A DEEP RAMBLE

I really want to reflect over what I've done this past week; it feels like I haven't achieved much recently. I fear that work has become my new college environment and that my work friends have replaced my college friends.  To me this will never happen, I don't replace anyone in my life, I just expand on my social groups and everyone will always remain special to me.  But I do genuinely fear that people may think this, but please don't. As I was looking through my calander before it dawned on me that over the past ten days I've only had two days off work.  That would suggest to me that I've spent wayyyy too much time working and not enough time playing!

The most memorable event over the past week has deifinetely been my traditional Thursday night out with my friends from work.  I had a delicious three course meal at Frankie and Benny's and then I went on to the weekly student night in town where I downed Archers and lemonade for £1.50, bargain. I love my weekly night out with the girls for food and then usually the guys will join us for the drinks.  Typical boys really, interested in the alcohol.  The night lead onto a night club and then a long taxi ride home.

Although I've socialised quite a bit over the past week, but I've also had a lot of time to think.  Having spent time endlessly over-thinking my future and actually analysing my life I've realised quite a lot.  I am what people would call an over-thinking, self-conscious person who doesn't want to miss out or not be the most worldly. 

I've always been an over-thinker ever since I was younger.  I over-think every aspect of my life and that leads to also being an over-analyser, which is practically what I am doing now... I think too much about things that I'm about to do and how people will perceive my actions.  I worry what people will think of me and if I'll offend them by just being myself.  I'm probably one of the most honest people out there, I don't believe in lies because I personally believe that liars are always caught out in the end, so I worry people will hate me because of my honesty.  My anti-no-lies stance has lost me friends over the years when I've pointed out their blatant lies and that worries me that one day I'll have no-one left, but I know that there's people out there like me.  I worry that my genuine happy approach to life will lose me friend too, because I might be perceieved as fake, but my happiness isn't fake.  This is me over-analysing once again.  I over-analyse every relationship in my life whether it's family, friends or boys.  My ability to over-analyse everything enable me to link events together and create inter-linking theories of utter noncesense. It's probably some weird form of OCD actually.  Although I go through life over-thinking and over-analysing every aspect of my life I believe that my life is a path that has already been planned, so no matter what happens it's meant to happen so I should be happy about it.

Another annoying thing about my personality is that I'm someone who doesn't want to miss out.  This genuinely means that I end up going practically everywhere that I'm asked to go to.  I just have this fear that I might miss out on something great and I don't want to miss the opportunity for fun. 

I love the fact that from the age of 17 I've had a job and that I've had the opportunity to learn to drive.  This is something that not all of my friends have had the opportunity of, so I genuinely value these priceless experiences that I've had.  The fact that I turned 18 so early in the year in contrast to some of my friends from college meant that I've had the chance to experience life as an 18-year-old with friends from work.  This has meant that I've experienced night clubs, resturants and places that other friends haven't yet experienced.  I've also had experiences within these clubs and environments and met people that other friends have yet to experience.  So I will admit that when these friends finally start to experience these things I will start to feel a bit sad about the fact that I'm no longer the most worldly.  I like that fact about myself and I suppose it could be suggested that I am a tad jealous that others are experiencing the wonderful social life that I've experienced over the past 7 months, and I don't like that about myself.  But this is all because I'm fairly competitive in some aspects of my life and I genuinely hate that others are experiecing the same as me and I fear that they'll have more fun at experiencing what I've already experienced or that they'll experience more than me and I won't be the most worldly anymore.

But don't let my little ramble leave a lasting impression on you. I just sometimes over-think and that means I end up chatting complete rubbish. 

TEN THINGS I'VE LEARNT ABOUT NIGHT CLUBS

Over the past 7 months I've been welcomed into the world of night clubs. Not every night club is the same and they vary from place-to-place. The ways that I've acted and the things I have worn in a night club in Portugal have been totally inappropriate to what is acceptable to a night club in my town or within a British city environment.

