, a job just doesn't seem to do it for me. Well, at least a paid job. 

I've been thinking of doing voluntary work. I have done it before for a couple of weeks at a St. Francis Hospice shop and I really enjoyed it. The people that worked there were lovely, even if they were about triple my age! It's not just that. The benefit I got from it was great! It may not seem like much, but I felt making sales or trying to organise the shop was allowing me to indirectly help people. And I really did enjoy that feeling. 

But I guess all good things always come to an end. If I can talk my way out of a job for the next month or so it will be a miracle. So I guess I should seriously start thinking of what I want to do. Paid work or volunteer? Step up or run away?

Girl Without A Plan, Making Plans

xoxo

Day Trip to Brighton...

Hey There!

 So for many, many, MANY months, I have been moaning at my friends that I have wanted to go to Brighton. I've got to be honest, I have no idea why I have wanted to go so much. I guess being by the sea, and seeing all YouTube videos of people living in Brighton has made me want to go, and it definitely did not disappoint! So let's go through my day shall we...

Waking up at 6:30am was not a highlight! It has been agesssss since I've had to get up that early (apart from Greece where I had to get up a whole hour earlier than that and that was way worse!) and it was a struggle. I managed to pull myself out of bed and get in the shower and by 8:00am I was ready to get going. Skip to 3 hours later and I was getting off the train at Brighton, and I already loved it! The sun was shining, I could see the sea I was aiming for, and I was with my best friends. What more could you want!!

We walked past all these small cafes and shops and headed straight for the beach. It was so hot and sunny and I was back in my peaceful place, by the sea. We were all so surprised at how blue the sea was!! It felt like we were in a completely different country! (Even if it was just an hour and a half train journey away!) We sat on the beach for a while and we felt like we were in Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging (if you haven't seen that film get off my blog right now because it is one of THE best films ever made!)

After walking along the seafront for a while and going in the little knick knack shops, we went onto the pier where I got to smell the magical smell of sugary donuts, which just reminds you of summer. We went in the arcade where we obviously lost a lot of money, and probably some dignity on the dance machines aha. But it was a good ol' laugh so it was all worth it! And I also managed to top the leader board of Guitar Hero for Coldplay's Yellow and that was my mini achievement for the day. We then went on some of the rides at the end of the pier. One of my friends and I went on a ride called Galaxia where you basically went around in a circle and it bounced up and down, and with the music blaring and my hair going everywhere it was the most powerful headbanger ever! My other friends went on a Ghost Train, and let's just say that ended in tears. But what is a mini fairground trip without a go on the dodgems, so we have all ended up with bruised knees from crushed legs inside the little cars (they seriously need to make them bigger for tall people!)

Lunch was out next stop, and we ended up in a diddy pub called The Mucky Duck, and it was the cutest little pub ever! Their portions weren't diddy though (as you can see!) We went for two sharing platters, so that meant tortillas, hammoumi, onion rings (nom nom nom), chips, and garlic bread. We tried our hardest to get through it all but sadly we failed, but that wasn't because it wasn't good! Our bellies were just exploding!

The Lanes were next, and they were the cutest little shops. My Nan always recommended going there when I said I wanted to go Brighton, so I felt like I was achieving her little dream for me while I was there. We walked around for hours! Going down every nook and cranny and into a wide variety of shops (and let's just say Choccywoccydoodah is any chocoholics heaven!). But then the rain arrived, and me not being prepared for British weather didn't bring an umbrella. So into the shopping centre we went, and we found the nicest jewellery shop could Lovisa with the loveliest rose gold jewellery I've ever seen.

Many hours later, we ended our shopping spree with our feet killing and our bellies rumbling for some food. We went in search of a coffee shop where we can get some tea and cake, so we went back to the lanes and went to Cafe Coho where they advertised they had the best loved cake in Brighton, so we definitely had to check it out. We all went for different cakes and drinks, and let's just say their Oreo Brownie is as chocolatey and gooey as it looks, but it was amazing! Time was getting on and the rain didn't look like it would let up, so off home we headed, drenched and tired.

