Update...

Just thought I'd post a quick update about what I've been upto recently, especially as so much has happened this month! This is just as much for me as it is for you, sometimes I find it hard to believe just how much I've achieved in such a short space of time, plus I think it's good to reflect and look at how far you've come. 

I started this blog, and so far things seem to be going really well. I've been surprised by how many post views I've had and all the lovely things people have messaged me about it! I'm only basically posting all the things that happen in my life, so I'm glad you lovely lot seem to find me amusing and interesting. So thank you guys for taking the time out of your busy days to sit and read my ramblings. ♥

I've had some great things happen this month, such as Emily coming to stay with me here in Weymouth, giving me a good excuse to take some time off work and explore my hometown. I've made the most of this lush weather we've been having by spending as much time outside as possible, reading and whatnot, so that's been pretty great. I've been reunited with the Weymouth gang, Sophie and Lisa. We are the most unlikely of friends, but somehow it works. A monumental moment happened when I finally beat them both at a game of monopoly, it's a well known fact that I'm completely awful at board games, and the only reason people invite me to game nights is so that they are guaranteed to beat someone. It's a harsh life. I've worked loads, saving for my adventures and the rent I'm soon having to fork out for uni. God dammit, why is uni so expensive? How am I supposed to waste my money on clothes and alcohol with all these commitments? Being 19 sucks. It's a good thing I absolutely love my job, I couldn't ask for better people to work with.

I've also become addicted to Game of Thrones! It's so good, I've been binge watching it for the last few days, I can barely remember what a good nights sleep feels like. So expect a post where I'm raving about how amazing it is, and my ridiculous crush on Jon Snow. Charli XCX is my new musical love, her sound is unique and ridiculously catchy, go check her out! You may recognise her from Iggy Azalea's 'Fancy', which I'm also still addicted to. I just can't help myself, the rap is just too damn satisfying when you get it right! 

And finally...to top off an amazing month, today I found out that I passed my first year of uni, with a 68% overall; which is only 2% off a First! I'm incredibly shocked and pleased with myself, I didn't expect to do so well. It's given me a lot of hope that I'll actually survive uni and come out of it with a pretty decent degree! See, I don't just drink and waste my time in Winchester, I am actually somewhat intelligent and do genuinely have a brain in my head somewhere. 

Next month will hopefully be just as wonderful, if not better. I'm off on my first 'girlie' holiday on the 5th of July. (this Saturday...eeeeekkk!!) I'm going to Gran Canaria with some friends for a week, and the drinks will be on tap. I expect I'll come back in a very sorry and sunburnt state. I hope to go on many more mini-adventures and see and do as much as I physically can. I have one life, and I'm not wasting a moment of it.

So until then,

Much love ♥

The pursuit of happiness..

Recently, I feel as if all the stress in my life has been lifted, and I'm now stuck in a permanently happy mood. I used to be a miserable, moping mess at times at uni, often sleeping in until late, and staying wrapped up in my duvet with snacks and my Friends boxset. I have no idea how I ended up in such a depressing state, but it had to be stopped. Since I've come home, slowly it's like all the rubbish has been filtered out of my life, and I've managed to completely change my mood.  I'm not knocking this one bit, in fact it's been a long time coming after the incredibly stressful and emotional year I've had so far. This got me thinking; what bought this all on?

Quite simply, I stopped all the bad habits that were making me such a moody cow. I stopped eating so much rubbish, and became much more optimistic about life. I let go of the past and fully embraced the future, making plans and changes in my life which allow me to move on. I know it sounds crazy, but it was really easy to do, you just have to be willing.

Here's what I did to turn my frown upside down, and inherit this bizarre constant happy mood. 

1. Remove all the negativity - I was sitting on Facebook a few weeks ago, when a post popped up about some person I'd not even spoken to in a few years. After reading it, I thought to myself, why do I care? I don't consider them to be a friend any more, in fact, they remind me of things from my past that I really don't care about any more. And I certainly did not care about the fact it was raining wherever they were, and how miserable they felt about it. So I de-friended them. I had a huge cull on Facebook and Twitter, as well as deleting mobile numbers for people I haven't talked to in years. It felt good. I don't need to worry and think about what all these people are up to any more, we can all get on with our lives without interfering with each other. Now all I see is what the people I care about are up to, and my phone is only full of numbers of the people who really matter to me. By removing all this excess negativity in my life, I have the time to focus on my close friends and family, without the doom and gloom of strangers bringing me down. 
   
