2008 in quite a big nutshell.

Ok so it's that time of year again in which I write down what has happened throughout the past 12 months. Despite this 2008 being awesome, not nearly so much stuff has happened (that I want to blog about) so it's gonna be shorter than the last one. Also, I haven't as carefully kept track of exactly when stuff happened, so it probably won't be perfectly chronological.

January: Saw Plain White T's at Shepherd's Bush. This was amazing because just before the gig I found out that Boys Like Girls, a band that I really liked, were supporting. Then, before the concert, I got to meet their guitarist and he fully told me not to get run over. Which was like, AWESOME. Then after the concert (of which we were front row and got high fived by Tom Higgenson, PWT's lead singer), we got to meet the band. Tom hugged me and Becci which was SOOO awesome and he told us to come and see him at the Roundhouse, so we did. More on that later...

February: Sister Act. This was kinda ongoing through the end of 07 aswell but it was probably some of the best times of my life. I made sooo many new friend who I am still friends with now and it was just such a laugh. We were a really tight-knit group and I will never forget the Drama Hall picnic or going to McDonalds. And neither will I forget that we stayed after school on several days just because we wanted to, not because we had to. That's special.
Ski trip. Totally utterly unbelievably incredible. Amazing. Spectacularly wow. Met Pete! WOO! We had sooo many laughs and I will never forget that week. Ever. ThankGOD I am going in 2009 too, I swear to you I've spent all of 2008 counting down.
Plain White T's at the Roundhouse. Well I promised Tom I'd go so I kind of had to really!! It was a really good night (:

March/April: Italy trip. Also was an amazing week. Again, made lots of new friends and I got to see some incredible things too. Lake Garda, Venice and Verona were all gorgeous. And the Italian shops = WOW. And the Italian boys too xD AAAHHH that's reminded me of the hot emos in Verona! That was so funny, we saw them and just ran up to them, sat down, got our photo taken and then ran off hahaha.
Nerifest: My first ever YouTube gathering. I met some amazing people. Can't really some it up better than this day actually changed who I am today. Cheesey, but absolutely true.

May: Plain White T's acoustic gig. This was soooo good! Becci and Nici and I got changed in the car after school in FOUR MINUTES and then when we got to London we literally RAN to the shop and when we asked where they queue was we were told, "There's no queue, you're the first ones here!" We FREAKED OUT. In the end only about 100 people turned up and we were a couple of meters from where the band were performing. Got to meet them all again and got my tshirt and poster signed :D

June: Finished my GCSEs. The feeling of walking out my last GCSE exam was kinda unforgettable. Especially as I had to stay an hour longer than most people to retake two Science modules '-_-
Eleanor leant me her Twilight books. This was the start of a long and beautiful relationship *cough* obsession.

July: Can't think of anything good that happened in July. I was waay bored of the summer by then.

August: I went to Greece which was epic, especially when me and my dad went to a volcano and climbed into it. There were vents in the ground with smoke coming out and the sides of the crater were streaked with bright yellow sulphur. And it smelled of rotten eggs. Laaavely.
On this holiday I read John Green's Looking For Alaska and An Abundance Of Katherines for the first time. They definitely deserve mentions.
GCSE results: Let's not even go there.

September: Started sixth form. Was just as good as I hoped it would be.

October: Saw Fall Out Boy. But I only went coz Boys Like Girls were supporting. They were AMAZINNGGGG and after trying to follow Paul DiGiovanni backstage and getting turned away by security, I did get to meet him again xD

November: My birthday. Was a somewhat quiet affair with just my closest friends in Pizza Hut, but it was a lovely, lovely evening. I miss it. Was my last birthday as a child and I'm glad I got to spend it with the people I spent it with.
Twilight Premiere. Was SUCH a good evening. We got to see ROBERT PATTINSON IN PERSON and the Britannia High cast and we met some hot boys hahaha.

December: Well on the last day of term the sixth form band did a gig in the common room. During that was my moment of realisation - I AM SO FUGGING GLAD I DID NOT GET INTO KEGS.
Twilight movie. OhMyGod. BEST FILM EVAH. Wow. Still kinda in shock about it to be honest. Even after watching it 5 times.
Hamlet. Even though David Tennant wasn't in it, it was still outstandingly good. Will never forget that performance.
GOT MY MACBOOOOOOOOK.

Ok reviewing 2008 was actually quiet anticlimatical in comparison to 2007. Ok, onto aims for 2009.

AIMS FOR 2009
- Get 900 subscribers on my YouTube account, www.youtube.com/AccioJellyBean
- Get all my target grades in my AS so I can go on Ski Trip 2010
- Get offers for all the unis I apply for
- See Green Day
- Be nicer to people I don't like because this is the mature way to behave
- Be REALLY nice to people who don't like me because this pisses them off a lot
- Be nicer to people in general
- Don't fall asleep in a cinema (deja vu)
- Join a gym
- Go to said gym regularly
- Lose some weight
- Get work experience, preferably at a radio station or TV channel
- Don't have a nervous breakdown on my 18th birthday
- Get into the Christmas spirit

I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2009
- Princess Diaries Ten Out Of Ten
- Ski Trip
- Young Americans
- Greece trip
- Summer holiday
- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (it can't be possible for Warner Brothers to get any worse)

FRIENDS I HAVE MADE OR GOT CLOSER TO IN 2009 WHO ARE AWESOME
- Rhianna (aka Rac)
-Sarah (aka Sac)
- Aimee
- Everyone in the bit next to the common room, I love you lot so much, thankyou for everything these past few months
- James (although he pushes me in front of buses)
- Gary
- Dex (GAME)
- Tom (TWIT)
- Pete (Totally Addicted To Cock)

Think that's round about everything. I would just like to say that despite the fact that not as much happened as last year, I have changed way more than last year. I'm not more mature (in some ways, don't worry, the Busted pyjamas aren't going anywhere) and I have grown up a lot. And I've made some incredible friends. I generally think I've come out a better person than I was before. So in that respect, 2008 was way more constructive than 2007.

