A testament of Youth.

Next month I turn 22. (Cue ridiculous amounts of people singing a Taylor Swift song at me all year) 

I only graduated University a year ago and, if I'm honest, I knew I wouldn't have my life completely together straight away. To clarify, I don't. But after reading ridiculous amounts of Buzzfeed and Cosmopolitan articles like "30 things to do before you're thirty" and "3,000,000 things every girl does in her twenties", it's nice to know that I'm not the only early twenty-something in the world who doesn't have her whole life together. 

There are those women in the world who graduated University, got their perfect job and are now engaged, with a mortgage and are quite happy. I have two feelings towards those women. I both commend them for being strong willed and unafraid to grab the bull by the horns. But, for goodness sake, they're making girls like me look awful! 

I always knew that wouldn't be me. I'm not a headstrong, work-focused young woman like those girls. I'm lazy and, to be quite honest, sitting in a hot room (like I am right now) typing out cover letters that make me sound interesting and smart is one of my least favourite activities. Well, that, and I'm not interesting. I didn't take a gap year volunteering in a village in Africa building houses. Nor did I teach little Romanian children how to speak English. And I most certainly don't have a Duke of Edinburgh award. Instead,  I have 11 GCSEs, 3 A levels, a 2:1 degree in Drama and a can-do attitude. Surprisingly enough, that hasn't landed me my dream job. 

I bet you're sat there thinking "If she doesn't make a good enough point soon, I'm going back to Facebook". If so, just go with it. 

The saying goes "A Leopard cannot change his spots", this is true. But you can change the body underneath the spots and make the spots look better. It's just a matter of being pro-active. 

If, like me, you're stuck in a bit of a rut and you don't think you're life has a direction or that being in your early twenties is worse than being a teenager, do not fear. The average life expectancy in the UK right now is 81 and a half years old. (If you're reading this is America, its 78 and three quarters), which means you have 60 years to make more bad decisions, life choices, changes and a family. Why rush into things? Go travelling. Make friends. Drink ridiculous amounts of alcohol. The only thing you don't want in life is regrets! 

I've never been one to listen to my own advice, but this time I might. I don't want to be lying on my death bed in 60 years thinking of all the opportunities that I missed and all of the chances I could have taken. There is so much in the world to do and see that, sometimes, risks need to be taken for life to be lived. 

I shall leave you with T-Swift.

So long, and thanks for all the fish. 

Taylor Swift - 22

What a way to make a living!

After finishing University with a good 2:1, it is finally time to get a job and grow up. 

Yeah, because I'm going to grow up. NOT.

But, in terms of employment, I thought it was going to be impossible to get a job when I leave uni. I was terrfied I'd spend the entire summer unemployed and searching fo a job. Joining the extremely long queue of people outside the job centre. 

Alas, it was quite the opposite. 

Though I applied for several jobs in theatre, I admit I was punching above my weight to apply for some jobs I wasn't qualified for. Instead, I applied for jobs that could keep me going until I found my perfect job. So, in light of this, I went online for days on end applying for anything I knew I could do: Serving food, working in a shop, bar tender. I applied for about 50-60 jobs in a few days. And, true to form, I got at least 6 replies for interviews and from those, I was offered the job. 6 interviews, 6 jobs. It was crazy. 

I started by taking up a job at Pizza Hut, working in the kitchen making pizzas and then eventually progressing to waitressing. It wasn't the best job, but it was a job and it was money. After working there for a week, I received a phone call from another interview I'd had. They were offering me a part time position, even though I'd interviewed for a full-time role. It was less money than pizza hut, but it gave me the chance to progress in the future. Naturally, I was in a pickle. Do I take a risk and take the part-time job, or stick it with Pizza Hut and hope for the best? I had one weekend to make up my mind. 

Then, to make it worse, whilst I was trying on clothes in a New Look changing room, I had a phonecall offering me Full-Time in the role. I decided to take it, simply because it was a better opportunity than Pizza Hut. 

