Amy Beatrice: University

, by Amy Beatrice

Life Is For Living

If I had a pound for the number of times people have asked me what I want to do when I graduate, it feels like I'd be rich enough that I wouldn't have to do anything. And when I say people I mean everyone; from lecturers and tutors to friends and family, and even the nosey nurse I saw at my annual pill check up at the doctors. I now that they are just interested in my future and what I want to do with my life, but it can get quite frustrating when it's the opening to every conversation you ever have. For a long time I would make something up, say I was looking at various different things or that I was interested in something I didn't even really know anything about. And whilst I am looking at various different things, the honest answer to that question is 'I don't have an effing clue'.

I was watching one of Brogan Tate's recent weekly vlogs (which you can watch here) whilst at the gym the other day and something she said really stuck with me; 'life is for living'. It's a phrase I've heard multiple times before but at that moment it was exactly what I needed to hear; I seemed to have some kind of epiphany whilst running on the treadmill. It made me realise that I should live my life exactly how I want to live it, and do things that I want to do rather than simply what is expected of me. If all goes to plan I will be graduating this year at the age of 20, which is still pretty young (the average is 21-22), even if just the idea of graduating makes me feel absolutely ancient. I've definitely felt over the past few years that I'm then expected to get a 'proper' office job and start my career as soon as I finish university. But I've realised that I don't want to go straight into a 9-5 office job after spending the last 17 years of my 20 years of life in full time education.

A lot of people take a gap year between finishing school and going off to uni, doing anything from working and saving money to travelling the globe. Whilst going straight to uni after finishing my A Levels was 100 percent the right decision for me at the time, I now feel like I need to take a gap year once I graduate. Though I definitely won't be going off travelling the globe any time soon and I'll need some kind of job, I want to be able to take a year where I have very little pressure on me. The last year of university has been so incredibly stressful with multiple essays and deadlines all happening at once, and I would like to have some time where I don't have to think about deadlines and word counts and referencing before I then become part of the real world and have to worry about the stresses and deadlines of a 'proper' job.

Whilst it will hopefully be a year of less stress and worry, I don't plan on doing nothing for a year. I plan on taking the year to reflect and figure out exactly what I want to do in life, and travel more and visit my friends in all the far reaches of the UK that I don't currently have time to go and see. I have already started applying for work experience placements so I can figure out if what I've been thinking about doing career-wise is actually what I really want to do, and I will hopefully be getting a part time job somewhere (fingers crossed for an opening at my local Disney store because I would love to be a cast member and part of making the magic once again).

It's taken some time but I've finally realised over the past month or two that it's okay to not know what you're doing in life, and probably more people than you realise are going through the exact same thing. Whilst there are some lucky beans out there who know exactly what they want to do and have done since they were 7, and have all the relevant experience they need and a 10 year life plan, it's okay if you're not one of them.

Thanks for sticking with me with this very rambly stream of thoughts. I'm determined to make 2018-19 my year and hopefully putting my thoughts and plans out there in the world instead of having them just in my head will help me to make sure that happens... Just 6000 words of assignments, a dissertation and an exam to go before then though!

Love Amy xx

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, by Amy Beatrice

In happiness planner, inspiration

Happiness Planner Review

Before the new year, I went on a mission to find a practical but pretty new planner to use in 2017. As a student, I wanted something that allowed me to write down all of my assignments, readings and due dates, whilst still giving me space for jotting down any notes, to-do lists or appointment times. After searching everywhere, from Paperchase to Kikki K, I had pretty much given up hope of finding anything that fitted that description whilst still looking cute. Either there was only space to write down assignments and work, or there was only space for writing out a schedule, there didn't seem to be an in between. However, I was lucky enough to be given a Happiness Planner from my parents for Christmas and so far, it's fitted my needs perfectly!

First of all, can we talk about how pretty this planner is? Mine is Serenity and Rose Quartz, however it is available in three other colours too. I love that a lot of thought has clearly gone into the packaging as well as the planner itself, with each planner coming in a gorgeous matching box (with a few extra bits inside as well!). Not only do you get a planner, but you also get a rose gold pen, rose gold paper clips and binder clips and various different sheets for organisation and thinking about the year ahead.