Bring on 2009 (:

My itinirary

The sheer amount of nothingness I've been doing for the past couple of days is actually pretty horrific.

Boxing day: sat in front of the TV in my pyjamas on my MacBook eating junk food
Boxing boxing day (27th): sat in front of the TV in my pyjamas on my MacBook eating junk food
Boxing boxing boxing day (28th): sat in front of the TV in my pyjamas on my MacBook eating junk food

But I'm not having any of that any more because I'm starting to go numb from the lack of movement. Not to mention I'm gonna end up MASSIVE by next week if this carries on. Today I am going to tidy my room up by putting all my new stuff away and then I am going to turn my PC on for the first time since Christmas morning. I'm gonna get all the stuff from that on to my Mac and then I'm gonna get it out of my room for good.

And once that's all done I'm going to sit in front of the TV in my pyjamas on my MacBook eating junk food.

A poem, 3 more sentences and a video.

I wanted to do an acrosstick (yes, I know the technical name, take that Jzeroames) too!

Come on, I mean seriously
How can anyone get so excited about
chRistmas?
It comes around EVERY YEAR
So go on,
Tell me what is so good about December 25th?
MacBooks. That is what.
And after all that, I have to admit
chriStmas ROCKS.

Yes, you heard me correctly. I got a MacBook for Christmas. It's the most amazing piece of technology ever and I think I am quite possibly in love with it.

In reference to some stuff I wrote last year

I wrote this at the end of 2007. It's a list of things I wanted to achieve in 2008. I'll do a bit of commentary on each thing.

AIMS AND PLANS FOR 2008
700+ subscribers on my YouTube account, www.youtube.com/AccioJellyBean Well I have another week left and I've got 688 subscribers. Hopefully I can get 12 more in time. Would be nice.
Get featured again on YouTube Didn't happen but some friends of mine got featured so that's okay
Have a well known YouTuber subscribe to me Haha bless. I was so retarded. But I guess this did happen not just the once so yay
Go to a YouTube gathering Three YouTube gatherings and four random meetups with friends from YouTube. I can definitely tick that one off
Start up a music journalism website Not applicable because I decided I didn't want to do journalism anymore
Send an article to a music magazine and get it printed Ditto
Get a job for a paper/magazine Ditto
Get good GCSE results Well they were good but not good enough. No tick here.
Go to London with my friends 10+ times Yeah I definitely did this
See Green Day They didn't tour. But this is definitely going on my list for 2009.
Read more books Big fat heffer of a tick here
Start a fansite Not as such, but me and Jim started ourselves a facebook group :D
Not fall asleep in a cinema Hahaha I slept the whole way through The Dark Knight
Get a Gryffinor tie Nope, totally forgot about that actually
Do more homework and revision *shrugs* not really

And this is the list I wrote of stuff I was excited about in 2008. More commentary.

I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2008
Plain White T's concert This was amazing, I met Paul DiGiovanni and the Plain White T's on this night
Mindless Self Indulgence concert It was actually probably the shittest gig I've ever been to. Epic fail.
Ski trip Possibly the best week of my life.
Italy trip Possibly the second best week of my life.
Barcelona Was a really nice holiday
Greece Amazingamazingamazing. Climbing into volcanoes = incredible
Rome This was really good too
Summer holidays All in all they were quite rubbish. Too long and drawn out and pointless
Sixth form <3
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal snogging film Hahaha well as films go, it's crap. But it's a laugh and I could watch it again
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince film Good one WB.
NEW YEAR 2008! Why was I so optimistic last year? Fugging annoying.

Fugoff Christmas.

I do not like how quickly time is going. It was only Christmas last week, what's going on?! I remember EXACTLY what I was wearing last Christmas eve. So it can't have been a year ago. But it was. And the moral of this story is that by next Tuesday, I'll be an OAP.

Sorry to be all har bumhugish but I really do not see the Christmas appeal now I know that you-know-who (not Voldemort, the other one) doesn't exist. It is not special anymore. It is now stupid and unnecessary and makes me feel guilty. I can bake my grandparents some biscuits and play Scrabble any fugging time of year so why the fug am I forced to feel obliged to do so in particular on the twenty fugging fifth of Decemeber?
Yeah. I really do not like Christmas.

ANYWAY. I'll stop peeing in your Coco Pops now.

I've started preparation for my next video. Hopefully I will make it this evening if I'm not too busy. I'm gonna do a tour of my bedroom, so I'm tidying and organising stuff at the moment. This is my blogging interlude. And it's just about over now.

Twilight, Hamlet and a fringe.

Let's start from the beginning.

On Friday after school I went to see the Twilight movie. If I start going into massive detail I will be here all night, so I will just say it was IMMENSELY STUNNINGLY BREATH TAKINGLY DOUBLE PLUS WOW and leave it at that. For now. Because another time I wanna talk more about it.

