INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Friday

This month is Women's History Month and Friday is International Women's Day. To celebrate this day I will be sharing with you some of the most iconic, influential women to me. As a woman who studies gender inequality, this day holds significance for me. These women are in no particular order.

1. Jo Kenny (my mum). The most iconic woman by far, who always enjoys life while drinking a glass of prosecco or G&T. She cooks the best lasagne and roast dinners. She also managed to still be an amazing mum by herself when my dad had to go away with work (My dad is also iconic and fab).

2. Frida Kahlo. A Mexican artist, well-known for her self-portraits and exploring questions of gender, postcolonialism, class and race in her art.

Frida Kahlo self portrait

3. Emmeline Pankhurst. She led the suffragette movement for the women's right to vote and she played a big role of winning the vote for women in the UK.

4. Emily Davison. A suffragette who fought for women's right to vote in the UK. She went on hunger strike seven times and was force fed on forty-nine occasions. She was also arrested over ten times for her dedication to winning the vote for women.

5. Dolly Parton. Her song 9 to 5 for the movie 9 to 5 (1980) exposes the inequality women have faced in the workplace being secretaries, while only men have had power.

6. Jameela Jamil. A British actress and activist. She promotes body positivity for women on social media. She has started the I Weigh movement on Instagram for body positivity.


Image result for reese witherspoon legally blonde
7. Michelle Obama. As first lady of America, she was, and still is a role model for women. She has also worked as an advocate for poverty awareness, education and nutrition.

8. Cher. She has been an icon for females during her six decade career.

9. Reese Witherspoon. Not only did she play the iconic Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, a game changer for teenage girl movies, but she also won Glamour's woman of the year award in 2015. Her "What do we do now?" speech also changed the game for women in acting.

10. Beyoncé. One of the most influential female music artists for women to date.

11. Ariana Grande. God is a woman, and it is Ariana Grande. After everything that has happened to her in the last few years with the Manchester Attack and Mac Miller, she is still putting out chart-topping music and still continues to be one of the most influential women.

12. Malala Yousafzai. An activist from Pakistan. The Taliban stopped girls from going to school and after fighting against this she was shot in the side of the head. After a miraculous recovery, and telling her story, she is now studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the university of Oxford, UK.

Adoah Aboah from Gurls Talk podcast13. Rosa Parks. In the 1950s in America, it was a rule that seats on buses would be given up for white people if the bus was full. Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat. Well-behaved women are not the ones who make history.


14. Audrey Hepburn. An actress who used her platform to become a humanitarian.

15. Katherine G Johnson. Her mathematical calculations of orbital mechanics allowed the first subsequent US manned spaceflights. You have probably heard of Neil Armstrong instead, the first man on the moon.

16. Sandra Bullock. American actress and philanthropist.

17. Jane Fonda. An American actress, also an activist for feminism and she campaigned against the Vietnamese War.

18. Kehlani. Despite attempting suicide, she continues to make music and promotes being a strong woman.

19. Adwoa Aboah. Activist and model who founded GURLS TALK, a website, Instagram page, and podcast for women. At the moment, she is campaigning against period poverty which is a huge problem in the world today. Some women across the world cannot afford their necessary sanitary products.

20. Marie Curie. She changed the world by founding radioactive science and launched effective cures for cancer. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and first female professor at the University of Paris.

25 NETFLIX SHOWS YOU MUST WATCH

Monday

If you love sitting in and watching Netflix but you can't always decide what to watch then keep reading. I have made a list of all the shows I have liked and would recommend in no particular order. It is a real struggle not being able to choose what to watch on Netflix.

1. Gossip Girl a lot of people have seen this but it is a good one to re-watch when you think you have watched everything. I know I always go back to it when I have nothing else to watch.

2. Pretty Little Liars another teen girl classic that lots have people have also seen but every time you watch it you find out more and more stuff that you probably missed first time.

3. Forensic Files everyone loves a good true crime documentary and the episodes are only 20 minutes long.

4. You it really makes you think about how easy it is to be stalked from your social media accounts. Also its just interesting and dramatic.

