TEDxTeen

For as long as I can remember, every night before going to bed, I will watch a Ted Talk. It's my way of relaxing and winding down for the night. I normally favour this to reading, especially when my eyes are tired after a full day at sixthform.

I am very thankful to my NCS group for letting me come with them on the trip to London. Early Saturday morning, we met in the BCHA center at 4am (it had been a long time since I've seen such time), hopped in the minibus, and set the O2 Arena as our destination. We arrived just in time for the first talk at 10am, which in all fairness was in good time as we stopped for a McBreakfast along the way.

As we scurried onto the balcony, I observed my surroundings. My heart was racing as I saw the TED sign on stage - it was all like a dream come true. I took my seat next to Kassety*, and sat mesmerised for the next 1h30. The talks, hosted by a very enthusiastic presenter, ranged from Mukunda's 'How Imagination Set Me Free' to Rob Greenfield's 'How To End the Food Waste Fiasco'. During the hour break, whilst my friends mingled with the speakers in the Purple lounge, I went to a seperate room where I learnt all about Adobe Voice. After being pleasantly surprised by a brown bag filled with all types of snacks, I met two young boys who were just as interested in Ted Talks as I was. We sat and spoke for a while, and it was a feeling of relief to find people who share common interests with you. In a way, I feel that that is what Ted Talks is all about: the sharing of common interests and the spreading of new ideas.

There were two other 'sessions' of talks which lasted 1h30 each, and the whole day ended with Rudimental playing live for us. I found that a really great experience and it ended the day on a high note. I regret not auditioning to become a TEDxTeen speaker, but hopefully I'll be given the opportunity to in a few years' time.

Before heading back to Bournemouth, the NCS team grabbed a quick go-to meal. I opted for Five Guys since there isn't one where I live, and spent a whooping five pounds on a milkshake. If you think Shakeways were expensive, then think again. All my friends thought I was crazy, but they quickly changed their minds once they tasted it. I asked the guy behind the counter what he'd recommend, as, he worked there, and I would assume they would try everything on offer, and so he recommended the Vanilla and Oreo Milkshake. I posted a picture above, which gives it no credit to the fluffiness of the cream, nor the freshness of the vanilla, nor the crunchy Oreo bits found at the bottom. I could not recommend a drink more, even if you'll be poor after buying it!





* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

An Update

This is long overdue. My laptop battery is currently at 5%, giving me a slender amount of time to post this before my darling Chromebook dies on me, but I think we can make it. Hopefully.

Firstly, a lot has happened, hence why I haven't found a spare moment to update my blog. I really wanted to start this as a means of keeping myself on track with my life, yet as you may have realised that didn't quite go as planned. At least I'll have at least one New Year's Resolution: be more organised.

I personally find Evernote very useful. If you haven't already downloaded it on your smartphone (it also comes as an app on your laptop), I'd highly recommend it. I use the free version and it does the trick - it enables me to keep reminders of all the things I have to do and any little memos I want to give myself. I've had plenty in the last couple of months, some which I'd like to tell you all about!

The major news is that I've received a university offer from my joint top choice: Warwick. I was really fortunate as I sent off my UCAS application on the Friday (the 13th! Good one Mél) and received the offer on the Monday! It's my dream university so I really hope I get in. 

Second biggest news is that I'm finally an adult!! It doesn't feel real and it still shocks me a bit that I can no longer get 'child' fares on buses anymore, but I feel like I'm pretty much prepared for the rest. I called up my Dentist to make an appointment, for Goodness' sake, I've definitely taken well to adulthood.

Third biggest news was that on Wednesday I went to my school's Winter Ball which was very exciting for me as afterwards I went out clubbing for the first time! (I now no longer count my Aruba experience as a 'clubbing experience'. What. An. Embarrassment). Anyway, my favourite photo is the one I attached along with this blog post of me and my boyfriend Daniel*. 

Hopefully, I'll be updating my blog a bit more over the Christmas period, but if not, I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and a Happy New Year!

* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

The Cumberland Hotel

Firstly, I sincerely apologise for the lack of posts. I've been so bogged down by coursework that I've been unable to find enough spare time for myself, let alone to write a review!