Last night, I went to see Hamlet. As I'm sure you know, David Tennant was meant to be in it but due to a slipped disk injury, he had to pull out. I was apprehensive about the understudy, but Edward Bennett was absolutely unbelievable. It was probably the best piece of theatre I've ever seen. I feel so grateful that I got to see it because I know lots and lots of people who tried to get tickets but couldn't. Plus, I was 5th row from the front which was perfect. I think for Shakespeare it is quite important to be at the front because sometimes, the language is so hard to interpret that I find myself relying on tone of voice and facial expressions. So that was brilliant.

This evening, I was sitting in my room watching St Trinians (I don't recommend it, though I have a feeling that it will be better second time round) and I got bored. Because it was fairly shit. But that's beside the point. There were a pair of scissors on my desk so I picked them up and decided I want a fringe. I haven't had a proper fringe since I was 13. And I contemplated To Cut Or Not To Cut for about half an hour but then I just thought, "What the hell, hair grows" and then I did it. And it actually turned out good! Most people have their cutting-own-hair-phase when they're about 5. I'm just about 12 years late.

I hope everyone's enjoying the hols so far!

2008 Project For Awesome

I'm gonna write this blog assuming you know what the Project For Awesome is. If you don't, go to www.projectforawesome.com and then read this.

I'm feeling really overwhelmed by the sheer amount of involvement people are having. Thousands upon thousands of people coming together to promote charities. They don't get anything out of it personally; it's totally selfless. Like, I go on the YouTube Most Discussed and about 20 of the videos are Project For Awesome videos. It's just incredible. People are taking up their own time leaving comments and comments and comments, refreshing for ages on ends to bump up the views and going and rating tens of videos 5 stars. I just can't believe how close knit the YouTube community really is. We don't all know eachother. Most of us will never speak to eachother. But there's still so many people uniting to help others. It's actually like, the best thing ever.

And let's face it; it's just YouTube. We all have lives outside of the internet that as a rule, takes up the majority of our time. But despite this, people have made the community such a MASSIVE part of who they are. I know I have.

There's so many people who's evenings have been spent commenting, rating and refreshing.

To be honest I think we've down ourselves proud.

I'll definitely make a vlog about this soon.

When I grow up, I want to be a Time Lord

I emailed the BBC last night. Well actually it was at about 1 this morning.





Dear whoever it may concern,
Firstly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my letter. It is not an FAQ but I thought that this would be the best place to send it to.

I am writing in reference to the situation of the eleventh Doctor. As I know you are aware, David Tennant played the tenth Doctor absolutely incredibly and I think I am right in saying he is possibly the most popular yet. This is why I, along with some of my friends, are very worried about who is being cast as the eleventh Doctor, as Tennant will be an extremely hard act to follow. Basically, I feel as though casting a middle aged man as the role will be a big mistake. This is because it will cause comparisons to be drawn and unfortunately, I don't think this will bode well for said actor for the pure reason that Tennant was so outstandingly amazing. This is why I think that the eleventh Doctor should be completely different.

I do not mean to blow my own trumpet, but I feel I would be a fantastic Doctor. I absolutely adore the series' and I think I could contribute something totally different to the new one. Although I do not have any professional acting experience, I have been doing school plays for a very long time, and I am currently studying for my AS levels, including Theatre Studies, at school. By casting a teenage girl as the eleventh Doctor instead of a middle aged man, you surely do avoid the audience comparing so much to how things used to be. And not only that, but I have a friend called Jim who I think would be absolutely fabulous as the new Assistant. He is very good at, not to mention extremely passionate about physics, and I think this is very important for someone helping a Time Lord travel through other dimensions.

Again, thank you very much for your time. I look forward to hearing from you in due course.


Yours faithfully, Jocy

Jocelyn Levy
17 years old
Essex



I've clearly got the role in the bag.