5. Full House a feel good 80s/90s sitcom.

6. Fuller House a reboot of the original (Full House) with the kids as parents.

7. Atypical easy to watch high school drama that also creates more autism awareness.

8. Insatiable another teen girl drama but it gets very dark at times.

9. Blue Planet Sir David Attenborough. Need I say more?

10. Planet Earth same reason as number 9 and animals.

11. RuPaul's Drag Race no tea no shade hunty.

12. Killer Kids the most messed up murder documentary there is. Each episode shows a different theme of killing and all the murders are done by children.

13. Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution because we should all be educated on the history of the holocaust, with Auschwitz being the most notorious concentration camp.

14. 13 Reasons Why very though provoking and controversial.

15. Gavin and Stacey a British comedy classic, a national treasure.

16. Luther Idris Elba is the protagonist and the crimes are more messed up than normal crime dramas which makes it more exciting and sometimes scary.

17. Friday Night Dinner another British comedy, Inbetweeners level funny (almost).

18. Skins good to watch and re-watch. Another classic British show but it is more of a drama.

19. Orange is the New Black comedic, dramatic and also represents many different types of women instead of a stereotype. It also gives us an insight to prison life that we wouldn't normally get.

20. Grace and Frankie highlights ageism as a social issue that people may not usually think about because it is typically young people that watch Netflix. Other than that it is easy to watch.

21. The Good Place this is like nothing I've ever watched before. Not only is it funny but it also contains lots of philosophical theory and the storyline is very fast-paced and exciting.

22. Big Mouth good to watch if you have a childish sense of humour like me.

23. Ted Bundy Tapes everyone is talking about this series and everyone likes murder documentaries for some odd reason. They are just so interesting.

24. Inside the World's Toughest Prisons this gives an insight into prisons around the world that is unlike that of Orange is the New Black as this is a non-fiction series.

25. Dogs a pure documentary about how dogs are the best and we don't deserve them. It might make you cry.

Thank you for reading! Let me know your favourite Netflix shows, especially if they aren't on here because I am always looking for new programmes to watch.

DORTMUND CHRISTMAS MARKETS

Tuesday

In December, I had the pleasure of visiting Dortmund, Germany just before Christmas. I went with my family, boyfriend and family friends. My dad drove us there and we caught the Euro tunnel which was exciting because I hadn't done that before (I am rather easily pleased).

FIRST YEAR AT UNI: COMPLETE

Sunday

Summer ball at Bournemouth University

Most of you will know that I started a degree in Communication and Media in September, and now my first year of university has come to an end. It's safe to say, it was nothing like I expected to be. I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting but it was just an indescribable experience. From moving in university halls, to the last event which was the summer ball, everything just happened at a hundred miles per hour.

As soon as I'd moved in, there was a party at our flat for my flatmate Kitty, who has become one of my best friends, for her birthday. Straight away we were meeting so many new people and then after that we went clubbing as you do in fresher's week. My first year of university started as it meant to go on which was full on.

I have made so many new friends at university from all over the country, some from other countries and some friends that I didn't even expect to have. It's so different from being at home because I've lived in basically the same place my whole life where there isn't that many chances to make new friends as you kind of know everyone already. Obviously, I love my friends from home but it's nice to have made new ones as well.

Also, I got on with pretty much all of my flatmates in halls which was lucky and I know some people aren't that lucky, but no flat is perfect. There was sometimes fall outs about noise, the kitchen being messy, and food stealing but I think most flats have that. 90% of the time living there was such a laugh and I'll miss it but I'm looking forward to moving into a house with different people in September too because it will just be a different experience.

Living in university halls wasn't always easy, especially when you have to cook for yourself and are clueless in the kitchen like me. Even though a pasta sauce I made turned solid, I never got food poisoning so I see that as a success. All you need to know is how to cook noodles and pasta that is the ultimate student cuisine. My advice would just be to buy an already made pasta sauce that you just have to heat up or stir in.

Like any year, it has had lots of ups and downs. So many good things have happened like mainly getting the grades I want in my course. However, one very difficult thing to go through was one of my closest friends at university passing away. I have to say though, being surrounded by such good friends all the time made it a lot easier.

