A Guide To Surviving Freshers Week

Freshers week: usually the first week many have spent away from home living with a bunch of strangers and having some good nights out.

1) Whether you're an alcoholic or you don't drink at all, nights out at the union are a MUST!! It's a great way to meet people and have a good ol' time dancing and what not.

2) Don't shut yourself away in your room. Doesn't matter if you're the most confident person in the world or the most shy...you're all in the same boat!! Get involved with your flat mates or people on your course... They're the people you'll be spending at least the next year with, it's a good idea to get to know them

3) Be yourself... The last thing anyone wants in their flat is a fake flatmate. I can guarantee the people your with will want to get to know you instead of someone you may be pretending to be... you can't keep that up forever!

4) Don't be afraid to start conversations....Don't leave it to the same people all the time or they'll stop making the effort and will think you can't be bothered

5) Keep your things tidy... Your room is up to you.. but shared areas are used by everyone. Your flatmates won't appreciate you leaving a mess all over the kitchen or leaving your makeup all over the bathroom!! (especially when you're sharing with 44 people like I am!)

6) Drink lots of water and eat regularly! You will not be able to keep up wild nights every night if you're still hung over and dying from the night before... PACE YOURSELF!

7) Don't be worried about having a night in.. If you're not up for nights out every night, I'm sure there'll be other people feeling the same... invite them over for a night in... they're essential for recovering from those nights out!

8) Keep an eye on how much you spend.... Blowing your entire loan in the first week is going to leave you stuck for the rest of the term... not a good idea

9) Make an effort to get to know everyone in you're sharing with...Some people may be feeling homesick or left out and don't know how to get involved... speak to them! It's a good way of making new friends.. or if that's you... try hanging out in the shared areas... you're bound to make friends quickly

10) Explore where you're living...There's no point moving to university if you're just going to stay in your room. Explore the town/city...It's something to do with your flatmates as you're all in the same position!

Enjoy Yourself

 

 

University

Moving, registration and day 1

I realised that moving is a lot harder than anyone who has never moved thinks....but not in the way you think. The only part I found hard was the practical side of packing up your life and possessions and physically moving them to your next destination. As the time was getting closer, all I had packed was shoes and films (I had my priorities right!!!!!)... but slowly bits came together and now I'm here, all settled in and having a fab time.

Registration was a bit manic with people everywhere, but to be fair to our uni, it is rather organised when it came to it!

Meeting people in person and putting physical faces to online photos was probably the best part of registration day. Everyone I met and am living with are fab. They're no different to how they convey themselves online. We'll all in the same position and have been looking out for each other: fab group of girls! Some photos from our night out of a few of them.....

The union is great and I finally got to meet Shakey for the first time after watching some impressive(ly bad moves) at the union last night!!! Running for Raising and Giving (RAG) officer  is a go! Also, hoping there's a good chance of being able to help with the Night Scheme too.

Night scheme is hoping to be set up in the Carmarthen campus this year and will be a service for those who need a non-judgemental, listening ear during the early hours of the morning when there's no one around.

So excited about everything at uni at the moment... Getting involved is definitely the best way forward! #Happy (I don't care if it's no acceptable to hash tag in blogs...get over it!)

Quick word of advice for future uni students... getting involved is a great way to meet people and gives you something to talk about!! Living at university is more than just gaining a degree by completing a course.... It's far less scary than people think as long as you're friendly, make an effort and keep an open mind.


My room is faaaaab. Huge and I have the best views. Want to keep it for the 3 years..... despite there being so many steps to get up to the top floor :( (I will count them one day!)

 

 

Things to do today: Catch up what's been happening at MiLO, go for food (can't wait! I'm hungry), games night at the Christian Union and then a film night. Woo!

 

 

 

And at last, some photos of the uni!

Inspiring A Generation

It's when we're young children that we're probably at our most selfless and accepting. Young children don't discriminate based on looks... or at all. They play with anyone and have no sense of cynicism.

Yet, as each generation grows up, they have something negative to say about the younger generations...

"We knew how to behave"

"They're so selfish"

etc etc...

Has no one ever stopped to think that those young, innocent children look up to older generations to learn how to behave?