Quiz I stole off James *shifty eyes*

1. What's your name?
Jocy
2. What is your favorite thing to wear?
Lately I have been rather attached to my Green Day hoodie
3. Last thing you ate?
Chocolate biscuit
4. One place you will NEVER eat at?
Burger King. Just, ew.
5. I say Shotgun, you say:
ZAC EFRON!
6. Last person you hugged?
Joe
7. Does anyone you know wanna date you?
Highly doubt it
8. Would you date anyone you met online?
Only if I knew them IRL aswell and if they lived within regular seeing distance
9. Name something you like physically about yourself:
My hair
10. The last place you went out to dinner to?
The Kismet. Best Indian in the world.
11. Who is your best friend?
I have a few
12. What time of the day is it?
10.30pm
13. Who/What made you angry today?
When Mrs Pea On A Fork said my name wrong.
14. Baseball or Football?
Baseball. Purely because of that scene in High School Musical 2 (:
15. Ever gone skinny dipping?
No.
16. Favorite type of Food?
Ice cream
17. Favorite holiday:
SKIIIIIINGGGGGG
18. Do you download music:
Yeah
19. Do you care if your socks are dirty?
Well yeah. But like, worse things could happen
20. Opinion of Chinese symbol tattoos?
Bit silly unless you're Chinese
21. Would you date the person who posted this?
Hahahaha imagine if I said "Yes", sooooooo many people would have a field day xD
But unfortunately for them, James and I are just friends. Sorry :P
22. Has anyone ever sang or played for you personally?
Yeahhh
23. Do you love anyone?
Yeah
24. Are colored contact lenses sexy?
Er..no...
25. Have you ever bungee jumped?
Not yet
26. Have you ever gone white-water rafting?
Yep! It's awesome
27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you?
Yes. At about five in the morning on a campsite with Izzy.
28. How many pets do you have?
Three
29. Have you met a real redneck?
Not that I know of
30. How is the weather right now?
Cold
31. What are you listening to right now?
Il Divo
32. What is your current favorite song?
G4's cover of Yellow
33. What was the last movie you watched?
High School Musical 2
34. Do you wear contacts?
Yeah
35. Where was the last place you went besides your house?
School
36. What are you afraid of?
Getting old
37. How many piercings have you had?
Just my ears. That's two for anyone who doesn't know how many ears I possess
38. What piercings do you want?
I want my ears done again. Which will make it 4.
39. What's one thing you've learned this year?
High School Musical is not a pile of shit
40. What do you usually order from Starbucks?
Dark Cherry Mocha with cream please
41. What Magazines are you reading?
Anything that has anything Zac Efron related inside
42. Have you ever fired a gun:
BB gun, air gun and water gun
43. Are you missing someone?
Yeah a little bit
44. Favorite TV show?
House, ANTM, Britannia High, Zoey 101, SpongeBob
45. Do you have an obession with WoW?
What the fug is that
46. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb?
My friend told me I look like Shania Twain when we were like year 4...
47. What celeb do you look like?
I don't.
48. Who would you like to see right now?
Zac Efron
49. Favorite movie of all time?
Probably any of the old school Disney's
50. Do you find yourself loved?
No *sob*
51. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't suppose to?
Yes but not IASW
52. Favorite smell?
Cut grass, books, Play Doh
53. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn?
Butter and sugar but only if it's made by me and Eleanor and Joe :D
54. What's something that really bugs you?
Stupid people
55. Do you like Michael Jackson?
I like his music but not particularly him as a person
56. Taco Bell or Burger King?
Never been to Taco Bell but I despise Burger King so the former probably
57. What's your favorite perfume?
D&G Light Blue
58. Favorite baseball team?
East High Wildcats...I'm sure they have a baseball team
59. Ever call a 1-900 phone number?
What's one of them?
60. What's the longest time you've gone without sleep?
About two days
61. Last time you went bowling?
Can't remember
62. Where is the weirdest place you have slept?
The bathroom floor, the sixth form common room
63. Who was your last phone call?
Joe
64. Last time you were at work?
Last Sunday
65. What's the closest orange object to you?
My orange and black striped fingerless gloves that are reserved for ski trip usage only

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Probably quite predictably, I preordered Beedle (three months in advance *cough*) and collected it the day it came out. I have to say, despite it not being an ACTUAL Harry Potter book, I do think it is one of JK Rowling's best. I absolutely adore it. To be honest I can't actually place my finger on what it is so much that I love but I have read it about five times already. And I had an idea related to it :D

One of the stories (and probably my favourite one) is called The Fountain of Fair Fortune. In the book, after every tale, there is a commentary by Dumbledore. In the commentary to this story, he says how when Professor Dippet was Headmaster of Hogwarts, the then-Herbology teacher, Professor Beery decided they would perform The Fountain of Fair Fortune as the Christmas pantomime. Needless to say, it went horribly wrong (read for yourself to find out why, it's JOKES :D) and theatrical performances were henceforth banned from the school. HOWEVER, traditions must change. I reckon that we should put on a performance of The Fountain of Fair Fortune. As in, us Harry Potter fans. I don't know how we'd do it, but I think we should. I'm going to go and make a vlog about it now.

But remember, you heard it here first :P

People who live with access to London

Premiere of the Twilight movie is on Tuesday 3rd December in Leicester Square. I'm going, so should you :D
I'm going straight after school with a few friends and I'm sooo excited; I've never been to a film premiere before. Obviously we won't get to actually SEE the film but we're hoping to barge our way to the front of the red carpet and see Robert and Taylor up close (:
Anyways. Today was really funny. In drama we had to adapt a scene from a play (Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker) into a musical but choosing any song and changing the lyrics to fit the context of our scene. It was hilarious and everyone got full marks so our teacher thought we should film them for a DVD. So we also made an introduction in the style of Nicest Kids In Town from Hairspray but changing it to fit our names and stuff. We also made an outro which was the lyrics of Good Morning Baltimore changed. It's really amazing :D Was so much fun, I can't wait to have a copy of it. If the rest of my class says it's ok then I might put it up on YouTube.
Speaking of YouTube, there's a gathering tomorrow, 12.30 at Covent Garden. I'm not sure whether or not I'm going because Simple Plan are doing a free acoustic gig and signing in Zavvi Oxford Street which I also want to go to. We shall see. If you're going to either, let me know.
For the past few days I've been going round reminding everyone that it's Boxing Day soon. People KNOW it's Christmas soon, but it's neighbouring holiday is always forgotten, bless it. Oh and in the common room at school we now have a HANNUKAH BUSH! Yes, it is technically a Christmas tree. But we're a multicultural society, so it's most certainly also a Hannukah bush (:

Well, it's been a while

For two years I avoided High School Musical. Because I knew that what with my obsessive personality and immaturity levels, as soon as I saw it I would be hooked. But there's only so long you can escape the inevitable. I watched it the other week. And I have officially been sucked into another franchise. Let's be frank, the storylines are embarrassing, the acting is cringeworthy and the music is nothing we haven't heard before. But there is something so endearing about it all. And I don't just mean Zac Efron. To be honest, I think it's the cheesiness. All the way through it, you know that there is going to be a happy ending and that everything will turn out absolutely fine. It's nice to watch. Not going to lie, made me fugging jealous (not just of Vanessa Hudgens) because I was just like WHY CAN'T THAT HAPPEN TO MEEEE?!?!?!?! but the feel-good factor it has is absolutely undeniable. If you are someone like me who hates the concept of High School Musical, give it a chance. Because it's the sort of thing of which you can push to one side all the shitty things about it, and just appreciate that it fits the purpose of entertainment.