Overall, I would describe my experience of university so far as zero to a hundred. Not so much with coursework because I mainly did it before it was due and felt like I had all of my deadlines under control. However, with uni life, everything was just so full on which was a good thing for me because there was always something going on and something to do. That's probably why I didn't post on my blog as much.

I'd be interested to know about anyone else's experiences of university and I'm very happy with what I'm doing and can't wait for second year.

Bournemouth university students at Summer Ball



A WEEK IN SORRENTO

Beautiful Sorrento image

As some of you may know, last month I took a trip to Sorrento, Italy for a week. I'd like to start by saying I would fully recommend this to anyone who is looking for somewhere new to travel to. Our hotel wasn't actually in Sorrento itself, it was located just outside in a small town called Sant'Agnello which was about a 5 minute drive or a 45 minute walk to Sorrento.

Hotel in Sant Agnello Italy

The hotel we stayed in was very nice but I have to say it was quite outdated but this didn't matter much because most of the time we were out exploring. There was a swimming pool as shown but nobody really used this during our time there because it wasn't hot enough. The temperature while we were there ranged from around 14-18 degrees, which was perfect temperature to walk around in but it wasn't hot enough to sunbathe in (although, incidentally I did get sunburnt whilst the local Italians were wearing hats, scarves and gloves but I'll continue to forget about my unfortunate pale skin, and think about the highlights of my trip).

2017 BEST BITS

Tuesday

Happy new year everyone I hope you've all had the best Christmas and 2017. I know that 2017 was a huge year for me with so many changes and it was all very exciting so I thought I would share all of the excitement.

JANUARY:
- Passed my driving test on the 10th of January (after being terrible at it for 9 months).
-13th January: I got a car (Frankie the Ford Fiesta).
- On the 30th of January I went to the best concert I'd ever been to which was Drake.

Drake at the boy meets world tour

FEBRUARY:
- I saw Two Door Cinema Club live on the 7th.
- From the 13th of February until the 16th I went on a trip with college to Krakow, Poland. In this week I had the experience of going to Auschwitz, Birkenau concentration camp and Schindler's Factory.

Entrance to Auschwitz concentration camp

MARCH:
- In March I spent a lot of time with friends and did bits of photography for some A level coursework.
- Adam and I saw Circa Waves, one of my favourite bands in Bristol on the 27th.

Circa Waves band live in Bristol

APRIL:
- 3rd of April: MY 18TH BIRTHDAY - I had my first legal drink which was a cherry bakewell cocktail from the Cosy Club.
- 8th of April was my birthday party with all of my favourite people and my first night out.

Family photo for 18th Birthday

Best friends at 18th birthday

MAY:
- May mainly consisted of revision and also consisted of 2 different nights out.

Friends out night clubbing


JUNE:
- 1st of June, I went to Bristol zoo and then shopping in Bristol.
- Adam and I also went to Thorpe Park on the 22nd.
- 27th June: FINISHED COLLEGE/LAST EXAM
- 29th of June we went to bath.

Bristol Harbour


JULY:
-MORE COCKTAILS ON JULY 1ST.
-On the 7th of July I went to 2 parties in 1 day. The first was a pool party which was hilarious because the pool didn't actually get delivered on time, but we still had lots of fun with a home-made slip 'n' slide. The second was a royalty themed party in the evening where I wore a queen mask with very small eye holes so I was bumping into everything.
- 11th of July: AFTERNOON TEA (my first ever).
- July 20th was my favourite day out of the summer where we went to Cheddar Gorge. Those of you who know me know I love cheese! I was in my element seeing how it was made, tasting it and buying it.
-21st July: My second baby niece, Scarlett was born.
-24th of July I went to London for the day; went to the science museum and did some shopping.