2. Focus on yourself - I've always been that person who never had a clue about what I wanted to do 'when I grow up'. I've had ideas, from being a teacher, a psychologist, and even opening my own coffee shop. Slightly varied! Since I've been at uni, I've discovered that I'm actually not that bad at writing, probably because I sound like I know what I'm on about when I type, and I have the knack of being able to blag my way through an essay. So I took the time, and set up this blog, just to get into the habit of writing more often. It seems to be working! Have a look at what you enjoy doing, or what you seem to have a natural talent for, and work on it. Summer is the perfect opportunity to step back, and have a go at doing something different. You could discover a new passion you never knew you had, which can help to shape your future. 
   
3. Keep healthy - At uni, I'm the girl who eats her feelings. It's awful. So it came at no surprise to me that I put a fair bit of weight on over uni, and I knew this had to be stopped. I couldn't go on living like that. So I cut out junk food, and everything that is bad for me. I stopped snacking because it dawned on me, I ate because I could, not because I needed to. I've lost quite a lot of weight since I left uni, and feel so much more full of energy and more alert and enthusiastic. The plus side of this, is that I seem to always be motivated to do things now I have the energy, instead of sitting around on my arse all day waiting for change to happen. I've also started getting a decent amount of sleep. At uni I never went to bed before 2am, and often survived on as little as 4 hours of sleep a day, I have no idea how I managed. I was a walking, talking zombie. I've been going to bed earlier, and sleeping for 8 hours each night, and I've noticed so much difference! 
   
4. Turn off your phone - We live in the technological age where everybody seems surgically attached to their phones. I'll even bet yours is sitting next to you right now, or you're on it! It's crazy how much we rely on them to keep in touch with the world, but it is all really that important? I always find myself aimlessly scrolling through Facebook or Twitter, refreshing, and scrolling again. Why do we all do that? So I've started turning off my phone, or leaving it in my room or my bag. I've stopped being so obsessed with looking online, and have found other things to do with my time, such as reading and writing. I've read so many books, and have completely fallen in love with it again. Nothing is better than sitting out in the garden with a good book. Nothing. 
5. Have something to look forwards to - I always find I'm happier when I have something to look forwards to, or to work towards, otherwise I feel a bit lost and as if I'm working for nothing. So I booked a few holidays to keep me motivated in the next few months. I'm jetting off to Gran Canaria on the 5th July with a group of friends, which I'm unbelievably excited about, especially as this is my first 'girly holiday'! I've also booked a week in Belfast in September with Em, which is going to be so much fun, I've always wanted to go to Ireland to sight-see, taking in the history, and listen to their gorgeous accents. (Hopefully I'll meet my future Irish husband there..) Knowing I have these things in the pipeline makes my days go so much quicker, and reminds me that I'm working for something, and that it'll all be worth it. Plus it gives me a good excuse to go shopping, which makes me ridiculously happy. (Except when I look at my bank balance..) 
   

So that's what I've been up to these last few weeks, but it has really made a huge improvement on my mood. I completely recommend you try a few of these things, and you'll see the difference it makes to you.  

Much love ♥

June addictions...

I don't know about you, but I seem to go through phases of being really into something, then suddenly, it's like a switch has been turned off and I'm not interested anymore. At all. It's terrible, I will binge watch a programme, or play a song to death, then suddenly I just can't watch or listen to ever again. I know I can't be the only one who does this, I ruin perfectly good songs and films for the rest of my life. Previous victims of my addictions has been all 10 seasons of Friends, Disclosure's album, Settle, and Royals by Lorde.

I thought I'd share my current addictions with you, what I'm loving now, but will probably actively avoid for the rest of my life come July...