This blog comes in many parts.

Think this is my first blog since starting in sixth form O:
It's well good. And I'm not being all sarky or anything, I genuinely absolutely lovelovelove it. It's so awesome only studing 5 subjects, all of which I really like. I even decided I like General Studies. And the common room is AMAZING. Ok so actually the room itself is the scummiest thing you've ever seen, but we have so much fun in there! We all sit round a couple of big tables playing cards (I can now play Bullshit and Rummy, hellz yeah) and chatting and stuff and it's brilliant. I hated it at first because the upper sixth people intimidated me. But now it's my second home.

But ever silver cloud lacks a lining. I do not know what the fug I just said. But I know what I mean.

The workload is INSANE. Like, at first I was all "Yeahhhh" coz I was keeping up with everything really well and stuff. But this week I have had two school trips to the theatre and they have resulted in me not getting home till gone midnight. So obviously the homework from that day did not get done as soon as I got it coz I was out. Therefore it is Friday night and I am having to ditch an evening out with Nicole, one of my best out of school friends who I have not seen in ages, because I have craploads of work to do.

MOVING ON.

Well actually, I'm going back to the day before yesterday. So it's not moving on.

Basically, on Sunday I think it was, I applied to be a YouTube partner. And I would like to say quickly THANK YOU JAMES! (www.youtube.com/j0ames) He helped me via the internets to do the whole thing coz I'm a technological retard and had no idea what the fug to do. Thanks James XD. So yeah, that was Sunday. On Wednesday, I still had not heard from them so I was giving up home BUT THEN I GOT AN EMAIL. And I was approved :D So now I'm a YouTube partner! The money is a bit rubbish, to be honest, I doubt I'll get any. But the main reason I wanted to be one is so that I can have a banner at the top of my channel page and now I have one! YAY! www.youtube.com/acciojellybean. Look if you don't believe me. I can't actually believe I was approved...like WHATTHEFUG?!?!?! But I'm not complaining :D

Mais NON, that is not the extent of the Wednesday awesomeness. A few hours after the YouTube partner approval shebang, I was in Hank and John's blogtv chat. And they were doing Q&A's. I wanted to know the answer to a question but it just kept getting lost among hundreds of other questions. And my friend Gary (www.youtube.com/garyskirk) was like "Keep asking!!" So I did. And John Green acknowledged my existance!!! It went like this:

Jocy: Have you ever read any Enid Blyton books?
John and Hank: No.

How cool XD

OH YEAH! I got tickets today to see the Kooks :D Brixton Academy, 10th December. YAY! I love the Kooks, they are well good live.

I'm gonna go now and stare at my banner.

Toodle pip!

YouTube Gathering, 27th July 08

On Sunday 27th July was Kayley's YouTube gathering. www.youtube.com/owlssayhooot.
She came over from America and we all met up for a day and it was seriously brilliant. I got to see people that I met at Nerifest in April and I also made lots of new friends. Not much else to say other than I had another incredible YouTube related day, but I think we all know that one paragraph is impossible for me to constrict myself to. So here's my train of thought round about now.

www.youtube.com/missxrojas.
The first vlog I ever watched on YouTube was Rosi's vlog about how she hated the fact that Emma Watson had been digitally enhanced in some promo posters. This video, along with her others that I went on to watch affected me a lot. They totally inspired me to start making vlogs, Harry Potter related ones to be precise. Without my Deathly Hallows vlog, I would never have got featured and most likely not have carried on making videos and gaining subscribers. So I have always known that Rosi is the person I owe for how much YouTube has changed my life. I've wanted to meet her ever since I first saw her videos over a year ago, and on Sunday, I got to. All I can say is that she is so lovely and I remember thinking when I first found her channel "I bet me and her would get on really well". I think I was right. I wish I had told her how much she changed my life but it didn't occur to me at the time to, just because we were all chatting about normal, teenagerish stuff, not about YouTube. In a sense, the whole gathering was AROUND YouTube but not about it. Yeah, lots of people had their cameras out, but we were there as friends, not internet buddies.
Despite the fact that this was my fourth YouTube-related meet up, I still find it really hard to process in my head that I am meeting up with people from the internet. This is because a year ago, my confidence would never have allowed me to do this. But now, I can't imagine life any other way. I'm sure you're all fed up of hearing me go on about how much YouTube has changed me as a person, but it just becomes more and more prominent as the weeks go on.
For me, the word COMMUNITY is defined by YouTube. People, who sometimes have no more than one thing in common, making friends for life. We're brought together by the fact that we love people and videos. Obviously there's subcommunities, like Harry Potter, but primarily, it is video blogging.

And I do love it so very, very much.

Meeting up with friends you've made on the Internet should be more positively portrayed by the media.

It's been a long time since I've done just a general blog about my day, but since today was an awesome one, I think it is blog-worthy.

