Four years in the waiting....

Hi again! It has definitely been a while since I last posted. I apologise for the lack of posts recently, in all honesty the hectic schedule that's come with returning to university has given me a bit of writers block, but here I am back again and ready to get going. 

From the small Kent festival in 2012 that is LeeFest to playing two nights at the O2 in 2016 Bastille have definitely grown a lot in the last four years. 

When tickets went on sale earlier this year I lept at the opportunity to finally see them again, and purchased tickets for myself and my best friend, as well as my parents. 

I can truly say they were definitely worth the four year wait! With a perfect mix of new and old songs, i found myself singing along the whole night, in amongst a very rowdy and excited crowd. 

The excitement of the band to be playing a sold out show at the O2 transferred to the crowd, with one of the most energetic standing area I have ever been in. The jumping and singing just didn't stop.  
The use of the screens on stage to tell the story of each song, was a great way to get the crowd engaged with the meaning of the songs, as well as show off the bands unique and artistic character. 

I was looking forward to hearing 'Pompeii' live again as well as their new songs 'Good Grief' and 'Send them off' however, out of the many songs played 'Fake it' was definitely my favourite live. The powerful vibe that the song gave off in the huge O2 arena created an amazing atmosphere, which I think I will struggle to ever forget. 

As well as seeing Bastille we were also lucky enough to see their two amazing support acts 'Jagara' and 'Rationale'. It's always great to hear new music, and you never know a few years down the line they themselves may be playing a sold out gig at the O2.

After not being to a concert since March I was reminded how much I love hearing live music, and I really hope that I am able to go to many many more gigs very soon! 

Thanks for reading :) 

Back to reality....

As my second year of freshers fest has come to an end I'm finding myself writing this post to distract myself from the current state of freshers flu that I'm in. Don't be fooled, it is a thing and it defiantly isn't fun....but so worth it. 

I thought I'd use this form of procrastination to share my thoughts on the beginning of my second year, and my hopes for the year (dreams if you will). 
Already I've got a sense that this year is much more serious than my first, with the amount of pressure I am currently under to start searching and applying for placements. As my course is four years, I have the opportunity to go into industry for a year between my second and final year of studying, to get an idea of the working world and what I may want to do. This is an extremely exciting concept, as who wouldn't want to get a taste of the industry they're so passionate about...without the commitment of being tied down for many years. The world is my oyster. 

However, the mass of placements and applications can be a little overwhelming, as I found out the hard way, and I have defiantly discovered that its worth asking for some help to make your application the best it can be. Obviously I'm expecting to be rejected from many a placement opportunities but it doesn't make that experience any less disheartening. However, positivity is the way forward and I am determined to stay in that mindset. 

This year I've also taken on the challenge of a part time job alongside my studies which could be challenging when all the deadlines start to pile up but I think this will be a beneficial challenge in the end. Being able to balance work, studying and social activities is a key life skill so why not start now. Although, I've only completed two shifts so far at the student union bar I am confident that I'm going to enjoy the job and the new group of people that comes with it.

In addition, to getting a part time job I also worked as a Student Ambassador at the University open days. I love these kind of events as it gives me a chance to meet lots of new people and share my great experiences, which I hope prospective students would find helpful when making their decisions about university. Not only did I get to meet lots of prospective students but also chat to a new group of people that already go to the university, which is always nice. 

As usual freshers fortnight was a blast, in which it was great to catch up with everyone I hadn't seen in the long four month break. It was also a time to go out and have a bit of fun without the worry of having lectures the next day which is always a pro. 
However, starting lectures again has taken a little bit of time to get back in the swing of, but hopefully it'll become more of a routine again. 
I'd defiantly advise any new freshers to stock up on lots of tissues, tea and cold and flu medicine, because lets be honest freshers flu takes a while to shake off, and the comforts of home are not as close anymore!

I hope to continue to push myself in new ways this year, and take the next big step to achieve my dream career. 

Here's a few of my favourite pictures from freshers, thanks for reading! :) 

Body positivity

Body positivity is a huge topic within the media today, and something that has been of great significance to me growing up. I've never been someone who has had much self confidence when it comes to my figure, which I guess many people are the same. It's such a sensitive topic. 

However, I think it's important to talk about these issues, which many are created by society and social media. 

As a teenage girl I think these issues are especially poignant. The constant pressure from sites such as Instagram and Tumblr can have such huge effects on someone confidence. Constantly comparing yourself to these model like figures, which are often hugely distorted by societies opinion of perfection. Who wouldn't love to have perfect abs, and toned legs, but lets be honest, unless your a major gym goer or fitness fanatic many of these figures are not obtainable. Of course it is so important to strive to be happy and healthy, and I salute anyone who had the motivation and determination to get these attributes but this doesn't mean they are any more acceptable or beautiful than every other body type. 

