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!!! 
 

I touched the top of the world...

It's been almost a month, and I'm so incredibly sorry...
I've been meaning to post for a while, but between Mandarin Week in school, and writing my Personal Statement, and Uni conventions, I've just lost track of time. 

So, on Saturday, a group of us climbed Mount Snowdon (the tallest mountain in Wales and England) to raise money for Greece - 12 days and counting! - and my friend C's trip to Zambia (which took us about 9 and three-quarter hours altogether (including standing around in a car park, and lunch at the summit)).

It was an amazing experience, even if my legs were like jelly yesterday, and we camped in the rain, and one of our tents was missing a pole... The summit was incredible, and we were lucky enough to climb on a day where it was sunny, and we could see all the views (which is very rare)...

My friend's 4-year-old sister (who travelled up and back on the steam train) got really excited when her grandmother told her that they'd touched the top of the world.  She just went around to everyone screaming "Hello, I touched the top of the world".
It was so cute!

And this evening, I actually went for a jog.  Well, it was only from the post box about two minutes from my house, but I'm quite impressed by my impromptu "I-think-I-actually-fancy-a-jog" mood.  That's never happened before.
I'm normally more of a walker than a jogger, but y'know, fresh start and all that???

What Not To Do When You Look Like Casper The Friendly Ghost

Lads and Lasses, today I will recite to you a tale.
Are you sitting comfortably? Then let's begin...
This is a tale of what not to do when you look like Casper the Friendly Ghost...

I looked ridiculously pale this morning (to clarify, I always look pale, but today was worse than usual!), and I didn't have any foundation or tinted moisturiser etc. in my house.  But then I remembered that I had some bronzer that I used for my Year 12 ball, so, in order to give my face a bit of a "healthy glow" I applied it onto said face, currently thinking what an awesome idea I'd had, for once.

Long-story-short, 5 minutes later I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and realised - in my horror - that (with 10 minutes to eat breakfast and catch my bus) I looked like a pumpkin had a party on my face.  Then came home completely hung-over.

So then I spent the next 5 minutes rubbing my face raw of orange. 
Needless to say, that's something I won't be trying again in a hurry...

The Liebster Award

Hello!

So, I've been nominated for a Liebster Award *yayayayayay*!
A massive thank you to Sarah from A Glimpse of Blue for the nomination! :)

The rules are as followed:
1. Link the blogger that nominated you
2. Answer the 11 questions they have written for you
3. Give 11 random facts about yourself
4. Nominate other bloggers with under 200 followers who you think deserve the award
5. Post 11 questions for your nominees

Ok, so first things first, here are the questions I was given:

1.  If money wasn't an object, what would you do?
Travel. I'd love to be able to visit loads of countries, and spend time with the locals, and learn the languages...

2. What is your favourite book and why?
There's so many to choose from!!!
Probably 'Like Water for Chocolate' by Laura Esquivel.  I read it as part of my English A Level course and really, really liked it. 

3. If you could spend the day with anyone (has to be a real person) throughout all of history, what would you do and what would you talk about?
Probably King Henry VIII, because I love the Tudor era. But I'd make sure that it was before he divorced/beheaded all of his wives (etc.), and warn him that his favourite wife was going to die.

Actually, there's also Sophocles - I'd ask him (inquisitively) what inspired him to write 'Oedipus Tyrannus' - and Charles II (because everyone loves Charles II!)
We could have a tea party!!!

4. Sweet or savoury?
I like both! But I think I'll have to go with sweet today. Mainly because I'm craving pancakes and strawberry ice-cream!

5. What five songs would be on the soundtrack to your life?
- All You Need Is Love by The Beatles
- Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin
- Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley
- Not Crying by Flight of the Conchords
- One Day Like This by Elbow

6. (I'm stealing Freya's here ^^) Why did you start blogging?
The reason I tend to go with is that I have this book that I won in a magazine competition when I was 8 called '101 Things To Do Before You're Old and Boring'. And last summer, I'd finished my exams and had about 10 weeks before I had to go back to school, and I decided that I'd start a blog, because I didn't really have the money or effort to build a treehouse or travel to another country! 

7. If you could be invisible for one day, what would you do?
Another hard one! Probably something really boring and highly clichéd, like moving inanimate objects or scaring people.   

8. What is your favourite thing to do with friends?
Most of my friends are musical so I really like browsing music shops with them. I also really enjoy movie nights, playing card games, and sitting in coffee shops with them!

9. Most embarrassing childhood moment?
I was in drama group once and we were doing dance, and I was wearing this really weird pair of velvet-feel trousers (don't ask). I was sitting on the stage and as I jumped off to go and join in, my trousers caught on a loose nail on the side of the stage, and they ripped. In an unfortunate position. And then I had to do 2 hours of dance with ripped trousers. Yeah...

10. If you could live in any fictional universe, what would it be and why?
I don't know if it counts as a fictional universe, but I'd love to live on Gallifrey, because I really like Doctor Who!

11. Fashion or comfort? - Definitely comfort. Although I do like to dress up, I could live in oversized jumpers and t-shirts...

11 Random Facts About Myself:
1. I'm 5"2 and have only grown half an inch since I was 12
2. As a child, I secretly dreamt of marrying Peter Parker and living with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
3. I love the smell of vanilla, freshly-cut grass and chlorine
4. I enjoy Greek mythology
5. My favourite season is Autumn
6. I'm fluent in 2 languages
7. I love learning - I get joy out of learning new things!
8. My favourite superheroes are Spiderman and The Hulk
9. I currently have a slight obsession with Game of Thrones
10. I don't have any pets
11. I used to have an Australian pen-pal

Nominees:
F from The Fence of Stars
Rebecca from Rebecca Maria Photography

And here are my questions for you:
1. What is your all-time favourite film, and why?
2.  Do you speak any languages other than English?
3.  What is your dream job?
4.  Do you play any instruments?
5.  What would be your perfect day?
6. If you could have any superpower, what would it be, and why?
7. What inspired you to blog?
8. If you could swap places with any celebrity/politician/person-of-relative-fame for a day, who would it be, and what would you do?
9.  The Indoors or The Outdoors?
10. If you could live in any historical era, where would it be?
11. You can travel to any place in the world - free of charge. Where do you go?

Dear... Me

Dear 12 year old Me,

Hi, how are you?
Good.

So, although the point of writing a letter to your former self is pretty tedious, and defies the laws of the universe, I myself am a tedious person, therefore today I will be David Tennant and use my TARDIS to write a letter to you - my 12 year old self.

Firstly, just as a bit of a forewarning, don't fall into that hedge in Cross-country.
It will hurt.
A lot.
Don't say I didn't warn you...

Also, stop being so worried about what others think of you. Ignore them - soon enough you'll realise that the people who truly mean something to you won't laugh at you, or call you names. They'll be there for you through everything; so stick it out and you'll find them eventually.

And, don't wait for your best friend to discover rock music before you show people the 'real' you. Embrace who you are, don't make the mistake of trying to fit in with the crowd.  People appreciate you more if you're honest; sometimes it pays to be different!

Although brief, I just want you to know that whatever you do, it'll be Ok. You'll be Ok...

I don't know if this letter's actually accomplished anything, but I feel happy now, so all's good!
Forever You xx