"Fancy" by Iggy Azelea & Charlie XCX - "...you already know!" I added this song to a Spotify playlist while I was doing some writing a few weeks ago, and everything was fine, that it until I realised I'd somehow managed to pick up all the lyrics. Every. Last. Lyric. I physically cannot listen to this song without 'attempting' to rap along to it, and trust me it is hard! Iggy Azalea slays being an empowering woman in a man's world, rapping as fierce as greats such as Eminem. By the end of the summer will I still be blaring this chune? Of course not. The sound of it will probably make me want to run a mile. 

RuPaul's Drag Race - I'm cheating here a little bit because this has been an ongoing addiction now since April, but I know that once I've finished watching every season I'll go completely off watching it altogether. There's something so fabulous about watching a bunch of drag queens battle it out to become the next drag superstar, think America's Next Top Model but with a hell of a lot more glitter and out of this world fashion. There's also some rather inspirational catchphrases too. RuPaul is an amazing person, and I'm just incredibly jealous of how all the queens look so much more put together than I do, and how on-point their make-up is compared to mine. I'm yet to find something I don't love about this show, it's fashion, funny and fabulous all rolled into one dragtastic package.

Mango - I don't mean the shop, I literally mean the fruit. I have no idea what happened but about 3 weeks ago I really fancied some mango, and I've had it every day since. It's just so refreshing! I usually really hate fruit, but apparently mango is the exception.... strange. 

Co-Ordinates - Nothing to do with maps! I'm on about the new fashion trend I'm currently loving, with matching top and bottoms. I'm not completely brave enough to try this, probably because a lot of them currently on the market have crop tops and I don't really like them, however I'm really tempted to splash out on a few co-ordinate pieces, such as skirts and jackets. Well if it worked for Cher in Clueless...

Lovestruck Floral Rush by Vera Wang - This is definitely my scent of the summer, I've been wearing it everyday for a few weeks now, it just smells so fresh and well...summery! Plus the bottle is really cute and looks great on my dressing table. 

So what are your current addictions? Let me know!

Much love ♥

Holiday at home...

The great thing about being back from uni is being able to enjoy living in Weymouth this summer. Weymouth is such a pretty picturesque seaside town, but I never really get the time to appreciate it. I go to and from where ever I need to be, without taking the time to enjoy my surroundings and make the most of the beach and harbour. I always see all the tourists having fun in the sun, so I decided I was going to take some time to stop, and enjoy where I live.

So with the weather being so brilliant at the moment, I asked my work for a few cheeky days off, and all I needed was an adventuring buddy. With little persuasion, I asked if my flatmate and uni partner in crime, Emily, wanted to come and visit for a few days. We had one full day to cram in as much tourist activities as we could. Luckily, my mum agreed to play the part of chauffeur and tour guide, so we could see and do as much as possible.

We began the day by going to lunch at the beautiful Cafe Oasis. (You have to remember we are uni students who like to sleep, so morning activities were not on the schedule!) Cafe Oasis is a busy cafe situated by Bowleaze Cove, the other end of the beach to the main town of Weymouth. It is right on the side of the beach, so you can gaze out of the window looking at the waves and the very attractive windsurfers. I always feel like I'm in Home And Away when I go here, because of the relaxed beach vibes you get when you're sat having a cup of tea and a sandwich. While we were here, we took the opportunity to take a few pictures on the beach. The beach is more pebbly and stony at this end of the beach, opposed to the sandy touristy end by town. I hate sand, it gets everywhere and is a complete nightmare to get rid of, so this end of the beach is by far my favourite. Plus it's so much quieter, as many tourists can't be bothered to trek so far away from the main town.

We proceeded into town in the afternoon to do a spot of shopping, although we don't have a massive selection of shops in Weymouth. I was adamant to drag Emily around as many tacky tourist shops as possible, where you can buy all sorts of rubbish such as tea towels and magnets. This got pretty boring pretty quickly, I used to work in a souvenir shop and I know for a fact every one all around the country sells different variations of the same rubbish. So in my opinion, once you've been in one souvenir shop, you've been in them all.

