tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53416317859698902342024-02-19T11:01:57.444+00:00Anna's Applying to Uni BlogAnna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-82835447614152182072016-10-04T20:27:00.000+01:002016-10-04T20:27:55.972+01:00A Duck to Water<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It's so weird for me to be writing this from my room at Hope! After wanting to come here for so long, for me to be sat in my room writing this seems like a dream! I can't believe that this time last year, I didn't even have this blog, yet here I am now at uni - and loving every minute so far! My hall mates and course mates are all lovely and my lecturers are warm and welcoming. I just can't believe I've been here for over a week now: Time has flown by but at the same time I feel like I've been here forever! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">So with Freshers'/Welcome Week now over, I thought I'd take this opportunity to reflect on the past week and all the good times I've had!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>24/09 - Moving In Day</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Before I moved in, I was so nervous it was crazy. Not about the course, the uni or even the move to a bigger city. I knew these things would sort themselves. But I was so apprehensive about meeting so many new people. However, I need not to have been worried! Before I even walked into my halls, I recognised and was able to talk to several of the people from the many Hope online group chats. This immediately made me feel more relaxed, even in the chaos of unpacking the car, registering with a GP and getting my student ID card. When I went into my hall, several people were already unpacking and we were able to chat to each other as we unpacked and sorted our rooms. My parents stayed with me for a while before they said their goodbyes and headed home. After that, I was able to really start getting to know the girls on my corridor. It was so lovely to discover almost immediately that we have plenty of things in common and we all have similar senses of humour. That night, we headed to Liverpool Concert Square for our first night out together which was so much fun! I couldn't have wished for a better first day at Hope!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Car all packed and ready to go! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFY5UxKaFFNljcB51HOY16Ncbox4aIEiDadkmVeize3bWje6xUB0AUm0MlHWws9kITQKbaFuncJ7D6631xiyt8ajZympcjL0b2iF8Y9xqexKqvKwkf37QCfNk9mPcGsi-96-5eYkumoDm/s1600/IMG_0195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFY5UxKaFFNljcB51HOY16Ncbox4aIEiDadkmVeize3bWje6xUB0AUm0MlHWws9kITQKbaFuncJ7D6631xiyt8ajZympcjL0b2iF8Y9xqexKqvKwkf37QCfNk9mPcGsi-96-5eYkumoDm/s400/IMG_0195.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful view from my bedroom window</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>25/09 - My 19th Birthday</b></span></div>
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Nothing is weirder than having your birthday on your first full day at uni - and your first full day living away from your family. I was so nervous about this (yes, I was nervous a lot at the start of Freshers'!!) and so my family came over for the afternoon to celebrate with me. They brought me my cards and presents from family and friends at home (thank you all by the way!!) and we went out for tea to celebrate as well. When I got back to uni I suddenly felt all alone and was worried about how I would cope by myself. However, my friend Catherine and I went to Mass at the University Chapel and I was able to relax and hand my anxieties over to God. It was a lovely experience of Mass - only a few members of staff and students but it was a really beautiful celebration. I'm really looking forward to being part of the Catholic Society and community at Hope over these next three years. <br />
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After Mass and more food at the Chaplaincy, I returned to my halls and got ready for our second night out. The Chuckle Brothers were doing a guest performance at one of the clubs and so we were all varying degrees of excited about seeing them! However, before we went out, some of the girls from the other floors in the hall called me downstairs and everyone was gathered in the foyer area singing "happy birthday" to me. As much as I was embarrassed at the fuss, it made me feel so special that these people who had only just met me were wanting me to feel special and cared about on my birthday. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday Meal with my family</td></tr>
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<b>26/09 - First Day</b></div>
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After all the fun and excitement of the first two days, on Monday we had to get down to business with an Introductory lecture, Faculty Welcome and Commencement Ceremony. While the first two were pretty self explanatory, I was unsure about what the Commencement Ceremony would entail. This was an official ceremony where we were properly welcomed into the community at Hope and introduced to all the Faculty and Department Heads, as well as other important figures in the University. <br />
Later that evening, we decided to have a girly night in and so some of us headed down to the common room to relax and watch Cold Feet. <br />
This was also first night that I made a proper homemade meal for my tea, so I was very happy that I could make a tasty meal by myself without needing my Mum's help!!<br />
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<b>27/09 - A Busy Day</b><br />
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Before I moved to uni, I knew that I had post that I needed to collect during my first few days however it took me until Tuesday to finally work out how to collect it! It was so lovely to be able to collect my cards from family and friends which had arrived in the previous few days. As I only had a couple of departmental welcome meetings in the morning and was free for the rest of the day, I took Tuesday as my opportunity to decorate my bedroom and arrange it how I like it. I think I'll do my next blog post about how to make your uni room feel like a home away from home, so I'll talk in more detail about that next time. Tuesday was also Freshers' Fair and as it was at the other side of campus, it was a great opportunity to explore over there and see what it's like! I also enjoyed being able to see all the clubs and societies that were advertised - I've just signed up for Badminton and Catholic Societies as I unfortunately couldn't find a stand for the English one! I'm hoping that I might be able to sign up for it online or in a lecture or something.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new building for Sports Science</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlJEYBb02dauk6PNF-5qGG0Iwt_qj-bnYKzwxGydzNi-hS2E_TfeRiSYaHy9Wz5eX5wRWp744seNnRXj3w6NiQvK4301FJn9ZiObxgMTp0AClNwNXJjdIQiVhVleRpgET64HHi_AyGSLM/s1600/IMG_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKlJEYBb02dauk6PNF-5qGG0Iwt_qj-bnYKzwxGydzNi-hS2E_TfeRiSYaHy9Wz5eX5wRWp744seNnRXj3w6NiQvK4301FJn9ZiObxgMTp0AClNwNXJjdIQiVhVleRpgET64HHi_AyGSLM/s400/IMG_0113.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful view from the top floor of the library</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Rb6tM2mVY9CpRTTNDS5DBQDco8WSVRtPX9Gm5ab1_PgpXDUIRXv50xj-uBsprdZBZmj0iboerN1uADZySLBaz9ux9Om_lSSzKLupoJXeFu1kBWyzy7gzAj2sT21caNOMXtSzgQhLpi4M/s1600/IMG_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Rb6tM2mVY9CpRTTNDS5DBQDco8WSVRtPX9Gm5ab1_PgpXDUIRXv50xj-uBsprdZBZmj0iboerN1uADZySLBaz9ux9Om_lSSzKLupoJXeFu1kBWyzy7gzAj2sT21caNOMXtSzgQhLpi4M/s400/IMG_0117.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The campus is so beautiful even with the grey skies and rain!</td></tr>
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On Tuesday, some of us again decided to have a girly night in. So nine of us packed into my room and huddled round my laptop to catch up on the X Factor we'd missed over the weekend. I really enjoyed this as it was a great opportunity to get to know some of the girls better and to bond over similar likes and dislikes of contestants on the show!!</div>
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Q) How many people can you cram into Anna's room? </div>
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A) Nine (at least!!)</div>
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<b>28/09 - Meeting Tutors and Bake Off Bonding</b></div>
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After all the introductory lectures and welcomes on Monday and Tuesday, by Wednesday it was time to meet my personal tutors for both English Lit and Creative Writing. One of the many things which drew me to Hope was the fact that is a small and personable uni - everyone knows each other and that creates a really vibrant and friendly atmosphere. The tutors that we have for tutorials are also our personal tutors and so they are the first person we can turn to if we have any issues while at Hope - whether academic or personal. I really enjoyed being able to meet my tutors, who are both so warm and friendly and I instantly felt at ease with them. It was also great to finally meet people who will be in my lectures and tutorials for the next year at least and to see that there are many people who I have much in common with. I'm a massive fan of different accents and so I'm in pure heaven - with people from as vast areas as Derry, London, South Africa and of course Liverpool to name just a few; just hearing other people speak is great!!! </div>
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Also on Wednesday, The Great British Bake Off was on and so, of course, we just had to watch it before we went out for the night!! I absolutely love watching Bake Off and it was so much fun to watch it with some of my new friends! Later on, we headed out to town for the night and had a really great time having a laugh and a dance before heading back to halls for some sleep before another busy day on Thursday!</div>
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<b>29-30/09 - Girly Film Night and Exploring the SU</b></div>
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Thursday and Friday again consisted of more induction lectures and tutorials where we were told more details about the course content as well as doing plenty of icebreakers to get to know other people in the group. Although we all moan about doing so many icebreaking activities, just the fact that no one enjoys them helps us all to relax and start talking!! While Thursday and Friday were pretty similar during the day, the evenings were very different! On Thursday, nine of us crammed into my friend's room and we all watched The Fault in Our Stars. Such a good girly film and it was lovely to just relax and have a pyjama night after being out the night before. On Friday, my two closest uni friends and I decided that we would go and check out the weekly student night which Hope Student Union puts on. And we were not disappointed - it was a really chilled pub-like atmosphere with great music from the uni's Irish indie band, The Left Backs. It was nice to end the week of lectures etc on something so chilled and lovely.</div>
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<b>01/10 - First Shopping Trip</b><br />
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Unfortunately, this is nowhere near as exciting as it sounds! Some of the girls and I had pretty much run out of food (a key error as a student I have to say!) and so we decided it was probably time to head to the supermarket! I have to say, it was quite an experience!! It was pouring down with rain and we ended up waiting at the bus stop for around 40 minutes before two buses turned up at once - so typical!! We eventually found the supermarket and we were all confused when we walked in because the store begins with the frozen and bakery sections which was very different than what I'm used to at home! However, other than that it was a very successful trip! We managed to stick to our shopping lists and more importantly, our budgets!</div>
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We again stayed in on Saturday night and watched X Factor together and had an early night - we all knew that Sunday would be a late night!!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPGYhEkCGEW3v9VWGDv0xsL4tTV_CYWLkGmAjsyOg3v0THIQJtEuNCZgHoTulF8z4rEWBqJhi6qCSuyXKDZdB1ZKswxiUAaGsGh7SKAnx9JT_uoqvzNs0vz-JvWDUqAY1Pgv6_EjQVW6p/s1600/IMG_0174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPGYhEkCGEW3v9VWGDv0xsL4tTV_CYWLkGmAjsyOg3v0THIQJtEuNCZgHoTulF8z4rEWBqJhi6qCSuyXKDZdB1ZKswxiUAaGsGh7SKAnx9JT_uoqvzNs0vz-JvWDUqAY1Pgv6_EjQVW6p/s400/IMG_0174.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeling very grown up after our shopping trip together!</td></tr>
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02/10 - Roast Dinner and Student Fest</b></div>
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After such a busy week, we tried to have a lie in on Sunday morning- especially because we knew that the hard work began on Monday!! We didn't do a lot during the day really, mainly just trying to get on top of the course reading we needed to do and other little jobs like washing and tidying. However, in the afternoon, some of my friends and I made our first roast dinner together! To think that we were virtual strangers a week ago, it was so lovely to be able to share a meal with the lovely girls who are now my friends!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Couldn't resist sharing a picture of our amazing roast chicken dinner!!!</td></tr>
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On Sunday night, it was time for Student Fest - the concluding Freshers' event and the one event which was for all four Liverpool unis. And it did not disappoint! We were all in uni teams and our t-shirts were our tickets into six different venues. The best part about this was that we could see what different places were like without having to pay! The atmosphere was amazing with all the freshers out from all the unis and we had such a good time! I would say it was definitely the best night out we had during Freshers' Week - if you're a student in Liverpool next year I would definitely recommend it!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favourite Austin Hall girls :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being a triplet with my uni best mates!</td></tr>
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So that, ladies and gentleman, is my Freshers' Week! I had the most amazing time and I've met some amazing people already. I'm so excited to see what other exciting experiences are in store for me over my next three years at Hope. I can't wait to begin my lectures, seminars and tutorials and get properly started on my course! I feel so blessed to have made really good friends already and I'm so glad that I've got friends! As the title of this post suggests, I have taken to uni life like a duck to water and I look forward to sharing my adventures with you all!</div>
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I'll be back soon, but until then, if you'd like to vote for me as UCAS Blogger of the Month, you can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Thank you! </div>
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Until next time,</div>
