Along with the rest of my family, I have been a pretty avid musical theatre fan for as long as I can remember. As well as going to see both touring productions and shows in the West End, from Matilda to Rocky Horror, I have also been involved in school and Am Dram productions which have been some of the best experiences of my life. However there are still plenty of shows that I haven't seen,  and there are a few current and future West End shows that are right at the top of my list to try and see this year. 

Les Miserables

I know, I know, what kind of musical theatre fan does it make me that I have never seen the stage version of Les Mis. Every year I say I'm going to see it but then never do, opting instead for newer shows. But it was recently announced that the show would be changing after its theatre has been refurbished, and they would be getting rid of the rotating stage. I'm now adamant that I will see this before it moves and changes later this year. 

Mamma Mia

Another theatre classic that I have never seen. The film of Mamma Mia is one of my favourite films ever and I saw the sequel in the cinema three times last summer, but for some reason I've never thought about going to see it in the theatre. But then one of my friends who is also a massive fan of the film went to see it last year and said it was such a fun experience so I'm now desperate to go and see it myself.

Wicked

Writing this list is making me feel like an absolute fraud of a theatre fan! Again, this one has been on the West End for years and years yet I've still never seen it. At this point it would be pretty much impossible for me to not have heard the music from this, although I've never actually listened to the entire soundtrack. But having listened to and loved songs like Popular and Defying Gravity for years, I feel like I need to finally see the show and understand the context behind them. 

Waitress

Not knowing much about it, when it was announced that Waitress would be coming to the West End I didn't really think anything of it; I'd heard good things about it but it wasn't at the top of my list. And then I heard 'She Used To Be Mine'. And I've had it on repeat ever since. I haven't listened to all the songs on the soundtrack because I don't want to spoil the whole plot for myself but I have loved every song that I have heard so far and I also just love Sara Barailles' music in general. I am so excited to hopefully see this soon and I cannot wait to be able to listen to the whole soundtrack!

Dear Evan Hansen

Another one making its West End debut this year, Dear Evan Hansen is a show I've been wanting to see since listening to the soundtrack for the first time around 2 years ago. With this one I have listened to the whole soundtrack (multiple times) as at the time I didn't know it was coming to the West End and didn't think I would ever be seeing it on Broadway (and still don't to be honest). I've heard so many things about how incredible and poignant this show is and love the prospect of being able to see it in person sometime soon. 

What shows are you wanting to see on the West End this year? 

Seeing as when I was at university I was lucky to read one book a year, one of my New Year's resolutions for this year was to read twelve books (aka one book a month). I decided to set up a Goodreads account to try and keep track of what I'm reading and hold myself accountable for keeping up with my resolution and I thought as well I would write a little blog update each month with my thoughts and reviews of what I've read. As you can see from a quick glance at this post, I've pretty much smashed my one book a month target and am already a third of the way through my goal for the year at only one month in! So, here are the books I read this month:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling (5/5)

Believe it or not, I haven't read or seen every Harry Potter book/film, a fact that can often be met with looks of disbelief or (playful) disgust. I hated reading when I was younger and even though my siblings were obsessed with the whole Harry Potter universe, I really struggled to find any interest in it. A few years ago I tried reading them again and, whilst I enjoyed them, I stopped after book 4. But after a trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour I'm determined to have read them all by the end of the year. This is therefore a re-read but it was definitely just as enjoyable the second time around; the characters are all still just as compelling and the magical elements just as fascinating. Whilst there's a lot of character introduction and scene setting, it works so well for getting you immersed and invested into the wizarding world. 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling (5/5)

After loving the first book, I couldn't resist starting the second and I ended up reading it in less than 24 hours. Again, this was another re-read, and again it hadn't lost any of its charm the second time around. Because it had been a while since I first read the book and also since I've seen the film, I could remember all the major things that happened but couldn't remember exactly how they happened, meaning I was hooked on every word as things were slowly revealed. I don't think I really need to write anything to convince anyone to read this book but I can definitely say I am far more invested than I was the first time around and doubt I will be stopping at book 4 again. 

