Tips for panic-reduction

So I've been worrying a lot lately - mainly due to the fact that my final GCSE results will be opened in 17 days, I'll be starting college in September and I'm already panicking about what university's will be expecting of me! Today I will be sharing with you my panic-reducing tips...

Tip 1: Read. Even if you're not an 'avid reader' it can be anything - newspapers, fictional books, other peoples blogs! Reading focuses the mind on something other than what you're worried about, when reading a book you can imagine yourself in some strange land, far away from all your problems.

Tip 2: Music. I don't mean just listening to music (although listening does tend to help as well as it has been shown that your brain is at its most active when listening to music) playing an instrument, singing a little tends to release all that built up tension (I've resorted to this quite a number of times)

Tip 3: Decent Telly. It doesn't even have to be on your TV, go online find some TV shows that you don't mind re-watching, or watch the latest episode of your favourite programme. Mainly in my case I watched every episode of doctors 9 and 10 of Dr Who, although comedy will tend to help best (Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother and Black Books are a few good ones) as laughing releases endorphins which are 'feel-good' brain food!

Tip 4: Get up, get down and get outside! Make plans with friends to take your mind off things, even if it's just going round your mates for a good cup of tea and a nice chat.

So there you have it! A few tips to help you through what is going to be an anxiety ridden part of your year (if you are a student anyway!)

Blogception

So after many months of accidentally avoiding and unintentionally putting it off I watched Inception for the first time.

Why haven't I seen this film before?!?!

It was utterly brilliant and I can finally see why so many people raved about it; the effects were wonderful and the storyline was actually interesting, I liked slowly learning about the back-stories of  some of the characters - the mystery of them that made you want to know more. It was also surprisingly easy to follow despite how confusing the plot was meant to be and the ending, which everyone was so unsure of was quite clear in my mind. Although I'm not sure that my brain is right - I am slightly crazy (I laugh like an idiot through most horror films where I'm guessing I should be wetting myself with fear, the concept of someone being sliced in half by a door for example, is just laughable in my mind, I am convinced that I am mildly crazy)

This film has definitely made it onto my top 10 list though and is a definite must see.

So I have decided to go through all those films that I have been putting off in the hopes that my mind will become enlightened as to the 'improvements of the media' - this should be interesting.....

Marketing, advertisements, I hate them all!

So, I was walking along ye olde town (a name of whom I shall not name) when I stumbled upon this poster:

This annoyed me possibly more than the average passer by who would just shrug it off, drop their rubbish on the side walk and carry on with their lives. It got me thinking, how do they deem such a menial act as a sin? I've had enough Religious Studies lessons to know that dropping litter, at least in Christianity is not a sin, in comparison to something like adultery. It's the so called 'exaggeration for effect' thats meant to make an impact on the public and i just think its stupid.

It's not just random litter posters, it's the whole idea of the medium of advertisement. Pictures of thin models, half naked, advertising some new brand of perfume which surprise! Makes you smell like everybody else and only for the cheap cheap price of £70 for 50ml. Companies are going to extremes to get to the top of the consumerism food chain and all I see are increasing amounts of adverts between the re-runs of my favourite Doctor Who episodes!

No Mr Go Compare man, I will not buy your car insurance because of your ludicrous 'sketches' and no Injury Lawyers For You, coming on camera at stupid angles does not make me trust you, he who is claiming to be a 'real lawyer' let alone let you take my court case. Advertisements are useless to me, unless I suddenly hit a gold mine and send it to some random guy in an envelope. Horray for safety!

Disappointing Expectations

So, onwards with a unstructured, blog that lacks sustenance.

So a few weeks ago I went to go see Tim Vine (The almost bald guy on not going out) at my local theatre/stage/thing. I was thoroughly disappointed. What I thought at first would be a stand up performance featuring the one liners he's so famous for turned out to be a 'chat show' where he brought people out from the audience to tell their funny stories/moments. This as expected was not funny at all. I will give him credit where credits due, he did try his best to make their stories marginally humorous and managed to pick it up a little at the end by doing some of his weird songs. Still, I managed to come out feeling as though my life would not have been changed an inch if I hadn't gone to see him.

