Musings of a Perfectionist

Hi all! I'm back! Did you miss me? Did you miss the email pinging into your inbox, did you miss reading my (obviously hilarious) words scrawled out across the screen? Who am I kidding, of course you did. Anyway, I got back a few days ago (go and read my holiday posts if you haven't already- link is  here ) and I am so tired. To be honest though, people keep asking if I am jetlagged, and the real answer is that I am so used to always feeling tired during the day and awake at night that I haven't noticed any difference. But today I wish to tell you all about the brilliant experience that I had of visiting Parkside Sixth Form College! Basically, I have decided to do the IB next year (instead of A-Levels) and that leaves two schools in the area: Parkside and Impington. The Open Day for Impington is next week (keep an eye out for that post- or, better yet, subscribe! Please!) but the one for Parkside was today, and let me tell you this: it's really hard to work ...

As promised, here is my final post for this series of posts! I'm currently sitting with Eliza in the airport, drinking water (which I haven't had for about 10 hours) and eating Reese's (which are strangely nice). Today started really early, with waking up at 5. This was not supposed to happen (we were getting up at 6) but it did mean that I was very awake when our alarm finally went off. For breakfast, I had a lot of black coffee, a cinnamon roll and a shared slice of cheesecake (it was so good). Then we went to the UN Headquarters on the Metro (where I only needed to swipe my card twice to get through,  rather than my normal seven and then having to jump over the barrier). This was pretty cool, although I was so tired and so I probably didn't appreciate it as well as I could have done. Then we went to Time Square by bus (our group basically took over the bus) and wandered around a bit. Back at the hostel, I was part of the team who were tak...

Last full day of New York! Tomorrow is travelling, and then we get home on Friday (just in time for pizza Friday at home). Today was also a good day though. We had breakfast at this lovely bakery, where I ate an almond croissant, before we walked Brooklyn Bridge, taking some pretty awesome pictures of the scenery. Then we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was also very cool. We only had an hour in there, and I could have spent a whole day, but it was interesting and it smelt like a museum/gallery should do (is that weird? I feel like that's weird). I bought a present for my friend (who keeps wondering if I've got her something, so this is to say that I have) and another bookmark to add to my collection. We then walked through Central Park, where a group of us sang the 'Friends' theme tune (really out of tune) because one of us has never seen 'Friends'. After this, we had a very quick lunch, then we went to the 'Top of ...

Today was a good day. We had breakfast at Starbucks, which,  while not amazing, was decent and the coffee was warm. (Kirsten became Kelsey though *shrugs*) Riding the Subway is always interesting, especially when followed by standing in a queue for two hours. There was a point to this queue- so that we could get on a boat to travel to see the Statue of Liberty and then Ellis Island- but two hours did seem a bit much. Especially as we got to listen to some (pretty awful) covers of songs (they absolutely butchered Wonderwall and Shotgun) by some buskers. The boat ride wasn't too bad (once we got through security) and seeing the Statue of Liberty was amazing. Ellis Island was great as well, with loads of great history and I even managed to buy dine presents for my sisters (they had better be happy). The 9/11 memorial was next. This was such a powerful memorial. It was so sad, and I suggest that you look it up. Then we went to Macy's and did som...

Hello again, sorry this is a bit late. Last night was pretty hectic, and I just fell asleep as soon as we got back to the room. Our last stop in Washington yesterday was to the Capitol building, which was pretty cool. We went on a tour, looking at the crypt that doesn't have Washington's body in it and the room where state funerals are held (Rosa Parks is the only woman to ever have had a state funeral). Interesting fact: out of 100 statues, only 9 are of women. Anyway. Then we had lunch- our little group went to Pret a Manger, and had vegetables and fruit and basically felt very healthy. New York was next, so after a long coach journey, we arrived in the city that never sleeps. Let me tell you this: New York is insane. I cannot actually believe that it's a real place. There are lights and colours and noises and people everywhere. It's so different to Washington (and I definitely prefer Washington). Where we are staying is...interest...

Good evening, you wonderful lot (my phone's autocorrect is really bad and so that did say wistful pot, which is worrying). Today was a very eventful day for us, although we all crashed around lunchtime because there was lots of walking around places. We went to various different memorials this morning, such as the WW2 one and the Vietnam War one. My favourite was definitely Roosevelt's memorial (look it up: it's so cool!) Then we went to the Smithsonian Museum (lots of planes) and had lunch (which was very expensive and didn't taste great anyway). After having wandered around, we walked to the Newseum, which was wonderful and amazing and lots more positive adjectives. I could have spent days in there, exploring each floor and watching the mini-movies. And where are we now, you ask? We are currently (*probably not as you're r reading this though) in our room at the hotel. We played a card game, and we're just resting until we go out a...

Hi everyone! It's currently just past 7 in the morning here, but my body thinks it is just past 12 during the day. It's not too bad, considering. We haven't even had breakfast yet, so I'm currently starving, but Eliza's only just gotten out of bed to have a shower, and breakfast isn't for a good half hour yet. Sad. Anyway, yesterday was eventful, even though we literally just travelled for hours. Coach then plane then coach again (ha, that rhymes). On my boarding pass, I had the 'special' random selection to be searched. So, while everyone else got on the plane, I had to stand with a teacher and have my hands/shoes swabbed and my bag searched. Fun. Washington is pretty cool, from what I can see from our window. The hotel is (no offence to anyone) pretty bad, and the bathroom looks like something out of the sixties. But we've seen all the things that in a classic crime drama set in D.C. will show from its panoramic vie...

So, I'm going to Washington/New York soon. Yay. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, but the bundle of nerves in my stomach is making it harder for me to convince myself of this fact. Positive thinking and all. But, don't fear, for I have WiFi at hotels, and so will be able to update you on all of my travels! I also have an adorable leather-bound notebook/travel journal that I will be using, because hopefully inspiration will strike and I'll write something amazing. Ha, pipe dreams. It's half term now, for some of us, so what are you doing? Obviously, I'm travelling to the USA, which is why I am currently downloading a load of stuff onto BBC iPlayer for the flight ('Pride and Prejudice' or 'War and Peace' is a tough decision), but I hope you have a restful half term. For those of you who have Mocks soon, revise, but also relax. ☺️ Also, the Student Leaders from my house (this includes me, by the way) had a bake sale yesterday, and...

Afternoon everyone! I have Brownies soon (where I am getting my Young Leader Qualification- more stuff for UCAS, yay) so some of this might be written later. If this happens, some of the tenses etc might not make much sense, but just roll with it, yeah? Anyway: on with the post! At Christian Union (*food club) over the past few weeks, we have been watching YouTube videos from Glamour Magazine where different (USA) people, ages 5-75, are all asked the same question. The question today was 'What Do You Want To Be Remembered For?' I'll attach a link at the bottom of the post (*), but that's not really what is important about this. It doesn't really matter what other people want to be remembered for, it matters what YOU want to be remembered for. It was pretty interesting seeing how people's views changed as they grew older, but it is also a pretty challenging thing to think about. What do you want to be remembered for? Personally, I want to be remembe...

Hey! It's been a long time since I last wrote anything, but I haven't really achieved much in that long time. Why haven't I written a post recently? Why, literally nothing worthy of any note has actually happened.  I try to make my informative/social change blog posts more serious, and then everything else a little lighter, but nothing has really happened that is even remotely funny. On an informative note: it was the International Day of the Girl on Thursday (11th October) and tomorrow (14th October) marks the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings ! Actually- that reminds me. Yesterday, in History, we acted out the Battle of Hastings! I played the part of an Anglo-Saxon warrior who was locked in a shield wall, before foolishly deciding that it would be a good idea to run after the 'fleeing' Normans. I died, of course. To be honest, I feel that this is how History should be taught. We watch a lot of documentaries (most from some of my favourit...

Happy World Mental Health Day! Did you hear? Today, the Prime Minister (yes, still Teresa May) appointed a suicide prevention minister- Jackie Doyle-Price. Although, there has been some controversy surrounding her appointment- I suggest that you just be happy that people are finally taking note of mental health. One of the biggest things taking hold of the world of mental health is #boysdocry, and I personally believe that this is incredibly important to remember- anyone, any gender, any age, any sexuality, can experience poor mental health. I'm not going to lie, I do suffer from mental health issues. I'm not going into any detail (because not many people know and I really don't want to) but it's so important to have days like this. So, remember. Remember that when someone says, "I'm fine," they may not be, remember that it's perfectly okay to not be completely healthy, remember that you always have friends and family and people that you can ta...

Hello all, here's a post to brighten your grey day! (Although, I do actually quite like these kinds of days- if I'm inside, of course) Today's post is about a website/book/quiz that I think is actually pretty cool. It's called '5 Love Languages' and you can find a link  here , although I suggest reading through this post before finding out your Love Language. Basically, there are these five types of ways that people show love, and would like to receive it. The five types are: Words of Affirmation Acts of Service Receiving Gifts Quality Time Physical Touch The point of finding out which one/s you are is so that other people can be more mindful of what yours is, and hopefully build better relationships. For example, someone whos Love Language is Physical Touch will hug you, or pat you on the back, but if your Love Language is Words of Affirmation, this isn't actually what you want people to do in order to show their love. Hopefully, that make...

Hi all, as promised, this is my latest 'Values and Experiences Day' updates. Fun all around, as per usual, although parts of this were slightly more useful than normal, so I can't be mean about the whole day. We started off listening to a talk about Apprenticeships, which was interesting, although I couldn't see the board properly and there is no way that I'm doing an Apprenticeship. Then we split into groups to listen to three different talks about different Sixth Form options. My first talk was about A-Levels, and the guy talking made it sound so boring (he had a cool tie though). The second talk was about the International Baccalaureate, which I actually want to do (because yes, I already know what I want to do) and the lady was very enthusiastic, which was nice. The third and final talk was about Vocational Subjects (which is basically just CRC) and the only highlight was when one of my friend's sisters came up in the video a few times as someone w...

Well. Today was eventful. Not. For those of you in my school, and for those of you who may have studied or are studying GCSE Geography, you will know what I am talking about (maybe). For those of you who didn't or don't: we went on a *nice* trip to the beach (Walton-on-the-Naze) to look at the coast. In all fairness, it is for part of our exam, because one of our topics is about coasts and it forms part of our case study questions, but it was a slight waste of my time. The beach itself was pretty unimpressive (but most English beaches are) and I spent more time on the coach (yay: I so do love coaches) than doing any fieldwork. And, of course, we got swarmed by seagulls because someone (I'm looking at you, people from my school) kept feeding them. To be honest, I'd rather do English Language, or Maths, or even my Food coursework (that is due rather soon and I have to cut down on so many words- aghhh). Virtual Reality should have been the way to go today...