If you ask most children and teenagers what they want to do with their lives, they'll give you a response regarding a career. Very rarely, if at all is there a response of "I want to help as many people as I can" or "I'd love to be a part of stopping world hunger". Our thinking is conditioned from a young age to have aspirations surrounding jobs. Working and earning your own money is important, yes... but there are far bigger things at hand.

Inspiring a generation is about being a selfless, non-judgmental generation ourselves to set the example for those who follow.
It's about teaching tolerance. I don't mean tolerance of crime or things like that, but to accept people from all walks or life, who looks different etc etc without judging or treating them differently

 

Most people see or read horrifying true stories of situations that are all to common in our world, yet will do nothing about it. There'll be a sense of guilt for a few minutes, but they will not change any part of their life to help those people they learn about.

To me the greatest sense of achievement isn't in how much money you earn, but how much you give away. It isn't about how much you own, but about how much you've helped those in need. I mean real need, not "I need new clothes" when there's a perfectly good wardrobe full.

I've only mentioned that big issues so far...but inspiring a generation isn't just about wanting them to give money away. It's about teaching selflessness and tolerance..Not teaching judgement.

It's the small every day things such as asking someone how they are, to the big things of volunteering to go to third world countries and actively help to improve their quality of life.

Teaching outside of school is no longer about telling people how they should be, but more about setting at example of how to live. It's about being the change that we want to see in the next generation because we are the people they will look up to and copy.

It's not only celebs who are looked up to and followed, but it's the every day people we're surrounded with that are respected more and more. It's the everyday people that we learn our behaviours from.

_____________________________________________________________________________
                                       
                                         It's about being the change we want to see.



Opportunity

Sorry for the 2 blogs a day kinda thing that's occurring at the moment. I'm sure from Saturday onwards, I'll only have time for 1 a day at most...

Something that's been made clear to me today is that we all NEED to make the most of every opportunity presented to us.

One major thing to start all this is to actually put yourselves out there in the first place and keep your eyes open for opportunities.

People who personally know me, know that I've done some incredible things in my life, but it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't jumped at the chance.

Many of people may have seen the BBC news this summer when Joshua's Wish Charity (formally known as The Joshua Foundation) went into insolvency. So, many of you know, yes I went to Australia (and stopped over in Malaysia: see earlier blog), but not all of you know that's because I, along with many others, spent 18 months - 2 years raising £3,000 each. Half the money went straight to the charity and the other towards the cost of the tip. However, even less of you know this was meant to be a working trip!!!! When the charity disappeared 19 days before flying that all changed...I still managed to go and stay with family along with 2 awesome girls, but I wouldn't have had the chance if I hadn't taken the risk and gone for it!

 

Some of you may know, I got to model for Julien Macdonald earlier this year at a charity fashion show. As well as thing being so much fun, so much money was raised for charity! Still....If I hadn't have put myself out there and auditioned, I wouldn't have had the chance.

I've also had the opportunity to sing for the queen as part of a choir. Yet, this wouldn't have happened unless I'd got involved with the choir in the first place.

Even down to today, I've been contacted by the fabulous Aaron (Shakey: who has to be mentioned in this blog as he's in charge of student activities) and informed of a position at the uni I'm starting in on Monday called the Raising and Giving (RAG) officer (I think). Who ever wins the election for this role will work with others to arrange charity events etc... Yet, I wouldn't have even known about this (my perfect role!!!!) if I hadn't been blogging. I'm not saying blogging is for everyone, it's just one way to put yourself out there. This opportunity to even have a chance of getting this role is amazing to me! The chance to help charities and hopefully also raise awareness for MiLO at uni would be the best.. I'll keep you all updated!

The point is, unless you put yourself out there and get involved, you won't get amazing opportunities or maybe not even chances to see some incredible site/meet awesome people and do fabulous things!

                                                                                                                                          

Sometimes you have to forget the "what if"s and "maybe"s and not care what people think. The truth is, not everyone is going to like you. Not everyone is going to be someone you get on with...but be true to yourself and you have a chance :)

#TherapyThursday

Thursday already (yaay)
I'm so excited as I'm moving from home on Sunday. All exciting times.