These are what I like to call unfulfilled promises. Well. Only in a slight way for Tim Vine (I did say this was unstructured!) It's like buying a really nice perfume in a tall box, only to find a short tiny bottle inside. Getting hyped up by film critics and friends about the latest film and coming out of it thinking it's 'all right'. I swear, I need to lower my expectations when it comes to the media and production lines.

Oooh a title box!

So for the first time today I played a sport called Lacrosse. For those of you who don't know it's basically throwing and catching balls with small nets on sticks. Kind of like those mini nets you get at the beach but more structurally sound. This was 'interesting' and a lot more vicious when you're playing with over-excitable, competitive 16 year old guys. Yes, I am getting to my point. So afterwards my friend told me a little fact about this 'sport'. You can LEGALLY kill people in it. Apparently because of the hardness of the ball, and the fact that you're flinging it at high speeds at head height it's fine.

So that got me into searching weird rules and then into weird sports, here are my findings!

• Ferret Legging: a sport where competitors tie the bottoms of their trousers, shove a ferret down there and pull a belt tightly around their middle. Whoever can last the longest with the ferret in their pants wins. Why would people choose to participate in this?? You'd have to be crazy!

• Wife Carrying: Men carry their wives on their backs through an obstacle course, the woman doesn't even need to do anything. A closer look at the rules shows that the wife doesn't even need to be your own!! To be honest this sounds like a lot of fun! I need to get married and find a crazy guy to do this with!!

• Rock, Paper, Scissors is an official sport... wait... I can win money doing this?

• And of course Quidditch, which I already knew existed in the 'muggle world' and fully intend to find the nearest team near me! Which is apparently the East Hampshire Quidditch Team:    Petersfield, Hampshire | South East England. I need to see this!

Fairy Tale Faux-pas

So it seems that while everyone was watching the football (a terrible play by Chelsea by the way but at least we won the FA Cup final) I was busy procrastinating through a method I like to call nostalgia. After a friend sending me an old Disney song (I won't say I'm in Love for those who are wondering) I decided to go watch some old Disney movies. The ones where the animation was amazing and you could see how long they worked on it. Soon afterwards I remembered reading this:

‎"Jasmine was in a forbidden relationship with Aladdin. Snow White lived alone with 7 men. Pinnochio was a liar. Robin Hood was a thief. Tarzan walked without clothes on. A stranger kissed sleeping beauty and she married him. Cinderella lied and sneaked out at night to attend a party. These are the stories our parents raised us with and then they complain our generation is messed up?"

To be honest, I couldn't disagree more! It is typical of our generation (me included) to blame others for our own mistakes. Saying that beautiful old movies like these influenced our behaviour is like saying that every kid who played Pac-Man spends every day running around in a dark room listening to repetitive 8-bit music and popping pills. The media does have some influence over our lives; but not this much. Don't blame Fairy Tales that taught us to love people inside and out, to believe that we could achieve anything, that there is always the possibility of a happy ending. 

This isn't who we are, as kids these stories were what kept our imaginations fresh, it is only now that we look back with our naivety gone that we realise such things. Just remember that we were innocent. That these stories were just a way to make the world seem like a better place.

May The Fourth Be With You!!

Okay, so maybe this post isn't about Star Wars, but who can resist that pun?

Stress: the body's reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response.

Signs of stress being:

- Staying up till stupid o'clock to finish coursework
- Banging your head on the desk until unconscious
- Holding your revision at arms length whilst shouting 'WHAT ARE YOU???'

Nowadays that seems to be all my life is full of. Every waking minute I have my ICT teacher breathing down my neck, pressuring me for work I have already produced, deducting stupid amounts of marks for forgetting the hyphens in 'one-to-many relationship' once. Not to mention the amount of numbers I have to analyse, blaring from my screen: mountains upon mountains of Olympic running times for my statistics coursework. Then people tell me to 'relax'!