Friends in beach fancy dress at pool party

Teenage girl holding baby niece

AUGUST:
- 7th of August I went on my family summer holiday to Cyprus where we stayed in a villa.
- 8th of August was karaoke night (me and mum sang No Scrubs by TLC).
- 11th of August was our night out in Ayia Napa.
- 12th of August we stayed in the villa and I organised a talent show which was one of the funniest things I'd seen.
- 14th of August we had a birthday and an anniversary to celebrate so we had nice tea and nice drinks.
- 17th of August: A LEVEL RESULTS DAY! I got BCC and went on a night out in Southampton on the night of results day.
Protaras Beach Cyprus

SEPTEMBER:
- Cocktails in Bath on 3rd of September
- 16th September: Moving in day at uni and first night out of fresher's week.
- 17th September: Lethal Bizzle in Bournemouth.
- 23rd September: Fresher's Fayre.
- 25th September: The official start of university.

3 university freshers in student halls


OCTOBER:
- More nights out and getting settled into uni.
- Big Halloween night out.

Night out at Aruba Bournemouth



NOVEMBER:
- Christmas shopping at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth on the 4th.
- 12th November: Meal at Casa Brasil.
- Ice skating in Bournemouth on the 21st (I cannot ice skate for my life I don't even know why I wanted to go but I'm glad I did it was so hilarious).
-25th November: More Christmas shopping in Southampton
-26th November: Mulled wine at the German Christmas market in Southampton
-27th November: Went to a care home with friends from my uni course to interview the residents for an assignment.

DECEMBER:
-10th December: Flat Christmas party in the day followed by a work Christmas party in the evening.
-14th December: Last uni night out of the year before the Christmas holidays.
-22nd December: Drinks with my friends from home then we somehow ended up on a weird night out in my home town.
-25th December: CHRISTMAS DAY (I had too much to eat/drink so I fell asleep on the sofa at 8pm AKA spending Christmas the right way).
-29th December: Day out in London and Winter Wonderland.
-31st December: NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY.

university friends at a party

university students at a party

friends out for drinks at the pub

mum and daughter at winter wonderland in London

I have had the most amazing year thanks to everyone who was a part of it. I will hopefully do a post like this at the end of this year too. I would love to hear about the best parts of your year and your plans/goals for next year.

Thank you so much for reading :) x

HELLO, FROM UNIVERSITY.

Monday

Last Saturday was the day that I moved from my home in Wiltshire to University. Since last Saturday, a lot of weird, crazy and exciting things have happened. Obviously moving to uni came with the "delight" of fresher's week which included excessive drinking, meeting new people and for some reason, lots of drum and bass. University hadn't properly started for a lot of people until today so fresher's week was the opportunity to get all of the partying out of the system (although fresher's is still continuing this week unofficially and I'm heading out tonight). During the last week, I have made some amazing friends, especially the people in my flat. I am in a flat with 5 different people in halls of residence and we have all looked out for each other since day one.

university student in fancy dress

For me, fresher's week was all fun and games until I got fresher's flu. THIS IS NOT A MYTH. I am still suffering from fresher's flu and I could not move from my bed on Friday. The days where I could go out of my flat, I had drunk people running up to me with lines like "why aren't you coming out tonight?" and "come to my pres" as if no one is allowed a day off of drinking. What's worse is I didn't even know these people. I did have fun nights out but even when I didn't go out because I was feeling rough, I'd still have fun nights in with my flatmates. One night we played a girls board game (boys played too) where you answer questions to find out whether you are a bitch, a tart, or an angel; I will leave you and your imagination to work out which one I was.

Even though it has only been 9 days since I've got here I feel like I've learnt so much. I've learnt how to make noodles and pasta, AKA student necessities. I've also learnt how to find the best deals and spend around a tenner on food shopping, my grandma would be so proud. As expected, I do still have a lot more to learn but I'm having fun while I'm learning about student life and that's the main thing.

Thank you so much for reading :)

TWO WEEKS IN CYPRUS

Thursday

Protaras beach in Cyprus

As some of you may know, I recently went on a family holiday to Protaras, Cyprus in early August.  On this holiday, a lot of alcohol was drunk and a lot of halloumi was eaten; fitting the occasion. The six of us went to Cyprus for ten days which was sooo not long enough! I still have holiday blues now. Three days into the holiday, the family met three of our BFFs who we usually go away with out there which added to the festivities.