At the front of the planner, there are load of pages for reflection on the previous year and your goals and resolutions for the coming one. I never normally stick to my resolutions, but having them written down in a place that i'm constantly seeing has made me think about them a lot more and try and stick with them. I found this section really useful at the beginning of the year to help me stay motivated for a new term at uni.

As well as this, there is a page at the start of each month to write down your personal and work goals specifically for that month, as well as things you will be doing that month and anything you're particularly excited about. Like with the resolutions, having my goals written down makes me a lot more motivated to get them done so I'm able to tick them off as I go. At the end of each month there is also a reflection page, allowing you to think about all the good and not so good things that happened and what you are grateful for.

Each day has its own page in the planner, something that I really like about it as there's plenty of space to write everything I need to. Whilst there are sections to write out your schedule and to-do list, there is also space to write down good things that happened that day and what you're looking forward to about tomorrow. Having to actively think about the good parts of my day has really given me a more positive outlook as I can always find something good, even if I've had an awful and stressful day.

Whilst this planner is not particularly cheap, I think it is definitely worth the money. It offers a lot more than a regular planner and I think it would suit anyone's planner needs! (Also it's absolutely stunning and looks lovely sitting on my desk!)

Thanks for reading!

Amy xxx

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, by Amy Beatrice

In Birmingham, degree

The University Tag

I'm now into my first full week back at uni after being in Disneyland Paris for the first half of last week and I've just about gotten back into the swing of things which means I'm getting back into the swing of blogging. Most of the time when I don't post a blog post it's because I'm super busy with uni work so when I saw this university tag I thought it was only fair to do it myself and let you guys know more about what I get up to whilst I'm here.

Where do you study? The University of Birmingham and I absolutely love it!

What do you study? English Language. I've done a whole blog post on what English Language students do (here) but this year in particular I am studying phonetics & phonology, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics and discourse analysis.

What year are you in? I have just started my second year... I honestly can't believe it's been a whole year since I started!

Do you live at home or at uni? I live at uni in a house with 7 of my friends and we've only been here 2 weeks but it's already so much fun

How old are you? I'm 19

What are your three uni essentials? A planner - this is my life saver! Sometimes I think that I have hardly any work but then I realise that I have loads of reading to do so having it all written down makes sure you won't forget anything important Washi Tape - this sounds really weird but it is such a cheap and easy way to decorate your uni room. You can get it in so many different patterns and it's completely removable without leaving any marks so you can personalise your room without worrying about ruining the walls A comfortable pair of shoes - again this sounds like a weird one but if you're like me and you have to walk for a while to get to uni then this is definitely essential. I have a 25 minute walk to and from uni every day which added on to walking around campus in between lectures means I actually do quite a lot of walking in a day so comfy shoes are a necessity.

What is your favourite meal to cook? Stir fry, it's super quick and easy but you can change it slightly every time to make it a different meal

What is the latest you've been to the library? Literally like 3 in the afternoon... I prefer to work at home so I only ever go to the library to do work in between my lectures

Ever done an all nighter to finish work? Nope, I'm the kind of person who likes to get work done as soon as possible so I'm not stressing at the last minute. I also don't work well in the evenings because I'd rather be doing other stuff

Your favourite university moment so far? Definitely when we made Christmas dinner last year. There were about 12 of us sitting on the floor around 2 coffee tables in the corridor next to the lifts so we'd call the lift to come to the floor then when the door opened we'd pop party poppers into them. The food actually turned out amazing and we listened to Christmas music and danced and I cannot wait to do it again this year!

One piece of advice for a fresher - Don't worry about not making friends, everyone is in the same situation as you and everyone wants to make friends, even if you don't make a really close friend within the first couple of weeks, once you get to know people and become more comfortable then you'll make tonnes of friends. Also if you are worried about making friends then join loads of societies because you'll meet loads of people who have the same interests as you and you might end up learning a new skill as well!

Something you worried about for no reason - Apart from worrying I wouldn't make any friends I think my main worry was that I was going to be really homesick. Although there were some things about home that I really missed, I love uni more than I ever thought I would and made some great friends who make uni feel like a home away from home. Also, I only live about an hour away from Birmingham so I know that if anything is happening at home or if I'm not feeling well then I can just get on the next train home or pop back for the weekend.

I really enjoy doing these kinds of tag posts and letting you guys know a bit more about me so I hope you enjoyed this and thanks for reading!

Amy xxx