Returning to University

In a few days time I will be returning to university and will officially become a third year. How that happened I am not sure seeing as I only started university yesterday....WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?!

Anyway. Now I am sat here feeling old and debating the idea of starting to pack all of my stuff and it got me thinking about how I feel about moving back. University has always been a tricky one for me, I love it, but I usually hate the idea of going back. My mum calls me a "home bird" and I guess she is right, I love being at home and surrounded by my family but I also love being at university, living with my friends and being able to do pretty much whatever I want. Within reason, I couldn't go and rob a bank for example. I think it is the transition between the two that I hate, I hate saying goodbye and you have that brief period of 'oh goodness I am on my own'. Two years ago when I was faced with the prospect of starting university and leaving home for the first time ever I was terrified, there were a lot of tears and I was adamant I was not going. I remember turning up at the place I was living and telling myself that I would never call this place home, that lasted about a week. I was really lucky, I made some really good friends who when confronted with me on the first night, a blubbing wreck, instead of running for the hills they offered me cake and a game of poker, I then loved university. The start of the second year should have been a lot easier but I was just as apprehensive and really not wanting to go. We had moved into a different house that I hated and the idea of returning made me cry even more than the first time round. But once again I settled it and loved it, in fact I really miss that house now!

So the start of third year. For the first time ever I am openly admitting that I am excited to go back, I am actually looking forward to it. We have a lovely new house and I love the people that I am living with. Of course there is still a fairly large part of me that is terrified of saying goodbye to my mum and I am sure that when the time comes I will be in tears clinging to her like a three year old begging her to stay. I may be 20 years old but I can still act like the children at work when I want to. However I am trying not to think about that, instead focusing on all the fun I am going to have and remembering that I do really like university.

So to anyone who is starting university or returning, good luck! I hope you have the best year yet!

REVIEW: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

What was the last book that made you laugh out loud? If you had asked me this a few days ago I would not have known the answer, however I have just finished reading The Rosie Project and there were moments in this book where I genuinely laughed out loud.

 

'I'm not good at understanding what other people want.'
'Tell me something I don't know . . .'
  Love isn't an exact science - but no one told Don Tillman. A thirty-nine-year-old geneticist, Don's never had a second date. So he devises the Wife Project, a scientific test to find the perfect partner. Enter Rosie - 'the world's most incompatible woman' - throwing Don's safe, ordered life into chaos. But what is this unsettling, alien emotion he's feeling?

 

I actually came across this book by accident, after a recent trip to the cinema I saw an advert for a film that I thought was based on The Rosie Project, the film looked quite good so I thought I would give the book a try. After I had finished the book I realised that I had been mistaken and the book was completely different to the film, however I am still glad I read the book.

 

I thought the two main characters were likeable which made me want to read on as I enjoyed finding out more about their lives. The story was a twist on a traditional love story where a boy meets a girl, they fall in love, there are a few minor blips along the way and then they live happily ever after. There were elements of this within the book but it was not the conventional way, which I really enjoyed. I am rating this book three stars as although I did enjoy it, and it definitely made me laugh, I feel like I have read better books recently that kept me hooked, this one did not have quite the same effect. Also I was slightly unsure of the ending, I found that it really confused me, this is probably because I started to lose concentration for the last few pages of the book, another sign that it was not the best book, but this meant I probably missed a key plot point which left me confused at the end.

 

None the less this book is definitely worth a read if you after a light hearted story that will make you laugh or you are after a slightly different love story.

Feeling Creative

Recently I went to see Les Miserables in the West End, it was the third time that I have seen the show and it was still absolutely incredible. I went with my two closest friends from university, to celebrate a birthday and to have a last meet up in the summer holidays. We spent the morning in the science museum which turned into a little bit of a disaster as we realised that we didn't understand any of the activities that were clearly aimed at children! Feeling a bit deflated we decided to go somewhere that was more on our level, the soft toy section in Hamleys! After spending far too long stroking the toys to see how soft they were we went to the theatre and, of course, the show was absolutely incredible, the current cast are probably the best I have seen, one of us shed a few tears, not me I would like to add, and the cast managed to add humour and give me shivers when they sang "One Day More". We then went to eat at a restaurant in Covent Garden called Wahaca which was really nice with lovely food and fairly cheap which is always a good thing when you are a poor student! Finally we ended up at Be At One ,a cocktail bar also in Covent Garden. They have an app that you can download on your phone which allows you to create your own happy hour which gives you two cocktails for £9.50. They have such a large range of cocktails and the ones that we have tried so far are delicious, the staff are all really friendly and they played a lot of really cheesy music throughout the evening, think early 00s, it gave a great atmosphere and we had lots of fun, we will definitely be going back again!