This day was one of the best days of my life so far. It's been a while since I've laughed so much and felt genuinely happy. I cannot thank my friends enough for this trip, it meant the world to me that they listen and pay attention to what I would love to do (even if they have had to hear it for months). I wouldn't change anything, apart from probably the weather, about this trip, and it is something we are definitely making annual! I'd recommend going if you love the seaside and a small community feel because that is definitely what it felt like.

Where would you always like to go though? It doesn't have to be abroad, it can be local to you, like Brighton sort of is to me?

Girl Without A Plan, Making Plans

xoxo

Book Review: What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Hey There!

"Suddenly, you edge your way to the end of your second ten years and BOOM. Your choices matter. Not chocolate or vanilla, bridge or pier, Sandy Claw or Abenaki. It's your whole life. We're suddenly this close, like Nic said, to the wrong move. Or the right one. It matters now."

4/5

So this was one of the books I took on holiday this year, so I can say I finished this book within 2 days. I'm one of those people where I cannot put a book down once I start reading it, and then I have to re-read it so I can fully review if I actually enjoyed reading the book. This is one of those books I definitely enjoyed reading. It is a typical Young Adult romance so if you enjoy that genre this book is definitely for you. 

This book focuses on Guinevere (Gwen) Castle and her summer in Seashell Island. She lives in a small house, needing maintenance, along with her Mum, her younger brother Emory, Grandpa Ben, and her cousin Nic. On the other side of the island, closer to the beach, there are more expensive houses where the people are much wealthier. Gwen spends this summer, instead of working for her Dad at his restaurant, Castle's Ice Cream, working for Mrs Ellington to "keep her company." Gwen also has to deal with Cassidy Somers, who we learn she has a history with, as he works for Island maintenance. Throughout the story we learn through Gwen what their relationship status is and what her backstory is, as she is perceived to have a certain reputation among the swim team at her school. 

One of the positives I found with this book was how Gwen managed to stay strong no matter what people were saying either to her, or behind her back. She has to deal with this reputation she has, which in fairness she has created herself. But the way she did not allow this to knock her back, but instead ignore what people were saying and come out the other side is something that should inspire other girls with potentially the same problem. As a girl, it is easy for what people are saying to get you and effect you in day-to-day life, but Gwen managed to take these words and throw them back in the faces of the people that were saying them. 

This book does not just focus on this issue. There is a focus on a class divide as well through Gwen's job, and the fact that Gwen wants to get off the Island but the responsibilities she has are holding her back. But going away from Gwen, we also learn about Gwen's cousin Nic, who happens to be dating her best friend Viv. We are able learn about their "perfect" relationship, but you learn that seeing relationship from the outside can be completely different to actually being in that relationship. 

I couldn't find many faults with this book to be honest. I guess I could just say I found it rather predictable. I don't know if that is through reading so many books and watching so many different TV shows, or if it was through the writing. But this did not stop me from enjoying the book at all! I mean, who can't love an ideal teenage relationship where everything seems all rainbows and unicorns (I'm up for it if there are any takers!!). 

I would recommend this as a summer read for everyone, even if you aren't going abroad. The way Fitzpatrick writes about the beauty of the island through the beaches makes it easy to imagine yourself there at a bonfire party. Having that vision of summer really lifts the mood (especially if you live in Britain where we have ONE day of sun) and makes you want to jump on a plane as quickly as possible!

Tell me what you think and other books you recommend for reading over the summer!

Girl Without a Plan, Making Plans 

xoxo

My Top 5 Summer Series...

Hi There!

Okay, so during the summer, I don't know about you, but I tend to spend a lot of time indoors. I mean, I go out obviously, but there are days that I do spend just sitting in front of the TV. Normally I will be engrossed in a new series and then I will just binge watch that series until I know everything that happens. I'm sure there are people out there that also do this, I mean, Twitter and Tumblr are just made for fangirls like me. So I've decided that I'm going to share with you some of my favourite series to watch. You may have already watched some of them or you may think you won't like some of them, but hey, you won't know until you try. Okay, so on to the series...