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Anna x</div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-16565676332590491952016-09-21T08:00:00.000+01:002016-09-21T08:00:02.104+01:00Summer Reflections<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It's so hard to believe that my long summer is finally coming to an end. I've had the most amazing few months and I feel like I'm in a really great place to "fly the nest" as such and move to university on Saturday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">This summer has been my best one yet - I feel like I've really been able to step out my comfort zone to meet new people and have new experiences which have helped me to build up my confidence before I start uni. So on that note, I thought I'd share with you some of my highlights of the summer! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Celebrate Cleethorpes</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I kicked off the summer with helping out at Celebrate Cleethorpes - a Catholic Conference. This was so much fun - three of my best friends also helped out and so it was lovely to have the experience together. We helped to lead the groups of younger teenagers which was a really great experience. I found it so rewarding to work with our stream and to help them to deepen their relationship with God and each other. Thank you so much to Ruth and Joe for such a great weekend, along with everyone who made the conference possible!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Dream Team</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>World Youth Day</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I'm not going to go into detail here as I've already written <a href="http://annajordanucas.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/the-most-life-changing-experience.html" target="_blank">this</a> blog post about my experiences, but WYD was the most incredible event I've been part of. I absolutely loved the atmosphere, the people and just everything about it! There were many difficult moments on the pilgrimage, but we were able to get through them with the help of each other as well as plenty of prayers and also laughs! I think that some of the challenges we faced during WYD (such as walking 12.5 miles in monsoon-like weather carrying all our possessions from the vigil) have made me a stronger person because I would never have thought I could have done it previously!!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Waiting for Pope Francis</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Youth 2000</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">For anyone who doesn't know what this is, it is a Catholic prayer festival in Walsingham. Again, it was an incredible experience, however in a completely different way than World Youth Day. While WYD was a beautiful experience, Youth 2000 was even more so. I felt like it really had a huge impact on my life and greatly strengthened my faith even deeper. If anyone is interested in finding out more, I wrote <a href="http://www.castleriggmanor.co.uk/yatm-blog//the-most-incredible-experience" target="_blank">this</a> article for my diocesan youth service website, and you can find out more about Youth 2000 <a href="http://www.youth2000.org/" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The loveliest group of people to enjoy Y2K with</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hope Meet Up Picnic</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It was such a nice afternoon and I loved meeting some of the people who are also going to Hope this weekend! We had a really good time relaxing, chatting and then exploring the campus! Meeting fellow freshers has made me feel much more calm about finally moving into halls on Saturday! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I have a very close-knit immediate family and so I think I'm going to find it a bit tough being away from them so I've been trying to spend as much time with them as possible before I go! We've had some great time together this summer - from meals out to cinema trips, car breakdowns to days out and almost everything else in between! At the end of August, some of our family from Australia came over to see us and we had a lovely afternoon together catching up on two years' worth of news! So grateful for social media that we're able to see what's going on in each other's lives and organise get togethers when they're in the country!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(Still working on the whole family selfie thing!!)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I have to admit, despite spending so much time with my friends this summer, there are still quite a few friends who I didn't get chance to catch up with. However, I still made the most of the time we had together before university and we were able to enjoy plenty of time together. Whether it was just relaxing in the sunshine at the park or going for a meal, I've had so much fun with my friends this summer and have made some amazing memories!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">On the subject of friends and family, I still can't believe this actually happened!! My family told me that we were going to go for a couple of drinks with some family friends at our parish social club and when we arrived there I walked into a room full of my closest family and friends! As my 19th birthday is the day after I move into uni, the party was to celebrate my birthday as well as to say goodbyes (for now anyway!!). It was such a lovely afternoon full of laughs, chat, music and lots of love! It was so nice for me to realise how much so many people care about me and was much-needed before I move away! Once again, thank you so much to everyone who came and celebrated with me, as well as to my parents, sisters, Gill and Neil for all your hard work in organising it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you can probably tell, I've had the most amazing summer! It's been full of faith, laughs, happiness and love. I've made friends from all over the world (and some closer to home!) as well as strengthening bonds with friends I already had. I've realised more than ever before this summer how blessed I am to have so many amazing people in my life. So a massive thanks to each and every person who has made my summer as amazing as it has been! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Here's to hoping and praying that the next chapter of my life - starting uni - will be filled with just as many happy memories and friends!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you'd like to vote for me as UCAS Blogger of the Month, you can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. All your votes are much appreciated, as always!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I'll hopefully be back soon with my thoughts on moving in to uni... It's so weird to think that the next time I blog will probably be from my uni room at Hope!! At last!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Until next time,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Anna x</span></div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-78101509195025313932016-09-07T08:00:00.000+01:002016-09-07T17:51:36.052+01:00Freshers' Advice<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I can't believe that after all the excitement and everything, I'm finally moving into Hope in just over 2 weeks! It doesn't feel real, but I can't wait to get there and get started!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I recently went away with a few of my friends who are all a couple of years older than me and while we were away, they gave me some amazing advice for freshers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The tips they gave me were too good not to share, so here we are! Some are pretty self-explanatory, while others are a bit more detailed! Hope this is helpful/interesting!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>1) Student Loan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It has to last you three months, so don't spend it all in the first week!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>2) Don't eat out/get takeaways all the time</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">As my friend Rachel beautifully put it: "there's an oven with hobs on that are your friend!". On the same subject...</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial";">3) If you are going to get a takeaway...</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Never order Dominos without a voucher - the 50% off exists for a reason!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>4) Friends</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Use Freshers' to meet as many new people as you can so you can work out who your real friends are. But don't worry if you don't meet people at the beginning who you have a lot in common with - it may take time to meet your best friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>5) Get involved</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Try to get involved in as much as you feel comfortable with, you'll know the difference between being nervous about something and not wanting to do it at all. Try to step out of your comfort zone and try things you find scary, it'll either be loads of fun or a great learning opportunity!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>6) Don't pack the kitchen sink!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">There is no need to pack your whole wardrobe - you really won't need all the hundreds of pairs of pyjamas you own! Just pack your favourite clothes and leave the rest at home for when you come home at weekends and in the holidays. You also don't want to be the person who takes everything they own to uni - remember that you'll have to carry it up seemingly endless flights of stairs to get in your halls!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>7) Washing and drying clothes</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Everyone's advice on this seems to vary quite a bit, but lots of people have told me that it's important to make sure that you include money for washing and drying your clothes into your weekly budget so that you don't run out of money to have clean clothes, bedding and towels! My Mum also suggested buying 'colour catcher' sheets which you put in the wash with your clothes to prevent the colours from running. I've also been instructed to make sure that my laundry bag isn't massive and is easy to carry so that trips to the laundry won't be such a chore! In regards to drying clothes, you might want to take a small airer with you for if you're short on cash for a tumble dryer or even just for those clothes which can't be tumble dried.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>8) Be yourself</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">This is probably the number one piece of advice that I've been given! Don't feel pressured to do something just because it seems like everyone else is. If you be yourself, the right friends for you will come along. Similarly...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>9) Show your faith</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you are religious, show to people that you have a faith. Unlike at school, people will be interested and will ask questions, rather than just teasing. Also, try to find a Church/place of worship or a Christian Union/CathSoc (whatever's your thing) early because it's easier to get into a routine of going to Mass earlier on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>10)Take time out</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Try and socialise as much as you can but if you need to, don't worry about having a bit of 'me time'. Wether you pop home for the weekend or even just escape to your room for comfort food and Netflix, make sure that you take time out to chill and look after yourself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>11) Homesickness</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Make sure you take photos with you of family, friends and memories because these will be really useful on the days where you're missing home. Technology such as Skype or FaceTime etc is also really useful for when you just want to see your Mum's face. Additionally, if you're feeling homesick, I've been told that its better not to rush home because people quite often miss home more after they've been back. So try and leave it as long as you can before you visit home so that you can settle in as much as possible.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>12) Nights Out</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">This was the number one topic that everyone wanted to advise me on, with the advise being very varied!!!! However, the main gist of it was that you should be careful of what you do because your friends will probably photograph everything to show you the morning after! Most importantly though, just make sure you show up at uni after a night out! You can have as many nights out in your life as you like, but you'll only get one degree (unless you do a Masters etc but that's another story!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">All the advice I was given was amazing, however I think that the best thing that anyone has said to me was that not everyone enjoys uni straight away. So if you don't love it immediately, don't worry! Uni is a massive change and can take a bit of getting used to. You wont be the only one who feels homesick, other people will be too but might not want to admit it they're struggling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So that's all for now, I hope it was of some use - whether you're starting uni for the first time in September like me or if you're going back to uni for second/third year! Have a fab year!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">** Just to say a massive thank you to my wonderful friends Rachel, Rachael and Aimee especially for their tips and advice at Youth 2000 (and afterwards), along with everyone else who has given me tips throughout the year - you're all stars! **</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I'll be back soon with more posts before I start uni but in the meantime, please vote for me as UCAS blogger of the month! You can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a> and all your votes are appreciated as always! Thank you! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Anna x</span></div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-66798318811721240002016-09-02T18:30:00.001+01:002016-09-02T18:30:08.400+01:00The BIGGEST Thank You!!!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is only a very brief post but I just wanted to thank you - yes, you!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, while I was shopping for uni stuff at Ikea with my family, I had an email. This email told me that I was runner up in UCAS' Blogger of the YEAR award! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm not going to lie, I did kind of think it was junk mail at first!!! I was absolutely gobsmacked - mainly because I've only had this blog since November and so I've not even been blogging a full year anyway! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I just want to take this opportunity to thank every single person who reads my blog, to everyone who votes, and to everyone for all your positive feedback. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I've always wanted to be a writer of some description, up until this blog I was never really very confident with showing people my writing. But this blog has given me the opportunity to get over my fears and for that I'm so grateful! It might sound a bit cringey but this blog has helped me to realise that achieving my dream of being a writer could be a reality for me! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is definitely not the end, I'm only just getting started and there are plenty more posts in the pipeline! I move into my uni halls on 24th of this month (still can't believe it's September already!!!) and I want to blog as much of my experiences as I can: both to help other people and for me to look back on in future. As always, if anyone has anything they'd like me to blog about please give me a message.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My little space on the internet where I share my thoughts means so much to me, and I'm so glad that you all seem to like it too! So thanks again, for all your votes throughout the last ten months that have enabled me to get to this stage - 4652 page views to date and now runner up Blogger of the Year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'll be back again soon,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anna x</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">P.S. If you want to vote for me as UCAS Blogger of the Month (and kickstart the votes for Blogger of the Year ;) you can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Thank you!</span><br />