With us at MiLO Thursday is known as #therapythursday. So, we're not pretending to be professionals and if you need help I encourage you to visit your GP or look at our helpline page: http://mindslikeours.co.uk/helplines.html

However, we use Thursday to share ideas and thoughts that may help brighten someone's day or give them a way of coping that we've found to help some of us

1) Music : 
- So whether you're a musician, you sing or you don't have a musical bone in your body, music can be a great way of helping you through the hard times. If you're a musician, maybe writing your own music/songs is a good release for you. For others, just listening to music, whether it's music that cheers you up or music that really explains how you feel can help. A good cry now and again to music can do the world of good!

2) Writing :
- If you have a love of writing, this could be the one for you. Whether it's poetry, keeping a diary, writing down random words, or writing exactly how you feel...it may help you to process your emotions and deal with them better...and hey, who doesn't love a good rant or moan form time to time?! Sometimes it may help to burn these afterwards, but sometimes it helps to keep them and see how far you've come! Everyone's different...

3) Talking :
- If there's someone around you trust and can talk to - great, do it! However, if there isn't, simply speaking out how you feel to yourself when there's no one around can also help you process things and make them easier to deal with. Sometimes when we keep everything in our head, the world/situations can seem a lot worse than they actually are.

4) Art :
- Now, for the more creative of you this could be the one for you! Art is often an expression of someone or their emotions. Whether it's a painting, drawing, photography, 3D art... etc etc....it can be a good outlet. Many people use art to express their feelings, whilst others just enjoy it as it takes their mind of things for a while.

5) Just relax :
- Now and again, all we need is to just sit and be in a peaceful environment. For some that's out in the world, being one with nature, whilst for others it's in the comfort of their own home.. All depends on what you fancy. But try to just sit/lay down, relax and not think of a single thing... Easier said than done! One way of doing this is to concentrate on a candle flame whilst trying to clear your mind of everything! Good luck... it's harder than you think

6) Breathe :
- Deep, slow breaths allow us to reduce our heart rate and calm a little. One technique: breathing in slowly through your nose... then when you're breathing out through your mouth, pretend there's a candle right in front of you and you aren't to blow it out... it slows your breathing right down

For those of you who don't like the whole imagining thing and would rather something real, count in your head whilst breathing in, then start again from one breathing out and see how high you can count. The higher the number you get to, the slower your breathing.

7) Positivity :
- This comes in all forms.. whether it's thinking of all the good things you've done, reading positive/inspirational quotes, making plans for the future, or simply doing something constructive... this can be a good way of keeping yourself in the right mind-set

8) Helping :
- For many people, the best therapy is actually helping other people. This could be as simple as tidying the house to help whoever you live with, or something bigger as in volunteering for charity work or for anything at all. It gives us a sense of purpose and often reassures us that we're not useless... because NO ONE IS USELESS.

                                                                                                                                                       

We all have that special something about us that makes us unique, so we are all needed to work together for better. We're all individuals with the power to change our own lives and help those around us change theirs. 
#TherapyThursday
 

Growing Up

We all change when we're growing up. Often we end up as completely different people to how we started...whether that's in our views, aspiration, beliefs, looks, personality or all of the above.

The way we look is usually an outlet of who we are. For example, you never meet a boring person with neon coloured hair! Thinking about it... I've never met anyone with neon coloured hair, but I've seen pretty close!

I know I personally went through a load of different hair colours.. Not quite that drastic...

I can't remember what I wanted to be growing up, but I in the last couple of years I wanted to be a mental health nurse. I'd gone as far as applying to uni to train to be qualified to work in this area. I was called for interviews, but something didn't feel right. Now here I am, a year later about to start university to train to be a primary school teacher. The thing is...it doesn't matter when you realise what you want to do with your life. All that matters is you do it when you realise!!

The thing is... growing up... you realise life isn't fair and you can't always have everything you're own way. It's just as much about helping yourself as it is about helping others! It's about learning to be responsible for yourself and others, and to develop your own mind and thinking.

I still want to be able to help those dealing with mental health issues and that's why I joined MiLO's cause: http://mindslikeours.co.uk/

Yes, I know I go on about it, but I'm so proud of what everyone at MiLO is doing. Am getting so excited about talking through plans and ideas for World Mental Health Day (WMHA) on October 10th. Watch this space....