This issue came to my attention recently while I was browsing some of my favourite shopping sites online. It shocked me to see that the models these sites were using and advertising as 'Plus Size' were no where near plus size, but were merely curvy. Placing this label on people who have a different body shape could have some detrimental effects upon someones view of their body. Suggesting that curvy means larger, which is in no way accurate. 

I guess my point here is that I, like many women struggle understand why we are constantly advertised certain aspects as beautiful, rather than individuality, or the promotion of happiness. After all every one is different. I hope in the future advertising on social media will adapt with the times and place a more positive outlook towards body positivity, but for now I guess it's your attitude towards this and yourself should be the main driver. 

Food for thought....

From a very young age food has been a huge interest of mine in which when given the chance to study Food Technology I was extremely excited. 

It is this passion for food that has driven me to now study a degree in the subject. However, down a slightly different path than I first thought. When searching for food degrees just over two years ago I was instantly drawn to Food Science and Nutrition or Food Technology degrees. 

Never did I think that two years later I would be studying a more business related food degree. But this is a step I am so glad I took. Learning about a different side of the industry I love so much has not only been academically challenging but also extremely interesting. I even found I quite enjoy learning about the agriculture side of the industry which I never thought I would considering how much of a city girl I am.

However, the aim of this post wasn't to talk about this passion of mine even though I could go on and on and on about it! 

Learning about food and nutrition has been a huge health driver in my life, allowing me to fully understand the properties of the food I'm consuming. This is knowledge that I hugely value. 

As a child my love for food (maybe a bit too much...) lead me to be fairly overweight for my age, which I look back on now and cringe slightly. I really did not understand anything about nutrition. Looking back on this I've realised how lucky I was to have the opportunity to study nutrition because this encouraged me to make a change in my lifestyle
. From the start of my foodie adventure in 2009, when I was in year eight, I changed my diet for the better.

 Now I didn't make any huge change but being more aware of what I was eating, and how much, made a great deal of difference to my weight and health. 

Although, I am not the slimmest of people I'm now of a healthy weight for my age and height which was always a huge driver for my younger self. I also quite enjoy working out and seeing results from this, which I never used to have the motivation for. 
 Of course like any human being I don't follow a strict diet because of this knowledge but try and maintain a balanced diet based upon these foundations. And after all we need a treat once in a while. 

 My huge passion for baking also leads me to creating some of the most unhealthy foods out there, but my joy in this comes from seeing other people enjoy my creations and not myself....which I suppose is a bit cheeky really!

It is for those reasons that I believe it is so important for all young people to have the opportunity to learn about nutrition in school. I've learnt that is is a subject that is hugely undervalued within academia. Throughout school I was (unintentionally) put down about studying Food Technology due to the outdated views of the subject as 'just' cooking. 

This caused a lot of irritation to not only me but all my fellow foodie students, my parents and my food tech teacher.
 For starters cooking is a key skill that you need in life so its just as important to learn as anything else, which when starting university I found quite a few people did not have this skill. But also to be able to be good at cooking, at A-Level standard, you have to know a fair bit about the interaction of foods and the science behind the nutrients within food. This is what many did not understand. 

I can remember not only my family, but many of my friends being blown away by the amount of work involved in the subject, as well as the amount of time I would spend completing this work during my breaks and after school. 

This is still an ongoing battle within the education system with Food Technology being dropped as an A-Level subject, which hugely upset me to find out. Students like me will no longer get an opportunity to learn about this amazing subject at a higher level, which I think is a great shame. Of course some nutrition is taught within the Biology syllabus however, this is not from a hugely foodie direction. An issue also arises from this as students similar to me who are not as tuned into science subjects may struggle to be able to study it at all, which could cause issues when applying for food related degrees. Of course one person like me cannot change societies views on this subject but I hope to raise some awareness to those I can about how important this subject is to our daily lives. 

The food industry is one of the fastest growing industries throughout the world, contributing hugely not only to the economy but a huge percentage of our global workforce. There will always be jobs in the food industry, and an ever growing need for graduates within this field to fuel innovation and development, which I hope to contribute to in the future. 

For now all I can do is carry on my passion and hope that others will come to realise what a hugely important subject it is, and follow the footsteps of individuals such as Jamie Oliver who are trying raise awareness for this. 

With an ever growing obesity crisis throughout the world, and two billion people suffering from micro nutrient deficiencies it is evident that change needs to be made. Making consumers more aware of their food choices, as well as how to maintain a healthy lifestyle on a budget is of great importance, which could be aided through proper education. 

I hope I've maybe got you thinking about your lifestyle and the little changes that could be made to start becoming healthier. After all a healthy diet doesn't have to be a boring one! 

http://www.fao.org/3/a-c0064e.pdf

A new chapter: Budgeting and student cooking

This is the final post of my mini series of University life posts, which I hope have been of some use to anyone who's starting university. The final piece of advice I wanted to give was on budgeting and student cooking, two things in which some may not have done a lot before (haha). 

As I lived at home with my parents throughout my time at school you could say I had it pretty easy when it came to budgeting because I didn't have much to pay for. Don't get me wrong I had a part time job so I could afford to buy my own clothes and go out with my friends but apart from that everything else was pretty much sorted for me. This is probably very common, which is why I thought it would be good to give a few tips on how I budgeted myself with this new sense of freedom and responsibility. 

Before going to university I did a lot of research on things that I would be spending money on in which rent, food, books and social activities topped the lists. From my experience your student finance loan may cover most or all (if your lucky) of your rent, so when it comes to that all you have to worry about is paying it on time. However, when it comes to food shopping there are a few things you can do to save a few pounds. 

Luckily I was placed with a group of people who quite liked the idea of shopping and cooking as a group, which saved so much money. On average we spent £15 a week each (at most) on a group shop, which is pretty damn cheap for seven days worth of meals. But of course there were a few things that we would individually buy which would mean that I tended to spend around £25 a week on food/drink at the most. Compared to some fellow students that I spoke to this was extremely cheap compared to the £50 they were spending! 

Cooking as an eight also had its perks too! 

Doing this meant that we would all eat at the same time and socialise rather than eating dinner in our rooms or on our own, which in the long run bought us much closer. This also meant that those who didn't know how to cook (*the boys*) could learn. It really did shock me to find out that some people didn't even know how to cut up a piece of chicken.....I'm not even joking!

We also were able to enjoy a variety of recipes that each of us had picked up at home, which were lovely to try. Having communal milk defiantly saved a lot of arguments about who stole who's milk as well! 

When it comes to buying course books I'd say leave this till your lecturers advise you on which books are recommended to buy. The reading lists for many courses are huge and most of the books are available for free from the library, which also place copies online for students too. My advice would be to only purchase the books that you are likely to use throughout the entirety of your degree, rather than for just one term. Doing this saves a lot of money, as I learnt that university text books are rather expensive! 
In your first few weeks go and check out the library and browse their online resources to get to grips with the systems they use, and to see which books are relevant to your course, you'll be thankful for doing this later in the year. 

You'll quickly learn as a student that pasta is your best friend. It is such a versatile ingredient that is super easy to cook and doesn't break your poor student bank account. However, to save yourself from boredom of eating plan pasta and cheese seven days a week take a look at some recipes online and build up a bank of them to get some variety. My favourites have been chicken pesto pasta with tomatoes and Parmesan, roasted pepper and spinach penne pasta and a classic lasagna. It's defiantly worth taking a look at the TASTY page on Facebook for recipe inspiration. 
To save money on healthy ingredients such as fruit and veg take a look at frozen options. Now some may have certain views on frozen goods being not as healthy as fresh however, this is defiantly not accurate. Frozen fruit and veg can often have greater quantities of those important vitamins and minerals than fresh due to the methods of transportation and storage conditions that fresh goods are stored in. Whereas, with frozen foods being frozen virtually as soon as they are picked their nutrients are locked in, and are retained for a greater length of time. As well as this frozen veg is very often much cheaper....what more could you want! Using frozen fruit on your porridge or yogurt in the morning is a great way to get some of your five a day without paying a fortune. A student diet doesn't have to be an unhealthy one, even thought there are many tempting student offers in takeaway shops. Remember its all about balance. 

Finally, nights out. Lets face it going on nights out is a built in feature for many students, and why shouldn't it be while the drinks are cheap and everyone is up for it. Make the most of it while you don't have many deadlines and you are able to stay up till the early hours!
Throughout first year I learnt that you really don't have to spend that much on a night out to have a great time. Most nights I rarely spend more than £10 while out, which means you can maybe afford to go out more often than those who spend much more....or or studying materials, whatever floats your boat. If you are on a campus university like me many clubs and bars are in walking distance of the campus which means that you may not even have to get a taxi or bus, saving even more money! Since being at university I have learnt to love walking, its a great stress relief and hangover cure trust me. 

I hope this advice was helpful, and that these posts have given you a slight insight into what to expect at university. You are going to have an absolute blast and I'm so jealous that I can't start first year all over again, but the next chapter is calling!