10 things I've learnt at uni

I feel over the last eight months of uni I've learnt so much. I'm technically now an adult (I know, woah, scary - I don't believe it myself!), and I've definitely done a lot of growing up. There were so many changes; living away from home, moving 500 miles away to be one of very few English people in Dundee as well as all the little things like planning dinner every night and doing your own washing etc.

Here's a list of 10 things I've learnt at uni which I think are important whether you're there now or hoping to go in the future.

Live in the moment. This is so important. Take every chance and just do random things that make you happy. The number of nights I've ended up driving around Dundee with one of my best pals or climbing the Law Hill after class because it was sunny or going on an impromtu night out. Uni life is so different to anything else I've experienced, and you've gotta embrace it as much as you can!

Get on top of work early. I know that's so easy for me to say than to actually ever do, but sitting here trying to revise with few notes and little recollection of lectures really makes it so hard, which obviously adds to the stress of exams already! I do think though that's something that everyone in first year struggles with because everyone wants to party and make new friends, so I'm hoping I can take what I've learnt and not make quite as many mistakes next year.

Make time for 'me' time. If you go to uni you're most likely to stay in halls. Here you'll make life-long mates, attend some of the wildest pres and just ultimately have fun. But living in a flat of seven girls like I did can be stressful when you're seeing the same people so often - it creates tension that isn't needed such as who's turn is it to empty the bins. You'll end up arguing over the most stupid, petty things! Going to your room and relaxing with a book or episode on Netflix helps so much to clear your head - lock your door and just completely chill.

If you want to do something do it. I think the worst thing would be to look back in 5 years time once I've hopefully graduated and regret not doing something. If you like a guy tell him, if you want to go to a talk but no one you know is going, go anyways, you're sure to make friends and get along with like-minded people! You only get one shot at being a fresher and you have to make the most of it.

Keep up with your pals at home. This I cannot stress enough and I know for sure I didn't. It's so easy at uni to become completely engulfed in your new life with new people and new surroundings but you should aim to maintain the strong friendships and relationships that you hold with people at home. They were there first and know you so much better than anyone at uni does yet. It's one of the most heart breaking things when you realise that you haven't and you wonder if it will ever quite be the same again. Make time for a skype call, and ask them all about their day rather than just going on about yours.

Being home sick or not finding your sort of people straight away is ok and completely normal - you will find them, sometimes in the weirdest of places when you're not even looking. I really struggled in the first few months with homesickness but it eventually goes away. I couldn't tell you when, but one day you just stop missing home and start calling your uni flat home. Yes, there will still be days when you wish you were back but it doesn't last forever. As for finding friends, I didn't really find my best pals until I started my course and even then I still met some of my mates much later on. You just never know when you'll meet people. Take two examples:

1. I met my ex-boyfriend who I dated for the first 7 months of uni at a party dressed as a crayon, where I then shouted at him in the middle of a street for 20 mins... somehow he got my number and he became my best bud at uni. I didn't go to that party expecting any of that to happen - people appear in your life sometimes at the most unexpected and strangest times.

2. I first met one of my best pals, Jamie, after taking ages to give him a fob for the society I'm year rep for. Somehow we became good pals after this and we speak/see each other every day, go for drives to McDonalds or the Law Hill etc at stupid hours of the night and just generally have fun!

Me as a a crayon with my medic parents

Save a little bit every week as an emergency fund. Everyone lives in their overdraft at some point, especially in the first term. I sat at -£500 for most of first semester. Paying rent, food, clothes, nights out, matriculation for clubs as well textbooks takes a lot out of your bank account and sadly student finance just doesn't quite cover it. At the start of this semester in January I started to save £20 automatically from my current account to savings account. It just means that if I hit an emergency I've got money saved to deal with it, and if no emergency occurs, then I've got a little extra to spend over summer, perhaps on a holiday!


Join a sports team or club completely unrelated to your course. If you're worried about making friends this is a brilliant way. In freshers week all the clubs and societies will run a stall, you go to their taster days and then matriculate with the ones you most enjoy. I joined rowing and it's honestly one of the best decisions I've made at Dundee. I knew no one when I started but you soon make pals - you just got to put yourself out there and do what you want to do. The people are amazing; because it's a team sport you're all really close, not to mention the socials are the best nights out by far. Not gunna lie, training six days a week sometimes at 6am and then again at 1pm can be a struggle but I found it got me into a good routine and made me much more effective in my classwork. Also, that amount of sport definitely tones you up and made me feel happier and more confident about the way I look - not to mention it's super good for you!