1) Gossip Girl

Now this was a new find for me (Praise Jesus for Netflix!) I know this is a relatively old series but it is still amazing. It is all to do with the 'Upper East Side' and trying to stay off of Gossip Girl's radar. This series is definitely aimed towards teenage girls I believe as one of the main focuses of the series is the romance, specially between the infamous Chuck and Blair, and the fact the boys that are in it are H-O-T. It is definitely a series that you can get involved with and it will have you shouting at the TV for your favourite couples to get together. The main focus (sort of) is trying to find out who Gossip Girl is, and I have to admit, I was rubbish at guessing who it was! Unfortunately, I saw a spoiler and it turned out all my guesses had been wrong, so if you want to watch this series, STAY AWAY FROM WIKIPEDIA!!!!!

2) The 100

This series is rather different from Gossip Girl. For one, it is much more recent, and secondly it is based in the future. It is based on the idea that everyone lives up in space because there was a nucleur bomb on Earth, and to try and save oxygen and see if it is possible for people to live on Earth, the President sends down 100 under 18 convicts. These 100 need to learn how to live off the land and survive in conditions they are not familiar with. I absolutely love this series!! There have only been 2 series so far, but a third has been confirmed to be aired in 2016 which I think is just too far away!! There is not a strong emphasis on romance in this series, but it is there (#BELLARKEFOREVER). It is a series for those who like adventure and a series that will just keep you guessing, because it is a series that you obviously can't compare to real live. I would recommend everyone watches this and falls in love :)

3) Dance Moms

I know this series is very controversial, but that is what makes me love it. I know it gets a lot of criticisim, but until you watch it, I don't think you can really have an opinion. It's quite clear what the series is about just from the title, and if the name Abby Lee Miller means nothing to you where have you been living!! This show is supposedly 'real life' but I think it is extremely dramatised (is that even a word haha?). There are so many arguments between the mums, and the mums and Abby it makes it so funny to watch. Lots of people think that Abby doesn't treat the girls well and it is abuse what she says, but it may be that a lot of what she does/says is for the show and she may be nice in real life, so we can't judge until we know for sure. This is definitely a watch if you want to watch something that is drama filled!!

4) Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Like Dance Moms, I know this is a very love/hate series, but for me it is definitely a love!! Again, the title is rather self-explanatory, and it is basically a reality series following round all of the Kardashians. There are so many series of this it will definitely occupy your summer haha. You get to see so much into their lives it is actually quite interesting because personally, I won't ever live a life like them, so seeing what they live like just amazes me. You may think after 10 series there can't be much left to see and it will get boring, but believe me, it doesn't! Their lives are so up and down it would make anyone sick on a rollercoaster. Definitely a watch if you want to see how the other half live!

5) Pretty Little Liars

This is by far my favourite series ever! I started watching it about 4 years ago (living in the UK meant watching it online so soooooooooo many odd websites!). Unless you have been living in a very, very dark hole, you will know what this series is about because Twitter and everything else goes ape when an episode has been on. This series is based on the fact a girl has gone missing, and then the 4 other girls in her friendship group started receiving threatening and blackmailing messages from a person called A. So far it is nearly half way through series 6 and I AM STILL WAITING FOR SO MANY ANSWERS I'M STARTING TO GO SLIGHTLY NUTS!! SO MUCH FOR SUMMER OF ANSWERS!!! This is a series that will definitely improve your patience as I have now been waiting 4 years for answers, but August 11th I will finally get those answers!! It will be extremely hard to ignore those spoilers so if you want to start watching this series, I suggest you start binge watching it now!

So those are the 5 series that I recommend you watch over the summer. They are series that will have you hooked and will make you want to carry on watching once you have started!!! Now, back to watching Pretty Little Liars, see you later!!

Girl Without a Plan, Making Plans

xoxo