<br />Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-90095270992855920992016-08-28T08:00:00.000+01:002016-08-29T11:36:51.837+01:00The Most Life Changing Experience #WYD2016<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I don't know if you watched the news on Sunday 31st July, but if you did you might have heard about an event in Krakow, Poland where 2 million young Catholics gathered in a field and had Mass with Pope Francis. Well I was part of that amazing event - World Youth Day! What they probably didn't mention in the news is that the World Youth Day events had taken place all week from the Monday, culminating with Mass with Pope Francis on Sunday morning. I can honestly say that it was the best week of my life so I'd love to share some of the highlights of the pilgrimage!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>1) The People</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our fabulous group - Lancaster Diocese</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The group I went out there with was absolutely fantastic and I love them all. It's amazing how a 30+ hour coach journey can bond a group so quickly! The amount of jokes and banter in the group was unreal and we spent nearly all our time laughing (obviously not in the serious moments though). Every time I have been on a pilgrimage with Lancaster Diocese I am amazed by how close-knit the group becomes and the deep friendships that develop through our shared faith. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Along with the fabulous people from Lancaster Diocese, we also met many people from across the world: From Italy to Argentina, Lebanon to Spain, America to Australia and everywhere in between! It was amazing to meet people from across the world who share the same faith as we do and I absolutely loved meeting you all! I took loads of bracelets out with me and I loved swapping them with some of the people I met. Although my favourite swap has to be a little cuddly toy koala which I was given by an Australian girl at our first catechesis session - it's just so cute!! The number one most popular topic of conversation when meeting people from other countries was Brexit! Everyone was very eager to discuss with us our opinions and their opinions too! It's crazy how things happening in Downing Street are having such a big worldwide reach!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Canadians!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With the most lovely Italians who spoke English better than we do!!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9oq4zApCO0oyz24kk1FucVjfIpZAOsHamhNd0FkF30YorK1EhgX8Yslfr1nxqcjUaZ0wsuhJVssyb_D4jqFmL2S5Z8CHcYDQA7tSzSrLStS9oN0PbO5kgLZ_jkDtL7oajtVoRqxqk9XR/s1600/13876596_1632097553768929_5821840277788658377_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some lovely Lebanese</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you have nothing left to swap... Selfie!!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>2) The Atmosphere</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It's quite easy to describe people and the friendships that were made. But describing the atmosphere is impossible. Unless you were there, it is so hard to imagine how unbelievably happy and full of life everyone was. You would walk down the main road to get into the centre of Krakow and everyone would walk past in a line giving high fives. There were hundreds of people wearing "Free Hugs" signs and thousands more accepted the free hugs! The constant singing and chanting. The dancing, the laughs, the love. I can't even begin to explain how happy I was. When people describe an atmosphere as electric, this doesn't even start to cover it. Everyone was so excited to be there and so filled with joy. Some people argue that religion is divisive, but I have never known an atmosphere so incredible. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the Opening Mass of World Youth Day</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the final night of WYD, before Mass in the morning with Pope Francis, everyone camped out in the field together for a beautiful prayer vigil with him. It was truly one of the most amazing events I have witnessed, with two million people praying together and then singing to God. The sheer emotion was unbelievable!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRj7rgfArZsZGrwgZTwdFZUehbPa4_XHMRQlkfL0Hw5WqY6wIiYB4U2uuhxAWIh6EDMb4ckRyBZlU5b5GzVrEUGi01iBL38_SCVVFWBt4oylqpuSCCCu4dLVSyGGK-fbgn6cTQ91aiov7/s1600/13938375_1632103047101713_4668921413746403841_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheRj7rgfArZsZGrwgZTwdFZUehbPa4_XHMRQlkfL0Hw5WqY6wIiYB4U2uuhxAWIh6EDMb4ckRyBZlU5b5GzVrEUGi01iBL38_SCVVFWBt4oylqpuSCCCu4dLVSyGGK-fbgn6cTQ91aiov7/s400/13938375_1632103047101713_4668921413746403841_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the Stations of the Cross - the most moving and prayerful experience at WYD (Photo credits to Stephen)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's something so powerful (and also very emotional) about praying in a field with people from across the world who all share the same religious beliefs as you. Whether it was just the 50 of us in the Lancaster group or the 2 million at the final Mass, to all the numbers in between, I found it a really amazing spiritual experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>3) The Emotions</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Again, this is something which is really hard to explain to people who weren't there. There is something about an intense religious experience which is incredibly emotional. From the huge highs where we were crying with laughter to the moments where the intense prayerful atmosphere brought more tears, it truly was an emotional rollercoaster!! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From our joy at the Pope's Arrival</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To a prayerful and peaceful quiet time with Pope Francis</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From dancing in the rain</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To smiles when the storm passed</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, there was something which was emotional on a completely different level. On our penultimate day in Krakow, our group took the opportunity to visit Auschwitz. This is something I have always wanted to do, partly due to my interest in Modern History, but also because I think it is somewhere everyone should visit due to the horrendous and unthinkable crimes which happened there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Due to the sheer number of visitors to both Auschwitz and Auschwitz II-Birkenau (which I hadn't previously realised were two separate camps) because of World Youth Day, a route had been assigned so that visitors were able to visit the most significant parts of the site but also so that the camp could be protected for future generations to visit and pay their respects.</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With studying this period of history several times, as well as having an interest in WWII History anyway, it felt so strange to be walking on the ground they walked, to stand where they stood. It was a very surreal experience and one that I will never forget. It was a very emotional day and I felt like I'd held my emotions in until I came across what could be best described as a small pond during our time at Auschwitz II-Birkenau. There were several gravestones there with inscriptions in various languages. The English translation read words along the lines of "In memory of all the people whose ashes were scattered in this lake". These words made me very emotional as the prisoners ashes were not put into the lake. They were not scattered. The ashes of these people who had suffered unimaginable hardship at the hands of the Nazis had been carelessly dumped. None of their bodies were treated with dignity or respect as we would. I find this absolutely heartbreaking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Found it incredibly strange and almost oxymoronic to be walking round in the glorious sunshine and scorching heat </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Although it was a very upsetting and emotionally charged visit, I cannot recommend visiting both camps enough. I feel like it brought a great amount of perspective into my life. You realise how much you take freedom and even life itself for granted. Pope Francis visited both camps earlier in the week and spent his time there in prayerful silence. I read <a href="http://www.thenational.ae/world/pope-francis-is-silent-at-auschwitz-because-there-are-no-words" target="_blank">this</a> article earlier and found it particularly striking, especially the part at the end where it describes what Pope Francis wrote in the visitors' book.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So I can safely say that going to World Youth Day changed my life. It was the most incredible and indescribable experience and I'm hoping and praying I'll be able to go to the next one in 2019 in Panama! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Massive thank you to everyone who made it such an amazing experience - to the other pilgrims from across the world but especially the wonderful Lancaster group who are the most lovely bunch of people I've ever met. I love you all! #playhardprayhardwyd #chiveoclock</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this slightly different from usual post! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you'd like to vote for me as UCAS Blogger of the Month, you can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Your votes are much appreciated as always :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Anna x</span></div>
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<br />Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-57948901986824156092016-08-24T08:00:00.000+01:002016-08-24T08:00:35.374+01:00Advice for new Year 13s<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello! It's me, I was wondering if....</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">No, don't worry, I'm not going to turn all Adele on you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Today I thought I'd share some of my advice for those of you readers who have just finished Year 12 and are about to enter Year 13. I found Year 13 a huge step up from Year 12 so I hope this is able to help even one person!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>1) Choosing which subject to drop</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">This is potentially the biggest decision you'll have to make so far in your college career. This was quite easy for me, because I did a lot worse in one of my subjects than the other three - and I also did not enjoy philosophy so that was an easy decision for me! But for you lucky people who have done well in all your subjects, this could be a much trickier decision. When deciding which subject to drop, I would recommend thinking of it this way:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>A) The subject you did worse in</b> - especially with your year group having much less coursework, I would be aware that it's much harder to increase your grade through an exam. (Or consider a resit as well?). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>B) The subject you find hardest - </b>If you find one of your subjects much harder than the others, consider dropping this one. Remember that everything gets much harder at A Level than AS so if you're finding a subject really hard now, this might make you enjoy it less at A Level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>C) The subject you like least - </b>This is a pretty obvious one really I think. If you hated a subject before, you might enjoy it even less this year. However, I would consider what is you dislike about the subject before you decide to drop it. Is it the course itself? Or the contents? Or the teacher? Remember that both the second two can be very different at A Level than AS.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">However, despite all that, my number one piece of advice is that it MUST be your decision. Ask as many people for advice as you like, however don't let them make the decision for you! If someone else heavily influences your decision, it may affect how much you enjoy Year 13. Also, remember that it's not going to massively change your life, so don't worry too much!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>2) Personal Statement</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I know that you're probably going to want to be enjoying your last few weeks of freedom before you go back to college/sixth form in September, I can't tell you enough how much I recommend getting a first draft done for when you go back to college. I didn't do this (despite college advising us to) and I wish I had. It just makes the whole UCAS/applying for jobs or apprenticeships process so much simpler and quicker for when you go back to college. Also, the sooner you have your application finished, the sooner you'll get the offers back from the universities or the requests for interviews. So even if it seems like hard work starting it now, it's going to save you a lot of stress in the long run! Also, it can take a lot of drafts to get your personal statement perfect and when your tutors have a lot of people's to check, it's good to get ahead of the game so that they can get changes back to you!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I wrote <a href="http://annajordanucas.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/the-power-of-four-thousand.html" target="_blank">this</a> post a while ago giving my advice for writing your personal statement, feel free to check it out again! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>3) Concentrate on Coursework</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Sorry, couldn't resist the alliteration!!! When I got my A Level results, I hadn't done at all how I expected in my exams - especially in my resits (I'd done worse in all but one resit) and so I was amazed at how I had managed to achieve such good grades overall. When I looked closer at the breakdown of my grades for each subject, I realised that it was my coursework that saved me. All my subjects were 40% coursework and so all the hard work I'd put into my coursework had been worthwhile! The high grades I had achieved in that had saved my grades overall! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you'd like to hear more of my advice for coursework, I wrote <a href="http://annajordanucas.blogspot.co.uk/2016_01_01_archive.html" target="_blank">this</a> post a while ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>4) Get the balance right</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I doubt that I need to remind you that Year 13 is the year you turn 18! I'm guessing that for a lot of you (like I was) who are looking forward to finally being a legal adult and able to go out clubbing etc. There are many advantages of this, in that it can take your mind off all the stress you're probably going to be facing at college, however there are also some disadvantages of this as 'recovery' time (if you know what I mean ;) ) can take away time from your studies. The main thing is to have fun, but make sure that you're sensible. Having a good social life is really important, especially in Year 13, as it can be a welcome distraction from everything else! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Similarly, having a part time job is great for many reasons, especially in that you can save up money for uni or whatever you're doing the following year. Just make sure that your college work is always the priority because that's what will help you most in the future! My bosses at work were very understanding, especially in the build up to exams and I'm sure that yours would be too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>5) Enjoy!!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Although ridiculously hectic and often stressful, the last academic year was my best so far. I made new friends and solidified friendships I'd made in first year of college and generally enjoyed life. So make the most of this stage of life because if you're anything like me, you'll look back at the end of the year and be glad that you worked hard but also had fun. So make the most of it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So that's my main bits of advice for new Year 13s! If you'd like advice for anything specifically, feel free to get in touch! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Thanks for reading, and for all your support, it means a lot! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you'd like to vote for me as UCAS Blogger of the Month, you can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Thank you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Until next time, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Anna x</span></div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-23469179031516963242016-08-21T12:16:00.003+01:002016-08-21T12:16:41.078+01:00So Many Levels of Joy<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you haven't guessed by the title of this post... I GOT INTO HOPE!!!!!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I can't even begin to describe how happy I am! Not only did I get into university, I surpassed my own expectations and achieved AAB - grades that I only dreamed of! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I woke up at 5:53am, with my A Level results being posted on my online college account at 6am. I knew I couldn't bear to wait those seven minutes so turned over and went back to sleep. During the time I was asleep I dreamt that I'd failed English Lit and woke up in a panic! I imagined it was around 7:30am. It was actually just gone 6am!!! I anxiously logged on to the system and then spent a good couple of minutes being too nervous to click on the "exam results" sidebar! When I did it, I was at first a little confused as there were a lot of exams on there (from both last year and this) and I hadn't done particularly well in a lot of the exams. I then realised that my overall grades were at the top of the page. And I was absolutely elated!! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The night before results day, my Mum and I were talking about what grades I actually wanted - not what I needed to get into Hope. I had told her that the grades I wanted so badly were AAB. And that is what I achieved!! To say I was overjoyed is the understatement of the year!! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">That morning, I went and woke up my parents and told them my results. Although both were still half asleep, they were also extremely happy and also very proud. I tried to go back to sleep after this but was unsuccessful so I put some music on and messaged my friends to see if they'd also had good news!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Later in the morning I had to go into college to officially collect my results but it was also a good excuse to see my friends and begin the celebrations early!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The fact that my closest friends all got into the universities they wanted made my happiness even greater. With us all being happy, it made the celebrations even better - both at college and then later that night! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Liverpool, Manchester, Ormskirk, Preston and Stirling - watch out, we're coming for you!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'm not going to go into detail, but the celebrations continued long into the night and early morning! It was lovely going into town and celebrating with loads of people from college who I hadn't seen since the end of exams! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The celebrations for me continued on Friday, with my parents taking my sisters and I out for tea to celebrate both my A Level Results and my younger sister's AS results (which were also fantastic, so proud of you Rachel!!) I had a lovely meal and it was really great to relax and celebrate with my family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So overall, I'm ridiculously happy! The celebrations were amazing and I'm so proud of my results, I feel like they reflect the hard work that I put in over the past two years. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this time, whether to encourage me or to be a shoulder to cry on when it got tough. I'm so blessed to have such amazing and supportive people in my life, so thank you all! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you'd like to make this month for me, please vote for me as UCAS Blogger of the Month, which you can do <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Thank you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'm so excited that in a month and three days, I'll be moving into my halls at Liverpool Hope University! I can't wait for this next new chapter in my life to start!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna x</span>Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-91591780456978764972016-08-17T20:51:00.001+01:002016-08-17T20:51:35.599+01:00Mixed Emotions<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I know its been a long time since I last blogged but fear not! I have a couple of posts in the pipeline so hopefully it won't be too long before you hear from me again!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">With less than 10 hours until my A Level results are released, I wanted to write a very brief post about how I'm feeling: Mainly so I can look back tomorrow or some day in the future and remember this!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In all honesty, I'm not fully sure how I feel. I'm extremely nervous and apprehensive but at the same time slightly excited for it all to be over and done with so I can get on with prepping to go to uni this time next month!!! (So soon!!!) I want tomorrow morning to be over so badly but at the same time I really don't! My head is like a washing machine and I can't wait for it to get off spin cycle and everything to slow down!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Avril Lavigne might have said "here's to never growing up" and while part of me is wishing that to be true, the other part of me is really excited for this next stage in my life to begin - with tomorrow being the first stepping stone on the road! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So to all my family, friends and lovely readers, I wish you all the very best of luck and I hope that you get the results tomorrow that will not only get you where you want to be uni/apprenticeship/job-wise, but will make you happy and feel proud of yourselves. Whatever happens though, everything happens for a reason and so even if things don't go as perfectly as you hoped, there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">All my love and best wishes to you all (and I hope we manage to sleep at least a bit tonight!!!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna xx</span></div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-38525776484699313722016-07-05T21:13:00.002+01:002016-07-05T21:13:46.003+01:00Embracing Freedom<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I'm back! Once again, it's been ages since I last blogged. I have about four posts published as drafts but I wasn't happy with any of them so drafts they'll stay! Gotta love writer's block...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In much more positive news, I found out the other day that I was voted UCAS Blogger of the Month for June. It was a lovely surprise and I'm so grateful to everyone for reading and voting. So thank you!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Even though I finished college three and a half weeks ago, I'm still not used to having no work or revision to do. As I'm sure my Mum would agree, I don't know what to do with myself without college! I'm still finding the whole relaxing thing really weird and I keep feeling guilty that I should be revising or something!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So I thought I'd share some of my hopes and plans for this summer:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>1) World Youth Day in Krakow</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I've had this booked for almost a year now and I'm so excited for it! Millions of young Catholics like myself will be gathering together in Krakow and we will be joined by Pope Francis. I'm really looking forward to travelling there with my diocese and all the adventures we'll have on the journey and when we arrive in Poland! It's gonna be fab!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>2) Spontaneous adventures</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">With two of my friends having their own cars, I'm really hoping that this summer we can just jump in the car and go for random day trips! I'm looking forward to being able to spend quality time with my closest friends before we go our separate ways in September to uni or whatever we have planned next! Keeping my fingers crossed that the weather is nice for us! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Four of my faves, can't wait to have fun together this summer!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>3) Family time</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It's been a really busy year for my family and so I'm looking forward to spending time together relaxing and just enjoying each other's company. We bought my Dad a barbeque for Father's Day and so I'm hoping we'll get plenty of use out of it this summer! Again, hopefully the weather will be nice for us!!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>4) Uni Shopping</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Today my Mum and I started making a list of things I'll need for uni... and its a long list!! I'm really excited though to start buying things and to start thinking about how I want my uni bedroom to look. I currently have loads of photos of friends and family up on my bedroom walls and I also have a thing for fairy lights so buying things to make my room look pretty (and obviously the practical stuff as well!!) is going to be loads of fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>5) Catch ups</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I have so many friends who I haven't seen in ages and so I'd love to spend time this summer catching up with some of them and finding out what's going on in their lives. Really looking forward to all the catch ups I've got planned!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>6) Hope Picnic Meeting</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Some of us who are planning to go to Hope Uni in September are in a Facebook group chat (think I've probably mentioned this before) and a group of us are planning to meet at the end of August to get to know each other. And what better way to do this than with a picnic on campus?! Really excited to start getting to know (in person!) some of the people who will hopefully be my friends for the next three years!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>7) Results Day</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">You probably think I'm crazy to be looking forward to results day and to be honest, I probably am!! But after all the time I spent slaving away revising and everything in preparation for my exams, I'm ready to find out how I've done. And also, after all the time I've spent dreaming about living and studying at Hope, I'm desperate to find out if I'll be able to call it home from September!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>8) Read</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I've always loved reading, but I haven't read for the sake of it in almost two years! My Mum has been collecting books for me that she thinks I'll enjoy and so I'm enjoying reading again! I'm currently reading <i>Gone Girl</i> by Gillian Flynn and I'm absolutely loving it! Can't wait to read the rest of the books Mum has saved for me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So that's just a few things I'm hoping to do this summer and hopefully, I'll be able to achieve them all! I also hope that the weather is nice so I can spend a lot of time outside in the sunshine! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Once again, thank you for voting for me, and if you'd like to vote for me to win Blogger of the Month for July I'd be really grateful! You can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>! Thanks!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">With it being uni open day season, I'm thinking of doing a post or two about the process of applying to uni and my top tips for open days, If any one has anything they'd like me to blog about, please let me know!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna x</span></div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-56377981214688391692016-06-14T14:00:00.001+01:002016-06-14T14:00:21.170+01:00Nearly There<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It seems like it's been ages since I've blogged but revision and exams have fully taken over my life! This is only going to be short as I have an exam tomorrow and one on Friday which I need to revise for, but I just wanted to show that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth (not yet anyway!!). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I can't quite believe I'm saying this, but I have only one more lesson and two exams left until I finish college! It seems like these past few weeks have flown by (thank goodness!) and now I can finally see the end in sight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I can't wait for exams to be over and then I have a nice long summer ahead where I'll be able to work and earn extra money before uni but (most importantly) spend loads of time with my friends before we all go off to uni or whatever we're doing next year. It's gonna be fab!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So here's to the light fast approaching at the end of the tunnel and I want to wish everyone the best of luck with your remaining exams! They'll be fine, go and smash it!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna x</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">P.S. If you want to vote for me as Blogger of the Month, you can do it <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Thanks! </span></div>