In portugal it was acceptable to wear flip-flops and beach wear to a night club and it was easy to sneak your own alcohol into clubs and take a glass from one club to another.  Here in my home town that would have been totally unacceptable, not only are you not allowed to wear flip-flops but you're also not allowed to sneak your own alcohol in or leave a club clutching a glass.

But what I have learnt over the past 7 months is that there are certain etiquettes that are acceptable no matter where you are.

Here is a list of 10 things I've learnt over the past 7 months:

1. Go with a suitably sized group of friends
I've found that when people are drinking alcohol it's pretty hard to control what everyone else around you in doing if you're slightly more sober than everyone else. On holiday recently there were ten of us and to be fair, it was pretty darn hard to keep everyone together in a night club without people wandering off. So my advice for you would be that although it's insanely fun to be in a large group of friends, sometimes the night can be easier and more fun in a smaller group of 5 or 6 people.

2. Check out whether there's any offers on in any of the bars that you're planning on going to
Going on a night out can be fairly expensive of a weekend.  I've found that as a student there are many student themed nights that offer cheaper drinks during the week.  For me I've found that my town offers a cheap 'student night' on a Thursday, as well as the nearest city offering a student night on a Thursday. Similarly the nearest town also offers a cheap student night on a Tuesday. I've found that by going these cheaper nights I've managed to save a small fortune and I've managed to meet friends who are of a similar age to me, compared to a weekend when many clubs have pervy men in their 40s.

2. Discuss with your friends before you go whether it's a casual night out or a glam night out
I think this is a reasonably good piece of advice to all girls out there.  There's nothing worse than being over dressed or under dressed on a night out, it can leave you feeling uncomfortable and wanting to go home. For me and my friends we usually find it important that we discuss what kind of outfit we're planning on wearing before a night out.  Usually a student night means casual flats, while a weekend night out means towering wedges or flat forms.  For me I like to be tall, so usually I'll wear flat forms for a casual night out and on a weekend night out.  This is because I'm comfortable and the hight gives me confidence.

3. Don't dress inappropriately- slaggy
This is another top tip of mine. Do not, I repeat do not, wear anything that is totally inappropriate.  When a parents passes comment about how you're not going out dressed like that, listen to them; because if your bum is showing and my boobs are on show you're going to attract the wrong kind of attention.  Not only will you attract the attention of sleezy men, but you'll also get stares off girls who find what you're wearing to be in bad taste.

4. Pre-drinks are sometimes a great idea
They are a good idea in the sense that they can help you save money on a night out which could be expensive, but they're not a good idea if you're not going to be able to get through the door to your night out.  I think there is nothing wrong with drinking 2 or 3 Bacardi and cokes before leaving the house or possibly sharing a bottle of wine with a friend whilst getting ready.  But I think there is something majorly wrong if you're doing several shots and drinking a bottle of wine before leaving the house and ending up in such a state that the bouncer is not going to let you in.

5. Make sure you don't get too drunk, know your limit; you'll have more fun when you're simply 'tipsy'
Don't get too drunk people, it's not a good look. Although it's fun to drink a alcohol and have a laugh with you're friends; it's not fun to stumble out a night club and expose yourself.  It's socially acceptable to drink alcohol to point where you're feeling confident enough to be able to dance without worrying that you look stupid.  Plus if you're not ridiculously drunk you won't have to worry about doing anything stupid and if you're friends aren't ridiculous drunk you won't have to spend your night worrying that they're going to end up doing something stupid.  All in all you'll have a great night.

6. Have as much fun possible- dance and laugh
I've found that if you're dancing and laughing you look super confident and fun.  Not only will you have a great time, but I've found that by acting in this manner people are more likely to approach you. Thus through this I've made friends who make my nights out hilarious.

7. Don't go out to simply attract lads
Don't be so boring. Night clubs are not just for males and female to attach to each other. Night clubs are there for you to have a great night with friends and let your hair down.  There's nothing wrong with flirting with guys every now and again, but to do it constantly is just wrong.  Not only does it create awkwardness and bordom for your friends it also creates an image for yourself as the-girl-who-any-guy-can-get-because-she's-so-desperate-to-pull.