Since accepting the job at Pizza Hut originally, I keep getting an influx of people offering me interviews. One was from a job I didn't even apply for, but they received my CV through a website I uploaded my CV on to. 

In retrospect, I would have applied to some places that I avoided (Because I thought I wouldn't be able to work there) because I feel that, actually, I would have been good at them. But now, I have a salary job, which means I can start paying off my student loan, a 2:1 degree and I'm sending off plenty of applications for Agents. So, maybe in the near or distant future, I'll get plenty of responses from them as well. 

If you are applying for jobs at the moment - Don't feel disheartened when you get a rejection. Take it on the chin and find out where you might have gone wrong. Mostly, feel grateful that they replied to you. Out of the jobs I applied for, I only got 10 rejections and 6 interviews. The rest just didn't bother to reply. 

Just keep your head up and know that the right job will come around soon enough. If it makes you feel better, Johnny Depp used to sell Ballpoint Pens over the phone before he became the great actor he is today! 

Good luck!

Dolly Parton - 9 to 5

The fault in our times...

As you may have guessed by the title of the blog, I have recently finished reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. A beautifully written book which shows that Oblivion may be inevitable, but there's also an infinity there for everyone.

This isn't going to be a boring book review, don't worry, but it is going to be a reflection.

After reading the book, it made me realise that love stories are more than just boy meets girl, they fall in love and have babies, end of. There's so much more depth and beauty in a story than that. Disney Princess stories are typically an hour and a half of a strong female protagonist doing something cool, fighting baddies and winning the heart of a young man. And, as much as I love a typical love story like that, I prefer stories that don't have love at the heart of them. Obviously, TFIOS follows Hazel and Augustus' relationship, but at the same time, its also following Hazel's time with Gus, as opposed to just their 'lovey dovey stuff'.

Lets take, for example, Legally Blonde.

Elle Woods is a Fashion Major and President of her University's Soroity, she hopes to become engaged to her sweetheart, Warner... Who has other plans. He dumps her. She eventually follows him to Harvard Law School, where she aims to win him back. (BUT THAT'S A LOVE STORY, I hear you cry.)

Incorrect. The love story appears towards the end of the film. The whole of the film follows Elle through a tough semester, working her way to the top of the food chain, earning her own way and proving that there is more to her than just her blonde hair. She doesn't fall in love until the end of the film, when you see her and Emmett grow closer. And then, in the second film, (SPOILER) though she is marrying Emmett, that's put aside to show Elle becoming a successful lawyer.

Why is this important? Well, how many other films are there where the love of the female protagonist is put second? I'm sure there are a few good ones, but that's the problem, there are only a few.

What's my point? Why are we so engrossed in ridiculous ideas of love and fantasy? Why can't we all embrace our inner Elle and try and prove the people who have hurt us in our lives, wrong?

Frozen proved it right even more so:

If you're one of the few people out there who haven't seen Frozen, here's a run down. The girl pictured is Anna. She is one of two Princesses of Arendelle, with her older sister Elsa. However, after an accident as a child, Anna and Elsa are separated as Elsa has dangerous Ice and Snow powers which she loses control of and hits Anna, leaving her scared with a white streak in her hair. Eventually, they grow up and after the death of their parents Elsa must become Queen of Arendelle. At her Coronation, the people of Arendelle find out about Elsa's powers, and so Elsa runs away into the mountains. (And she sings the famous 'Let it Go')

This is where the story gets interesting, and important to this post. During Elsa's Coronation day, Anna meets Hans, a charming young Prince, because what else would you expect from a Disney Princess, right? Wrong. (Spoiler alert) Hans is a loser. Whilst Anna goes in search of Elsa in the mountains, she leaves her betrothed Hans, who she met the same day (Don't worry, Disney redeem themselves later on), in charge of Arendelle. If you want the rest of the plot, click here. (Another spoiler) All is well in the end.  What I'm trying to say is that there are two heroines in this story. Not just one, but two, as Elsa, though it seems as if she is the antagonist, is as strong as her sister. And, rather than the story being focused around the traditional form of love and marriage, we find that the strongest form of love comes from siblings. You could be separated for as many years as Anna and Elsa were, but you can still be there for each other and love each other. And it's beautiful. 