<br />Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-19662485397179805752016-05-20T16:03:00.003+01:002016-05-20T16:03:59.684+01:00Preparing for Exams<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I hope you're okay and not too stressed with exams and revision etc. I've done 2 exams so far this year and so I thought I'd share my top tips on how I prepare the day of my exam. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Morning and afternoon exams are obviously very different, and I know that everyone has one they prefer. Personally, I like morning exams much better because I feel fresher and more energised in the morning and so I'm able to concentrate for longer - most of the time anyway!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So here is what I do on the day of the exam to help me feel prepared and calm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>1) Confidence</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most self-confident person in the world. My motto for confidence is "fake it till you make it" and that works pretty well most of the time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For both my exams so far, I've woken up early before college so I can wash my hair and plan an outfit so I feel like I look half-decent anyway!! Another advantage of washing my hair in the morning is that it helps me feel less tired and groggy and so I don't feel like I'll fall asleep before I even get in the exam hall! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>2) No cramming!!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The morning of an exam I try really hard not to cram. I know its really tempting, but I don't find cramming helpful to me at all. The only revision I do is to read through past answers that I've scored high marks on so I can remember the style I've written in and also the exam technique.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>3) Relax!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I feel that I do much better in an exam if I'm not stressing my head off before! Before my lit resit this morning, I played my favourite music playlist and had a laugh with my youngest sister before she went to school. Before my afternoon exam on Wednesday, I had a really nice dinner and spent the morning reading over a past answer I'd done and chilled with my Mum before I went to college.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">4) Positivity</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">My college shared a post this week on social media this week which was advice on how to prepare for your exams and I found it really informative (if you're interested, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/may/10/six-ways-students-can-prepare-for-success-on-the-day-of-an-exam" target="_blank">this</a> is the article. One of the things it suggested is to surround yourself with people who make you feel good/calm before your exam. So I've spent a lot of time this week with my parents and closest friends because I know they'll stop me from going crazy!! I also took a break from social media from the night of my exam until I'd sat it. Other people's nerves really affect me and so taking a little break helped me to stay calm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>5) Believe in yourself</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Before an exam, I always tell myself that I'll be fine. Again and again and again and again until I start to believe it. This helps me to stop panicking because I know that I know the knowledge, but I also know I'll forget it all if I stress and worry that I'll fail!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that's my top 5 tips for how to be calm before an exam; obviously everyone has different things that work for them but I hope this inspires you before your exams.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I know I forgot this last week, but this week's <b>Song of the Week </b>is: <b>This Is What You Came For </b>by Rihanna and Calvin Harris. Such a fab song - another song for this summer I reckon!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Next week is my official final week in college so hopefully I'll have lots of leavers' photos to share with you. I can't believe I'm leaving Newman next week, these past two years seem to have flown by! Scary but also one more step towards uni!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you'd like to vote for me as UCAS Blogger of the Month for May, you can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Thanks so much for all your votes, I appreciate it so much!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Good luck with any upcoming exams, just believe in yourself and you'll smash them! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna x</span></div>
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<br />Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-41796705094241314052016-05-15T19:49:00.001+01:002016-05-15T23:07:55.697+01:00The Final Countdown<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">First of all, I want to say a massive THANK YOU so so much for everyone who voted and made me April's Blogger of the Month. I know I joked about trying to get two months in a row but for it to actually happen I'm so chuffed! I'm absolutely over the moon, so thank you! Another cause for celebration is that my blog has reached 2000+ views! So thanks not only for voting, but for reading it as well!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">That exam season thing is coming up as fast as Usain Bolt and I'm wishing it would slow down! Part of me wants them to come and be over with, but the other part wants time to drag so that I can feel more prepared. (I say that every year!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">My first exam is on Wednesday</span><span style="font-family: "arial";">. And I'm really really nervous and also pretty stressed to say the least! My first four exams are resits and then I have my three A2 exams after May half term. Even though I'm spending so many hours each day revising I'm still absolutely dreading them. I'm one of those people who could revise every day and still go into an exam feeling unprepared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">However, I do know that I'll be fine once I get into the exam hall. It's just the build up that I can't bear! I also know that once I get the grades to go to Hope Uni it'll all be worth it. Let's just get them out the way! I'm so excited for this summer, so I'm hoping that sitting these exams is a stepping stone to that and the stress will be worth it!!</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So whether your exams have already started, start this week or whenever, I wish you the best of luck and I hope that we all achieve the grades we so desperately want/need. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you fancy voting for me to be blogger of the month, that would put a massive smile on my face in the middle of my exams!! You can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Thank you!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Anna x</span></div>
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<br />Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-54755948007121242462016-04-22T19:16:00.000+01:002016-04-22T19:16:35.484+01:00Pressing Pause<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I hope all is well: whether you're back at college, uni or on your 'Easter' break like I am! Today I thought I'd just give you a bit of a life update. Recently I've blogged a lot about revision and stress among other college-related stuff. So to celebrate the holidays I thought we could just have a little chat about life?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Even though I have less than a month now until my first exam, I am using this holiday for both revision and rest. I understand that it's vital to revise and do all my homework, but it is also important that I use these two weeks (well weekend left now!) to relax and prepare myself for the most stressful term of college so far!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So apart from the obvious work, here's a few snapshots of what I've been up to this holiday! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(Unfortunately, my younger sister has had the normal two week holiday after Easter and so my middle sister and I have had these past two weeks without her :( )</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Family Day Out to Chester</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Even though I live only just over an hour away, the only time I've ever been to Chester before was for the university open day last summer! So we decided to have a family day out to the city for a stroll around and a bit of shopping (but obviously, Dad, shopping wasn't the main reason we went! ;) x ). Had a really lovely day exploring Chester and we stopped at a lovely pub for lunch and the food was amazing! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;">My sister Rachel and I (excuse the milky white arm in our selfie - you can tell I've been hibernating inside all winter!!!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: small;"><b>Family Party</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">My lovely cousin Jennie had her 30th birthday party last week and it was a fab night with great food, music and company. She had a photo booth and also a sweet stall which I loved! It was such a great party.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Jen's 18th Birthday</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">On Saturday it was the 18th birthday of 1/2 of my best friends. I'd been looking forward to her birthday for a really long time because she was the last one out of the three of us to turn 18. Now we can all go into town together! It was a fab night and I really enjoyed the party at her house and our big night out after that!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My two beautiful best friends and I </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Curry Night!</b></span></div>
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On Wednesday, my three friends and I decided we needed a break from revision so we went to a pub for a curry and a quiz. We missed the quiz, so we went for a drive around Preston for a bit. It was an absolutely hilarious evening and I cant wait for more chilled evenings like it when our exams are all over!</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shopping Day in Liverpool</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">On Thursday, my Mum, sister, auntie and cousin went for a girlie shopping day in Liverpool. We had a great time and it was a very successful trip! I've never actually been shopping in Liverpool before but I loved it and can't wait to go back. I can't wait to be living there from September!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">(Didn't take any photos of this because we were too busy shopping, so here's a dramatic-looking photo from last time I visited the city!!)</span></div>
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So yeah, I've been pretty busy this holidays! Believe it or not, I have managed to revise as well but the next holiday I'll get is going to be after all my exams are over as May half term is right in the middle of my exams!! I thought it was really important that I enjoyed these last two weeks of semi-freedom before the stress level multiplies! Two months today, my exams will have completely finished. I can't wait!!</div>
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Also, I thought it might be interesting to do a new little feature so I'd like to introduce you to: <b>Song of the Week</b>!! I'm absolutely obsessed with music so I thought that sharing my favourite song of the moment might be a nice way for you to get to know me a bit better? Let me know what you think!!</div>
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This week's song is Cheap Thrills by Sia and Sean Paul - I loved the original, but when I heard the remix I loved it even more: It's such a summery dance tune!!</div>
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Thank you so much again for voting for me as March's blogger of the month! If you'd like to make it two months in a row, you can vote for me again <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>! Thank you!</div>
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Anna x</div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-39831482774260473532016-03-29T08:00:00.000+01:002016-04-08T15:22:57.826+01:00Revision Techniques<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">First of all I just want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who voted for me as March's blogger of the month!! When I found out, it made my day. So thanks again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Also, I'm sorry this post is a bit later than I originally intended. Revision seems to be taking over my life!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Continuing my little series on revision, today I want to talk about revision techniques. For a lot of people (myself included), it can be really boring when you feel like you're constantly doing the same thing, and when all your revision looks the same as well! Does not make it fun when you come to go over it again!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So I thought I'd share what I like to do, and ways in which I try and test myself and how I (attempt) to make it more interesting - because let's face it, revision is not the most fun activity!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">This is potentially my favourite technique and I think I might have a slight fixation with them! Sometimes they're really detailed and other times brief but I feel like its just a really quick and simple way to revise, along with summing up a lot of information in a good way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you can probably tell, I like my revision to look pretty. In my opinion, if it looks nice, then I'll want to keep reading it (hence the excessive use of felt tip pens!). So far this has worked for me, so fingers crossed this continues this year! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I would say this is probably the most useful technique of them all because nothing can prepare you more for the exam than practising the questions you'll face in the exam. My history resit teacher gave us a booklet containing all the questions that have been on the exam since the syllabus began. This has been really useful because I can then do practise answers whenever I want and I have plenty to choose from as well! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Relating to this, something else which can be really useful (especially for essay-based subjects) is looking at model answers and making notes from them. I find it especially useful to read the answer with the mark scheme, because it helps me to have a clearer understanding of what the examiner is looking for.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I find these so so useful, for almost everything from Lit quotes to English Language grammar terms, you can cram it full of information or just a few words and its a really convenient way to revise. Once you've made them, they are really easy to carry around so you can revise on the move or bring them to college to revise in your free periods or whenever!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I always revise so much better when I make it more fun for myself, otherwise it can easily get really repetitive! For my GCSE RE exam something I had to know was a lot of key words. So to make revising these more fun, I wrote the key words and definitions on slips of paper then jumbled them up and tried to make pairs. I found this technique really useful and it is a great way to remember things like key words and definitions etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I think I actually have a slight obsession with these to be honest! These are especially good for small bits of information you have to remember such as theories or quotes. I find these are also really good for "unconscious" revision because you can put them all over the house (or your bedroom if your family aren't too keen on you redecorating the house with revision notes!) and you'll end up reading them all the time. So the information is likely to be absorbed by your brain without having to work too hard!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>Summarise Your Notes</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Making notes from your notes can be one of the most useful ways to revise. I have always been told that you should "compress" you notes - everytime you rewrite them, summarise the information more briefly. This technique is also helpful if you're stuck for resources such as post it notes or cue cards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>With Someone Else...