Hope Never Dies - Andrew Shaffer (3/5)

This is potentially the best, worst, and weirdest book I've ever read. Told from the point of view of former Vice President Joe Biden, it follows his adventures with President Obama as they team up to find the culprit of the murder of one of Joe's friends. You can obviously tell from this synopsis that this book is intended as just a bit of fun, but unfortunately the novelty factor wore off for me about half way through. Being English, I don't know much about Joe Biden, but as a character in this book he was annoying and whiny, acting like a teenager who'd just been broken up with. To be fair, the ending was good and unexpected, however overall I felt like I had to keep reading because I needed to find out 'whodunnit', rather than because I wanted to. 

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling (5/5)

Even though I haven't read all of the Harry Potter books I can say with complete certainty that this will always be my favourite of the seven. Sirius Black is without a doubt my favourite character, closely followed my Remus Lupin, so the introduction of these two characters alone makes this book great. But I also think there's something more to it that sets this book apart from the ones before. Whilst great, the first two books in the series are often setting the scene for something bigger, and I feel that this book begins to make clear some of the things they are hinting at, widening the story to become something more than just Harry and his friends. Basically I just love this book!

As you can probably tell, the next few updates are likely to contain a bit more Harry Potter as I make my way through the series but I would love to read as much as possible this year so let me know in the comments what your book recommendations are!

Thanks for reading!

Based on what i've seen online, 2018 has been a bit of a strange one for almost everyone; it seems to have lasted forever but has flown by at the same time, and has been full of some amazing highs but also some pretty awful lows too. For me, 2018 was the year I graduated, turned 21, finally saw Taylor Swift live, had an amazing holiday to WDW with my mum and sister, became a Disney cast member again, and was reunited with my CEP roommates, but I also struggled with my mental health more than I ever have done before. 

Going into 2019 I'm feeling pretty motivated to make this year the best that it can be so I sat down and made myself a few resolutions. This isn't something I do every year because I don't want to put pressure on myself or feel bad if I don't achieve them but I think I've made them quite manageable and not too tricky to keep up with (let's see if I'm still saying that in 6 months time!). So here are my New Year's resolutions for 2019:

1. Get a job in copywriting

This one is the big one for this year; having now graduated from uni and finished as a Christmas temp it's time for me to find a full time job. It's taken a very long time but after years of having no idea i've finally figured out that copywriting is the career I want to go into. Whilst I know I'm very unlikely to just land a perfect job straight away, my goal is to have a copywriting job of some sort by the end of the year. This one is definitely the hardest of all of my resolutions as it's not just down to me but I'm feeling motivated and ready to apply to as many openings as it takes. 

2. Write at least 2 blog posts a month

It's amazing to think that i've been writing this blog for almost 3 years now when you look at how few posts i've actually published in that time. When I first started I found it hard to get the motivation to write when I spent so much of my time writing essays for uni, and I was definitely writing posts that I thought others would want to read rather than just what I wanted to write. Now i've found my footing and am writing for me more than anyone else, I love using this blog as a creative outlet and I have so many ideas and drafts waiting to be written. I know to some people 2 blog posts a week is nothing but I want to start off with a manageable goal and go from there. 

3. Exercise more

I've specifically made this resolution quite vague so I'm not feeling stressed about going to the gym a certain number of times a week or only eating a certain number of calories a day. I'm not so fussed about doing this to lose weight either, but more just for my health, both physical and mental. I'm determined to get outside more, go on walks and just generally moving about a bit more. 

4. Eat less meat

Again, this one is quite vague as I don't want to commit to a specific figure and then beat myself up for not achieving it. I would like to maybe have at least one day a week where I make a specific effort to not eat meat but right now my aim is to just eat less than I do currently. 

5. Book/go on a holiday to somewhere new

As much as I love going to the Disney parks it's been a while since I've been somewhere completely new to me and gone to explore a new country or city. Because I don't know what job I will have I don't know if I'll be able to afford to actually go on this holiday this year but i'd like to at least have one booked. My dream at the moment is to go to Salzburg and visit all the places from the Sound of Music, one of my absolute favourite musicals. 

6. Start to learn sign language

Having studied English Language, languages naturally fascinate me and sign language in particular. I learnt a bit about it when I was at uni but I want to start to learn how to actually speak it so I'm going to try and find some online courses or youtube videos to help me.

