My 2012!

It's time for my annual blog about the past year. I've done this every year since 2007, which is scary because I remember when I first decided to do one and now that was 5 years ago which is a quarter of my life. I'M OLDDDDDDDD.

Anyway, 2012 was a good year. The first few months weren't anything amazing. I totally loved my course (as usual) and had a nice time at uni with my Media friends, but my self confidence was low and I was suffering from very bad anxiety. I didn't want to socialise and I felt quite lonely. It wasn't the best. However, when it got to June everything started looking up. I went to Madeira with my family and with Stuart, which was absolutely incredible and I got to SWIM WITH DOLPHINS which was a lifelong dream of mine! And not in one of those awful tanks either, it was in the sea in the wild! It was just incredible. Putting my head underwater and being surrounded by about 30 dolphins, and hearing their whistles and clicks was one of the most amazing moments. It was jut wonderful.

In July I got to move into the house with Stuart and the boys. This was immediately a weight off my shoulders and a great relief. Shortly after this were the 2012 Olympic Games. I volunteered at my university was which was Pre-Games Training Camp for the South African, Chinese, Japanese and Irish athletics teams. It was such a brilliant experience! It converted me from an Olympic-cynic into an absolute Olympic fangirl. I got to meet some lovely people in the form of the other volunteers, such as Laura, Emma, Dan and Abbie and of course the hilarious Charlie. The people who were running the Camp were amazing and we just had the best time together. Having the opportunity to not only watch these world-class athletes train, but to also get to know them was such a once in a lifetime, and it felt really special to know we were helping them prepare for the biggest events of their lives so far. I got to meet some unbelievably famous faces such as Caster Semanya, Maria Mutola and Oscar Pistorius. And then, to add the icing on top of the cake, to thank me and Stuart for all our efforts (we did 6 weeks of full time volunteering) we got given tickets to see the Athletics in the Oympic Stadium for free! So we got to watch Jessica Ennis do some of her Heptathlon events, as well as Usain Bolt doing his 100m!!! So incredible! On top of this it so happened that the cycle races and time trials went straight past my uni, so we all got to go and cheer Team GB on by the side of the road together. The atmosphere was just mind-blowing and it really touched me how the spectators cheered on ALL the cyclists and not just our teams. It was perfect. Another highlight of this time was watching the Opening Ceremony with all of the volunteers and coordinators in the Link Room on campus. We all got takeaway Nando's and it was such fun. Later on, in October, I also went to see the Paralympic Athletics at the Olympic Stadium with my parents, Stuart, David and my wonderful friend Becky. It was equally amazing, if not more. I was delighted to be able to absorb the atmosphere of the Games some more, because it really was electric.

In August I went on a last minute spur of the moment holiday to Kavos, Corfu with two of my best friends from school Sarah and Katie. We hadn't all hung out together in YEARS, but we had such a lovely time! Even though the hotel/environment wasn't entirely up our streets (clubby!) we made the best of it and had a wonderful week in the scorching sun. We swam and went to the beach and had ice creams and all got on so so well, it was lovely. I really needed some guaranteed sun so it was perfect, and a lovely thing to round off my summer with.

So this brings me to September, when I started the first semester of my final year of university. Honestly, this is when I feel like I really came into my own at university. All the modules I studied this past semester have been WONDERFUL. I did a module about Disney, a module about Digital Imaging, Online Broadcasting and also my Practical Dissertation. I really found myself in a proper friendship group for the first time since halls, and this time I am so sure they are my friends for life. We spent day in day out together and even though we had an obscene amount of work and had to be at uni for about 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, the people I was with made sure that I still had the time of my life. I was very proud of myself in regards to Digital Imaging, because in the first few lectures I struggled SO much and I was genuinely sure that I would fail. But I went home and practised and I did this until I wasn't bad at it, and I am extremely proud of my finished results. Disney was the best module I have ever studied in my life...and not only because we got to go on a FIELD TRIP TO DISNEYLAND PARIS!!!!!

This was one of the best weekends of my life, 24th November - 26th November. It has been a dream of mine since I was 10 years old and first went to Disney World with my family that one day I could go to Disney with my friends. And that weekend my dream came true. It was utterly perfect, I cannot think of a single way that it could have been any better. The people I was with were just wonderful, there was not a singly dispute between us the whole weekend, we just spent the whole weekend being awe-inspired and laughing together. I went on my first ever rollercoasters too and loved them! Something that was recurring throughout the weekend was the support system we all had for eachother. This began on the way there when a couple of people felt travel sick and everyone rallied to help make them better. Then, that evening, we were deciding whether or not at 8.30 we wanted to bite the bullet and go to Paris for a few hours. I began feeling anxious because obviously we don't know the area well, it was dark, it was late, I was worried I was going to get ill...and everyone was just so lovely to me. Rebecca was particularly brilliant, I remember her just looking at me and saying that we were all there looking out for eachother and that I have to ignore the anxiety and just DO IT because no one would let anything bad happent to me and that this was one of the times where we just have to DO IT or we'd regret it forever, and that in the end I'd feel proud of myself for it. Simon refused to leave us and came with, and he helped me find a toilet when we arrived and I was desperate :D Amy, as usual, looked out for me and we stuck together in a situation when we were both out of our comfort zones. All I can say is that Rebecca was completely right and that we all owe Jess and Ellie for just going and buying their tickets, otherwise I don't think any of us would have. It was one of the most special nights of my life, and even though we were only there for a couple of hours, it was a couple of hours that I'll remember forever. Even when it came to rollercoasters everyone looked out for eachother! And by eachother, I mean me :P I was the only one who had never been on one before and the first one we rode was the Indiana Jones ride, and it went upside down! Tall Simon held my hand the whole time and I kept my eyes firmly shut :P But I truly loved it and went on many others. I also had to hold Nasima's hand on the Rock n Roller Coaster :P The rest of the weekend in Disney was just unbelievable. All the feelings that I had when I went a decade previously came flooding back, and the fact that it was all Christmassy just added to the magic. It was just mind-blowing, I had the time of my life and I just cannot emphasise that any more.