8. Don't kiss strangers or leave with them
Just don't.

9. Don't stare people out or give out 'snotty' looks it can cause too much drama
Drunken people are rather sensitive people, just look at one wrong and it could cause World War Three.  My advice would be to avoid dramatic looking people and if you're going to look at people, smile.

10. Make sure you have a friend to accompany you home on a night out. Be safe.
After a brilliant night out, make sure you've got a friend with you on the journey home.  Whether it's a taxi or the first train home, make sure you're not alone.  I know society isn't full of completly weird people, but make sure you're safe.  Usually I will get a taxi home from a night out and if I'm the first out I'll say to my friend loudly, "Call me when you're in," that way I'll know she's in safely.

So, there you go, my top ten tips for a brilliant night out.  You might not agree with them personally, but from my experience I think they're accurate from what I've witnessed and experienced.

I hope you enjoy this post, there will be more like this to come.

THE MOST WONDERFUL DAYS AND WHAT-NOT

(I will be uploading photographs of my Birthday in the next couple of days.  I sadly had to use a friends camera as someone dropped my camera on the pavement outside.  Now the stupid thing won't work.)

Having spent the past couple of days rushed off my feet; I have finally got time to blog about my life.  Friday consisted of having insane fun with my friends and then yesterday consisted of me having an extreme downer in work.

For the first time in forever I had 'natural' hair on Friday for college.  I left it unstraightened and all hideously wavy.  I had quite a few comments on how nice and different it looked, but I generally feel people were just being nice.  The hole point of me leaving it wavy was because I planned on putting my hair in heated rolls when I got in from college.  This plan worked out and I sucessfully managed to leave them in for 3 hours prior to going out.  Literally 15 minutes before leaving the house I took the rollers out and my hair hadn't curled!  I then realised that because I hadn't curled my hair using the heated rollers for at least 6 months that my hair wouldn't curl using them in its current condition.  I've let my hair grow for the past 6 months, so my hair is currently below my waist and very heavy.  So the obvious conclusion was that my hair was too heavy to hold the curl which the rollers would have put in it.  Due to the fact that I had 15 minutes before I had to leave the house I started to panic.  It would be my luck that my hair wouldn't be how I wanted it for my party.  Luckily my Mum curled it for my using the straightners and the curl actually stayed it.  However this made me 15 minutes late for my own Birthday party.  But as I liked to say, "I wasn't late.  You were all early.."

Frankie and Benny's have amazing food and the portions are big enough for me!  The waiters placed us on a long table along the front of the resturant and that meant that everyone could see us, and people kept asking the waiter to ask us what the pitchers were called that we were drinking; this started to get annoying after a while. I was so excited when I bought my first legal drink.  I casually strolled up the bar and asked for a Woo Woo cocktail, all prepared to be asked for ID. And then the woman didn't even ask for my ID!  I was secretly gutted, I knew that if that was any other day prior to my 18th I would've been asked for ID, ha.  I've decided to keep the receipt for that first drink and I'm going to place it in a little keep-sake box. We ate our food and had a couple of drinks before we finally left the resturant as it was closing.

My mum and a friends mum picked me and 7 friends up and the rest got driven to my house by a friend who has already passed her driving test.  However I will never understand how she managed to pass her test.  She apparently stopped at a green light, drove in the wrong lane around a round-about and stalled 5 times.  Not to mention it took her 40 minutes to get to my house, when the journey normally averages at around 5 minutes. Rant over.

At my house my Dad had bought a tonne of alcohol and we had a party.  I can't fully remember what actually happened, but there's a lot of cool photographs on my friends camera. Nor do I remember falling asleep or people leaving.  All I know is that when I woke-up I wasn't hungover.  But I did have a stiff shoulder and a dodgy neck.

I had work yesterday (Saturday) and I was rushed off my feet.  I finally got to serve customers tickets to The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and I even got to serve alcohol!  But TGWADT was sold out and as I result I ran around behind the kiosk like a headless chicken, or at least how I would imagine a chicken without a head to run.  A funny story is that my manager turned the air-con on thinking that it would blow out hot air, but weirdly it blew out hot air.  So we were stood there all night wondering why we were all so freakin' hot.  And the obvious answer would be that the air-con was blowing out hot air.  I do really hate my job.