WE NEED MORE GIRL POWER FILMS. 

My favourite example of a girl power film, despite Frozen and Legally Blonde is Matilda. 

A story of a smart young girl who uses her brains to help other people, as well as her self. And the best part of this film, I hear you ask? There is no love story. Matilda does everything she does for the love of her friends, not just because there is a cute boy that she wants to marry. It could be said that Miss Honey and Matilda is the story's equivalent of a Happy Ending, rather than a traditional love story, because she does find love in Miss Honey, that which she lacked from her birth family, a slightly less traditional family love. Though there are some women in Matilda who are presented as vain or greedy, the story focuses on what you can achieve with the right support and motivation. 

What I'm trying to say is, there are too few films out there that focus on people's stories, instead they focus simply on love. Throwing in a love story to a film adaptation just because it'll make it more interesting? No. For the Fault in Our Stars, the love was the story. But for Legally Blonde, Frozen and Matilda, the story was the protagonist and their events. Any love that came out of it was naturally integrated into the story or wasn't present throughout. Make more films that tell the story and less films where a female protagonist is hopelessly in love with a man, who isn't actually that important to the story, for no good reason. 

Destiny's Child - Independent Women

Modesty, and all that.

I've never really been a campaigner.

I give money to charities and I enjoy fundraising, but leading a group of people into a campaign is never something I've been good at.

This week, it's emerged that my Union have banned the sale of The Sun newspaper on campus, because of the Page 3 content and it's suggestions of it being a 'family friendly' publication. Which, don't get me wrong, is great. It's stopping the exploitation of women, it's promoting gender equality, etc.

But, the thing that gets me, is that the newspapers are always on the bottom shelf, tucked away, so you can't even see them and everyone knows that the page is going to have a half naked woman on it, and if you don't want to look at it, buy a different newspaper. However, when you stand in line for your sandwich at lunch time, you look at the magazines and the rack is full of women displaying their racks (If you'll pardon the pun) Magazines, like FHM, are displayed quite prominently in the shop in full view of customers, and the women aren't exactly very well covered up.

(I used a PG friendly version, just to prove a point.)

I'm glad that the Sun is being banned, it's a great step on the route to the end of the sexualisation of women, but PLEASE can FHM be next? Because, I don't know about you, but I don't really like the idea of a half naked lady pointing in my direction when I'm on about to eat. It feels wrong somehow. 

It's unlikely, but say a child is to walk into the Union Shop they're more likely to see the magazines with the women on than look at the newspapers, which are lined across each other, often out of view.

At the very least, following the trend and covering them with 'modesty bags' just so we don't have to see them.

So, this marks the start of my 'campaign' (It's probably not going to be that big a deal) to follow in the work of the Union, and stop publications like this from being so openly available and visible in the shops. First stop - The Better Staffs Forum in a few weeks. Nothing might come of this, but I'm going to fight for it. Because it's something I believe in. And I also hate, when I have my fatty meal deal, a skinny woman mocking me as I go to pay for it. 

It's probably not the best time for a joke, but I have to end on something funny. 

Slumpy slumps...

I have recently hit a slump. Both in body and in mind.

Now, don't worry, this isn't going to be a depressing blog about how I'm giving up on life and not putting any effort in anymore. And it's also not going to be one of those annoyingly motivating 'I'M GOING TO CHANGE EVERYTHING ABOUT MY LIFE' blogs.

Basically, I'm a firm believer in Karma, everything happening for a reason, etc etc. I don't know why, it's all rubbish, but I'm sure I believe in that more than I believe in Christianity, because I have proof of that happening. ANYWAY (getting off topic) I'm basically saying that the Universe decides everything, not us.

I know, right. I'm a deep person.