7. Read 12 books this year

Whilst you might expect an English student to read hundreds of books in a year, my dyslexia means I'm a slow reader and it can take a while for me to get into a book. When I was at uni I didn't want to spend my free time reading when I had to read so many textbooks and journal articles for my modules but in the 6 months since I graduated I think i've probably read more than I did in my whole 3 years at uni. I've created a Goodreads account and have set myself a reading challenge on there to keep me motivated to stick to my goal. 

Do you have any New Year's resolutions? Let me know in the comments below

Thanks for reading, 

Amy xxx

Seeing as I'm lucky if I write 24 posts in an entire year let alone one month, I am not even trying to attempt to do Blogmas this year; I never have and I probably never will. I am however loving reading everyone else's Christmassy content and I wanted to write at least one festive post during the season. 

Even though the vast majority of people in the UK celebrate Christmas, the way you choose to celebrate it is incredibly personal and can at times be pretty polarising. For a lot of people it's obviously about the religious aspects of the holiday, for others it may be about spending time with family and friends, or maybe its just all about the food and presents. But however you decide to celebrate of course you're going to believe that your way is the right way and everyone else is just wrong. From films to food, here are my unpopular opinions about celebrating the holidays. 

1. Elf isn't the greatest Christmas film of all time

Maybe it's just over-hyped or maybe it's just because I don't like Will Ferrel but in my opinion Elf isn't the best Christmas film and it isn't even on my favourites list. I feel like someone a couple of years ago said that they loved Elf and then the internet just ran with it and it was suddenly everyone's favourite but I watched it after not seeing it for years and it's really not that great. Again, it's probably just because I don't like the kind of comedy that's in Will Ferrel films, but give me The Holiday or Love Actually over that any day. 

2. Gingerbread and mince pies are gross

A very big part of probably everyone's Christmas is the food; from pigs in blankets to brandy flavoured everything, we eat a lot of great food that for some reason we don't let ourselves have at any other time of the year. But two of the most quintessentially Christmassy foods, gingerbread and mince pies, are, in my opinion, disgusting. Don't get me wrong, I love decorating a gingerbread house and eating all the sweets and icing but I hate the taste of ginger, and I don't like anything involving dried fruit so for me mince pies are just a waste of good pastry.

3. Yorkshire puddings don't belong in a Christmas dinner

Don't worry, I LOVE Yorkshire puddings. But in my opinion they belong with roast beef and not roast turkey. And, if I'm going to be having extra carbs with my Christmas dinner, I'm going to be having mountains of sage and onion stuffing and, more importantly, bread sauce. 

4. Unthemed trees are nicer than themed ones

There are definitely some beautiful themed Christmas trees out there but for me, I love the completely random collection of decorations we have on our tree. Not only do they look great once they're all together but they hold so many memories. We have decorations from places all over the world, from New York, Sorrento and, of course, the Disney parks. We have decorations that my mum sews every year with the date on. And we have slightly terrible, slightly falling apart decorations that me and my brother and sister made when we were little that we could never get rid of. I would much rather have those memories to look back on than making sure all my baubles are a particular shape and colour.

5. I don't understand the hype surrounding the John Lewis Christmas advert every year

This part of Christmas is a bit of a weird one for me. Most people would say that Christmas is so much more than gifts and consumerism yet at the same time it seems that Christmas doesn't officially start until the Christmas advert of a giant retail store has been released. Now I know that it's just a bit of fun and yes, these adverts can be very moving and beautiful but at the end of the day it is just an advert. And if we are talking about Christmas adverts I think that John Lewis have felt too much pressure in the past few years to come up with something spectacular and a lot of other companies have really stepped up their game and overtaken them. 

Obviously when you go on a holiday to Walt Disney World your main priority is going into the parks. Whether you're more interested in the rides or the characters, you want to make the most of the tickets you've paid for and experience all those fast passes you've been patiently waiting 30-60 days to do. However, there are also so many amazing things to do on Disney property outside of the parks, for when you want to still experience some Disney magic but without the busyness and craziness of the parks. 