 

Anyway, I feel like I have gone slightly off topic here, after we had seen the show we went to the stage door as I really wanted to meet Carrie Hope Fletcher who is currently playing Eponine. She is also a Youtuber and I have been watching her videos for a while now so I decided I would take the opportunity to become a little bit of a fangirl! She was so lovely to everyone who was there to see her, she stopped and spoke to everyone and it was such a pleasure to meet her. Afterwards I turned into a little bit of a speechless, grinning wreck, it was rather embarrassing and not something that I am used to! Before we went to the show I had read other people's experiences of meeting her and how they were shaking and crying and I always thought it was a little over the top and unnecessary. I was wrong. I acted in pretty much the same way which completely surprised me, but I do now understand how these other people felt.  So, this is eventually the actual point of this post, I decided that I would like to frame the picture I got of us and my ticket that she signed, continuing my fangirl moment. I knew the kind of frame I wanted but the cheapest I could find was £20 which was far too much money in my opinion. So after getting some advice from a friend of mine I bought a really cheap clip frame for just over a pound, some nice to paper to back it with and to cover the horrible chipboard, and some ribbon so that I could hang it on my wall. I am really pleased with the finished result and it cost me less than £5, bargain! It has given me a really nice memento of what was one of the best days of my life and I am looking forward to hanging it up when I move into my new house at university. I am planning on hanging it next to my wooden plaque that says "Follow your dreams" because Carrie dreamed big, she dreamed of the role of Eponine and she achieved it. My picture with her reminds me that it is ok to dream big and if you work hard enough you may achieve the ultimate dream, this is something that I had forgotten recently and I hope by having this on my wall it will remind me that my dream is not impossible.

 

 

If anyone is reading this, let me know what you think and share what creative things you have been up to, I would love to see them!

REVIEW: Fractured by Dani Atkins

I have literally just finished reading Fractured by Dani Atkins and thought I would share my thoughts on the book.

 

 

I actually really enjoyed this book, I was slightly unsure at first as I had never heard of it before, but I tend to find the best books often end up being the ones that no-one has mentioned to you as the hype around a book can often lead you to be disappointed.

 

What would you do if life gave you a second chance?
The night of the accident changed everything...
Now, five years on, Rachel's life is crumbling. She lives alone in a tiny flat, working in a dead-end job, desperate with guilt over her best friend's death. She would give anything to turn back the clock. But life doesn't work like that... Does it?
The night of the accident was a lucky escape...
Now, five years on, Rachel's life is perfect. She has a wonderful fiancé, loving family and friends around her, and the career she always wanted. But why can't Rachel shake the memory of a very different life?

I started reading this book two days ago, so that should give you an idea of how much I loved it! The book starts with the main character Rachel and follows her life until she has a fall and hits her head, she then wakes up in hospital where we discover that the life that she has lead was not real. The story then follows her journey in trying to piece together her life and there is a sweet love story integrated within the book. What I loved about the book was I couldn't work out how it was going to end, and in fact when I reached the end I was surprised at how it finished. Until the final twist in the story I would have only given the book three stars, however the twist, or at least what I thought was a twist, gave me a different view of the story and therefore pushes the rating up to four stars. In all honesty I am not sure I liked the ending, I think I would have preferred it to finish differently, but it was very clever, particularly the way that it linked in with the rest of the book.

 

So, if you are into Chick Lit or liked "If I Stay" as I personally found the concept to be fairly similar, then I would recommend this book, its definitely worth a read. If you have read it, let me know what you think!

 

If anyone has any book recommendations, let me know, I am always on the look out for something new to read! 

The Start of Something New

As you may have guessed from the title, I am new to this, but as I am sat here, slightly bored and desperately trying to avoid doing my dissertation I thought I would start a blog because...well why not?!

I have decided to call this "A Little Place of Happiness" as this is what I want this blog to be, full of things that make me happy, whether its a review of something I liked, or telling you about something I have been up to, or just my random thoughts, I want this to be full of all the happiest things in my life.

So first a short introduction. My name in Vikki, I am 20 years old (apparently) though I told someone the other day that I was 18, genuinely believing it was the case. I currently attend university and am about to go into my final year, I also have a part time job working in a nursery, something that I love, if I could quit university and work there full time I would. I love all things Disney, I am obsessed with London and anything that has a London reference and friends and family are very important to me.

And that's about it for now, I suppose I had better go and put some proper thought into what I am going to write about!