A lot has happened since I last posted. I've visited several unis, I've been to several parties, and next week I'm planning on sending off my UCAS form. A couple have my friends have already received offers (including an unconditional!) and I feel that if I tweak my personal statement anymore I'll just ruin it... Can I attach Nobody's Perfect by Hannah Montana to my UCAS application, please?!

In less than a month, I'm turning 18 - something which is a shock to everyone since I still look around 12. On a side note, does anyone have any 'top tips' of things to do before passing this threshold into adulthood? I've yahoo.answered it (as you do) but I can only find pointless gibber gabber such as 'love your friends'... Mate, it'll help if I had any of those. Anyway, this weekend I was invited to three 18th birthday parties, but without a doubt, Yin's* was the classiest and most sophisticated. Nowadays people tend to have house parties just to get drunk and get with your crush, but this birthday party actually consisted of Afternoon Tea at the Cumberland Hotel. It overlooks the beach and had a lovely fresh feel to the place. It has a smart, sophisticated hotel with an aesthetically pleasing lobby, where I was pleasantly greeted by members of staff on reception. I was welcomed graciously and lead into the private function room, where my friend held her gathering. The room was lavishly decorated, with balloons, oversized canvases and dim lights which all added to the wonderful atmosphere.

Afternoon tea cost £13.50 pp, and included French pastry, fresh cream and scones, and the best sandwiches I've ever tasted (..or maybe I was just hungry). There is also a choice between Costa coffee and traditional English tea. I started off with English tea, yet also treated myself to an Iced Latte which was very sweet, but thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately, I couldn't take many photos as there was such poor lighting so I can't show you an array of photos which I'd really like to have done.

* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

Fall Out Boy

Truth be told, I have about five drafts which were typed out all before I even went to the gig expressing my excitement, so you can probably already tell how much this meant to me.

I love Fall Out Boy - a lot.

I really, really do.

But first things first (I'm the realest). Let's start at the very beginning. You may want to get a drink because this is going to be a really long post... 

About two days before the concert, I thought I had lost all chances of going. My friend Lauren* had printed off the ticket online, and guess what?! I lost it. She casually handed it to me at school and I must have misplaced it or left it in a classroom and lost it. My worst fear was that another student found it, picked it up, decided to save themselves £29.50, and went to the gig. You may be thinking that I could easily just, say, print another one off but NO, oh no, that bar code is a one and only and not only would I have lost a small fortune (gigs at the BIC in Bournemouth normally cost around a fiver but since it's FALL OUT BOY then it was undoubtedly dearer), but I would have missed the opportunity of seeing one of my favourite bands. smh. Thankfully, this didn't happen, and on the 10th of October, the day had finally arrived.

I went to the gig with Jane and Charlotte*, later meeting our other friends there. We didn't queue for long (despite arriving at 6:45 pm when doors open a quarter of an hour before) and we were within the main arena by half seven. As a side note, Lauren queued since 9 am!!! She's such a diehard fan, I love her. 

The support acts weren't that great. Charley Marley and Matt and Kim were both trying their hardest for audience participation, and admittedly I did enjoy trying my hardest trying to touch one of the balloons that were thrown vaguely in my direction (cons of being short at a gig), but all in all it didn't really work.

Professor Green was the main support act for Fall Out Boy, which I think everyone was shocked by. They're not even the same genre, and personally I don't think it was a great move. Might contact Bob McLynn to have a quick word. Anyway, my boyfriend Daniel* suddenly got into Professor Green about a week before the gig and forced me to listen to him, which I'm fairly grateful for as it got me quite pumped before seeing Fall Out Boy. We kind of went a bit crazy when Pro Green whipped out Monster and it was nice to have everyone sing along when they played Read All About It as it was probably the only song people knew there. Not that any real emo ever listened to pop radio, ew.

NB: Tap water at the gig cost 40p. If you didn't get charged, the waitress must have either been a b*tch or prejudice against my gay best friend who went to get me the drink. Let's sue them.

NB: If you're small and Asian like me, getting back into a crowd after getting water during the interval is really easy. 