Kate and I met up with James (www.youtube.com/j0ames) and it was a well good day. We just mooched around London insulting eachothers' families and trying to get eachother run over mainly. We went to the Trocodero and I SOOOOOOOO nearly beat James at some Mario thingy. And then he gambled with my money so now he owes me a blue Slush Puppy. And then we went to China Town for a bit of culture. And we also went to the Apple Store to make another video there which was rather amusing. And in Hamley's there was this HILARIOUS song playing, it was like "My name's Katrina, it's a very nice name!" Blates was jokes. But what was not funny was when Kate was throwing Nerds across Cafe Nero, that was so embarrassing! I thought we were going to get kicked out or something!! Can't take you anywhere Kate!! :P

So that's the general gist of things, but going a bit more in depth, I would just like to say that it is days like today that make me really adore YouTube even more. And no, it's not just because I've gained seven new subscribers :P It's because if it wasn't for YT I would never have met James. He's really awesome and it just goes to show that there are so many people out there that you can be really good friends with, you just have to find them.

And then obviously there is Kate who has been one of my best friends for a few years now. We've never really spent much time by ourselves together but after this morning when we went on our little shopping trip, I definitely want to do it again. We always have such a laugh, and Kate, I'm so glad you share my love for YouTube.

I love you James and Kate, thanks for an amazing day <3

The Right Book

Once you find The Right Book, you'll find yourself totally absorbed. You forget who you actually are, where you actually are, what you actually are. It's as if nothing else matters. It's as if no one else exists. It's as if the only thing happening in the world is the story. You start reading and before you know it, four hours have gone by. You forget everything about your life, all the problems, all the people. It's all about the words on the paper. It's the best feeling in the world.

Changes

I think it's during times of pressure that you discover what a person is really like. When things aren't easy and you're feeling a bit low, it's how you deal with it and how you maintain relationships that reveal a person's true character. Because when everything's going spiffing, it's a bit of a cop-out to say that that is what a person is really like.

For my friendship group, GCSE's have been the hardest and most stressful things we've gone through together. It has brought upon us a lot of changes and I've seen new sides to people that I thought I was very familiar with.

Some of the sides have been good. Some of the sides have been incredibly disappointing.

This upsets me.

Alcohol

I've had several alcohol related thoughts going through my head lately.

I suppose to summarise my general thoughts on alcohol I'd have to say I'm against it. Because I'm totally against the fact that people drink it to get drunk and make themselves feel more uninhibited. I do understand why at parties and things people would WANT to feel less reserved, but I think it's wrong. If you're not outgoing enough to be free and wild at a party, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it's just not in your nature. There's no reason why that is a bad thing so why should we use a drug to change it? Changing your personlity for such a reason as to feel more free-minded is never necessary or acceptable.
On top of that, the thought of not remembering what I did for any length of time is terrifying to me. Anything could have happened. ANYTHING. Replace that "anything" with all the horrific things that go on these days. I kind of think that if you've intoxicated yourself and then get raped and pregnant, you've asked for it. You put yourself in a vulnerable state. And that is what comes from it. Your mistake, no one else's. I'd never say rape is OK, but in situations like that, it's hardly suprising.

So those are my opinions on alcohol as a recreational substance.

However, I have another point of view aswell, which has caused me a lot of mental dilemmas lately. Basically, I've been brought up drinking alcohol. My dad and my grandpa are very much into fine wines and beers and I've grown up having sips of theirs. I have even developed a taste for it and am getting better at identifying wines by sipping them the right way. Now, at parties, I am more than happy having one drink, but this will always be beer. And the reason for this is that it tastes like alcohol. All these spirits, spritzers and "designer drinks" literally are alcohol for the sake of it. You can't taste it; you drink it for the effect. Whereas I drink it because I genuinely like the taste. I don't drink to get drunk, tipsy or mentally affected at all which I think is proven by the fact that I will have no more than one drink.
My problem is that my friends are very, very different to me. A lot of them drink more than I'd ever dream of. How this offends me because they evidently need the alocohol to have a good time when we're together is a whole other story...
Anyway, I'm not going to sugar coat this in any way which is why I'm going to say this as it is: People who I thought understood my morals have tried to pressure me into drinking more than what I wanted. Luckily, I am sensible and level-headed enough to know that this is their insecurity and not mine, so I did not cave in the slightest. Quite the opposite actually; I stopped drinking entirely. Since February, I have not drunk alcohol once, even sips of my parents' wine. And this is because I thought that it sounds much more impressive to say "I don't drink" than "I will only drink one". And indeed, many people seemed to be impressed by this. Obviously, I've also had a LOT of negative attitudes towards this, because most teenagers are idiots. I'm not going to lie though, I found it hard. Hard to hear people being so horrible to me and hard not to drink alcohol when I would usually be having my own small glass of wine or beer. But I stuck it out because I wanted to impress.
However, this evening, my mum said something to me that made me change my mind on all this. I told her that I missed alcohol and she asked me why I stopped drinking it. And I said "Because I need to set an example to my friends." And she replied "But you can set an example by having one and saying no to a second." Which is very, very true.
So I am no longer depriving myself of a drink I enjoy; it's like not drinking apple juice if you like apple juice. You don't drink it to get drunk, you drink it to enjoy the taste. Which is my attitude to alcohol. I feel much happier knowing now that at the next party I can have a beer with everyone. But when it comes to round two, I'll have had my glass of "apple juice" and that will be fine until next time.