Tell me. How do you expect me to 'relax'?

know GCSE's aren't meant to be that big of a deal and that A levels are meant to be 'a lot more important' but they are to me. I can't seem to help but want to succeed in life. I don't know whether or not it's some sub-concious need to please people or whether it's just instinct. But in a way (a really weird way mind!) stressing out over these sort of things IS my way of relaxing. I know that if I actually relax in the proper way things would never get done and I'd just end up watching Lord of the Rings back to back or enjoy a Big Bang Theory marathon. Stress is good for you. No matter what they say! Stress somehow manages to get everything done.

Tablet ebook readers

It has come to my attention that over the past few years we have slowly been drawn in to the technological world. Slowly everything that we used to do by hand or mentally has been taken over by 'apps' that mean that we don't have to think and can spend our time 'productively' - watching TV or socialising. Now I was never completely drawn in to begin with. Sure I've used the odd calculator or guitar tuner (which is a god-send!) on my phone but with everything else? Zilch.

Now there is something more than an app. Something that threatens what I see as one of the most important things in the world. Tablet ebook readers.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good idea many books in one accessible place and before you say we have libraries - on the go. However it doesn't compensate for the actual experience. The warm fuzzy feeling you get when walking into a book store, browsing through the endless possibilities, different worlds, opinions. Finding that one book that catches your eye and prizing it open, getting that amazing new book smell that you can't really pin down. Triumphantly carrying it to the cash register and walking out of there knowing you've found something brilliant..... or maybe it's just me?

There's just something about staring at that bright screen that irritates me, something about that glare just hurts my eyes and I'm never able to get into the novel. I like being able to physically turn each page and when re-reading old soppy novels seeing traces of where I've cried my eyes out on it's pages. It's just my opinion, it doesn't make it law but I can't help it, books have always been my life, somehow managing to cheer me up when I feel there's no one there for me. I just think that technology shouldn't take away what has been done for centuries and hopefully it never will.

Books contain memories and reading from a tablet just can't compare with holding the physical book in your hands.

Ooh I play guitar...You didn't know?

So this is one of my first covers, I quite like it so I want to share it with you guys :) (I'm very sorry for the image freeze I recorded it using youtube)

Mentally sorting myself into a house

So, a week or so ago I was asked 'Which Hogwarts house do you think you belong to' - the key word here being think.

I'm not one for the on-line quizzes so I sat down and had a good old think. To quote Night at the Museum 2 'I'm thinking, I'm thinking, I'm thinking' and to not much of an avail. So i started looking individually.

Hufflepuff: Now this house is extremely underrated, Hufflepuffs are loyal and are all about friendship and kindness etc. However, this is all they really are: Sheep. They follow the herd and in return don't actually get heard. Apparently they are also extremely good finders (of which I am not) Unsurprisingly I don't think I'm Hufflepuff. Although the hard working side I can relate to...

Gryfindor: If you ask someone they will almost automatically say Gryfindor; why? because Harry Potter was in it. But without really considering what it means to be one of them. I tend to associate this house with confidence. Of which I am extremely lacking. I'm not exactly the most confident person in the world, but I am working on it. using things like YouTube and BlogTv to get little boosts of confidence. To be honest, I'm not brave or daring. The bravest I can be is when everyone's scared of a spider so I either grab it or squish it - usually the latter.

Slytherin: Not to say that Slytherin is a bad house but...I'm not generally an evil person. I'm blunt but criticism is prejudice made plausible is it not? They're cunning, something I have never been; but ambitious which I do like about them as I do like to aim high. However they also show huge amounts of self preservation and tend to only think of themselves, I detest people who do that. So definitely not Slytherin.

That just leaves Ravenclaw. After thinking long and hard, I'm sure this is where I'm meant to be. Ravenclaw is about intelligence and wisdom, something about the constant strive for knowledge just pulls me in. I like intelligent people, having good long debatable conversations. Most of all, I like how Ravenclaws have the individualism trait. I like being an individual and saying what I think is right, not what everyone else is saying. I like being myself and looking how I want to look. Which is something I think everyone should strive to do.

