Tag, we said. Let's play tag. That seemed liked a fantastic idea. You know, being my 20th birthday and we're at Playzone pretending to be young again, why not? So we all ran of course over the play area / assault course. I ran, I jumped, I fell. Ouch. I felt my head smash against something you'd assume would be soft but was actually quite hard, as it pushed my neck into my body and all I could hear was a crack. Ten minutes later I'm being asked to lie down in the middle of this play area. With paramedics on the way, I was feeling rather silly. When the Paramedics came they decided to called an ambulance and before I knew it I was being attached to a stretcher and neck brace. Okay, so this accident was actually a very serious matter, but to be honest I couldn't stop laughing. Being in the middle of a play area for kids, its quite hard to squeeze through gaps, let alone pull a person on a stretcher through it. The paramedics all struggled to climb through the play area carrying me, and we all found it very amusing. I had to wait in the neck brace and on the stretcher for around two hours which was not fun when you're bursting for the toilet, but needless to say I made it out of hospital that night, after a very amusing evening and 20th birthday.

Thank you to the Paramedics and Doctors who helped me and made my night very amusing! X

1. Moving away from home can be very scary, but it can also be extremely exciting. Getting to cook and clean for yourself is actually more fun than you'd think. You have a new kind of freedom.
2. It helps you make that transition between being a child/teenager and being an adult. I have definitely found myself to be far more mature than I ever used to be. You're also treated like an adult and everything is your own responsibility. During your first year you have to look for a house for your second year, which sounds complicated and terrifying but believe me it's not. These skills will help you later in life!
3. You'll make friends from all over the place. I for one am not particularly outgoing or full of confidence, so making new friends was a definite worry. But I honestly made so many friends within the first few weeks, and we've stuck together. It really does become like a little family. So even if you're shy, there is no need to worry. 
4. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there- this is your chance to be the person you've always known yourself to be. At university you're around other people who want to learn, so don't be afraid to work hard and come out the other side with amazing results! Join societies and take part, maybe something you're good at, maybe something you're not good at, but joining in will always end in a lot of laughs.
5. If you've never known what you want to do with your life, going to University means that you have a few more years to have a think, try new things and see for yourself what you want to be involved in. It might be something to do with your course, or even something you've learnt whilst being a part of a society. The whole experience prepares you for it.

It's occurred to me recently that today's society focuses too much on appearance. Of course this isn't a recent thing, it's just that i've finally started to realise its effects. The media focuses too much on the appearance of celebrities and this is no way to produce role models for children. Over the past year or so, I focused so hard on trying to look beautiful all the time- wearing clothes that quite frankly were very unconfortable, wearing make up that didn't work, and coutnless attempts to make my hair look professionally done. No matter what I tried I didn't look like any of those celebrities. And thats becuase I'm not. And I never will be one of them. Perhaps you may become famous one day- but you will still be you, just more known- you will never be someone else. So no matter how hard we try to be or look like someone else, we will never achieve that and actually become them, so what is the point. Recently i've decided that its okay to take time on my appearance as long as i'm focusing on myself and what I want to wear and how I want to look. We all need to realise that we are all different, and perhaps these celebrities if they met us, might secretly wish they looked like us. Young girls who look up to celebrities need to realise how much beauty they hold in their own hands. We need to be proud of how we look and embrace our flaws and love them. I know it can be disheartening when you see someone who looks amazing, but who cares. You always look amazing when you're smiling and having fun enjoying life. If we stress too much over how others see us- there won't be much to see at all. Relax, find what works for you and makes you feel amazing, and embrace it. Be proud!

When looking out of the window this month at University, I've only seen one thing. Rain. Then some more rain. And, wait, yes more rain. Lots of it too. A blog about rain and weather probably does seem a bit cliche, however because the rain is so loud, it's actually hard to think about anything else, and thus my blog post. The clouds in Portsmouth seem to have a split personality. One minute they are a glorious summery blue with the sun beaming in our eyes,and the next moment you're having to change clothes because you've practically had a shower outside due to the rain. One day I want to put shower gel on and run outside and see if I can wash it all off before the rain stops. Okay, so most of us prefer it when it rains extremely hard and storms occur because its much more exciting- why rain at all if half hearted. But why is it these storms and downpours only seem to happen when we need to go somewhere- like lectures! It's no wonder why people feel miserable, it's the weather. It certainly makes me want to curl up in my duvet and pop on the box set of Lord of the Rings, with a cup of tea in one hand and a box of assorted biscuits in the other. Of course we have to praise the rain for its help with crops and such, but seriously rain, perhaps you could back off a little, we've had enough rain. You may as well have just poured the ocean on us.

Recently I've been struck by a question that I can't seem to shake off. What ever happened to good old fashioned fun? Being a University student, the stereotypical attitude towards fun is most probably drinking and clubbing, however if I'm quite honest my agenda includes quite the opposite. Do you ever think about how much fun you had as a child, running until your feet hurt or laughing hysterically until you could no longer breathe. What happened to that? All I see now a days is youngsters getting 'pissed' or 'wasted' everyday of the week, and what's worst is their genuine enthusiasm for doing it. Personally I do not see the appeal. All it does is leave people ill, injured and with a loss of dignity. Of course I would be a hypocryte if I didn't admit that I myself have had a few nights out where drinking has been the main event, but nevertheless I am proud to say that I have no further interest in carrying on that way. For sure, drinking on occasion is totally fine, and who's to say you can't do what you want. All i'm saying is we all need to remember what used to be good, and how much fun we used to have, without the involvement of 'booze'. The amount of people you see wondering the streets after endless nights out and endless pints. I think we should be a little disappointed in ourselves for letting alcohol take over ours lives and be known as a system of 'fun'. If we all just sat down and talked or played games and laughed like we used to, not only would we not lose dignity, or damage our bodies, but we might just realise alcohol is not needed to have fun. We need to realise that its not alcohol or a product as such which should control the fun, but its the people we share the fun with.