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Obviously this isn't always going to be the most effective method of revision, but sometimes revising with someone else can really help you. After all, you remember 95% of what you teach someone else! This can be really good especially if you and a friend do the same subject. For example, my friend Hannah and I both study Modern History. When it came round to revision time last year, we would often go for a coffee together in town and would help each other revise the sections the other was struggling with. This was especially useful when one of those topics came up on the exam! It also makes it more interesting to revise with a friend, because you have someone to keep you company. Revision can often be quite lonely when you're stuck in your room for hours on end!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">(Or get someone else to!) This really is one of the best ways to revise, because it helps you to discover what you know and what you need to revise further. You could try and write a timeline for History without using your notes, or you could ask someone at home to ask you a few questions from your notes. This is also a good way to make your revision more sociable, because you can have someone there to ask you the questions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So that's all for now, I think that next time I'll write something non-revision related - after all, we have enough of that at the moment! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you'd like to vote for me as UCAS blogger of the month, I'd be really grateful. You can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>! Thanks!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Anna x</span></div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-34612517151479482992016-03-22T07:00:00.000+00:002016-03-22T07:00:01.658+00:00Top Tips for Revising<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hello again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So proud of myself today - I'm getting organised with this blog and so I'm writing this post in advance so I don't have to worry about posting regularly when I'm revising... I hope it works!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I mentioned in my last post, I want to do a couple of posts about revision - with exam season fast approaching I really need to stop worrying and get my head in those notes! So today I want to talk about how to start revising, and in next week's post I'll talk about techniques.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In regards to revision, I feel privileged because in Years 10 and 11 of high school I had a wonderful teacher who taught me so many revision techniques and she really supported me as I learnt which techniques worked best for me and what environment suited my revision style best. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So here are my top tips for starting revising and how to be as productive as possible!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1) Find a space that works for you.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finding the right environment for you to revise can be really hard. I know that in my house, sometimes it can be hard to have a moment to yourself, so I like revising in my bedroom where I know I wont be disturbed. Other people might prefer staying late at college to have that quiet time, or maybe even going to the local library? Also, when the weather gets a bit warmer I like taking my revision outside so I can sit on the grass and enjoy the sunshine while working! I also find it really helpful to tell my family when I'm revising so that they know not to disturb me or blast some music!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>2) Bribe yourself!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">I don't know about you, but revision is not my favourite thing to do. There are so many other things I'd rather do than sit revising after a long day of college and there are things I want to watch on TV. So I try and beat this. I set myself little goals with rewards at the end, such as when I've finished this section of the topic I'll reward myself with a snack or a quick flick through my Facebook news feed etc. Whatever works for you really!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>3) Take frequent breaks, and lots of them too.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">One of the most important revision tips I have been taught is the importance of taking breaks. So many people I know just power through and revise for hours on end, but I've always been taught that your brain can only stand up to 40 minutes at a time. So I revise for 20-40 minutes at a time (depending on how much I need to do, the closeness of exams, my energy levels etc) and then have a 10-15 minute break to check my messages, have a chat to my parents or whatever I feel like doing. Then I go back to revise some more! As part of this, I find it really useful to be regimental about my revision. I come home from college and start straight away and set myself timers. For example, I would set a timer for me to spend 30 minutes revising, then when that one went off I'd set it again for a 10 minute break. This way seems to help stop me getting distracted on my breaks or for revising for too long!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>4) Remove ALL and ANY distractions</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Whether this be leaving the room if the TV's on, giving your parents your phone so you don't constantly want to check it or even moving that book you're engrossed in out of the room, moving all your distractions will help your revision to be so much more productive. As part of this, I also move my headphones out of the room and all my music-playing devices. As much as I love music, it can be really distracting sometimes, and I understand that hearing words while your brain is trying to remember other words isn't the greatest idea. I've always been taught that if you want to revise to music, use classical or instrumentals. As embarrassing as it is for me to admit, when I'm working I like listening to 'I Giorni' by Ludovico Einaudi (otherwise known as the music from the BBC advert!!) I just find it really relaxing and I always seem to produce good work when I've been listening to it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>5) Make it look interesting!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">As you'll see in next week's post, I love making my revision look pretty. I always use felt tips, highlighters and different coloured pens as well to make it look as nice as possible. This is a really good thing to do because colourful notes are more interesting to look at than ones that are black and white! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I hope these tips have been even a bit useful to someone, please let me know if you have any because I'd love to have some more for myself! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Next week I'll be sharing some of my favourite techniques for revising, but if there's anything else you'd like me to blog about (revision related or otherwise) just let me know! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Also, if you'd like to vote for me as UCAS blogger that would be fab! You can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>! Thank you!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">It seems crazy that we're about to start this revision and exam journey all over again, but I'm hoping and praying that all will go well and I'll get the grades I want so badly! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">We can do this!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Anna x</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-9816504674357651882016-03-13T21:30:00.001+00:002016-03-13T21:30:28.067+00:00College/Work/Life Balance<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I've been wanting to write about college/work/life balance for a while but other ideas have cropped up and seemed more appealing at the time so it's been on the backburner for a while. I've decided that with exam season etc coming up I'm going to write a few posts on revision and other related topics so I thought this one could be the beginning of that! As part of this, if you have any ideas for posts you'd like me to write, please let me know.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Before I start this though, I just want to put in a quick disclaimer:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">* I am in no way claiming to be an expert at this, I'm still learning how to balance them myself so I don't end up disappointing anyone! Its a tough learning curve! *</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I've had my part-time job for just over a year which (up until a couple of weeks ago) was working on the shop floor in the clothes department of a supermarket. However, recently I've been moved onto working behind the music and video desk at the same store. I've always enjoyed my job because I like the people I work with and I like the environment of the store, but since my move I've enjoyed it even more. My new job is a lot different, and I enjoy the challenges of learning all the new skills, e.g. picking up online orders from the warehouse; using the till and tidying the shop floor among many other things! Over the time I've worked at the company, my hours each week vary vastly during term time, from not working at all to sometimes twenty hours! At the moment I'm averaging around ten hours a week which I feel is a pretty good amount alongside college. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">College is a lot of work, and a lot of hard work. On top of my three A2 exams this summer, I have also decided to resit four of my exams from last year. This means that on top of my normal lessons, I also have three extra classes a week. These classes are all at times which have involved me making sacrifices for them, but although this is really tough at times (and every week I question why I'm putting myself through it!!) I feel like the long-term benefits will outweigh me staying in college till five rather than quarter past one on a Tuesday!! Not only do I have these extra classes, I also have almost all of last year's revision to do on top of this year's! Luckily, once I start revising I am quite good at sticking to it, but it's the starting that I find most difficult...!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And finally, life. Up until recently I've had a fairly quiet social life but over the next couple of months all my closest friends are turning eighteen... (AT LAST!!! Been waiting so long for you guys!!! ;) xx) and this means a lot of parties - definitely not complaining though!! I'm really looking forward to all the birthday celebrations and exciting things I have planned for the next few months. It's going to make all the revising and work go so much better when I have these to look forward to!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So with a very busy few months fast approaching and the need to start revising some time very soon I thought that there might be other people who are in the same boat as me. So here are a couple of things I try to do so that my college/work/life balance is somewhat prioritised right... </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">Like I mentioned earlier, I am no way perfect at this, its a big process of trial and improvement!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>1) Explain. To everyone!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Obviously your friends and family know the stresses of college, and the hours you're at work as well. But maybe work and college don't know about your other commitments? I wouldn't talk to them too much about how you "need" to go to that party, but maybe phrase it in a way like "sorry, I wont be able to do that overtime because I have a commitment already"? Or if you're meant to be working when you have other plans, decide whether you're going to book it off as holiday or if you'll just go to work anyway. And tell your college teachers about work and your managers at work about college! I had a chat this week with my manager and she couldn't have been more lovely about my college commitments, I really felt that she understood me and how college has to be my priority. Gotta get those grades!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>2) Decide where your priorities lie.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Its really important that we learn to decide what is most important. For me, college is number one and then work and life seem to be constantly wrestling with each other for that second place spot! Some weeks I just want to work work work work work whereas others I would much prefer to just lie in bed watching catch up TV on my laptop all day. Priorities eh?! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope this has been even slightly useful to any of you, I quite often feel like I'm constantly juggling everything but it'll all pay off hopefully come summer when I get the grades I need, have the money to go on holiday and I still have my friends!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Until next time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna x</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">P.S. If you want to vote for me as UCAS blogger of the month, I'd really appreciate it! You can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Thank you!</span></div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-74810003180144364072016-03-02T18:13:00.002+00:002016-03-02T18:13:48.846+00:00Firm Choice Applicant Day<div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Last Saturday was my applicant day at Liverpool Hope University. This was a really important day for me because it's my firm choice uni and my last chance to visit before I 'hope'fully start in September! (Apologies for the awful pun!) I thought I'd share with you some of the things that happened on the day, and share some tips to help you prepare.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I had been looking forward to it for ages because I absolutely love this uni! I went to two open days - one in June and another in September, and fell in love with both the course and the university itself. On top of this, I have also joined a Facebook group chat for people going there and I was excited about the opportunity to potentially meet some of the lovely people I've been talking to!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The day started off with a general Arts and Humanities Faculty welcome, with the dean of the department welcoming everyone and then sharing with us information about the faculty as a whole (along with sharing the usual statistics and highlighting the university's achievements.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Following this, I attended a Creative Writing talk and taster workshop. The lecturer talked about course content for around half an hour, where she went into detail about how the course is taught and visiting lecturers, among many other things. One of the things that appeals to me most about this course (and makes it stand out from most other Creative Writing degrees) is that whereas most courses have an extremely heavy focus on the creative aspect, the course at Hope focuses on both the creative and commercial aspect. The course is very new (this will be just the second year it has been run) and innovative and my future lecturer was hugely passionate about it. Following the talk, the lecturer invited us to take part in a creative writing exercise. She handed out piles of postcards around the room and invited everyone to choose one (including the parents!). We had to choose the one that stood out to us the most, and then pick ten words to describe it. After that, we had ten minutes to write about it. The only rules were that we had to include the ten words, and we also had to write continuously. She then invited us to share our writing, which many people did. I absolutely loved seeing the postcards that other people had picked and hearing what they had written. It was lovely to be an environment with people who were just as passionate about writing as I am!