Trying To Act Like I Know What I'm Doing

It is official...
I am an adult.

I have waited so long for this moment to arrive.  To finally be old enough to have a proper bank account, to enter TV competitions, to be taken seriously as a human being...

But, to be honest, I don't really feel any different.

And, actually, (surprisingly), I don't really care.

I thought that I was ready to grow up, become an adult, be independent, but now I realise that I'm still just that naïve lost child who just wants to spend time with her family, and sing along to Disney songs, and just be loved.
And I don't know if I'm ready to lose that part of me just yet.

So, although I can now legally buy alcohol, and count as a supervised person at a swimming pool, I'm not yet all grown up as an 'adult' supposedly should be.

I'm just standing here, trying to act like I know what I'm doing, when really I'm just as clueless as the next guy.  And, honestly, I couldn't care less.

Happy Birthday Teenage Blogger Central! (TBC Blog Party Tag)



1. What made you decide to take up blogging, and what inspires you to write till today?

 I decided to start this blog in 2013 during my HUGELY LONG summer holidays after finishing my GCSEs.  I'd come across a book that I won in a competition when I was younger called '101 Things to do before you're old and boring' and I decided that I'd finally get around to doing some of them! One of them was - obviously - to write a blog so - ta-daah! - the blog was born.

I'm inspired to write by so many other blogs and bloggers, but also by any random happenings in my life that I tend to write/rant/whittle on about in my posts!

2. How did you find and register on TBC? Did you find it helpful and worth recommending to others? 

Even though I didn't register until about October 2013 (on my old URL) and earlier in 2014 (on my current URL), I came across TBC before I'd even properly set up my blog (so, mid-July 2013?)  I was in awe and envy at all the amazing teenage blog talent on the site, and still feel passionately that everyone at TBC have done such an amazing job with the site, and it has helped me so so much with my blogging, so thank you!!!

3. What awesome blogs have you found through TBC? Link them up! 

There are SO many incredible blogs that I've found through TBC, so I apologise for missing anyone out!

1. A Glimpse Of Blue
2. Sempiternal Reader
3. The Fence of Stars
4. Lyn Loves Wolves
5. EPB Art
6. A Teenager's Guide To The Galaxy


4. What do you like best about when you connect with other bloggers your age?  

I find it really nice that my posts are often relevant to other bloggers my age, and vice versa. I think it's probably easier to connect with other teenagers, because our issues and embarrassments are often similar, and it's so nice to find people who share the same interests as you.

5. What do you hope to achieve through your blog?  

Mainly just to inspire people to write regardless of who they are or where they're from.

6. How do you say “Happy Birthday Teenage Blogger Central” in your language? 

Penblwydd Hapus Canolfan Blogio i bobl ifanc!
(Word-by-Word translation: Birthday Happy Centre Blogging for People Young)

So all that's left for me to say is: Penblwydd Hapus Teenage Blogger Central!!!!!


 

Troye Sivan - The Fault In Our Stars

I can't even write a sufficient blog post to sum up just how beautifully heart-wrenching this song is.
For once, I am lost for words...

We Are Infinite

Hello!

So, I've finally done what soooo many people have been telling me I need to do for about 4 years now.

I have finally read 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'.

[queue cheers from about 50 billion people]

So, 'Perks' is one of the many books that one of my friends read during one of her 'I-love-books-not-war' phases a few years back; therefore one of the books that I've been expected to read ever since. 
Obviously, since I am a bad human being, I haven't really read any of these books.
Up until now, that is...

Anyway, I borrowed the book from my school library yesterday afternoon, on a complete whim (well, the librarian reserved it for me before the summer, and I kind-of forgot...) and finished it at 11.45 this morning. 
That, for me, is some kind of record...

And, I actually really enjoyed it.
Which, in a weird way, kind-of surprised me.

I expected - because of all the hype surrounding the book, and the film (which I haven't yet seen) - that I'd be slightly disappointed. 
But, fortunately, I was not.

The only issue now, however, is that I'm not really sure if I want to see the film anymore...
It may sound like a rubbish reason, but now that I've read the book, I kind-of have the image of the characters in my head; the way that I see them looking. And I think that watching the film - like with 'Hunger Games' - will make it weird.  I don't know...

Anyway, sorry for babbling on.  

I hope you're all well, and that you had a great summer!

Bye for now x

The Sunshine Award

To mark my 50th post, I must say a huge thank you to F @ The Fence of Stars for a Sunshine Award nomination!

As far as I can tell, the rules are as followed:

1. State 5 facts about yourself
2. Answer the 5 questions received
3. Create 5 new questions and nominate more bloggers for the award

Ok, here we go!