Some YouTube related stuff

Avast new YouTube project! Will give you more details when we have them. But as of now, we're just a few people who want to talk about different issues and topics in the form of a weekly collaboration video.

I'm so excited about this because it's giving me the opportunity to vlog with some really, really established and talented YouTubers. And on top of that, I'm making new friends too. Doesn't really get much better than that.

This seems like a good time to approach a topic that I've been wanting to for a while: How YouTube Has Changed My Life. It would be too easy for me to go on for ages and ages but I suppose the short and short of it is that it has brought out the best in me. I've always been sociable, but since I've been making vlogs, I've become even more so. I've got the confidence to make friends with anyone and everyone. I suppose it's because at the back of my mind I've always got "You might not like me but 542 people on the internet do." And put it like this, if last year you'd have told me to go and meet up with a load of people from the internet for the day, I'd most probably have gone and hid in a corner. All I can say, is that I went to the YouTube gathering on a high from excitement and I came back on even more of a high from excitement. Just knowing that I'm a part of such a friendly, inspirational, entertaining community makes me feel honoured. The friends I've made, the people I've met and even the people I haven't met and have just watched, they've all changed my life for the better. Becoming a part of YouTube is no doubt the best decision I've ever made. I recommend it more than I recommend Tootsie Rolls. And that's saying something.

Jocy xoxo

My 2007

My 2007

For me, 2007 has been incredible. The places I've been, the things I've done, and most importantly, the people I've met and the friends I've made. Before I do a summary of the year, I'm going to do people mentions.

Firstly, there are the people who have been with me for a long time now, and who are still with me and who always will be with me.
Eleanor
Becca
Becci
Nici
Sarah
Oli
Megg
Beth
Nicole

Then there are the people who I've known for a while, but who I have become close friends with this year.
Eliot
Kate
Rachel
Charlotte
Nick
Charlie

Then, are the new friends I've made; people who have only really had to put up with me for 2007, but who have a lot more of me to come :P
George
Joe
Jenna
Meera
Paul

Everyone in the above lists, I cannot put into words what you all mean to me. I'm afraid that you're stuck with me for life now, because there's no way I'm letting any of you go. I'm the happiest I've ever been and it's definitely thanks to you lot. Whenever I'm upset about something, I just have to remind myself that I have decades ahead of me with you all, and it really cheers me up, because I know we're going to have many more amazing times with eachother. Each memory I have collected this year is down to you all, and I can't wait for us to complete all the plans we've made. Every problem I've had this year has been made easier to cope with by you lot, and no amount of bloggage can truly show how much I appreciate you all. I genuinely feel lucky to have you all as my friends. If you ever try to get away, I will have to tie you down. Sorry.

And lastly, I think all the friends I made through the internet definitely should have a mention.
Jack
Frederick [He got bored of James]
Julia
JP
Alex
Kenneth

The people in the above list have really made me truly realise how amazing the internet is. It's just so cool to be able to talk to people who come from all over the world, and so interesting too. Thanks to MSN, MySpace and YouTube I'm sure we will stay talking for years to come now, and one day I'd love to meet up with you all!

Now, I am going to summarise the year by telling you the parts of each month that stand out for me. I will attempt to keep it brief, but am making no promises.

FEBRUARY
Ski trip - this was a truly incredible experience, one I will never forget. I made some amazing friends and became closer to people I never thought I'd be close to. I'm so excited about February 08, because Becca, Becci and Nici will be there with me and Saz in Austria for the ski trip! Going to be incredible.

MARCH
Wicked trip - we went on a school trip to see Wicked with the drama department. This isn't a special memory because of the musical; to be honest I didn't think that much of it. To me, this is special because of Charlotte. We'd been friends for a while before but on the way there I was looking at photos on my phone and I said "I love him so much!" Charlotte said to me, "Wanna know who I love? FRANK IERO!" And amazingly enough, that is who the photo I was looking at was of! Turned out we were both insane My Chemical Romance fans and we never even knew! So that was where our friendship really stemmed from. We also discovered our shared Harry Potter obsession through this trip. And more importantly than the obsessions, this was also when I first got to know George, who is now one of my best friends and a pretty darn amazing one at that :)
My Chemical Romance concert - following mine and Charlotte's revelation, she got a ticket to see MCR at Wembley with me, Becci, Nici, Becca, Eleanor, Sarah, Conor, Izzy, Charlie, Emma, Charley and Jake. It was the best night of my life and the icing on the cake was me catching Bob's drumstick at the end of the concert.
Kaiser Chiefs concert - me, Becci, Nici, Jake and my dad saw Kaiser Chiefs at Shepherd's Bush in March. The best bit by far was when Ricky stage dived and landed on top of us. We all fell on the floor and he hit me in the face. That's my claim to fame: the lead singer of Kaiser Chiefs whacked me!
MySpace - I first got MySpace in March! God alone knows how I coped before then :P

APRIL
Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy - saw them at Wembley. This was the day I discovered how horrible the beer they sell there is. Don't say I didn't warn you.