NB: Finding your friends after leaving the arena isn't as easy as you may have expected. 

I guess it's more than you bargained for because I've been dying to tell you about wHEN FALL OUT BOY CAME ON STAGE! You may have guessed that they played Sugar We're Goin' Down, first of all, and then went on to Irresistible, then the Phoenix. I think it was around this time that Patrick spoke for a little bit, something about how great it is that Bournemouth is by the sea, but nobody really knew what he was on about, bless. Anyway, it quickly moved on and Daniel and I acted like that annoying couple at gigs who kissed in between the songs when the lights were off and moved our arms in time to the music. Go get that bucket if you need it.

After their 8th song, the screen came over the stage and a video clip was played. In hindsight, we should have all guessed that something spectacular was going to happen, but I assumed they were just getting some water. Patrick, Pete, and Joe all suddenly appeared on a platform at the back of the arena!!! They played an acoustic version of Immortals and everyone joined in the singing and waved our arms and it was all very cute. After that, they went back on stage through a secret underground channel (or so I assume) which Andy had a very intense session on the drums when everyone thought his arms were going to explode from the pressure.

The 12th song was American Beauty/American Psycho. Everyone knew that the gig was sadly coming to an end, and I secretly wished someone would just crowd surf or something exciting. AND GUESS WHAT MY BOYFRIEND DID?! HE OPENED UP A MOSHPIT. As soon as the chorus came in, everyone jumped in and started moshing, and all-in-all went a bit crazy. It was such a release of energy, and since our friendship group was quite big, we all dragged each other in and ran about and pushed and shoved and screamed at the top of our lungs. It was so amazing, I don't think I've done it justice in words. I guess you just ought to have been there.

By the end of the night, we were all exhausted. The crowds cleared, and we saw a few more friends who came running up to us in floods of tears because Pete touched their hands. (But would I have queued over 10 hours for Pete Wentz to touch my hand?! Probably.). I genuinely believe going to a gig should be considered a work out, because I genuinely sweated more last night then I do when going to the gym. Oh well, Thnks Fr Th Mmrs Fall Out Boy! 

* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

Manchester Open Day

Eek - my second uni visit finally done! It was a long trek from Bournemouth up to Manchester (roughly seven hours each way with only a couple half our breaks to stretch our legs and get a Costa) but it was worth it.

Friday afternoon, Grace* and I drove up to Manchester and had to spend the night at The Chancellor's. We were fortunate as this was only a few miles away from the University, and the next morning we caught a Magic Bus into the centre, which to our delight only cost us £1.

In total, I went to three talks. I guess I ought to have gone to more since I travelled all the way up there, but I just didn't have enough time! The language building named Samuel Alexandre (pictured above) was very grand and I really liked its interior. Despite dating back to 1919, the building had a very fresh atmosphere and the lecture theatres which I went to were ones which I could easily imagine myself studying in...

One talk that really intrigued me was the IPML presentation (Integrated Professional Masters in Languages). If anyone reading this blog has studied it or has heard about it, please comment below as I'd love to hear first-hand experience of it!

For lunch, Grace* and I went to the Univesity Place for lunch. I think its official name was University Place... Everyone around us called it the 'tin can' - I won't state the obvious and explain why. Anyway, we had beefburger and chips and the portion was absolutely massive and for £4.50 it was definitely worth it! I wish I had taken a photo but I was so hungry that I scoffed it all before I could whip out my camera..ooops.

I think this sums up my blog post! Apologies for not posting a lot recently - I've been overwhelmed with coursework of late and settling into Year 13.





* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

image link: x

Bristol Open Day

If we ignore my Year 10 visit to Exeter's Campus and my 'for the yolo' tour around Bournemouth Uni (no offence to anyone who goes there, it's just not got the best reputation for my courses..or many others...), Bristol Uni was my first so-called 'proper' open day I've ever been to.
I stayed over at Kasetty's* house the night before and had an early rise the next morning to drive all the way to Bristol in time for my 10 o'clock talk. My first impression was that it was a lovely city. As we drove through, I noticed the wonderful architecture, the diversity of the people, and most of all, the Banksy work. I think that if I were to apply to Bristol Uni, the city would be a big reason which would sway my decision. I did really like the talk given for Modern Foreign Languages (what I hope to read at university), but after the talk was over, I got the chance to really explore and look around.
Being a city uni, I had to trek quite a bit to get from one department to another. I'm sure that after a few weeks being there, I would get used to this, but it was quite tiring for a first-timer such as me. After looking around the Student Union (which has undergone refurbishments), Kasetty and I had a little tour of the city. There was a huge range of shops and little cafeterias (including a vegan bar which pleased K no end) - I would have really enjoyed spending a weekend looking around. I remember going to the Old Vic to see Jane Eyre with my friend Grace* a couple of years ago and I really liked the layout of the theatre, so if that's what you're into I would recommend seeing a performance there one day. 

Above is a picture from one of the quirky vintage shops Kasetty and I visited. I'm really disappointed that I can't recall the name of it, but it was along the main street heading towards Waitrose (wow, good one Mél). Anyway, this little boutique was by far the best shop that we visited. The downstairs part of it was a caféteria whilst the upstairs consisted of a mix of a bookshop, vintage clothes shop, and all round need-to-have goodies. The whole place gave off a young feel and I could have spent hours roaming around and spending more money than I own...

Another place we visited was the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. I dragged my friend in here because a) I love art b) I love finding meanings to bland pictures and c) it was free. I'm fun to spend time with, I promise... My favourite floor was the second floor with all the art pieces where I finally got to see Noah's Ark by Jan Griffier the Elder which was a wonderful experience for me and I greatly enjoyed it.

If you're also considering Bristol Uni as one of your options, please don't hesitate to comment in the section below - I'd love to know what you thought of it!





* All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened

My First (proper) Time At Aruba

For those who thought that this would be a holiday post about the island off the Caribbean sea - sorry, I deceived y'all. Aruba is a restaurant/beach club overlooking Bournemouth beach and pier. I believe it's open to all ages up until around 8-9pm when it turns into an over 18 club, but up until then, it's a nice place to chill and drink over-priced drinks whilst looking out to sea.
The reason I said that this was my first so-called 'proper' time here was because I had previously gone there once before with my Spanish Class but we were all so intimidated by the over-crowded bar that we didn't order anything. We had walked up the stairs, sat on the sofas for 10 mins in a confused and flustered manner, then sneaked out in pairs to not look too suspicious and in case anyone realised that we had not ordered anything... I'm ashamed to say that this was less than 3 months ago.
Thankfully, this time was a little less awkward. It was my close friend Mae's* 18th birthday and we had booked a table in the far corner overlooking the sea (which I thought was kind of pointless as it was already dark when we had arrived and the doors let in an unwanted draft..but this was besides the point).

Above is a picture of my Aruba Caeser Salad with anchovies & Parmesan cheese, Crisp Cos lettuce with seasoned croutons (£8.95). I also got a cheeky bit of shredded chicken on top for an extra two quid, but I was quite disappointed in this as you can see it was just dumped on top of my salad very ungracefully. I would have preferred it to look a little nicer, and my friends' salads (Summer Salad, £9.95) weren't that aesthetically pleasing either. And, yes, we are those annoying white girls that go out to restaurants to eat and order salads. 


We stayed on a bit after we finished our meal and gossiped over Mae's birthday cake (first photo). Whilst at our table, this balloon artist came over and after some of my friends rudely questioned how much he would charge us for his unwanted service and sexual innuendos, he produced a lady bug headband for Mae! I asked him about himself and he said that Aruba paid him (and not us - phew), and that he used to just make balloon shapes as his 'party trick' but his friends encouraged him to start charging people as his skills developed and he became more proficient. At first, he dismissed their comments as he never really believed that anyone would pay for them, but then when he started to charge a small fee, his name got passed around and how he goes to different bars and clubs around Bournemouth. I really like finding out how people got into the jobs that they are in, and Balloon-Guy is just one example of someone who managed to turn his passion into a business!





*All names in this blog are fake in order to ensure the privacy of my friends and conceal their identities. However, the characters are all real people and the events actually happened