Admitting defeat with the shopping, we decided to go to the arcades to continue our tourist experience. Alexander Gardens is opposite the beach, near the harbour. It's a small island with an arcade, food kiosk, and plenty of rides. We had to have an obligatory Mr Whippy, it's practically tradition to get one when you go to the beach, and then we hit the slots. Having spent many summers wasting my pocket money on the 2p machines, I was pretty fed up of playing as soon as I started, so this fun was also short lived. And is it just me, or have the prizes you can win got worse? I used to love trying to win the keyrings, but there was no way on earth I was going to waste my money trying to win one that said "Mrs Harry Styles".

Having had enough of all Weymouth town centre had to offer, we wandered back along the seafront, stopping off to see what the local 'Sandman' had been upto. Cue a few more selfies in front of the beach, before we grabbed a quick tea break on the beach and went home.

After a quick change of clothes (because it was far too cold in a dress by this point), we went up to visit Portland Lighthouse. Right on the southern tip of the island, the lighthouse has 153 steps up to the top, which I've not climbed in years. My mum and Emily both have vertigo, so luckily for them it was shut. We wondered around gazing off into the sea for a while, before watching the sun go down on a perfect day.

  

 

I wanted Emily to sample a bit of a Weymouth night out, but it was a Wednesday, and the pickings were a bit slim. We ended up in local pub/bar Rendezvous, which is next to Weymouth Harbour. It was fairly quiet, giving us the perfect opportunity for cocktails and a catchup. A few locals played an acoustic set, apparently it was 'Open Mic Night', but there was no way we were going up there, well at least not without an awful lot of vodka being consumed first. One woman took the opportunity to go on stage, to sing to her 18 year old granddaughter. It was ridiculously embarrassing watching some drunk old lady singing 'Blue Suede Shoes' for about 10 minutes, before she was politely asked if she would exit the stage. Only in Weymouth. We stumbled back in at 1.30am, having managed to get in quite a lot in a day.

It just goes to show how much I take for granted where I live. By taking the time to stop, explore, and make the most of Weymouth, I really got to fall in love with my home town all over again. It was like having a mini-holiday, without having to pay to go away anywhere.

My challenge to you, is take a day off and go exploring in your home town. Where you live probably has so much to offer, so take full advantage of it and have fun!

Much love... ♥

Uni life isn't all about drinking...

Uni is about so much more than drinking, I mean, obviously we are there to work hard and (eventually) get our degrees. This being said, drinking is a huge way of life for the typical uni student, who has the new found freedom thrust upon them of being able to do whatever they want whenever they want. It's pretty unfair that all of us uni students get labelled as raging alcoholics, it's such a negative stereotype. Not everyone goes out several times a week getting hammered, even if I'll admit, most of the people I know at uni do. So I've decided to pool together a list of my favourite experiences at uni which have happened without a drop of alcohol in my system, to prove to you that you don't need to be highly intoxicated to have a good time.

(I will admit, this was incredibly difficult to write. Upon reflection, I was a ridiculous drunken mess for a good proportion of my first year, perhaps I'll write a post about all that later.)

• Paper Aeroplane Olympics. What do you get when you're bored in the kitchen with your flatmates, and all you have to hand is a pile of paper? Well obviously, Paper Aeroplane Olympics! The rules were, we all had to use the same plane, and stand behind the same line. Each provided with their own coloured sticky notes, we marked our efforts down the hallway. (Much to the confusion and bewilderment of the rest of our flatmates) What started out as a bit of fun turned strangely competitive, and I was completely useless at it too which didn't help, but it was an incredibly fun way to waste an afternoon. 
  
  
  
• Christmas. I think that the older you get, the drunker you have to be to deal with family Christmas'. (Just me? Oh well.) However, at uni this isn't the case. In Winchester there is loads of cute things to do around Christmas time to get you in the mood for singing Fairytale Of New York to death until it's boxing day; from the Christmas Market to the lights being switched on in town. The festive spirit is a highly intoxicating drug in itself, with all my friends at uni high on the giving nature of Christmas. We went for a flat Christmas meal (minus a poorly Emily), and had a present giving evening in the kitchen, all sober!
  
  
  
• Marwell Zoo. I'm quite lucky that my uni is quite close to a zoo, so naturally we decided to take a day trip! The weather was beautiful, and we spent many blissful hours realising how easy life would be if we were penguins, just swimming around and being fed. What a simple life, much easier than the life of a uni student. Obviously, a bit of silliness was involved, with a Flamingo inspired standing-on-one-leg competition (I miserably lost), and laughing at a hilarious giraffe who kept hitting himself in the face with his tongue. 
  
