HUGE life update!

After perhaps the longest silence ever I have finally returned to the world of blogging, and felt that you deserved a little update on my life, and why I disappeared for such a long time. The last three months have been some of the craziest to date, and I’ve experienced both ups and downs during this time. Now, with Christmas and the end of the year approaching, I’m finally in a really happy place, so here’s a rundown of what’s been happening…

I last updated my blog back in July, having returned from the loveliest family holiday to the Isle of Wight. I anticipated a long summer of blogging, but got a little carried away in the excitement of days out, trips away and seeing friends and family. In August I went on a short but sweet girls’ trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and had the best time ever with eleven of my best pals. I know Edinburgh isn’t the first place you envision for a post-exams holiday (Ayia Napa or Zante definitely sound more appropriate) but I honestly had the time of my life. We only stayed four nights but I got to see a snapshot of all the festival offered including comedy, physical theatre and a modern take on Shakespeare, while squeezing in some sightseeing and nights out too! Edinburgh is a beautiful city and I would undoubtedly return there in a heartbeat. My summer also consisted of various trips into central London with friends, parties, a day in Brighton and family BBQs (as well as plenty of days chilling indoors after the stressful few weeks of exams that we had recently endured!)

In late August it was time for the inevitable results’ day… I had been pretty certain that I had completely flopped my maths exams but still had a glimmer of hope that I would have done well enough to make it into my first choice university, Exeter. However when I logged into UCAS at 7am that day I was greeted with the news that I hadn’t got the grades I had hoped, and instead had been admitted into my insurance choice, a university that I stupidly hadn’t even visited on an open day. Having been so set on a place at Exeter and opposed to the thought of going anywhere else, I spent the next few days pretty much in tears, hurriedly applying for apprenticeships and searching for jobs. Finally, after a week of crying and weighing up my options by speaking with friends and family, I decided to accept my second place uni choice, a decision that certainly wasn’t taken lightly given the £50k of debt I would be getting into as a result of our crazy tuition fees!

Fast forward three months, I am now close to finishing my first term as an undergraduate English Literature student and I couldn’t be much happier with my life. I absolutely adore my course, having been given the chance to read everything from medieval liturgical drama to TS Eliot poetry. I’ve just received my results for the first assignment I submitted, for which I achieved a first! I’ve thrown myself into societies, joining the student newspaper, for example. Finally, I’m surrounded by a lovely group of people, without whom I wouldn’t have had such a brilliant Freshers’ Week and past couple of months.

So, as you can see the last couple of months have been a little hectic for me, hence why I abandoned this blog for so long. However I’m looking forward to being back, so keep an eye out for some upcoming posts on whatever topics tickle my fancy, be it fashion, politics or university. I’d like to leave you with some words of wisdom that I heard a lot following the disappointment of results’ day which made me cringe at the time, but now I realise to be true: ‘Everything happens for a reason’. Everyone suffers ups and downs throughout their life, but the negatives only serve to make you a stronger person and set you on the right path to true happiness.