MAY
Maximo Park - I saw Maximo Park with George, Becca, Becci, Nici, Saz and Eleanor. Was the third time I saw them, and am pretty sure that was my first front row concert. Was brilliant, and this is where me and George as tramps first emmerged. Oh, and in the queue this bus with a load of foreign boys went past and I waved at them. It was funny!
CenterParcs - I went away with Charlie and her family to CenterParcs. Possibly one of the most HILARIOUS weekends of my life! We went all the way with Charlie on top, had a threesome on the Rapids with an old, fat, bald guy, stalked hot emos and followed MCR fans until they ran away. Only Charlie will understand any of that :P
Yorkshire - Eleanor came to Yorkshire with me and my family. I shouted abuse at some chavs and we went rowing. It was a larfandenarf! And on the way we saw Blyth and Wetherby. Haha!

JULY
Mika - I saw Mika at Somerset House with Becci, Nici and Jake. It was brilliant and we also got to see Patrick Wolf. At the end of the concert I caught I gigantic red balloon that Mika threw into the audience! The gig was televised and we saw us on TV!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Probably one of the most special nights of the year. After 10 years of waiting, the last Harry Potter book was finally released. Me and Eleanor queued up outside Smith's at midnight, dressed up as Harry Potter. When we got back to mine we stayed up all night to read it. It was incredible.
Keane - The day of the release I went to see Keane at the o2. It was an amazing concert and the fact that I had just found out *SPOILERS* Ron and Hermione got married *END OF SPOILERS* it was made even better :D
YouTube - The week after Keane, something amazing happened. I got featured on the front page of YouTube with my Harry Potter review. I didn't really appreciate this at the time because I didn't understand it properly, but now, I realise how incredibly lucky I was for this to happen to me, and I wanna thank all my YouTube people who have subscribed and who watch my videos. I still can't quite get my head around it.
Camping - I went camping with Eleanor, Izzy and Emma. We all had a brilliant time and we ate sooo much ice cream! It was such a laugh, even the scary moths, and I loved it. Especially my giant spoon xD

AUGUST
Greece - We went on a family holiday to Greece and it was the best ever. I went snorkelling, which I have always wanted to do, and it was brilliant. The beaches were unspoilt and the water was see-through. And another thing that made it so awesome was bumping into Scott, my friend from school! We spent lots of time together and even went fishing :P It was so much fun and I'm going back next year which I can't wait for!
GCSE's - In August I got my English GCSE results, as I took it a year early. I got an A in literature and an A* in language, so it was a pretty good way to end the summer really!

OCTOBER
Maximo Park - Maximo Park take 4! This time with Nick, Eliot and Becca, The whole day was perfect. And I mean that. It was just brilliant. I really did have the time of my life and I will remember it forever. I was so proud to take Nick to his first concert, and judging by the size of hug he gave me after the gig, I think he was rather pleased too :P
French Day trip - It wasn't anything outstanding in theory, but it reminded me of how much I love Becca to bits and what a fantastic time we always have together. Especially when French guys ask us about the tightness of our jeans and give us condoms!
Grease - Seeing Grease at the West End was something I'd always wanted to do! The casting was amazing, not only did I get to see Danny and Susan, I also got to see Siobhan from Maria! Plus, we were second row from the front. It was amazing and I want to go again!

NOVEMBER
Birthday - My 16th! Need I say more?
My Chemical Romance - Saw them at the o2. I don't really want to go into it because it isn't an entirely happy memory, but the bits that were good, were other-worldly good.
Arcade Fire - I saw them with my dad and we queued for 2 and a half hours in -4 degrees in the pouring rain. IT WAS WORTH IT. We were center barrier and when Win Butler leaned into the audience, he was right in front of me! So I poked him. Lots. *Beams*.
Julia - On a trip to London with my friends, I saw a familiar face at Holborn station. The face happened to belong to one of my favourite YouTubers...FROM NEW YORK! So we chatted for a bit and it was a mind blowing experience! I had to pinch myself afterwards, I mean, what are the chances of that?!

DECEMBER
Kasier Chiefs - Me and Becci and Nici and Saz went to see Kaiser Chiefs! It was insanely good, we never expected to be at the front and we were! Plus me and Becci made some really cool friends there, including Jack and Loz who we are in contact with still. Yay for concert friends!
Hawkwind - My dad and Jake and Eliot and me went to see Hawkwind. It was...an experience to say the least. We were the youngest people there, the rest being fat, bearded, smelly, pot-smoking old men. We laughed :D
Party - Eleanor and Oli and me had our joint 16th birthday party. It couldn't have gone any better really, and I had the time of my life.

So I suppose that is my year in a nutshell. This doesn't really give an accurate representation of the sheer level of fun I've actually had this year, but it's the best I can do with MySpace as my tool :) I really hope you've all had memorable years, and I hope you have even better 2008's! I'm going to wrap up this blog with some of my aims and plans for next year, and things that I am looking forward to.

AIMS AND PLANS FOR 2008
700+ subscribers on my YouTube account, www.youtube.com/AccioJellyBean
Get featured again on YouTube
Have a well known YouTuber subscribe to me
Go to a YouTube gathering
Start up a music journalism website
Send an article to a music magazine and get it printed
Get a job for a paper/magazine
Get good GCSE results
Go to London with my friends 10+ times
See Green Day
Read more books
Start a fansite
Not fall asleep in a cinema
Get a Gryffinor tie
Do more homework and revision

I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2008
Plain White T's concert
Mindless Self Indulgence concert
Ski trip
Italy trip
Barcelona
Greece
Rome
Summer holidays
Sixth form
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal snogging film
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince film
and finally...
NEW YEAR 2008!

So that really is my 2007. Thank you for reading, and I hope you all have a fantastic New Year! x x x