  
  
• Playing hide and seek in the library. What use is it to have a huge campus if you can't have fun with it every now and again. Armed with nothing by complete boredom (and totally awesome headbands), a gang of us decided to play hide and seek in the library one night. It was completely hilarious, casually strolling in past the security guards whilst dressed up like ninjas, and the hiding places just got more and more ridiculous. From just hiding under tables, things escalated pretty quickly to wedging ourselves into bookshelves and shutting each other amongst the rolling stacks. Who says you can't enjoy spending time in the library?
  
• Ice Skating. Again, another perk of Christmas fever rolling into town. Every year they set up an ice rink by the cathedral, and we decided to take our flatmate Will one afternoon for his birthday.I'd never been ice skating before, and I had high hopes for my undiscovered talents, thanks to years of watching Dancing On Ice. This was not to be though, as even Bambi on ice was far more graceful than I was, as I laboured my way around the rink clinging onto the side for dear life. The only positive to my complete and utter lack of skill was the incredibly good looking ice marshal who had to keep coming to my rescue. (My flatmates were convinced it was all an act to get his attention, but I can 100% assure you, I'm just awful at ice skating!) 
  
• Trashy TV. The list is endless. I've got into watching so much trashy television since I started uni. Magaluf Weekender? Love it. Party Wright Round The World? More please. RuPaul's Drag Race? Complete addiction. It's procrastination at its finest. Myself and my flatmate Emily found that there really wasn't a better way to waste an evening than consuming enough food to feed an army, or even making cakes, and binge watching some of the worst TV we could lay our hands on. If only there was a degree in wasting time and gaining an expansive knowledge on drag superstars....
  

  

So there we have it. Uni isn't completely about getting wasted on an all too regular occasion. I won't lie and tell you that I didn't have many (many, many, many) drunken incidences at Uni, but the times we had fun sober were so amazing as well, and in many senses, much more memorable!

Much love... ♥ 

Bucket Lists...

I was chatting to my boss at work yesterday about all the plans I've got coming up, and somehow we ended up on the subject of bucket lists. She was telling me all the things she's done in her life, and it really inspired me to push myself into achieving more. Our conversation really got me thinking, no one really knows how much time they will be given on this earth, and I'd really like to make the most of however much time I'm blessed with. For all I know, I could get hit by a bus next week and it could all be over, and I definitely do not want to be one of these people on their deathbeds full of regrets and missed opportunities. I want to seize every moment I get.

I actually wrote a bucket list a few years ago, and after some rummaging,  I found it lurking the depths of my desk. I actually surprised myself at how much I've already done on it, considering I wrote this when I was 17, which was 2 1/2 years ago! I figured it was time to re-evaluate the list and update it, now that I'm older (and supposedly wiser, although I'm not too convinced about that..) 

Things I've done: 

Go to New York City - I went last year and it was the best trip of my life, I fell in love with the place.

Get into Uni - I managed to get into Uni, which I was really happy about. I did question whether I would get in because I didn't enjoy sixth form one bit and my grades where a little bit dodgy, but I somehow managed to pull it out of the bag.

Meet Florence Welch - I was extremely lucky with this one. I've been a huge Florence and the Machine fan since Lungs came out, and this March I was in London watching a fantastic band called Haim, and Florence was there! I bumped into her out the front of the venue, there were loads of others swarming her so I didn't get a picture with her, but I briefly got to speak to her. I'd love to meet her again, but I was so happy to have done it.

See a shooting star - This happened ages ago, I can't remember when, but I was just gazing out of my window when it happened!

Dye my hair a crazy colour - I dyed the underside of my hair purple for a few days once, luckily there are no pictures! I've also experimented with hair chalk, which is just about the best thing ever. (Except when it stains your sink, pyjamas, new white shirt and your neck...)

Still to do:

Go to a festival - Definitely still on my to do list. I'm thinking about going to Coachella in 2016, when I've finished Uni which will be awesome. 

Go to Ireland - I'm going to Belfast with my best friend Emily in September, then I can cross this one off! 