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">After this, my parents and I went to the canteen area where we were able to spend the meal vouchers the uni had provided on a delicious hot meal. My Dad and I enjoyed garlic chicken and chips, while Mum ate chilli and rice. I thought this was a really nice gesture from Hope: Many people had traveled from all over the country to be there and the weather was miserable, so it was lovely to sit down and enjoy some hot food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I then had my one to one meetings with my future lecturers in both Creative Writing and English Literature. In all honesty, I was really nervous about these meetings. Although the applicant day letter had described them as an "informal chat", I had no idea what to expect and I wanted to give as good impression of myself as I could. First up, Creative Writing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I wasn't as nervous about this meeting, because I had just met my lecturer in the subject talk. But I'd had nothing to worry about! We had a lovely chat, with her asking me about what I expected from the course, my future ambitions and then she offered me the chance to ask her any questions I had. Luckily, I'd thought of a couple in advance so I was able to ask her these. We then talked about a few things I'd included in my personal statement, and I told her about this blog. I'd started writing it after I'd submitted my application and so it wasn't mentioned on my personal statement. She also talked in greater detail about how the course is run, and then it was over!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">After this, I went to find my parents (who I'd left to explore the campus....) and filled them in on all the details from the chat. It was time for my English Literature one to one, so I found the room and entered. Although the environment seemed a more formal and interview-like than the previous chat, the lecturer was really friendly and this immediately put me at ease. He talked about the course for a couple of minutes, then went on to ask me questions about my personal statement. For example, I had talked about World War I poetry, and this is something I had mentioned. It turns out that he lectures in it and it was great to talk to someone who is also passionate about it. We also discussed different critical theories (such as Marxist, feminist and post-colonial interpretations) as I had also included this in my statement. There was also a student ambassador in the room, and so the three of us were able to talk about the course, and areas of literature that particularly interested us. We then talked about some of the out of college activities I had mentioned, I particular the two pilgrimages to Lourdes I have been on. I really enjoyed this, and we had a laugh talking about all the unique religious items you can find in Lourdes (e.g. glow in the dark statues of Jesus). The chat was then over and had been a lot more relaxed than I had anticipated!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"He who welcomes you welcomes me, and everyone who welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">After this, I met up with my parents again and we went to the English Literature talk and taster lecture. I really enjoyed this talk, particularly the lecture element, as he talked us through three poems from different time periods and explained how the poets had been influenced by each other. It was also great to hear more details about the units we will be studying, and also the field trips that are on offer, as this is not something frequently mentioned in many English Literature talks! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The only thing we had left to do was to sort out accommodation. One of the lovely student ambassadors took us on a tour of the halls on the main site. Although I had visited Hope twice before, the only accommodation I could remember seeing were the halls that I want to live in - the 'Harry Potter' halls as they are affectionately known. Our student ambassador was really helpful and took us around the halls and we were even able to ask other students their opinions as we went around. It was really nice for my Mum (who used to attend Hope) because she was able to go to see her old halls and even found her bedroom! After we'd looked around them all, we were able to go and book my halls for next year! I'm still finding it hard to believe that it's actually happening!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The day was really enjoyable and it was great to meet a few people who I've met through the group chat, even if I didn't see many of them! Applicant days are jam-packed and there's a lot of information to take in, so here are a couple of tips to help you make the most of it:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you arrive early, you have loads of time to find where you're meant to be, register, grab a drink and some food before it all gets started. My parents and I always try to get there with around half an hour to spare in case of any unexpected stops or traffic in the journey.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>2) Don't worry!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I mentioned before, I was really nervous about both my meetings with the lecturers, however, I actually ended up enjoying them! So don't be nervous - just think of it as a good opportunity to get to know your future lecturers and for them to get to know you! Also, not all universities have these meetings so there's even less to worry about!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3) Ask all the questions you might have</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is probably the last chance you'll have to visit the university before you potentially start there in the autumn and so it's really important that you get everything off your chest. Before you leave, ask yourself if there's anything else you want to know, and if you have enough information to make a good decision about where to firm. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I hope that this has been useful for you, and I hope that you enjoy any applicant days that you have. I would really recommend you attend one because mine was really useful and I learnt so much more about the university. It has really helped me to realise that Hope is the place I want to be studying for the next three years!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Also, if you'd like to vote for me as UCAS blogger of the month I'd really appreciate it :) you can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna x</span></div>
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<br /></span>Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-39099211446480473292016-02-04T20:53:00.003+00:002016-02-05T10:04:23.218+00:00The 'S' Word<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want to talk about stress. For some reason, I feel like it's a bit of a taboo topic and I think this should change. My friends and I always say "Oh I'm so stressed at the moment", but then we agree and move onto talking about something else. I really want to change this. We all need to be more supportive of each other, and I think that talking about things which make us a bit uncomfortable is a really important part of life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So, stress. That lovely little creature sitting in the corner that rears its ugly head around this time of year. I know for me, it has really started to kick in. Last week in particular, I had three pieces of coursework due in for moderation. For one of these pieces, I was writing draft after draft and my teacher just kept giving me more corrections. Although I knew what I needed to do to improve, it still felt disheartening and with D-Day fast approaching, I was getting more worried that I would never be happy with it! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">(I did eventually get it finished, but at the time it seemed never-ending!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">On top of that, I have decided that I'm going to resit four of my exams from last year. If you'd have asked me this time last year, I would have told you that I wouldn't be resitting even one. Although I probably don't <i>have</i> to resit to get the grades for my firm choice uni, I don't want to have any regrets. If not resitting an exam will mean I can't get the grade I want, then there's no way I'm not resitting. I want to give myself the best chance to do my very best. I want to open my results on 18th August knowing that there's nothing more I could have done. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">My resit classes have begun this week - History on Monday and Wednesday after college and Lit on Wednesday lunch. Not only do I have the classes, I also have the revision for these subjects. As I've done these exams already, I feel like I'm not going in totally unprepared. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Luckily, I have a lot of things I do to help me chill out! Here are my favourite stress-busting activities!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>1) Have a good rant</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">My favourite "victims" are my parents and best friends - That's what they're there for, aren't they?! Sometimes, just telling someone what's on your mind is the best way to clear your head. They'll be able to help you work things through, or even offer a shoulder to cry on if you need it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>2) Blast some music!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I love music. It's one of my biggest passions, and I seem to always be listening to music - whether its in the shower or on the bus, music relaxes me like nothing else. Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes seem to be the soundtrack to my life at the moment! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>3) Get away from it all for a while</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Whether it be going shopping with my Mum or having a gathering with my friends, sometimes all I need is to escape all the work for a bit. Going away and then returning with fresh eyes and a clear head can make the world of difference. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">So that's me. What about you? I'd love to hear what you do to unwind. I'm really interested to see what would happen if we started a hashtag? Get in touch, either by commenting on here or by using <b>#studentsvsstress</b> on any social media and lets share some advice! I think we could start something really cool here!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Keep smiling everyone, and remember that it's all going to be over in four months!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Anna x</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">P.S. If you would like to vote for me as UCAS blogger of the month, you can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>. Thank you!</span></div>
Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-17827490687250273332016-01-21T21:25:00.000+00:002016-01-21T21:25:21.455+00:00Coping with Coursework<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So we've been back at college for three weeks now and I'm looking forward to half term already! As I've mentioned a couple of times before, I do three essay-based subjects - all of which have a lot of coursework. So with deadlines fast approaching, I thought I'd share my top tips for dealing with coursework! But first, a quick disclaimer!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">* By no means do I claim to be an expert: Juggling this amount of work has been a massive learning curve, and a lot of procrastination has been involved! These are just some things that I have come to realise, so thought I'd share *</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>1) It's gonna be hard, but it'll be worth it in the end...</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">My coursework is all worth 40% of my total A2 grade, so 20% of my A level. The way my teacher put it, if you don't put the effort into your coursework, it's like attending your exam and only writing your name. There's just no point!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>2) Make the most of class time!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">When you're in college/school, your teachers will probably give you quite a bit of time in lessons to do your coursework so I recommend making the most of it! It can be quite difficult to not get distracted while you're sat with your friends, but you have the teacher there with you in class - make the most of their expertise while its so readily available!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>3) Accept that procrastination is inevitable</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This is the hardest thing to do, especially when you have deadlines fast approaching and are a few words short of the minimum word count! I always sit down, determined to slave away until its done and then quickly print it off... Then I get distracted choosing a Spotify playlist, browsing social media, writing (but never finishing) a blog post, chatting to my sisters etc etc... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I look at the clock and its two hours later and I've only wrote 200 words! Once you accept that you're going to procrastinate, its a lot easier to put things in place to help...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>4) Make a life as easy as possible for yourself</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This kind of follows on from the previous - if you accept that you're going to get distracted, then you can try and help yourself. A great tip I learnt is to open two desktops on your laptop/computer. Have one open with all your work things on, then the other with your social media tabs and your music. Also, mute your chat notifications: It's so easy to get involved in a conversation when you're meant to be working! Set a timer for how long you're going to work and then have a quick break- get a drink, a snack, check your phone, change the music - whatever you want to do, get it over with then!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>5) Most importantly, remember why you're doing it...</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I know from my own experience how easy it is to get disheartened when your work is coming back draft after draft with seemingly endless corrections. It can be really frustrating, but the advantage of coursework over exams is that your teachers are there to help you make it perfect! They're going to do everything they can to help you get the best grade possible. Remember that end goal - whether it be that uni place, job, apprenticeship or whatever, remember why you are putting yourself through it. It'll be worth it in the end. We can do this!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope you have enjoyed this post - its been nice writing something a little different! If you have any feedback or post suggestions, feel free to email me: annajordanucas@gmail.com. Also, if you'd like to vote for me as Blogger of the Month you can do that <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>! Thanks!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">That's all from me for now, until next time :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna x</span></div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-20034673375170653842016-01-07T18:09:00.003+00:002016-01-07T18:11:10.751+00:00Happy New Year!