The weekend after Disney my birthday celebrations continued. Stuart took me for a posh afternoon tea in South Kensington, and after this we went to see Matilda the Musical courtesy of his parents! It was brilliant. And then the week after THAT, something VERY SPECIAL happened. I finally, after waiting since 2006, got to see...AMERICAN IDIOT THE MUSICAL!!!!!!!!! This was first mentioned online in 2006, when Billie Joe said that they wrote the album as a rock opera and would like to see it performed onstage. Years after this, it went to Broadway and then toured America, and then years after that, it FINALLY came for a London tour! It did not disappoint, and sitting in the third row with Stuart, Megg and David was another dream come true. I still can't really believe I finally got to see it, at the age of 21 having been 15 when I first heard about it. What are the chances of that! And my parents came too and also loved it which was brilliant.

So really, this brings me to now...the end of December. And it's not over yet because the day after tomorrow I am going to NEW YORK CITY with mum, dad, Jake, nana, grandpa and Stuart!!!! Mum has always said she wanted to take me to New York for my 21st, so we incorporated it with celebrations for my parents' 21st anniversary and my grandparents' 55th anniversary. I just can't believe I'm so lucky to be going to NYC with my amazing family and my boyfriend!!!!! I really am living the absolute dream, and I am SO excited!!! I need to pack now actually. But before that, I need to complete my checklist of the aims I made for 2012 by seeing if I achieved them. Then I'll give a quick commentary of the things that I looked forward to for this year. Lastly I'll make similar lists for 2013. Here we go:


AIMS FOR 2012
- Continue enjoying my course
DEFINITELY. I love it more and more each week to be honest, because every week I become closer with my friends and every week I learn some more. I can't believe that this time next year it will all be over ): I wish I could continue studying Media Arts forever, part of my wishes that anyway.

- Get a 2:1 at the end of second year
Yep (: I got 67.3, which is 2.7% off of a First!!!

- Stay with Stuart
Of course (:

- Not have arguments
I didn't really have any arguments that I can recall. This may have been my downfall on some occasions though because I think some stuff happened that I should have called people up on but I didn't have the guts to. I need to strike the balance between non-confrontational but still assertive of my right to be treated nicely

- Lose weight
Dream on

- Keep my hair in good conditioning PARTICULARLY by not straightening it very much at all
It is SO MUCH BETTER! It's finally growing! And I didn't straighten it for about 4 months over the summer! Now I'm doing it about once a fortnight and I've stopped putting permanent dye on it too.

- Start thinking seriously about what I want to do after uni
I've applied for 2 jobs if that counts? :P I know what I'd like to do but am not pinning my hopes on one thing.

- Turn 21 in a calm and sensible fashion :D


- Do not get mature. That would be tragic.
As if

- Do something lovely with Stuart for our one year annimaversary (:
We went out for Italian food and had epic sized pizzas with amazing gelato

- Sort out my anxiety issues and just feel less ill and more healthy
Unfortunately not. I need to work on this a lot.

THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2012
- Completing the second year of my course
It was brilliant.

- Going to Madeira with my family and Stuart and uncle Warren
Brilliant

- Michael McIntyre with Stuart and his family
Oh yeah! This was also brilliant.

- Green Day American Idiot musical!!!!!
BRILLIANTTT

- NEW YORK
AAHHHHH I HOPE IT'S BRILLIANT

- Losing weight
This would have been brilliant :P

AIMS FOR 2013
- get a First in my degree. Really I'm setting myself up for a 2:1, but if I get a 2:1 I know I'll be devastated, and I'm definitely aiming for a First.
- sort out my anxiety
- continue getting long hair
- after graduation, get a job that I love and that utilises my degree
- stay in contact with my brilliant lecturers
- I just got a text from Amy about an idea for a short film...so it is now an aim to make that short film
- vlog/blog regularly
- move out....this is ambitious and unlikely, but it would be great
- get on better with Jake
- stay with Stuart
- stay best friends with the wonderful Media Arts girls
- sing at the last SMarts acoustic night at uni
- do some travelling

THINGS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2013
- starting the year in NEW YORK CITY!!!! I can't believe that when I go back to commentate on this next year I'll have already done this when right now it is still a dream!
- my Arts and Culture module
- doing my practical dissertation
- making my Online Broadcasting documentary
- going to our apartment timeshare in Portugal with family and Stuart
- hopefully entering the world as a graduated real life human and hopefully doing well in it and not having a nervous breakdown and quarter-life crisis

So that is my 2012. The latter half was unbelievably good. And it's not even over yet! I feel very lucky and would like to thank all the people who contributed to the brilliant times I have had. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx