We Grew Up At Midnight

Goodness, I didn't realise it had been so long since my last post, and there I was pledging to be a better blogger post exams and what not... However, I do have lots to tell. It has been a wonderful couple of weeks since then, that I think it best for us all if I break it up into bite size pieces for y'all. 

#1. On the 2nd June, I attended what was sadly my last ever summer ball at Kent uni, *sad face*. It was such an enjoyable evening. We were lucky enough to have Noah and the Whale headline who were brilliant. I heard part of their set at Bestival last September so had quite high expectations for their performance, and I thought they were great. The Saturdays, meh...A let down. Easy on the eye but harsh on the ear drums, so thank goodness that Annie Mac could be relied upon to finish the night in style with a fantastic DJ set. It was a shame that the bumper cars closed so early as that would have just been the icing on the cake, and boy do I love cake.

Noah and the Whale

#2. On the 6th of June I turned 22 BUT IT'S OKAY because I still look 12. Well, my height says 12 anyway. However, I do still get ID'd everywhere I go and as long as that continues to be the case I shall be a happy bean. My birthday was lovely, despite the weather raining on my parade (read: barbecue) in the evening, but nevertheless I had a wonderful day. A long awaited game of Articulate later and we were ready to dance the night away. My house mates bought me the best pen ever (the flower winds up), an introductory book to journalism (so thoughtful) and the most beautiful diary, which I am too scared to write in as of yet! (Such a neat freak when it comes to diaries and journals... anyone else get that?) I also received my first ever 'for a special auntie' card from my niece and nephews which I am going to keep forever!

#3. My siblings bought me an awesome present, which was to see The Maccabees at Alexandra Palace in London last Friday. OH GOD. So good. They were just amazing, so incredibly on the ball live and with the perfect mix of old and new songs. I was pretty blown away that they would have thought to get me a gift like that and Rob and I had the best time. It has been forever since I went to a gig and it makes me ever so sad that I don't have a festival to go to this year due to my limited funds; the first time in four years, I'm not quite sure how to handle it. I did not want the gig to end, I could watch and listen to Orlando Weeks forever. The support act, British Sea Power, were awesome as well.

#4. The following day, I was lucky enough to have some friends from home come and visit me in Canterbury. We got very merry and once again set out to dance and sing our hearts out! It has been a wonderful couple of weeks filled with some amazing music and company. I will be ever so sad to say goodbye to it all this coming weekend, when I have to leave this beautiful city.

I have had some truly lovely comments on my blog as of late and I feel awful for not having had the time to reply to them yet, but this past week has just been so crazy! I promise that I am going to do that right this minute, just bear with me because I really do appreciate the time that is taken to read and comment on my posts. 

Finally, I know that it is a week and little bit later than I said that I would announce, but the winner of my Delialah Dust give away is Lucy from Slices of Style! I will pass on your details to Antonia and get her to post your bracelet to you!

Sunday (Monday) #3

1. The first week of 2012 seems to have flown by, doesn't it? I celebrated New Year's Eve with some wonderful friends in Brighton at a couple of house parties. With everybody disappearing back to uni very soon, it was a lovely chance to get a good group of us together to welcome in 2012. We then nursed our hangovers (some of us worse than others) with the magic of a fry up. After trudging through the pouring rain to the train station, missing our train and therefore enduring a 40 minute wait for the next one, we ventured back to Eastbourne to be welcomed by more rain. It has been a long time since I have been so relieved to get into my PJs and slippers!

2. My brother turned 20 at the beginning of December but due to both him and myself being at uni, we were never really able to mark the occasion as a family, so my mum decided to round up the troops this week before we disappeared again and take us to Buffet Time! Not so good for resolutions, but who cares when they bring you cake like this (see below) for your birthday? 

With lights turned down and music turned up, Happy Birthday was sung and rapturous applause followed. Embarrassed much, little brother? 

3. On Thursday I went to The Argus in Brighton for an interview and aptitude test for a journalism course that I want to start in September. I had to do a written exam which included proof reading for spelling and grammar, summarising an article in only 70 words and then writing an article using some information given. After being given a tour and an interview, myself and the other two applicants there were told that the exams would be marked that afternoon and an email would swiftly follow. So, as you can imagine an evening full of constant phone and email checking followed to no avail. 

On Friday, I returned to The Argus for a journalism taster workshop and was once again welcomed by Paula, who informed me that I had passed both the interview and test and offered me a place on the course! I am so happy and incredibly excited to start this September, although I cannot yet quite imagine how hard it will be to have lessons from 9-5 Monday to Friday. 

I hope everyone's 2012 has got off to a wonderful start.

France to England, England to France

2011 has been a year of many changes in my life. I'm pretty sure the year started with teary goodbyes as I had to move back to France for the second half of my year abroad. I loved living in France and in all honesty, being a teaching assistant really wasn't that bad, but with ridiculously expensive phone calls, having to trek to McDonald's every time I wanted to use the internet or Skype and getting a headache with every other conversation, home sickness crept in all too easily. It was sad to say goodbye to the girls I had lived with for over 7 months and to think that it would be an absolute age before we were ever able to meet up again, (if at all, they were from america, El Salvador and Germany), but I have never felt happier than I did when I returned home for good and knew that I would not need my passport every time I wanted to see my family, friends or Rob. 

After returning home, I had five and a half months to kill before going back to uni. I took some time off to allow myself to be at complete liberty to relax and catch up with friends and family. It also meant finally being able to see Rob's band YAAKS in action. What he's achieved this year deserves a post of its own, so go give them a listen and a like! I turned 21 at the beginning of June and luckily most of the people I love were home in time to celebrate. I started celebrations early with a family meal the day before my birthday which was amazing. I can't remember the last time we went out as a family, even though it was a shame that one brother was still missing from the celebrations. 

On my actual birthday, we hired  a limo to pull up in Brighton where I was serenaded with a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' lead by the live band and accompanied by the entire population of the Pav Tav. We then went on to Lola Lo's to dance the night away. I don't think I have ever had so much fun on a night out and the occasion was most definitely marked! 

I managed to get a summer job as an Activity Leader for EF language school which was incredibly fun, spending the days lounging on the beach, playing Just Dance on the wii and shopping and sight seeing trips to London and Brighton alike. I adore living by the coast and having the South Downs on my door step, so having a job over the summer which allowed me to be outdoors most of the time was amazing and I had a fabulous bunch of people to work alongside with. 

After Summer and a five and a half month wait, I returned to Canterbury to start my fourth and final year as an undergraduate at the University of Kent. I had been worrying for my entire year abroad about who I would be living with and what it would be like to live in Canterbury once again, considering that the majority of people I had classed as my core group of friends had graduated and would no longer be around. However, I could not have asked for a friendlier group of house mates and it didn't take long to settle in. University is the best thing that I have ever done, it has allowed me to grow up so much. I would never have been able to cope with living abroad three or so years ago and the thought of meeting and talking to new people terrified me, resulting in me going retreating quietly and shyly with awkward conversations, whereas now I feel confident talking to people I've never met before and the idea of meeting new people and making new friends excites me, and this semester has been so enjoyable because of that. 

I am so looking forward to 2012, to graduating next summer and hopefully taking up a journalism course in Brighton (if my interview and exams in January go well). I'm excited to start writing more, on the ol' blog, for my uni paper and hopefully getting more work experience with local papers or magazines. So if you are reading this, I hope you have all had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year. 

Melita x