My crew just before our race in Newcastle

 
You can be completely who you want to be. When I came to uni I wanted to change who I was slightly, not so much change, just more become the person I wanted to be. I wanted to have a larger group of mates, so I made the effort to talk to everyone and anyone. I wanted to get fitter so I joined a highly intensive sport. I wanted to be more confident so I pushed myself to do things on my own, talk to those I didn't know and speak up when I didn't understand. Whatever or whoever you want to be, you can be at uni. No one knows you - it's a clean slate.

It really is the best time of your life. I can't stress this enough. Yes, the work can be so hard you want to want to quit. Yes, you can feel homesick and want to escape back home. Yes, it can take a while to find the people you really click with. Honestly though, I promise, when everything starts to click into place, you'll have the most fun, wild and unique time of your life.

Hope you're all loving uni or do if you decide to go in the future!

Lizzie
 xxx

Versatile Blogger Award Nomination!

Hey

Sorry for not writing in so so long! I'm hoping to be writing a lot more in future.

I've been nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by the lovely LamiaL. Her blog is absolutely beautiful especially the pictures! Thank you so much - I'm still shocked I got nominated.

The rules for The Versatile Blogger Award are :

• Thank the person who gave you this award.
• Include a link to their blog.
• Select 5 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
• Nominate those 5 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award.
• Tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

My nominees are:

Basically Chloe

Polka Dot Penny

A Nesting Nomad

Sprinkle of Glitter

Hand Luggage Only

Ah, it's so hard to say 7 things about me as I've already done a post with 20 facts here, but I'll try!

1. I'm an only child

2. This summer I signed up to a British Sign Language course in the hope I'll be able to communicate with deaf people more easily.

3. I went out clubbing for the first time ever this week

4. I passed my driving test earlier in the summer and I'm absolutely loving the freedom and independence

5. I gave blood for the first time ever this week

6. I have the most untidy bedroom known to mankind

7. On Thursday I found out I got a place at university to study medicine, which I'm unbelievably happy about!

Thanks for reading and again thanks for the nomination!

Lizzie

 xxx

May Favourites!

I've never done one of these favourites posts before but I thought hey, might as well start. Hopefully I'll do one every month but who knows.

TOMS I've wanted a pair of these for ages and I happened to see them in a sale, so I treated myself. They're honestly the most ridiculously comfy shoes you could ever invest in. I was a bit worried as I have quite flat feet, but my feet don't ache wearing them at all. They're just so soft and all round lovely to walk in! Plus every time you buy a pair of shoes, they donate a pair to a child in need, so you can feel good about your purchases. You can find them here :)

YouTube I've been a little obsessed with YouTube recently. I just love watching vlogs! This month I've been really enjoying the Sarconnejolys. I have no clue why but they're just so cool and the children are so cute!

Whiteboard It's May which only really means one thing - exams. I seem to spend most of my day revising but I constantly panic during the evening because I feel as if I haven't done enough. Right now I feel as if I should be revising sand dunes for geography but I just feel too tired. However, when I do revise, I use a whiteboard. I'd never used one before this year but they're absolutely amazing. You can really easily organise your thoughts and test your knowledge, plus it's eco friendly - think of all those trees you're saving!

Running I really enjoy running and go with my friend Katie. We both started off pretty bad although I think we've really improved. We always run over the fields with our dogs and it's just so nice to clear your head and be outside. Also, you get a real sense of achievement once you've finished as we always try to extend our route each time, so you get to push yourself that little harder - it's the best feeling once you've finished and you know you've managed it!

Spotify I've probably spent way too much time listening to songs on here but I just love it so much. My favourite songs are definitely Bills by Lunchmoney Lewis, See You Again by Wiz Khalifa and and Cheerleader by OMI. They're just so good! My favourite artist of the month would have to be the Irish singer Orla Gartland. I found her by accident but I love her music, especially Souvenirs and The Ground. You can download Spotify for free here.

Here's the four of us all kitted out ready - it's like wearing a straight jacket!

Shooting As I recently mentioned in this post I do shooting every week. I went on a school trip down to Bisley which is the national shooting range to try shooting at distances of 300-600'. If I'm honest I was excited but also really nervous as there were only four of us and the other three I didn't know brilliantly, but it was such an amazing day out. The guns gave such a massive recoil - you feel like you've moved really far when you pull the trigger! 

Just to end this post I'll show you something that's cracked me up this month! I admit I find it funnier than it probably is, but I almost cry with laughter every time I see it!

Thanks for reading! What have been your favourite things this month? 

Lizzie 

 xxx

P.S Let me know if you'd like me to make this a monthly thing in the comments :)

Dublin - Day 3

Today was my last day in Dublin - it's gone so fast! 