Learn how to drive - I genuinely don't see this happening for a good few years yet. I can't really afford to learn, nor do I have the time. I'd much rather spend my money travelling! It's gonna stay on the list though, because I'd love to be able to drive at some point. 

Learn the guitar - I actually own a guitar as well, so I don't really have an excuse for this! I suppose laziness plays a huge role...

Get a tattoo - I have a few ideas what I'd like to get done, and hopefully I'll be getting one soon. We'll have to wait and see!

Things I'm adding:

Visit every US state - I've been to 3 (New York, New Jersey and Florida), so that leaves 47 to go. 

Have children - Well not right now, one day in the distant future it'd be nice.

Jump into a pool fully clothed - This would be so much fun!

Skydive for charity - I'd like to do something adventurous to raise money for Cancer Research in memory of my gran, so why not!

So my question to you is, what's on your bucket list? I'd love to know if you've got anything crazy planned or if you've done something you're proud of!

Much love ♥

Uni life - What they don't tell you...

You hear so much about what to expect when you're at Uni, but nothing can really prepare you for what you will experience at all, and everyone experiences Uni differently. So based on my own first year, I've made a short guide about all the things I wish someone had told me about Uni, complete with shamefully embarrassing anecdotes. But truth be told, it has been the best and strangest experience of my life.

1. You will miss home to begin with and feel like a bit of a twat for it. It's natural. Everyone feels like this a bit at the start, after all you've put up with your family around you for the whole of your life up until this moment, so it will feel strange not to see them for a while. Just don't do what I did, which was phone home after 3 days crying about how much I hated it and wanted to go home. It's safe to say I'd concerned my mother a bit too much and she spent the rest of the year worrying and calling me. Totally not the smoothest move.
   
2. Promising yourself you'll do all the extra reading and work for lectures, but you won't.  It's not that you don't love your course, and that you aren't committed, but who seriously has time to read all the PDF's and highlight all the handouts they give you? There's far too much important stuff to do instead, like sleeping and watching netflix, that sometimes there simply isn't enough time for studying. Some of my friends on my course and I had a little system where we used to read one each, then explain them to each other at the start of the lecture, so it looked like we all knew what we were talking about. Sneaky. (I'm not endorsing this at all!) But quite a lot of the time, I genuinely had no idea what I was doing or what was going on in some of my lectures. The moral of the story is, doing the work is probably important if you want to pass.
   
3. You will be ridiculously poor, but budgeting will go out the window. You've only got £200 to last you for 3 months, so naturally you have to go shopping and buy that £40 handbag you've been eyeing up for a while. Who cares if in 2 weeks time you'll be living off of super noodles? You will look fabulous doing it. Honestly, I got through my student finance pretty quickly, and it probably didn't help that I went to Uni in one of the most expensive parts of the UK. So I turned to my overdraft, and ended up living like a queen. I'll probably regret this a lot sooner than I thought, but hey, at least I had a pretty decent year to show for it. 
   
4. You will end up getting ludicrously drunk and embarrassing yourself. I ended up drunk and crying in an alleyway, which was probably not the smoothest moment in my life. However everyone has some kind of embarrassing drunken anecdote from their first year of uni, I just happen to have several. My flatmates have some great ones too, such as crawling down the corridor after a wild night out, or being sick all over someone else's bed. But for me, crawling around on the floor crying in an alleyway all because I had left a really cringey voicemail and thrown my phone was probably not the best way to conclude my first semester, but c'est la vie. 
   
5. Also, drunken selfies are a thing. You will have more drunken pictures of yourself than anything else on your phone by the end of the year. These will make you laugh and cry about how much of a drunken idiot you really are. Here are a few of my favourites from the last year. (I stole the hat from someone, I'm not really sure why...)
   
6. Fancy dress on a student night out is a big deal. You may think you will look like a complete idiot turning up dressed as a pirate, but you will feel a whole lot weirder when you realise you are the only person there not in fancy dress. My advice to you is to invest in a load of fancy dress bits, like school ties and fairy wings. Perhaps the best fancy dress I've seen this year is a group of people dressed up as Pac-Man and the Ghosts, who spent the whole night chasing each other around the Student Union bar. Absolutely brilliant. 
   
