Hey kid, don’t grow up too quick

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When you go to uni you realise that you need to start acting like a grown up. After years and years of wanting to finally be able to do what I want I moved out, I started paying rent and making my own decisions. Now I want to curl up in my bed with my teddy bear and stay at home, as I’m sure many of my fellow students do at times. It’s not because we’re incapable, it’s because we realise that being an adult isn’t the easiest thing in the world.

When you start out you think I can do this, what’s all the fuss about? Then you get responsibilities, deadlines, money that your supposed to budget with. On top of all that everyone asks you a million and one questions as well as shit advice, most of which I want to give really sarcastic answers too. Take some of these for example 

Question : What do you want to actually DO with that degree when you leave?

Answer: Oh yeah I forgot I haven’t filled you in seeing as I have every single aspect of what I’m going to do with my life planned out. I’m going to run the f***ing world, you know? Because I really came to uni already knowing everything..that’s why I’m here.

Advice: ‘Oh yes [insert useless experience] will look fab on your CV’

Answer: Oh really, I bet it will look great on absolutely everyone else’s CV too..

Question: Oh Chloe have you lost weight again? – this one REALLY annoys me.

 

I realise I seem a bit angry with these replies but oh my when you hear the same thing every.five.minutes. You generally get a little bit hacked off. I mean being an adult has some advantages, you go to bed when you want, get up when you want, eat what you want. I absolutely love my course as well as the independence I get at uni. At the same time though it a damn scary and anyone who says it is not is a damn liar!  So if you haven’t started uni yet enjoy living at home as much as you can, you really don’t realise how much you will miss it.

So many countdowns…

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Here we have it, we are finally at the 1st of December, so many things to count down to. There’s the obvious count down to Christmas (24 days) , the count down until the end of semester (12 days), the count down until all my work is due in (nope, not counting that one) as well as various other things I am counting down till this month. I’m at home at the moment and if I’m honest leaving is going to be a little hard. I miss feeling comfortable around people, being in halls is hard work sometimes.

I don’t know how erratic my writing will be this month, there is so much to do meals to plan, presents to buy, packing to do as well as the damn assignments. I’m hoping everyone else feels this panic so I might actually get a little bit of sleep. You have to remember though this month has one daily treat. I think my advent calendar(s) might just get me through all the stress this time…

My Dog

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Sometimes you run out of things to write about, I guess this is one of those times. I thought I would all give you an insight into one of my favourite things. This ,my friends, is my dog Lottie. It may seem odd that I am writing about my dog on a uni blog, but let me tell you the thing that most people miss at uni are their pets. I have friend that are counting down the days to go home just to see their pet. You see it’s different with animals you can’t just call them up, they don’t understand! 

Lottie is a lurcher cross and the most adorable dog ever. She has been following me around constantly since I got back and she will until I got back to uni on Monday morning. I swear there is nothing better than the unconditional love you get from your pet when you come back from somewhere. My flat does feel pretty empty in the evenings when I don’t have her sitting on my bed. 

The thing is about a pet is that they never question you, they trust and love you with no thought. When I’m on a bad low I am certain that 90% of the time my dog can make my day that little bit brighter. In fact after I was a bit down today just cuddling up to her while she was asleep made me feel better. 

So there you go guys, something a little bit odd but still very valid to uni life. Now you can all admit that your more excited about seeing your pets than your family this Christmas, they wont ask you endless questions, although they might steal your turkey! 

 

Poison, thank you and goodnight!

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As many of you know music is something that is incredibly important to me. I’ve been performing since I was around seven years old so the sudden anxiety attack at sound check tonight kind of threw me off guard.  After a truly awful sound check where I forgot most of my words, it’s safe to say I was a little upset. Ok, try absolutely freaking out. It’s been well over a month since I’ve performed and coming back to Basingstoke wasn’t helping my nerves. 

As we watched the other musicians I started to relax as well as freak out (an odd combination). I had the honour of watching my beautiful friend Nicole play and she writes such stunning music you can’t help but relax and enjoy it. 

In the end the night went incredibly well and the new songs got great feedback. As a result I was quite angry with myself because despite ALWAYS getting stupidly nervous, I hadn’t had a proper panic/anxiety attack in quite a while. I think it’s because of a pressure I feel to prove that we can move on from For All That Goes. As stupid as it sounds the break up really made me doubt myself as a musician and generally as a person so this gig meant a lot to me. 