We got up quite early as we wanted to make the most of the day as we had to leave at about 5:45pm to get to the airport on time for our flight. I'd really hoped to have a waffle with nutella, as I'd seen them yesterday at breakfast, but they didn't have them on today :( I had another huge full Irish breakfast again - it's probably good we left today otherwise I'd be getting enormous!

The river Liffey in Dublin near our hotel

We took the bus to Kilmainham Gaol. It is a former prison where many of Ireland's political prisoners were kept, tortured and executed. I found it really interesting as I didn't know anything about Irish history before I went. Plus, it's only €2 for students which is seriously good. You go into this museum area before you're taken on a tour around the prison. The conditions were absolutely appalling. Obviously prisons aren't nice places but they used to keep the prisoners in the dark for 23 hours a day, the only hour they were allowed outside they had to walk in circles with their heads down, unable to talk or even make eye contact. A lot of political prisoners were kept there, mostly leaders from the 1916 Easter Rising where the Irish Republicans tried to gain independence from the rest of the UK. I know it sounds really really silly but I hadn't even realised Ireland was once part of the British Empire.

Is it just me or does this look like the prison on that CBBC show, The Slammer?

We then took the bus back to Trinity College after a seriously yummy cake at the coffee shop in the prison. We took a walking tour around the college that allows you to get into the Old Library which contains the Book of Kells. I really like taking walking tours when I'm abroad as they're normally conducted by students who are basically the same age as me, so they pick things that young people are interested in as well as all the main sights. I hadn't heard of the Book of Kells but apparently it's the oldest book in the world. It's beautiful. It's handwritten with lovely drawings throughout. The Old Library is also really cool and looks like something out of Harry Potter! There are loads of spiral staircases between floors and floors of books. They even have those ladders that let you reach the top shelves, which I always thing are cool.

Next it was lunchtime - we got quite a lot done in the morning! I had this scrummy goats cheese sandwich with tomato and red pepper soup with a cider. I love being 18; you can just order alcohol - it makes me so happy and I have no idea why!

We took the bus to the Little Museum of Dublin mostly because it was free with our bus ticket but also because it looked interesting. There's a whole floor dedicated to the band U2, so if you're a fan, I'd definitely recommend it! It takes you from the Victorian era (I think. It might be a little earlier/later) all the way through to the present day. There was this amazing bit where there was this shop sign up on the wall and these two elderly ladies were talking about how they remember seeing Santa Claus there at Christmas as children. I love times like that, because it just makes everything so real.

That's pretty much my day and time in Dublin. Hope you enjoyed reading it :)

Lizzie

 xxx

Dublin - Day 2

Hey

I had a seriously scrummy breakfast to start off the morning. It included white and black pudding, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, a fried egg and brown sauce. We had a really nice lie in beforehand - I really needed it as I was exhausted from yesterday and my dad snoring SO loudly throughout the night.

My dad and I caught one of those hop-on hop-off buses, which I would really recommend if you're ever in Dublin. It's only €20 for two days and it takes you absolutely everywhere you could want to go. All the national museums in Dublin are free, so we went to the Natural History Museum. It's the weirdest but coolest place ever. I don't know if that's just because I absolutely love biology so science is super interesting to me anyways, but the museum is really old fashioned. It's full of stuffed animals, which I can completely see would put a lot of people off but I found it great as it meant you could stand right next to an elephant and know exactly how big they are. They are ridiculously huge! I don't agree with stuffing animals and hunting in general, but I think the animals had been there for many years, almost since the Victorian era, so I'd much rather they be on display for people to appreciate than chucked away. They also have skeletons of extinct animals such as dinosaurs hanging from the ceiling which is really cool.

We hopped back onto the bus to the Guinness factory. It's the largest tourist attraction in Ireland - last year 1.27m people visited, that's the population of Dublin! There are just so many floors, you feel like you're climbing stairs forever. Each floor tells you how they produce the Guinness from field to pint. There's this really exciting bit where you go into sense rooms to try the drink. You walk down this dark corridor playing loud music upon which you enter a completely white room with four basins pouring out different smells. You're then given a small glass containing Guinness that you're not allowed to drink until you enter the next room, which is really dark, where this man tells you exactly how to drink it to taste the full flavour. It was quite a snazzy experience but I don't know if it actually makes a difference! We ate lunch at the storehouse in Gilroy's restaurant. It was extremely yummy! I had mussels in a cream and Guinness sauce which sounds horrible but it was ridiculously good! After lunch we went to the top floor. Here you get a pint of Guinness included in your ticket - I didn't get ID'd (sorry I have no idea the right way to write that so I'm hoping you get what I mean!) which made me so happy. I couldn't drink a whole pint - it was just way too heavy especially after a large lunch. I really liked it though which kind of surprised me as I never normally drink stout.

not my image

It was pretty rainy when we got out and quite late in the afternoon. You know that awkward time when there's not long enough to go to another sight but not too little time that you can just hang around? We decided to just continue around on the bus back to our hotel. I think the whole route is just over an hour so it was pretty good. Plus, seeing all the other sites is fun, even if it is just from the bus.