The Facts:

(1).  I know all the words to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody
(2).  I'm mildly claustrophobic after going caving when I was 12
(3).  I've only grown half an inch since I was 11
(4).  I used to have a slightly strange celeb-crush on Richard Gere
(5).  My favourite TV show of all time is a French version of 'Traffic Cops'

The Questions:

(1). What is your favourite mythical creature?
Definitely the Cyclops.  I have a thing for Greek mythology, and ever since I heard about this creature as a child, I was awed.

(2). If you had to change accents, which would you choose?
My mum and I both have a thing for certain regional Scottish accents. It got the point that, one day, when my mum was speaking to the insurance company on the phone she called me over, handed me the phone, and made me listen to the man that was speaking because he had a "nice" Scottish accent.

But I went to Amsterdam last weekend and realised how much I actually like Dutch accents.
And I also quite like Australian accents. Practically everyone likes Australian accents. It must be a default thing.

So, to answer the question, my ideal accent to adopt would be that of a Dutch-born Scot (preferably from Renfrewshire) who's emigrated to Australia...

(3). What was the last good book you read?
To be honest, I haven't really read much in a while. I have a bit of Reader's Block, although I'm really trying to get back into the habit of proper reading, and the book that started to propel me on that course was "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold.  I was lent the book by my English teacher just before the summer, and I read it all in 2 days - the quickest I think I've ever read a whole novel! It was just so gripping and spine-tingling and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through!

(4). What's your favourite modern slang word/phrase? 
 I tend to use the word "epic" a lot. It's not really a modern slang word, though...

(5). What's a little-known fact you just found out?
I found this little gory fact out this morning (so I'm cheating a little bit here) in a book called 'Elephants on Acid' : A man in Soviet-era Russia tried to artificially-inseminate female chimps in Western Africa with human sperm, in order to create human-ape hybrids.  (It didn't work, btw. Although, had he had more time, they say he may have been successful!)

So yes, my nominations are:
Sarah @ A Glimpse of Blue
Andrea @ Sempiternal Reader
Freya @ A Teenager's Guide to the Galaxy

Guys, my questions for you are:

(1). What's the last book you read, and your thoughts on it?
(2). What's your favourite quote/saying?
(3).  When are you at your happiest?
(4).  What is your party trick/ unusual talent?
(5).  Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

Teenage Blogger Central

I've been blogging for over a year now, and for 6 months of that year, I've been registered to the incredibly awesome teen forum 'Teenage Blogger Central'. 

For those of you that don't know, Teenage Blogger Central is a teen-run and teen-orientated blog forum, dedicated to (you guessed it) teen bloggers!  The site is run by the lovely F, an Irish teen blogger who decided to bypass the status quo and set up a site dedicated to inexperienced teen bloggers who just want a place to express themselves!

TBC is like a little family, and ever since I joined (a naïve 17 year old blogger with about 200 page views and a whole load of posts about nothing) I feel like such a part of it.  You don't even need to have any experience of blogging. TBC has given me so much inspiration over the past months, and the talent on the site is endless - you're guaranteed to find a blog that suits your interests!

If you're not already sold, here's a list of even more positives:

1. Your page views increase LIKE CRAZY
2. You can meet all sorts of fellow teen bloggers who share similar (or completely different) views and blogs to you
3. It's in no way intimidating, and you're not required to do anything more than YOU want to do

Win-Win? I think so!
So, if you haven't already, sign up!
You won't regret it, I promise you...

Sign up to TBC HERE! (it's free and easy!)

Tinos, Tanning and Tzatziki

Hello!

So, I arrived home from Greece Saturday afternoon, and it was incredible! We spent 9 days in a little village called Kardiani on Tinos island, where we renovated 2 paths - one leading down from the village to a beach, and another one next to an old marble fountain. The work was hard, particularly because of the heat and humidity - which we're not really used to here in the UK - but was definitely worth it, and the locals were all so lovely, and thankful for what we'd done for their village!

This was my 1st proper volunteering project, but it's really made me incredibly determined to volunteer more - by making me realise that I get joy out of helping others!

We then spent 2 days in Athens, where we visited the Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum, Syntagma Square, and the beach...  It was really nice to experience both sides of the spectrum - first a small village (with less than 60 people), then a bustling city!

Here are some pictures I took during the project:



The first section of the path to the beach, after being cleared





This is a small section of the path by the fountain which we were clearing

 



Sunset from the roof of our hostel in Athens



The view from the hostel



The Parthenon

At the Acropolis

At the Acropolis





Our pots, made in a little village called Aetofolia

Remains of a temple dedicated to Zeus


Even though I was in Greece for 2 weeks, I have barely tanned. I'm still almost as pale as I was just before I went out there... My mum's determined that they left me behind in London!!!