What to do with the latest generation?

When I was a wee young-en' and I say this in the lightest manner (being only 16), life was pretty simple. You weren't really judged on what clothes you wore. You could go out and play football with the boys and no one would think twice. Skipping ropes, Dexter's Laboratory and Tamagotchi's were all the rage and the world in general seemed a nicer place.

But now it feels like every move is watched, judged and punctuated. You can't seem to go two steps without someone asking you where your jeans are from, if the trainers your wearing are converses or knock-off's and you're distinguished and singled out by what music you listen to.

Now I don't know whether or not it's my knowledge increasing, my naivety declining or all creativity diminishing but today's children are crazy and technology driven. I see 5 year old's playing with ipads and 10 year old's on their iphone's dressed head to toe in Jack Wills whilst talking to their 13 year old boyfriends. I will admit, I do get jealous but then I remember that I had a more fulfilling childhood. Heck I'm part of the Harry Potter Generation! That's something these kids will never, ever realise.

''Expected, rejected, they still don't et you,
Impure, unsure, from all the shit that you've been through''

DFTBA,
Your British Blogger,
Kirsten x

Crazy last two years of secondary school

The world of the GCSE. The world where teachers are under appreciated and parents constantly quote 'We never had to learn this in my day' and 'What about nun-attacks? Geography GCE's (because they still can't remember about that extra letter) are going to the dogs!'

The media is constantly churning out drivel about how GCSE's are getting easier. Is this even true? Or have we found that in order to succeed in this crazy world we need decent grades? Besides, we may get the grades but during the actual exam it's like we're dismantling a bomb, unbelievably hard and likely to blow up in our face if we get it wrong.
Besides, have you seen some of these questions? Can you tell me how the rise in economy is likely to lead to Global Warming and link it in with Einstein's Theory of Relativity? (Completely exaggerated I know but defiantly needed to get over the point)

Not that I am completely for GCSE's. I hate them as much as the next student and the exam board is no better. They can't seem to make up their minds on a syllabus. In the past 5 years they have changed the syllabus at least 4 times. The I.C.T (information and communication technology for the idiots and computers for the Americans) course is stupid. It''s less to do with actual computer skills and more just essays! STUPID. STUPID. STUPID!

Well now that rant is over take this as a message: We STUDY we don't just need a C and suddenly we're engineers. Times have changed and adults (the older generation of them) can't seem to understand them. Stop complaining about our grades and concentrate on things that matter (like university fees - which are stupidly high!)

Sites...

Just to say that I'm on a site with a few friends.. I WILL still be posting to here as well but it would be really nice if you could visit it :)
http://dontletthebuggersgrindyoudown.com/

The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars

Well, I woke up at silly o'clock and have been listening to this song on repeat for two hours whilst repeatedly taking apart and reassembling a Gordian's Knot. It's based on my favourite book 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green. Enjoy!

How Music Helps Shape My Decisions....

Music has been an important part of our lives for thousands of years. Just hearing the opening bars of your favourite song can brighten your mood; yet to someone else it may make them want to hit themselves on the head with a mallet.
I know we all have varied tastes and I admit some people's taste kinda makes me want be physically squeamish. But at the end of the day, it's their choice and I guess; your own fault for not appreciating that.

I know that there have been moments in my life where a single song has helped me get through it. (Cue the least 'deep' memory ever) Remember school assembly silences? There's always one person who giggles. Yeah, over there in the corner. That's me. I'm the type who bursts out laughing in the two minute silence. Which is really disrespectful. So, in order to control myself I always replay Something, Anything by Travis just to get my mind fixed on something other than what my mind will drift to - stupid, meaningless and completely off topic, mutated thoughts. The ones that make me look like a bumbling idiot.