The Boardwalk

Again, whilst this is a Disney resort, I feel like I have to mention the Boardwalk on its own as I believe it's a cut above all the rest in terms of evening entertainment. The Boardwalk is one of the Epcot resorts and is beautifully situated looking out over Crescent Lake and the Yacht and Beach Club resorts. According to Disney, it evokes 'turn-of-the-century boardwalks in such coastal cities as Coney Island and Atlantic City' and, whilst I've never been to those places, you definitely feel transported away from Orlando. As well as being able to walk along the Boardwalk and take in the stunning atmosphere, there are also plenty of shops to look in, including an amazing art store, numerous bars and restaurants, photo booths, and cute little stalls selling classic boardwalk snacks such as funnel cake, fries, and foot-long corn dogs and hot dogs. If you're over 21 you can also spend the evening at Jelly Rolls, a bar that has duelling pianos and audience sing-a-longs. Because of it's location, depending on where you're standing you'll also be able to catch a glimpse of both the Magic Kingdom and the Epcot fireworks, although you'll have to make do without the accompanying music (unless you're like me and my friend who just sang the whole of Happily Ever After for ourselves). 

Mini Golf

If you're looking for a bit more of a hands-on activity without having to wait in hour long queues for rides in the parks, I would 100% recommend going for a game of mini golf. I think this is possibly my favourite thing to do outside of the parks, so much so that when we did it last summer we ended up playing twice in one day after enjoying it so much. There are three mini golf courses at Disney World, one at Fantasia Gardens near Hollywood Studios, and two at Winter Summerland by Blizzard Beach. Whilst I don't think there are any direct buses to these locations, you can get one to the nearest locations and just walk over to them. All the courses are really well themed and I think its a great thing for the whole family to enjoy and get involved in (especially if you're in a very competitive family like mine!). Whilst this isn't in the parks, you will still be getting your money's worth from your tickets if you go to mini golf as it is included in the price of the UK ultimate tickets. Whilst it is fun and can get a bit competitive, it's a really great way to have a bit of a relaxed morning/afternoon/evening as you're able to take things pretty much at your own pace. 

Thanks for reading, and let me know in the comments what your favourite things to do outside of the parks in Disney World are!

Amy xxx

One of my friends from home was in Florida on holiday with her family so I went to meet her in Disney Springs and we had a lovely morning. We went to Sprinkles for a nice healthy breakfast where I had the chocolate marshmallow cupcake and we sat and had a good catch up while we ate. We then went round all of the shops before going to Blaze for lunch. Luckily we managed to get a seat inside because while we were eating it started absolutely chucking it down with rain! Unfortunately it didn't stop anytime soon and I had to walk in it to the bus stop to get my bus to work and got absolutely soaked! I spent the evening at work doing stocker/fryer but my family had arrived in Orlando during the afternoon so it was so weird doing my shift knowing that they were literally about 5 minutes away but I wouldn't be able to see them until the next day.

Sunday 23rd July - Magic Kingdom with my family

My family rented a car so they came and picked me up from housing and it was so amazing to see them! We spent the day in Magic Kingdom and went on Big Thunder Mountain and the Little Mermaid before having lunch at Be Our Guest. I had the croque monsieur and a chocolate cupcake and whilst it was nice, it was a bit disappointing compared to dinner. After lunch we watched the parade and did Haunted Mansion, Mine Train, Carousel of Progress and the People Mover before having dinner at Tony's which was delicious. My parents then left to go to Walmart and me and my brother and sister went on Buzz Lightyear before watching Happily Ever After - It was so amazing seeing their reactions to seeing it for the first time. We then got some dole whip before getting an uber back to the villa my family were staying at where I stayed for the night... it was so amazing to sleep in a proper bed with a comfortable mattress and a duvet!

Monday 24th July - Trail's End and work

My flatmates and I made a last minute breakfast reservation for Trail's End so my parents dropped me off at Fort Wilderness and I met them there (after getting a bit lost). Not only did we get an amazing cast discount here, but also the food was absolutely incredible! I tried American biscuits and gravy for the first time and they were actually really yummy (you can read more about my thoughts on this breakfast here). After breakfast we had a wander around Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge, before I got the bus over to Disney Springs to meet my family and sat with them whilst they ate lunch at House of Blues. My dad then gave me a lift to work where I was on greeter for the evening. 

Tuesday 25th July - Hollywood Studios and feeling ill

I stayed with my family for the night again so I went with them to Hollywood Studios for the morning where we did Midway Mania, One Mans Dream, Frozen Sing-a-long and Muppet Vision, as well as meeting Olaf. We ate lunch at ABC Commissary and then I had to get the bus over to AKL for work. I was on greeter again but halfway through my shift I started feeling really dizzy and nauseous (I think I had a bit of sunstroke from earlier in the day) so I got an ER and my dad came and picked me up. 

Wednesday 26th July - Epcot and breaker

I woke up feeling so much better and went to Epcot for the day with my family. We went on Finding Nemo and Spaceship Earth and then went for a wander around the World Showcase, stopping off at China for some orange chicken for our lunch. I had to leave mid afternoon to get the bus over to work where I was doing breaker for the first time. Whereas usually we would have one role that we would do for the whole shift, if you are breaker you get to do a little bit of everything whilst other people are on their break which I really enjoyed and it definitely made my shift go a lot faster. 

Thursday 27th July - Lazy day

After a few very busy days with my family I decided to have a lazy day and had a lie in until 11:30 before ordering some Dominos for lunch and watching some YouTube videos. Whilst I loved spending time with my family it felt so good to have a day of doing nothing and being inside in the air-con! I then went to work for the evening and my parents came to visit me during my shift as they had gone to Boma for dinner which is the restaurant next to where I worked. 

Friday 28th July - Kennedy Space Centre and Longhorn Steakhouse 

Because my family hired a car we were able to go and do some things slightly further away from Disney so we drove down to the Kennedy Space Centre for the day. We had such a good time looking at all of the launch pads and learning about the Apollo missions - we were given a tour by a man who used to do the countdowns for rocket launches! It was really fun and also really informative and I would definitely recommend it to anyone going to Florida. On our way home we stopped for dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse where I had a steak with sweet potato and mac and cheese. This is probably a really generic restaurant for Americans but it's really nice food and super cheap compared to Disney prices. We then took a trip to Target before going back to the villa. 

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for next week featuring more time with my family and my service celebration!

Love Amy xx

(You can check out my other posts on Disney and my CEP here)

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

This Christmas market | This ice skating rink

These snowman marshmallows | This Christmas wrapping

This shop window | This hotel entrance

This decorated porch | This Christmas tree

Hi everyone, long time no see! (2 and a half months to be exact) In case you didn't know, I spent my entire summer in Florida, working at Walt Disney World. I had planned on writing a couple of posts over the summer to keep you all updated but all of my spare time was spent sleeping or playing in the parks and I had no time to sit down and write anything. So this post is to catch you all up with what's been happening with me and what I'm planning for my blog over the next couple of weeks/months. 

I had the summer of a lifetime and had so many incredible experiences that I can't wait to share on here. I'm planning on making a haul post of all the merchandise I bought, sharing some of my favourite photos, and doing week-by-week diary posts detailing all the things I got up to each week. My plan is to write one regular blog post and one diary post every week but we'll see how that goes. Before I left, I wrote a Disney World bucket list that I've been updating over the summer so check that out here to find out what I managed to do (turns out I was a little bit optimistic with how much free time I thought I would have!)

I'm super sad that I can't just hop on a bus and be at Magic Kingdom within the hour anymore, and it's a lot colder in England than I'm now used to, but I am excited to be back and blogging again and I'm really looking forward to starting my final year of uni in a couple of weeks. 

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for plenty of Disney posts over the next few weeks.

Amy xxx

I cannot believe it's already time for another monthly favourites post! This year is going so quickly, it seems like only a few weeks ago that it was Christmas! I wasn't able to post last week because I had three essays due in and the last thing I wanted to do in my free time was write even more! But I'm back now and I'll hopefully have at least one post a week like normal up until I go to America (I can't believe it's only 7 weeks away!!). But anyway, here are my April favourites;

A few weeks ago I ordered another I Heart Makeup Unicorns Heart Rainbow Highlighter after my first one arrived broken and I have since become obsessed! It is so pretty and pigmented, all of the colours are beautiful on their own but when you mix them together they make a gorgeous highlight colour. I was worried that it was going to be a bit in your face but when it's on it's actually quite subtle and just looks lovely. I wore it when I was in Disneyland and will definitely be taking it to Florida with me!