As opposed to usual holidays I've been on, where people will ask me if I lied about going on holiday because I come back as pale as previously, I did catch a slight tan. Although, most of the days I didn't make an effort to sunbathe because I was busy enjoying the luxuries of the pool to ourselves in the villa, or enjoying ice cream and the beach. Incidentally, the Ferrero Roche ice cream in Cyprus is among the best ice creams I have ever tasted.

pool at villa in Cyprus

Going on holiday is one of my favourite things and I love the day time so much because you can just relax and the most stressful thing is worrying about putting sun cream on, which is a worry I don't mind having. However, the night time is for eating and drinking your own body weight and partying, for me anyway. The only stress in the night time is being so full that you are struggling to finish your dinner but it tasting so good that you can't stop; which, again, is a worry I don't mind having.

family and friends on holiday in Cyprus

Our night times consisted of karaoke, where I sung "No Scrubs" with my mum, which was quite a spectacle. They also included nights out in Ayia Napa. Ayia Napa was such a good night out if you ignore all the reps trying to get you into each of the clubs and being given shots with any drink you order. Although, we didn't go out every night. One night we stayed in the villa and did our own talent show which was the funniest thing. Acts included: a rap (by me), a roast, pool game activities, mind reading, etc. 

two girls at the Ayia Napa signs

While we were away, we had some celebrating to do. We celebrated a 24th wedding anniversary and a 24th birthday on the same day. Here we had a very nice meal and I think I had about 4 passion fruit cocktails that night to start with. I could not stop drinking them and I couldn't get over how nice they were. When in Rome and all that...

Before this year, I had never stayed in a villa before. Any time I had been away we would always stay in hotels so this was a pleasant change. It had a lot of advantages like eating whenever you want (I need to stop talking about eating), getting ready for the night time when you want and the option of staying in or eating out. In an all inclusive hotel, I will often get bored of the food in the main restaurant because they more or less put the same sort of food out each night and I'm quite the fussy eater so I would normally have pizza and chips every night (I'm not even joking). Eating in the different restaurants gave us different choices of food each night. For me, the best thing about the villa was being able to get into the pool in the middle of the night after going out without getting into trouble. 

pretty lights in a villa garden

Overall, I loved the whole experience and I would recommend a villa but one close to an area with a lot of stuff going on so that you wouldn't feel isolated. 

Highlights of the holiday:
1. Getting 119 with the bat and ball
2. Winning the talent show
3. Passion fruit cocktails
4. Waterpark
5. Watching my uncle dance to feed em to the lions.

Thank you so much for reading! I'd love to know where you have travelled to and about your holidays :)



LIFE UPDATE: UNIVERSITY

Sunday

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that this year I have been doing my A levels and applying to universities. I got offers back from all of my choices and with the results I needed and I have recently been accepted into my first choice, Bournemouth University, to study Communication and Media. YAY!

My A level results were:
Media - B
Philosophy and Ethics - C
English Language - C

I am happy with these grades knowing how hard the exams were and how nervous I was because ultimately, all that matters is that I got into my first choice university.

Now it's time for the exciting part of shopping and moving down! Shopping for homeware, shopping for stationary, new clothes; you name it, I'm going to shop for it. I have already got tickets for freshers' events and nights out in freshers' week so September is going to be a very exciting month for me and any of you who will be starting university soon. Obviously I can't wait to study either.

Stay tuned for my uni life updates!

Thank you so much for reading x

Bournemouth pier

TERROR ATTACK ON ARIANA GRANDE CONCERT

Wednesday


After hearing about Monday night's terror attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, I was truly devastated. A venue holding around 21,000 people including many children and teenagers was thought to be the "perfect" place to commit an act of pure evil. Among the 22 people that have passed away so far, approximately 12 of them were children. An 8 year old girl was killed, ruining the lives of people close to her and for what? An 18 year old girl, the same age as me, doing A levels, just as I am, was killed in this brutal terror attack; and what had these innocent people done except go and see one of their favourite artists in concert? For a lot of people, this was their first concert and many had been looking forward to it for months. A concert should be remembered for the music and pleasure you feel from watching and listening to your artists, not for fear and tragedy. 