Today, I prepared for my driving test (which I hope I don't fail).  My driving instructor doesn't think I'm ready for my test, but I think I am, so I'm going to take it soon.  I also watched The Inbetweeners Movie with my family.  I do not recommend you do this with a 12 year-old boy in the room or your parents.  It just creates an awkward silence and the response of, "Now that's why I'm not letting you go on holiday in the Summer."

I've just realised that I have my first exam in exactly a weeks time tomorrow.  And as I've previously stated I haven't started revising.  This can only mean a tragedy is in the near distance. So, I better get my bum in gear and start revising, German History 1871-1925 here I come!

Adios

P.s. My Kindle rocks.

18TH BIRTHDAY!

Today was such a great day! Not only did I have the most wonderful Birthday, I also got to spend the day with friends and family.  My friends and family mean the world to me.  My beloved family even put my Birthday in the local newspaper, including a shameful picture of me from when I was 6!  But I still love 'em.

My bestfriend, Katy, sent my card in the post.  The card had come straight from Moonpig.com, and it was literally the most thoughtful card I have ever received.  The card was covered in pictures from over the past couple of years.  There were pictures of me and her, and pictures of us with mutual friends.  When I opened up the card the opening page had a beautiful verse in it about when we first met and how it's so strange that 13 years later we're still the bestest of friends.  Having just opened the present from my parents I was pretty emotional as it was,  but then reading this card caused me to burst into tears.  I guess I'm a little emotional?

I just thought I'd show you a couple of pictures of some of the things I received.  My parents got me my first ever Tiffany&co bracelet! Eeep!  I put it on my wrist as soon as I opened the box.  I was unaware of what I was getting for my Birthday this year as I told my parents to, "suprise me." Well they certainly didn't disappoint!  I love my new bracelet so much.  My maternal Auntie got me a Shamballa bracelet, which was also a complete suprise.  I had seen Ollie Locke and Chloe Green wearing Shamballa bracelets on Made In Chelsea a couple of months ago (at the time though I wasn't sure of what they were called).  However after a bit of research I discovered the name and a love for these beautiful bracelets!



My Nan is aware of how much I love to read books, particularly romance novels.  So in the form of an amazingly thoughful gift she bought me a Kindle.  Which I've now become obsessed with.  I find the screen so trippy, it's literally like reading a piece of paper, but it's electric.  Mind. Equals. Blown.  My little brother also bought me a purple leather case to protect it, which I thought was cute of him.

I received other gifts such as: make-up, shower sets and boots.  But I mainly received money, which I'm happy with.  My friends have asked me what I would like or if there was something I wanted in particular, but I've constantly found myself saying that I would like money if they were to get me anything.  I always find it pretty awkward when people ask you what you would like for your Birthday, I feel that by suggesting something I'm being really cheeky.

After a lovely day in college, including playing the game where someone sticks a persons name on your head and you have to guess who you are, I went for a meal with my family.  We went to a local resturant and as soon as we arrived we bumped into some of my neighbours.  One of these neighbours was the extremely gorgeous, 21-year-old that I've had a crush on since I was about 14.  Cringe.  His father realised it was my 18th Birthday and they bought me a couple of drinks- my first legal alcohol drinks! I then spoke to them for a short period of time before embarressing myself whilst hugging them.  My brain literally went into overdrive and I don't think I took a breath for the entire conversation.  I then hugged everyone (again!) and thanked them before walking swiftly away.  I didn't half make a show of myself.

I was really suprised that as soon as I turned 18, I wasn't asked for ID whilst getting alcohol.  But knowing my luck if I had attempted it yesterday they would have asked for ID.  The only thing I kind of regret about today is that I didn't buy my own first legal drink.  That'll have to take place tomorrow!

However it was the most wonderful 18th Birthday and I wouldn't change it for the world.

I'm so excited for tomorrow!

Peace.