We had dinner at this gorgeous restaurant on the other side of the river in the Italian Quarter. I think it was called Bar Italia, if you ever go to Dublin I really recommend it. I had smoked salmon to start with lemon juice, capers and wholemeal bread. For my main I had this lovely pasta with sausages and spinach in a cream sauce. It was so filling! I say this, but I still managed a pudding of panna cotta with summer berries. I really wanted to take a picture of the meal to show all you guys but I wasn't brave enough. It just didn't feel right in the restaurant.

We walked back towards the hotel afterwards, but stopped to have a drink in an Irish bar, with live music. I absolutely love that about Ireland. Pretty much every pub/bar after about 7pm has live Irish folk music. It's so lovely sitting and listening to them. Plus, when a faster song comes on people clap along and get up and dance - it's so so cool!!

Thanks for reading!

Lizzie
 xxx

Dublin - Day 1

Heya!

So today was my first day in Dublin and my first ever time in Ireland. I absolutely love the place! It was really lovely weather today, which I think always helps, but still it's a great city.

I flew in this morning. Yup another morning flight where you have to set your alarm for 4am! But on a positive note, for pretty much the first time ever I didn't set the security alarms off. I know it's sounds weird but seriously, every time I leave the UK I get searched and set all the scanners off. I don't know why. I once left my iPad in its case by accident and they took it away to do swabs on it, I'm such a numpty. Do you guys get this or is it just me?

We checked in at the hotel and had a little look around the area. Our hotel is in the Temple Bar region near the river Liffey and Trinity College. We went to this lovely little restaurant for lunch. If I'm honest I didn't think it was going to be up to much because there was no one else in there and for some reason it looked odd, but it was absolutely delicious. Plus, as a bonus, once we'd sat down loads of others started arriving so there was a nice atmosphere. The meal was about €13 for three courses which they served all on one plate. I had seafood chowder to start, steak, Guinness and mushroom pie with veg and potatoes and for pudding, profiteroles.

oh look, there's muggins ready for lunch

After lunch I sat and wrote my post cards as part of post crossing, as mentioned in a previous post here. I must have been there for ages because the French family next to me were joking that I hadn't stopped and could I write theirs. I bought the stamps for them in the main Post Office. If you ever go to this city just go in and look around it's completely free! It's just like it would have been in the 1800s I imagine as it's all pretty ornate with wood fittings etc.

We wondered down to trinity college after lunch although missed the last walking tour - I think I'll try to do that later in the week. It's a great place. I wasn't too bothered about going as I live near Cambridge in the UK so have seen quite a few colleges, but this is totally different. It's so odd as once you've entered the gates it's almost silent and you can't hear any of the hussle and bussle outside.

Trinity College

We left the college and had a look down the main the shopping street - I think it's the Oxford street of Dublin. It's weird how Ireland is a completely different country but a large proportion of the shops are the same as those found in the UK. We stopped at this pub just off the Main Street for a drink. I had a pint of cider which was really refreshing. Personally I don't think I've ever been drunk (although my friends may disagree) but I definitely felt really tipsy afterwards! How ridiculous is that?! A pint of cider and I was just like woah I can't concentrate on anything and got seriously giggly. I've never felt like that after just one pint so I'm going to say it must have been super strong... I tell myself this to stop me feeling like a lightweight!

We got back to the hotel and I did a little more revision. I'm panicking so much for these A levels. I'm just so scared that I won't get the place at medical school that I've been offered! Aaaah. Ok I'll stop there otherwise you'll just get a very long panicked ramble!

My dad fancied a Thai meal so we went there for tea. If I'm honest I really didn't fancy it but I didn't want to stop him as he'd been looking forward to it all day. It was quite nice but I think it's one of those things where I didn't really fancy it so I didn't enjoy it as much as I could. We shared a plate of mixed starters and then I had some tom yum soup, which was really scrummy but pretty spicy. I had duck red curry for my main, which was lovely and I really would've enjoyed had I not been ridiculously full. But oh my goodness it was spicy! When a Thai place says very hot don't think 'ah yeah it says that but I'm sure it's not too spicy'. It is. Always believe the menu.