Ariana Grande singing live

Despite the horrendous actions of Monday night in Manchester, there are a handful of people who are not showing sympathy for the people affected by the incident. For example, The Daily Mail has attempted to blame Ariana's choice of clothing for the terrorism. Other than being the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, it is also disrespectful to the 23 year old artist who is traumatised by the terror attack upon her concert on Monday. The star tweeted "broken. from the bottom of my heart, I am so so sorry. I don't have words", apologising for what had happened even though none of it was her fault, it was the fault of an extremist, sadistic group motivated by evil and ignorance. No one deserves to go to a concert to not come back, end up severely injured or fear for their lives. This was nothing other than a brutal attack on innocent people. Ariana Grande has offered to pay for the funerals of those who lost their lives to this tragic incident. How can anyone blame somebody who is willing to show this generosity?

However, this radical attempt at dividing Britain has failed because Manchester, and the United Kingdom are stronger than ever and there is so much support being spread through the communities. Support has been shown not just by the British people but from people all over the world. Unfortunately, I have never been to Manchester but the sense of community there that I have seen on the news is unreal, especially at yesterday's vigil. This just goes to show that nothing is going to break Britain no matter how many attempts of terror there are and the support in Manchester recently such as taxi drivers taking people home, hotels giving those targeted a place to stay and even homeless people helping the wounded makes me amongst many others, proud to be British.

Thank you so much for reading. RIP to the beautiful 22 whose lives were taken from them too soon. 

Manchester vigil for Ariana Grande terrorist attack


MY EXPERIENCE AT AUSCHWITZ - BIRKENAU

Auschwitz was the largest concentration camp used in the second world war by the Nazis. It consisted of Auschwitz I, Auschwitz Birkenau (II) and Auschwitz Monowitz (III). Auschwitz I was originally used for the Polish army but in the 1940s people began to use it as a concentration camp. It was decided that this camp was not large enough for the mass extermination of not only jews but homosexuals, Jehovah's witnesses, gypsies, etc. As a result of this decision, the Nazi's built Auschwitz II especially for the holocaust. Here, the living conditions were significantly worse than the first camp and seeing these conditions was unforgettable. Auschwitz II was also overwhelmingly larger than Auschwitz I or III although, some of it was blown up by the Nazi's to try to hide the terrible things that they had done. It was so empty and quiet, there were no birds, just visitors.

Entrance to Auschwitz Birkenau
Birkenau watch tower at Auschwitz
Some of the exhibits in the Auschwitz museum were absolutely heart-breaking. For example, the shoes that had been taken from them were displayed; even the hair shaven from their head was displayed. The people sent to the camps had all of their belongings with them as they were lead to believe that they were travelling to some sort of resettlement, a new life for them. When they arrived at the camps they would be judged and selected but they weren't aware of this. They would either be pointed in one direction for a "shower" or another direction to work. The people who were sent to the "shower" were also told to remember where they had put all of their belongings for when they come out of the shower but the shower wasn't really a shower; they were being sent to the gas chamber. There was an exhibit of the gas chamber at the museum with empty cans of the Zyklon B gas which was used. Seeing this was a very emotional experience but it was nothing compared to what it would have been like 75 years ago.

Image exhibition at Auschwitz

Another one of the many thought-provoking exhibitions in the museums was audio clips of Nazi's exclaiming their hatred for the Jews. They likened them to vermin and said that they should be exterminated. There are so many things wrong with this. 1. The Jews and all of the other millions of people murdered in the holocaust were all PEOPLE. Just like the Nazi's were (arguably) people just like I am a person. 2. This was only 75 years ago, that is not a long time. 3. How can a political party influence the genocide of 14,000,000 people?

I have not included all of the details about the concentration camps I visited because it is something you'd need to experience yourself. I would recommend for people to visit a concentration camp if possible because seeing it for yourself is honestly unforgettable. If you can't get a chance to visit one then I would also recommend even researching facts about the holocaust and concentration, labour or death camps because it is a thing that people should be aware of to make sure that nothing like this happens again.

Thank you for reading.