7. You will have to learn how to tolerate people. Unfortunately, when you go into halls, you don't get to choose who you live with. If you're lucky like I was, you will end up living with some pretty decent people, but you will find everyone has habits you'll just have to put up with. There will be that one person who never washes anything up and leaves the sink full of all their dirty dishes. Or maybe someone will have all their friends round until ungodly hours of the morning, chatting and playing music when you have a 9am lecture the next morning. And there will most definitely be the one person who doesn't seem to grasp the concept of cleaning up after themselves, and constantly leaves the flat in the worst state known to mankind. It will all drive you completely crazy, but you have to realise that you probably do something which does their heads in just as much. It's all about tolerance, people.
   
   
8. If you're lucky, you will meet the most amazing people. I ended up meeting some of the greatest people in my life. Some I met because we were living together, others because we're on the same course, and some I met through other people, but they're all equally spectacular. (This is really soppy, I do apologise) But my point is, Uni will change your life whether you expect it to or not, and I certainly had no idea how much my life would change after only one year. 

Much love ♥

Enchanted to meet you...

I love going to gigs. There's something special about hearing an artist perform live, bringing all the songs you know and love to life. I also have a lot of love for Emma Stevens. For those of you who don't know who she is (and tut-tut, you really should, she's fabulous), Emma is a very talented musician from Guildford. Her music is beautiful and catchy, and it's truly magical.

(Emma Steven's last album, "Enchanted")

Last Friday (30 May), I dragged my mum over to Bridport, a lovely town in Dorset which google maps informs me is 18.5 miles away from Weymouth. The gig was in the Electric Place, which although didn't look like much from the front, turned out to be a huge stage with rowed seating. I won't lie, it felt a bit creepy and eerie, very atmospheric to say the least. This was to be my second time seeing Emma this month, I'd already seen her in Southampton at The Brook on the 1st May; twice in one month isn't excessive is it?

The support came from the marvellous Nicola Brown. A singer-songwriter from Bournemouth, she performed a selection of her own songs, such as one she wrote when she was "like, 12" called "Painting Pictures". She also did a few very clever acoustic covers of "Hideaway" by Kiesza and "Diamonds" by Rihanna.

(Nicola Brown : https://www.facebook.com/nicolabrownofficial?fref=ts) 

Emma Stevens then took the stage with her touring band; the brilliant Sam Whiting on guitar, Pete Snowdon on bass and James Rees-Flynn on drums and keys. Opening with the single "Once", Emma and co. went on to play a selection of songs from her last album "Enchanted", such as "What's She Got?", "Sunflower", "Give A Little Bit" and "This Is For You". The hour long set drew to a close with songs "A Place Called You" and "Riptide", both of which received great airtime on Radio 2. My mum actually nudged me at one point to tell me she had heard "Riptide" earlier that day in Debenhams, well if that's not a sign that you've made it... Lured back onto stage for an encore, Emma Stevens played a song called "Happy" which she had carefully blended into a cover of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours". Set over, a very satisfied crowd burst into a rapturous applause, and headed out. 

After the gig, as promised, Emma Stevens was waiting in the bar to hug and thank everyone for coming along. I've met Emma before, and not only is she a talented musician, but she's an incredibly humble and lovely person. She truly appreciates all the support she gets from her fans, new and old, and is so inspiring to talk to. Having overcome the truly difficult time of losing her mum, Emma takes nothing for granted, which is breath-taking in the music industry at the moment, and probably why her fans love and support her so much. She is so relatable and real, and you don't get much of that these days. I got to chat to her for a while, asking her about how she is and what's next for her after her tour. I got a picture with her, said my goodbyes and made the long trip home.

(I love this picture so much, Myself and Emma Stevens)

Why did I make this post? Because you guys seriously need to check her out. Her music is brilliant, relatable and magical. Emma Stevens is currently not signed, and needs all the support she can get. I absolutely love her music, and really wanted to share her talent with all of you! I wish her every success!

("Riptide" by Emma Stevens)

Find out more about Emma Stevens, her music, and where she is playing on her website - http://emmastevensmusic.com/

Much love ♥