Recently, I've had a lot of downturns in my life: Couple of bad grades, lost an election, got a bad attitude, among other things that I'm not cool with posting on the interwebs. Because this has all happened, I felt, at first, depressed. Like, really sad all the time. I'd not talk to anyone, would be slamming doors in people's faces, and it would make everyone else feel uncomfortable. And it wasn't nice.

Things kept getting worse and I felt worse and the people around me felt worse. I wasn't getting anywhere.

Then I realized, I can't sit on my bottom and expect the world to stop turning because I've had a bad couple of weeks. You have to move on and find new opportunities for yourself, because they sure as hell won't come to you.

You've got to find a telescope that is big enough to look over the whole horizon, not just a tiny spot.

I'm getting all philosophical.

If you're sitting at home, right now, reading this after having a rejection email from a job you applied for or the love of your life just broke up with you, just take a deep breath and remember that there are better things for you out there, despite how it might feel right now.

Something good always comes around eventually, but sometimes you have to go and find it!

Procrastinating.

I'm supposed to be writing an essay right now. But I got bored and decided to write a blog to get my mind off it and re-focus my mind on something else for half an hour. I mean, I wrote about 150-200 words in about half an hour, and none of it makes sense, so my thinking is, if I stop, I'll have a reboot of my brain and  I can change it and make it better and get a first. 

It's weird logic, but it's my logic and it normally works. Except the 'getting a first' part. That never happens. 

Apart from last year. Once. When I wrote an essay in three hours and got a really high grade. 

But I digress. 

Christmas is over for another year. So is New Year. 

Now, I'm not a fan of this whole 'New Year, New Me' rubbish, because I don't want to change right now. I think I'm heading in the right direction. I've lost some weight over the past 12 months, I've improved at University and I've improved my general being. 

I mean, obviously, I'm not a size 8, I'm not getting straight firsts and I'm not nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, but, you know what, I'm improving. And that counts for something. Not much, but something. 

I don't have a specific New Years resolution, because I never stick to them and, to be honest, I don't fancy saying 'Oh, I'm giving up chocolate' or 'Oh, I'm not going to watch as much tv' because I love chocolate and tv too much to give them up. And I probably wouldn't stick to that one anyway. 

Instead, I'm going to carry on with where I'm going from last year, because I can't help but think I'm on the right lines. Eating well, exercising and just generally feeling better as a person. 

I mean, come on, I graduate this year, I need to buck up my ideas or no-ones going to hire me, are they? 

2014 is the start of my life, I turn 21, I graduate, I'm going travelling... 

I actually have to start taking things seriously and focusing. 

Anyway, I should probably get back to this 5,000 word essay, other wise I'm never going to graduate. It's not like I've got another 2,500 word essay to do as well or anything. No. Not at all. 

I hope you all have a happy and prosperous 2014 and you achieve all that you want to achieve! 

Live long and prosper! 

ABBA - Happy New Year 

(Seems fitting seeing as the majority of my essay is about ABBA and Mamma Mia.) 

Wake me up when it's all over...

This is it. 
The beginning of the end. 

I'm starting the third year of my university life. And it's going well already. 

No, seriously. That wasn't meant to be saracastic at all! I'm really having an amazing time. 

And we've only just finished Fresher's Week. 

I've decided that I'm going to aim for a first for my degree. I know it's a high target but, at the end of the day, you have to aim high to get anywhere in life. I won't be disapoointed if I only get a 2:1 or a 2:2 but I want to try for the highest possible. 

There are quite high possibilities of me being unemployed for a while after I graduate University. And that's not a very nice thought. So, the higher the grade, the more likely I am to get a highly paid job or getting onto an amazing MA course, which is also a possiblility apparently. 

This year is just going to be me grabbing the Bull by it's horns and facing life head on. I've already found closure on my summer and my youth and I think I'm ready to grow up and go out into the real world and live and function like a normal adult. Which is something I never thought I'd be able to say about myself. 

And I haven't even started third year properly yet. Bloomin' heck. 

So wish me luck as I dive into the unknown and start to grow up. 

Peace out. 

Wake Me Up - Avicii