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Christmas and New Year period is definitely my favourite time of year and this year has been no exception. After being back at college for just four days, I think I'll be ready for another break soon! This term is going to be jam-packed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">During the break it felt as if we weren't doing much, but looking back now I realise how much I managed to cram into two weeks! From a weekend away to a Christmas reunion meal, parties to days out, the last two weeks of the year were just so much fun! </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Christmas this year was very quiet for my family and I, with it being just the five of us on Christmas and Boxing Day. This made it even more special because with us all being so busy, it's a rare occasion in our house that we can all just relax together without any distractions! We had such a lovely time, and I especially enjoyed my parents giving my sisters and I a classic film education! We watched <i>The Holiday</i>, <i>Love Actually</i>, <i>Bridget Jones' Diary</i> and <i>From Russia with Love (</i>which were all fab) along with many other films and Christmas TV specials! I'm not usually a massive watcher of films, but one of my favourite parts of the season is snuggling up on the couch with a good DVD and chocolate!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">New Years Eve is always up there as one of my favourite days of the whole year. This year, I had no plans right up until the afternoon of the 31st when one of my friends invited a few of us for a little gathering at his. It was so special bringing in 2016 with my best friends, and I'm really looking forward to all the fun times we'll hopefully have this year! I'm so looking forward to everything 2016 will bring, and I'm determined to have fun despite whatever challenges life throws at me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span lang="es">Going back to college on Monday was a massive reality check... You might have noticed that I didn't mention doing any college work in my post... In all honesty, I left it very last minute... As in Sunday afternoon kind of last minute! Looking back, this probably wasn't the best idea, however I am so glad that I was able to have two full weeks of relaxation because it was much needed! </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span lang="es"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Before all the excitement begins, I have an absolute tonne of coursework that I really should be doing now...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you want, you can vote for me <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting" target="_blank">here</a> to be January's blogger of the month. Thank you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I'll be back soon... When I've done my coursework!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna x</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-49524954051700317652015-12-15T12:08:00.000+00:002015-12-15T15:56:10.113+00:00Are we there yet?<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm coming to the end of a really long car journey. I need to get up, stretch my legs and take my foot off the pedal for a bit. This term has been so busy, yet I can't believe that September was only three months ago! I'm really looking forward to having a break from coursework, homework and just college in general so I can spend some quality time with my family and friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Christmas really is my favourite time of year, but I feel like this year I am seeing it in a completely different light. In the past, the endless Christmas crosswords and the classic movies were enough to get me excited about the big day; but with many of my friends being away at university since September, I'm really looking forward to catching up with everyone and finding out everything they've been up to. I've been surprised how much I've missed them and even though we've been in touch regularly, nothing beats a face-to-face catch up! Not only this, but also with everything that is going on around the world, I feel like I have a new-found appreciation for how lucky I am. Even though things might not always go perfectly, I have it a lot better than many people in the world. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">So this year, Christmas for me is about the season as a whole, rather than 25th December.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Even though I love Christmas so much, I hadn't really got into the spirit until this week. With the college term almost over and the decorations finally going up at home, I am now well and truly in the mood for Christmas and can't wait for the celebrations to begin! This past weekend I finally got my shopping done (well, almost) and now the wrapping and giving must begin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Although this season may no longer be filled with Christmas plays, carol concerts and puzzles, I can't wait for the celebrations and catch ups to begin this weekend!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Wishing all my lovely readers a Merry Christmas, and I hope that 2016 brings everything you wish for!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">See you in the new year x</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I<span style="font-family: "arial";">f you would like to vote for me as UCAS blogger of the month, please click <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>, it would be much appreciated! </span></span></div>
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<br />Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-55279409411967481382015-12-10T20:32:00.000+00:002015-12-10T20:32:57.428+00:00Saying "Yes"!<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I've finally done it... Just under a month ago I received my fifth offer, and yesterday I replied to them all! I have accepted Liverpool Hope as my firm choice (BBC offer) and York St John as my insurance (unconditional).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I've mentioned before, my college had r<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ecommended that we wait a while before replying, but I was certain of my choices before I even had the offers and so wanted to respond asap! </span>Even though I've been desperate to reply, I also wanted to follow college's advice and wait a while. However, I felt rude not replying to the unis after receiving my offers so quickly, and so I replied yesterday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">But I can't believe how terrifying it is! I was so surprised by how nervous I was to actually click "confirm". I was so worried about clicking on the wrong one, I had to get my friend to double check that I had selected the right unis (Cheers Hannah!!)! I was so concerned that my eyes might have been deceiving me! The best part of replying though, is that you don't actually have to click "reject" to the unis whose offers you're declining. For some reason, I felt really uncomfortable at the thought of rejecting my offers, and so I was extremely relieved that UCAS does it for you! You just choose your firm and insurance, then the other offers are automatically declined.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjye0WACPLEdmn58weFO76VBk140d7r8cYxcKOlEWPwFJ471jOuiriPpTPinhEPB-an_GeIZ1oAosVj9wJ8noP4mjj0OT27SvFv_4jkgkRSdI0Bew3kVna6wOuHrmLtfg0lBVYgmMMVSZsC/s1600/IMAG1169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjye0WACPLEdmn58weFO76VBk140d7r8cYxcKOlEWPwFJ471jOuiriPpTPinhEPB-an_GeIZ1oAosVj9wJ8noP4mjj0OT27SvFv_4jkgkRSdI0Bew3kVna6wOuHrmLtfg0lBVYgmMMVSZsC/s400/IMAG1169.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Albert Docks, Liverpool. Fingers crossed, I'll be living in this beautiful city next year!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So for now, its all over and done with! All that's left is to attend applicant days and then get the grades in the summer! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope I haven't made it sound too scary, but my advice would be to have a good friend/family member/someone you trust close by who can reassure you that you have selected the right unis (even if just to calm you down and make sure you know you're not going crazy!!!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you fancy voting for me as UCAS blogger of the month, please click <a href="https://www.ucas.com/connect/blogs/voting?blogger_vote=72951" target="_blank">here</a>, it would be much appreciated! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Anna x</span></div>
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</span>Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-79096938174641234782015-11-30T22:31:00.002+00:002015-12-01T11:57:59.090+00:00The Power of Four Thousand<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hi again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Call me the queen of procrastination, but blogging seems much more appealing than that coursework I should be writing at the moment! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today I
want to talk about my experience of applying to uni (so far, anyway!).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It all kicked off back in summer, when college began to mention the dreaded
personal statement (PS). I have many friends in the year above, so I
had already heard about how stressful it is to get 4000 characters and I wanted to put off writing it as long as possible. </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But in all
honesty, with exams just finished and the whole summer ahead of me, I
quickly dismissed the idea of actually starting it. After all, who would rather
write a PS than make the most of the sunshine that we rarely get up north!</span></span></div>
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The one thing that I had actually done well in advance was order prospectuses. I had tonnes - in fact, under my bed was Mount Prospectus, giving Everest a run for its money. </div>
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But despite having so many, I wasn't really doing much with them. I read them, marked the pages of "my" course, but then they would go and join the collection under the bed.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfkOp-XpLwSI7lOLnmw9O4dDxjlvH8kOjsj6irUSshOZOTJGgrMAIFpjS5YBrLxKB214zi7xIb_Tp04iij5EdYPCYFjy4GLLehOMpL5CmZq82Ho14NwrfUm7Pn_sGfqTCLOgBgVdOYBoa/s1600/IMG_20150616_160026+%255B227966%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfkOp-XpLwSI7lOLnmw9O4dDxjlvH8kOjsj6irUSshOZOTJGgrMAIFpjS5YBrLxKB214zi7xIb_Tp04iij5EdYPCYFjy4GLLehOMpL5CmZq82Ho14NwrfUm7Pn_sGfqTCLOgBgVdOYBoa/s320/IMG_20150616_160026+%255B227966%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The original Mount Prospectus, on one of the rare occasions it saw the light of day. It kept growing after this photo was taken.</span></td></tr>
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So I decided it was about time we went to see some universities. I had no idea what to expect, but I just kept booking them. It was Lancaster, Northumbria, Liverpool Hope, Salford, Bangor, York St John, Chester, Lancaster (again), Hope (again) and Staffordshire. On some occasions, it would be a whole family day out, but most of the time it was just my Mum and I. We went prepared: with plenty of food, drink and our Meghan Trainor CD so we could have a little dance in the car on the journey! We also took my little black book where I made notes about every uni. I think it is so important to talk about the visit with your parents or whoever you go with, as sometimes you may have preconceived ideas about somewhere that your parents may not have. They may also notice things that you might not necessarily see - for example, at one university I visited there were several spelling mistakes on the English presentation. This sent alarm bells ringing for me. After every uni visit, I would make a list of positive and negatives about each one, so that when I had to decide my top five, I would be able to make a more informed decision.</div>
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When we went back to college in September, the application process got underway immediately. Early applicants had to be done by 15th October, and I was determined to get mine sent off as soon as possible. As quickly as I could, I had filled in the application. My final choices were Liverpool Hope, York St John, Lancaster, Chester and Bangor - all for English Literature and Creative Writing. My PS was written, checked by four people, and redrafted four times before I was happy with it (and everyone else as well). Luckily for me, I had it completed by 16th October so my tutor had time to help me with it without her attention being pulled in too many other directions. A few days later, it was officially sent and I just had to wait for offers.</div>
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Unbelievably, an hour after my UCAS receipt I had an offer from Chester! A week later, Lancaster also sent me an offer. The following week, I had offers from both Liverpool Hope and Bangor within twelve hours of each other! </div>
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During this time, I developed a little habit. Or maybe an addiction?! "My name is Anna, and I am an obsessive Track checker"! So one lunch, when my friend had to check her application, I automatically logged in as well. I got such a surprise! An unconditional from YSJ! I think my friend thought I was going crazy because I made her check that my eyes weren't deceiving me!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The beautiful York Minster</span></td></tr>
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So that brings us to now... College have advised that I don't reply to my offers straight away, but I think I'll reply pretty soon. I'm really excited for the applicant days coming up in the new year so I can visit my unis again!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Liverpool Hope</span></td></tr>
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That's all from me for now, but I'll be back soon. I hope you've enjoyed this post and feel free to leave a comment if you have any feedback. </div>
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341631785969890234.post-75673850944418199382015-11-24T19:16:00.001+00:002015-11-24T19:16:16.547+00:00Hello!Hey, I'm Anna!<br />
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I'm eighteen and currently in my second year at college. I actually quite enjoy college because I love the (mostly) relaxed atmosphere and my teachers are all really supportive. I study English Literature, English Language and Modern History and am planning to study English Lit and Creative Writing at university next year. I sent off my application just over a month ago and unbelievably, I have received all five offers already! <br />
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Outside college, I have quite a busy social life! I have a part-time job in a supermarket and I enjoy spending time with my friends and family- especially my two younger sisters. I love listening to music, watching football and also baking. I am the biggest Ed Sheeran fan you could ever meet (Photograph and Tenerife Sea are my current favourite Ed songs) and a passionate supporter of Preston North End FC. Although I do love baking, I am slowly learning how to cook "proper" food but my repertoire at the moment mainly consists of pasta dishes! I love taking photos and my sisters would probably describe me as an obsessive selfie-taker, but the truth is that I just love documenting memories!<span id="goog_1588965884"><br /></span><br />
I'm really looking forward to blogging about my uni application experience and hope you enjoy reading my blog!<br />
If there is anything you would like me to blog about, or if you enjoy reading my blog, please get in touch! <br />
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Anna x<br />
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Anna Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327782978516649332noreply@blogger.com0