But we do all get those songs in our heads. Whether it be the annoying 500 miles chorus or something as beautiful as Unintended. But then the *insert generic mp3 player here* goes and screws up my train of tunes:

Now I find myself quite open to most music genres, even though for me it's mainly indie/indie rock and it's great for finding different tempos, beats and lyrics to suit my moods, but it can cause certain... complications.
Most of the time I have my player on shuffle so sometimes it can switch from Enter Shikari to... taylor swift. Which to be honest is really annoying. 

That's the stupid thing about liking so many different genres. When you get absorbed in a song and then the stupid thing decides to change to something completely off genre/depressing/too upbeat. Why can't it read my mind? (They should invent something like that)

Now I'm going off topic. I guess what I was meant to be saying was that depending on what song is playing, whether it be in my mind, my player or around is how I react. So don't say something annoying when 1D/Justin Beiber/ JLS is playing because I will most likely/possibly hurt you.....

''You're the constellations
   That guide me''

DFTBA,

Your British Blogger,
Kirsten x

Bad Metaphors

Now I don’t know about you, but I find it extremely hard to get all of my thoughts down on paper. Mainly because they’re just short snappy ones that only last a couple of lines and don’t fit in with many of the other little thoughts. This causes me to say a lot of weird things.
Lets take an example (see keeping with the pee theme): a few moments ago (whist writing this) I said, and I quote ”aaaw I just wanna ruffle his hair” this was said in response to me posting earlier that Brian Cox was a weird vaguely cute scientist.
What. In the name of all that is carbon caused me to say that?
I swear if you open up my head you’d see an evil scientist mutating every single good thought I have and the good thoughts would fight back…its just that well they’re a bunch of synapses and neurones aren’t they?
See what I mean? Partially good metaphor – kaaput.
KEEP ON THE POINT.
Now if someone would give me an essay question, related to the modern world; that I could do. It’s just the whole thinking process. Trying to think up of a topic. Getting halfway through what you think may be a halfway decent post and realising you’re an idiot and the post is just complete and utter trollop.
So, if you ever need an insight into my mind just pick the nearest fly hitting a lightbulb.

DFTBA
Your British Blogger
Kirsten x

A Stab at Poetry

So last night...I woke up with a craving for fruit juice...went back to bed and wrote poetry. Oh dear...

The spoken word is a difficult thing,
I beg, I say,
To differ, to dream,
For is not each day poetry?
Full of sound, sense and feeling?
And so I stand, back turned,
Bearing the weight of my world on my shoulders,
Trudging silently,
Living my life as I have seen many,
But what, I ask, is my difference?
How am I to find what others have lost?
In this cycle of colours,
Year after year,
Green, to gold, to brown,
A handful of fleeting moments,
A spiral of senses,
And what world is it,
Where war is deemed fair?
Love for the chosen few,
Where am I supposed to fit?
A piece among many,
in a box of seven billion.

Moral of the story: Don't drink cranberry juice at 4am. Bad idea.

''So take my words, they're all I have,
'Cause fate is written in the stars,
Give me courage, take my hand, take my heart''


DFTBA
Your British Blogger,
Kirsten x

A rather personal post....oooh alliteration!

So, it's Valentines day and I thought I'd share with you children a short story.
So it was Autumn/Summer of 2010 and I was doing my DofE (Duke of Edinburgh's award - basically walking and map reading and camping and freezing your ass off in a tent). We were setting up camp for the night and my friend started telling me that everyone had been trying to get me together with this guy, she constantly told me that she had been hinting the fact that I had nice boobs to him all night. (FYI we never got together)
Now that I look back I realise that I should have told her this:
I don't want a guy to like me just because I have good boobs or a nice body. I want him to love my laugh, my smile, the way my mind works. Not something superficial, something with deeper meaning. We don't live in the 18th Century! And if the way I look is his reason for liking me. Then screw him.
We all deserve a guy who likes us for us.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Where can I find,
Someone like you?

DFTBA,
Your British Blogger,
Kirsten x

Hudson Taylor

So, apparently I have readers! Scary thought that people are reading my thoughts and ideas... but I thought i'd take this opportunity to introduce to you some music.
These guys originally started out as Harry and Alfie, a busking duo (of whom I am the proud owner of a signed copy of their EP) but they got in a backing band and are now better than ever! So give them a try, clicky click the video below if you wish; and don't knock it till you've tried it.