We had a lovely little stroll along the river after tea. Do you do this? My family always goes for walks after tea when we're abroad, which I really enjoy. Especially at this time of year when the weather is nice and it stays light for ages. 

We returned to the hotel and I really wasn't sleepy so it was just revision, revision, revision! Tomorrow we're hoping to go to the Guinness storehouse as it's meant to be a bit rainy and it's indoors so it seems like a good plan.

Lizzie
 xxx

P.S. This is being uploaded a bit late sorry as the wifi in the hotel wasn't great.

20 facts about me!

Hey

I've been tagged by Lamia L (her lovely blog is here) to write 20 facts about me and share them with you guys. It's honestly one of the hardest posts I've ever written, which is crazy because it's about me so surely it would be easy, but no!

Ok, I know there's only 20 facts and it says 25 but it just looked too pretty!

Fact 1: 

I've only ever worn high heels out and about once, I think. I'm not entirely sure why, I guess it's because I'm six foot so there isn't much point really. Also, I'm seriously bad at walking in them so I'll really need to practise before my school's summer ball (oh yes I'm wearing heels then - help!!)

Fact 2:

I never finish a cup of tea. Weird I know, but I'll always leave a little at the bottom. I don't know why. My mum used to do this too so maybe I picked it up from her.

Fact 3:

I really dislike people thinking I'm rich. I know it's an odd thing to say but I really don't like it. I'm not rich but I think I probably appear like it on the outside because I go to private school and I am lucky enough to go holiday quite a lot. However, I can only go to my current school (or I guess old school now that I've left :O) because I get a large bursary from the school. Also, with my mum dying a few years ago we've been able to get her pension which allows us to have enough money to travel - pretty much any spare money my family has we spend because you don't live forever and you should enjoy life while you can. 

Fact 4:

I notice really little things that most people don't see. I don't know why exactly but normally if I have an idea about someone or something, such as a small comment, I'll normally be right. My best friend and I used to call ourselves observant owls.

Fact 5:

When I'm bored I make up scenarios in my head and then make them into really long stories.

Fact 6:

I've got this odd pet hate. It really annoys me when people call squash, juice. I know, I know it's so silly!

Fact 7:

I constantly have a moral dilemma because I want to travel the world so much but in so many ways I'm eco freak and don't want to kill those polar bears aaah!

Fact 8:

Every week I do target shooting at 25m and absolutely love it. If you ever get to have a go at shooting, do it - you'll love it!

Fact 9:

I'd absolutely love to be a doctor. I've been offered places at Dundee and Leicester medical school starting in September, which I hope I get. Although I think it's unlikely after how the exams have gone but fingers crossed!

Fact 10:

I've never had a boyfriend. I guess this could be considered uncommon for someone my age but it's just never happened. Hopefully when I go to uni I'll meet a nice chap.

Fact 11:

I absolutely love garlic. I'll even have it for breakfast!

Fact 12:

I think I put on quite a confident persona when really I'm not that self confident. I'm trying to be more confidence because I think it definitely makes you happier.

Fact 13:

When I'm older I definitely want to have children. Although I'm not particularly great with kids, I think this is because I'm an only child and grandchild so I'm hoping it improves as I get older. I really want to adopt children as well as having my own.

Fact 14:

I'm terrified of snakes. They freak me out so much to the point that when there was a photo of one in my biology exam this year I started to panic. I think I'll definitely need to get over this if I want to travel!

Fact 15:

Talking of exams, I'm one of the worst people to be around during exam time. I just get so nervous and probably manage to wind up everyone because I keep talking and panicking.

Fact 16:

I love looking at photos. I got a camera for my 18th so I hope to take some nice pictures of my own although I'm not very good at it yet.

Fact 17:

I'd love to be bilingual. I just feel so awful when I go on holiday and I can't speak the local language. Plus, it saddens me that some of you lovely readers come from countries whose first language isn't English and I can't write my posts in your mother tongue. 

Fact 18:

A few months ago I fell out with a close friend. Even though I know it's probably the best thing for both of us and was a difficult friendship at times, I really miss it. We had all these plans for the future and it's weird to think they'll probably never happen. 

Fact 19:

I'm awful with make-up. Just so so bad. I think it's a little like the high heels - I've had no practise so I remain awful. I hardly ever wear it but I think this summer I'll start experimenting as I'd like to be good.

Fact 20:

I know it sounds super cliché but I genuinely get so excited every time someone follows, comments or views my blog. I find it so unbelievably lovely and cool that someone has taken time out of their day to read what I've written. To me it's literally mind-blowing! Thank you so so much :)

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! If you're reading this and you'd like to, I challenge you to write this post too! 

Lizzie

 xxx