Ramblings of a bored mind

Wednesday
Wed....Nes...Day...Wednesday

So as sad as this is, I was so excited to have a tour of the new tertiary college where I live. I finished sixth form last July within the school I used to attend. We spent so long campaigning as a school, together with the other school sixth forms to try and keep the sixth forms within the schools....However, today, after visiting there myself, I'm glad we lost our fight.

I completely lovely my school. The lower school with year 7&8 (when I was there) was in a castle! How cool is that?!

But the facilities on offer in the new college for all the sixth form are incredible! I can't help but think it was the best decision....

 

Moving on....

YouTube

Many of us spend time watching pointless youtube videos... and if you follow Nerimon, It'swaypastmybedtime, emma blakery or a few others, you may have come across the Youtube survey which was created by Alex Day.

So... I'm starting my own Blog survey...

Blog survey 2013

1) What is your biggest fear?
 - So my biggest fear is...... *drum roll* ....... Failing at everything I do

2) If you could choose money or love, which would it be?
  -  I'd ALWAYS ALWAYS choose love. It's priceless.

3) Who's your favour artist/band?
- 30 Seconds to Mars

4) If you could only choose one place to travel, where would you go?
- So, I would definitely go to the Grand Canyon.

5) Everyone has that one secret dream they wouldn't dare to follow... What's yours?
- So, I'd secretly love to see what's it's like to be a famous singer...I'd love to know what celebs go through, but I don't think I could stand all the attention...

6) If you had to choose one thing to achieve before you die, what would it be?
- To help as many people as possible


Feel free to comment below with your answers :)

The Perfect Day

Sorry to post two blogs in one day, but I'm still so hyped up about today. Gosh it's been amazing... It's been the PERFECT day!

So this morning, I blogged about #TerrificTuesday and today was certainly that. After finding out I'd become an ambassador for depression at Minds Like Ours (mindslikeours.co.uk), I got to feed the most gorgeous dog ever. Will really miss him when I move.

- Then I got to have a quick catch up and pizza with my my best friend! (will also miss her when I move).
- When we got to her Nan's I had the most amazing present ever to move away with...

- Then I got to go all dressed up to a presentation evening at school. This was to receive an award "Mendicants Charity Shield" given to the person who has is considered to have done a lot for charity this year. Another girl also had this award but was not present to receive it and so I have the shield with me for now (yaay). My first ever award from school and I'm not even there anymore! Roy Noble gave a speech which was the best!

- Got to have a quick catch up with some fabulous people and teachers

- My mother drove me home in my car as I'd met my parents and brother there.

- Came home to find more presents and a lovely card from

 Now home sweet home now, but still buzzing from excitement.

#TerrificTuesday

#TerrificTuesday

So, recently I joined the wonderful Minds Like Ours (MiLO) which has become a non profit organisation. As of today I've been made an ambassador for depression on the MiLO forum (yay).

Minds Like Ours is a non profit organisation run by those affected by mental health issues, for those affected by it.

We have a Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Minds-Like-Ours/697755603571289?fref=ts

Twitter account : www.twitter.com/MindsLikeOurs

A website: http://mindslikeours.co.uk/

Youtube account: http://www.youtube.com/user/MindsLikeOursTube

and also a forum: http://mindslikeours.boards.net/

What's is about?

- MiLO's aim is to stamp out stigma surrounding mental health

- Our forum is there to provide support and share ideas

- The website is the main hub which provides useful helplines whilst also giving a way to access our shop, facebook page, forum and twitter.

- The shop is there for people to buy items that raise awareness for mental health in the hope of breaking down the stigma

What's this got to do with me?

- So many people in the UK are affected by mental health, with an estimated 1 in four personally dealing with a mental health issue in the course of a year

- This means it's very likely that you or someone you know is affected

How can you help?

- MiLO welcome people from all walks of life to join our campaign to break down the stigma

- You can help by liking our facebook page, re-tweeting us, joining our forum, or sharing any of our links

- If you were feeling strongly about helping the cause, you could write a blog or make a video sharing your stories or experience regarding mental health and we'll get them posted on our website/youtube account

#TerrificTuesday is to share things that make us happy and to generally think of the positives of life

My terrific Tuesday: 

- This little fella makes me happy

- Looking at photos of places I've been and people I've been with

- Positive quote

Join with us in #TerrificTuesday