Harry and Alfie by themselves...

''Because with every step
I'm lead towards the truth
So there's no use in fighting
I've no innocence left, armour has no use''

DFTBA
Your British Blogger
Kirsten x

You know your British when your told to PEE all over your exam

Point. Evidence. Example. Something I'm very bad at. Which is probably why my blog posts are always so short. However. PEEing is a rather large part of my English exams which are only in a couple of months now. I'm finally getting to the realisation that I don't have that long left in school school; and to be honest that scares me a little. I'm not one for the idea of always moving forward and even though the thought getting out of this constricting and frankly, ugly uniform and making my way towards the freedom of college is an amazing one; it's also daunting.

I mean the whole idea of starting over again, new image, new people is great but there's also the worry that people won't like you, you won' find anyone or make a good impression. Then of course there's new classes where hundreds of people are going to be smarter than you, using the bus system to college for the first time. Yeah, I'm completely confident...

Well, there's still a few months before all that and I'll be glad when the exam stress is over, if only for a little while.

''And if I was a betting man I'd bet you love me too
I'd bet everything I had for the chance to be with you
Oh if I was a betting man my odds are 9-2.''

DFTBA
Your British Blogger,
Kirsten x

A word on literature...

Well hi, it's been a while and people keep asking me why I haven't posted recently.... and to be honest I don't know why and I don't have any excuses! Anyway onwards and upwards!
So it's the 1st of February and I've already completed some of my goals! I got into college, I managed to finish Inheritance (which if you don't know is the last book in the Inheritance cycle, which started with Eragon) and with plenty of time to spare. I have promised, also, not to spoil it so all I'll say is that it's an extremely brilliant end to an amazing series and if you haven't started them (or gave up on Eragon) they're defiantly a worthwhile read.

However, shortly after finishing this, I found myself engrossed in the latest of John Green's books. 'The Fault In Our Stars', which I received, signed! Weeks ago! I managed to finish it in about 5 hours and it became, after an hour reading it, my all time favourite book. It is a work of literary genius and is more than a worthwhile read. Read it and fall in love with Augustus Waters. In fact, I loved it so much that I wrote fan mail. To America.

''What a slut time is. She screws everybody.'' - The Fault In Our Stars - John Green

DFTBA,
Your British Blogger,
Kirsten x

Revision, revision and yes. More revision!

So, I guess the title says most of it. I haven't been able to post because I have been way too busy revising for my  GCSE mocks. (ICT is a pain and human geography will be the death of me)
So there's my excuse.
On with the actual topic that I've been trying to avoid. New years resolutions.

We all make them and lets be honest, none of us keep them. I can't remember the last time I actually made one! So this year I have decided not to make a resolution but to make an achievement. Things that I want to accomplish this year rather than give up. So, here are my new years achievements...

1. Get into college
2. Pass all my GCSE's with A's or above
3. Get 50 subscribers or above for my collaboration channel MegaNerdation
4. Do something amazing. (very unspecific but, oh well)
5. Finish Inheritance before he does.

Another thing I wanted to talk about was GCSE's. Luckily I study hard and get mainly good grades however, this year the lower year (Year 10's) were completely and utterly ridiculous. The range for their maths exam this year was A*-F. This is the worst score that my school has ever recieved! It makes me so angry that they care so little about their future! Don't they know that what they do at GCSE affects how they will do in the future? And of course, the teachers, who spend so much time with them to help them achieve the highest grades possible... it's like throwing it back at their face with a knife attached.
Also, the only person to get an F, got it at foundation. It's just so stupid! They're throwing it away. But, as I have said to others who have said that it will affect the teachers reputations; they're good teachers, they provide the help, it's whether or not the students will accept it.

''I'll always keep you with me
You'll be always on my mind
But there's a shining in the shadows
I'll never know unless I try''

DFTBA,
Your British Blogger,
Kirsten xx