After using the Garnier micellar water for quite a few months now, I decided to try their new Micellar Water face wash and so far I am loving it! I haven't seen any drastic changes in the condition of my skin, however it makes taking off my makeup so much easier! Instead of having to scrub at my face with multiple cotton wool pads every evening, I can just wash my face and it comes off so easily. If you're already a fan of the Garnier micellar water I would definitely give this a go.

My PNY portable charger was an absolute life saver in Disneyland! I got this for my 18th birthday but I haven't used it for a while and I'd forgotten just how useful it was! When fully charged, it can charge your phone fully 2 times, or it can charge 2 phones at the same time. When you're snapchatting and instagramming all of the time, whether in a Disney park or not, your battery can drain so quickly and this is definitely a must have item for me now.

I had had my old phone case for over a year so I decided I needed a change and was drawn in by this gorgeous pastel case from Coconut Lane. Not only does it look really pretty but it fits on my phone really well and is really comfortable to hold. It's a bit thicker than my old case which took some getting used to but now I don't even notice it. (Btw I know a lot of bloggers work with Coconut Lane but I don't, this is just my honest opinion of a cute phone case that I bought).

 Thanks for reading and have a wonderful May!

Amy xxx

So if you don't know, and by this point I'm pretty sure about 99% of the population do, I'm going to be doing the Walt Disney World cultural exchange program this summer. If you don't know what that is, basically I will spending 2 and a half months working in one of the restaurants at Disney World in Florida! Because I'm going to be working in America, I needed to go and get a visa, so I thought I would tell you about my experience of applying for and going to get my visa.

Before I could book my appointment, I needed to apply for my visa online. This was possibly the most stressful part of the whole process as I had to answer so many questions and fill in all of my details... I was so worried I would put something in wrong and mess it all up! You don't have to do the application all in one go, as long as you remember your application ID you can save it and finish it another time, so I completed mine over about 3 days. Once I'd finished filling in everything, the last step was to take a visa photo; this is basically the same rules as a passport photo except it has to be square. For this I just took a selfie in front of my white bedroom wall and used that! 

After I'd completed my application I could book my appointment at the US embassy. When you go to get your visa, you have to give them your passport as part of the process and it then gets sent back to you with your visa. Because i'm going away in April, I wanted to book my appointment as soon as possible to make sure I had my passport back in time so I actually booked it for just 2 days later. This was really simple to do and only took about 10 minutes. I then had to pay my SEVIS fee (I'm not entirely sure what this is, I just know I had to do it!) and I was all ready to go!

So the day of my visa appointment arrived and after an incredibly stressful morning in which my alarm didn't go off and my phone didn't charge, I got the 6:15 train into London in order to make my 8:30am time slot. I had so many documents with me and I was sure that I had left something incredibly important at home but it all went absolutely fine. When I got to Euston I met the girl who is hopefully going to be my roommate when we are in America and we got the tube over to the embassy together. She was so lovely and I cannot wait to spend my summer with her! 

We actually got to the embassy at about 8am but we had to queue outside for half an hour anyway, in which time they checked we had all the necessary documents with us and we went through security. Once we got inside we were given a little ticket and were told to wait until our number was called. This actually took way less time than we thought it would, and whilst we were waiting we realised the Warwick Davis was there getting a visa as well! After about 15 minutes my number was called and I went up to one of the booths. After giving them all of my documents and taking my fingerprints, I went through to another part of the building to have my 'interview'. This was a lot more informal than I thought it would be and only lasted about 5 minutes. I was asked what I would be doing in America and what my plans were for when I come back and that was it... I had a visa! They tell you at the end of your interview if you have been accepted or not and I had, so now I just need to wait for it to be sent back to me. We had heard loads of horror stories of people waiting in the embassy for hours so we were pretty surprised that within an hour and a half of arriving in London we had already finished!

I can't believe that tomorrow is only 100 days until I leave and now I have my visa everything seems so official and real! Before I went to get my visa I had no clue what it involved so I hope this was helpful to anyone currently getting a visa too!

Thanks for reading!

Amy xxx