So now there will be no more under 18 nights at Poison due to it being closed and it upsets me as I have good memories of the place. So really this is an entry about moving on I suppose. I’m hoping that I wont be as panicked next time and instead I will be excited next time I perform which will be open mic night… let’s wait and see! 

Going to bed at 3am

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Let’s just start this post by pointing out that going to bed at 3am on a Friday morning is a bad idea, especially when you have a 9 am start (good one Chloe). At the time, I didn’t feel this way as I was talking to my flat mate for most of the night and I thought oh yeah it doesn’t matter I’ll get up in the morning. I was wrong. 

This mornings bus dash (which isn’t uncommon anyway) was probably quite comical to any one watching me. I was running for the bus, arms flailing about in odd clothes. It is definitely the greatest way to turn up to your seminars in dungarees, tights and Ugg boots. To all my friends who said I looked fine, I know you lied, but thanks. After the first initial hour I was actually okay on 4 hours sleep and even during the car journey home I stayed awake. Right now though the combination of a lack of sleep, being at home and having been fed is getting on top of me and I don’t feel that great… I think it might be bed time!  

T.G.I.F

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Today is finally bloody Friday and I am so grateful. For some reason this week has really been a long one and I am absolutely shattered and to be honest a little low. As much as I love Uni sometimes it is really full on and I get absolutely exhausted. 

I’ve just got back from dinner with Ali, his mum and her boyfriend. They came to pick us up from Kingston after Ali’s lectures so we ended up eating pretty late! I am finally home though and it feels so nice, especially as I didn’t plan on being home this weekend. So tonight it is only a sort post as I am just so tired! Really though thank god it’s friday! 

Happy Thanksgiving Jamie!!

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Today was Thanksgiving! As my flat-mate Jamie is so far away from home we decided to head into London to celebrate. We ended up eating American food and buying London souvenirs for her to take back home to the states in  few weeks. I actually really enjoyed actually going out tonight and seeing London as well as getting to know Jamie better, we’ve become really close in the past few weeks and I’m really going to miss her when we go on Christmas break. 

To get into the spirit I wanted to list 5 things that I am thankful for: 

1. My Family and Friends 

2. My Health 

3. Chocolate 

4. The ability to go to uni…even though I am now in debt..

5. Last but not least, Ali ❤

A very special date

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Today I woke up full of excitement, after 5 years I still get stupidly excited about date night! I got Ali to myself for a whole evening in town! Since we’ve moved it’s been hard to have time alone because there is always something we have to do, so by the time we get to be alone we both end up falling asleep! Now it was nothing special tonight, we simply went into town and enjoyed each others company.

Ali did, however, prove that he is the best boyfriend in the entire world. After taking him into the sweetshop to show him what I had found he uttered the words every girl wants to hear ‘pick out whatever you want, I’ll pay’. I am a total fat child inside,so believe me, this was better than Christmas. We left with over £20 worth of sweets between us before getting a quick McDonalds for the journey

Opinion piece: Should we boycott Lost Prophet’s music?

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Music fan or not you cannot fail to have noticed todays news that Lost Prophets singer Ian Watkins has pleaded guilty to child abuse charges,including the intent to rape a baby. Although this has come as little surprise to some the initial allegations have shocked both the music world and the general population to their core. The worrying thing is that now the name Lost Prophets has now been dragged through the mud and as social media shows, it is clear they will never regain their former glory. 

Within minutes of the guilty plea Twitter and Facebook appeared to explode with a hatred for not only Watkins but also the band itself. Although not a hardcore fan, I myself, would find it difficult to listen to Lost Prophets due to it being his voice through my ears. I find it silly though that people who have never even encountered the band are now slamming Lost Prophets not Watkins on his own. This is a common problem when one person in a band (particularly the front man or woman) becomes the centre of negative attention, they often are seen as ‘the band’ let alone the other 4 members. 

What people don’t understand is that when making it to the level that Lost Prophets did there is a lot of hard work from all members. Going into a studio and making a best selling album is simply ‘done’. So now Jamie Oliver, Lee Gaze, Luke Johnson, Mike Lewis and Stu Richardson have all not only had to question someone they thought they knew but they have also lost what they had spend over a decade building, because of one selfish individual. 

My argument is that although Watkins is now a convicted paedophile, that does not mean that all of Lost Prophets have something to be ashamed of. The remaining members have lost their band and the reputation of that band for something they could not control. If you listen to the fans they all say the same thing, ‘if you move on without him we would still support you’. So just to put it out there guys, Lost Prophets was not just one man, there are four very talented others. And you know what? I can’t wait to see what they do next.