A Budget Two Day Trip To Bruges

A 'Budget holiday' does not sound the most luxurious way to travel. But by budgeting and being smart when it comes to money, it saves you from throwing hard earned dollar down the drain.

Living in Kent, Dover Port is easily accessible and cheap to get to. Making our journey to Bruges within an easy budget. When travelling by ferry the charge is per vehicle not per person, so the more people you travel with, the less it will cost individually.
Travelling at off-peak times will also help save on money. Hotels are often much cheaper out of season, often for a reason, for instance, Bruges is very cold in January. However, we did get to see the city in snow and snowball fights were obviously inevitable. It was also very beautiful, the other downside in travelling in the winter months is potential rain, so packing umbrellas in advance is a good idea.

I'm "Weird" About the Planet

Over the past few years, I have become far more conscious about the effect that I'm having on the planet. Where this has stemmed from I'm not entirely sure but perhaps my value of nature has come from having grown up in the English countryside.

Earth-consciousness is something that I want to incorporate into my everyday life so that it becomes a lifestyle. The most obvious place to start was recycling, after that, I began to consciously reduce my amount of waste, which is not as easy as it seems due to the number of packaging supermarkets uses for food and other products.

Living at university my first house was shared with six others and out of pretty much nowhere my obsessive nagging came out to irritate my housemates when it came to recycling.

One of my closest friends recently said "she's weird about the planet" when I pointed out the fact that she had decorated her entire kitchen and conservatory in Christmas wrapping paper for her Christmas party - I admit it was very impressive and had a wonderfully festive vibe - and asked if she'd be recycling it any time soon. At the time we all laughed about it, because yes, I am "weird" about the planet - but when I actually thought about it, it baffled me that people thought I was weird about the planet when in actual fact it's a huge issue.

Winter Care Boxes For the Homeless

Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. However, I realise that this may not be the case for everyone. In the UK Christmas brings cold weather conditions, a lot of rain, sleet, freezing temperatures and occasional snow.

These colder temperatures call for wrapping up warm, lighting the fire and sipping mulled wine or hot chocolate. 

For the homeless, however, there is little to no escape from the harsh winter conditions. While we're all out during December trying to get organised for Christmas and enjoying the festivities - there are people who will be spending Christmas Day alone on the streets. 

The charity Shelter released statistics stating that there are at least 320,000 homeless people in Britain. In London alone there are 170,000 homeless - excluding the 'invisible homeless' that sofa-surf, sleep in cars etc. 

Being a 23-year-old Literature student I may not be able to solve homelessness overnight. But bringing a small piece of comfort to somebody sleeping rough is an easy enough thing to achieve. 

I've put together four shoe-box sized boxes, two for men, two for women, packed with essentials and a handful of novelties that might bring just a little bit of Christmas joy this year. 

Happiness, Weight Gain & A New Relationship

This time last year I was one big emotional wreck.

This summer I'm the happiest I think I've ever been.

This time last year I was in a very unhappy relationship. My anxiety levels were extremly high. I felt worthless and disregarded and found it difficult to concentrate on anything. Bearing in mind I was in my first year of university and my entire time was occupied by the negativity of my relationship at that point. I spent the majority of my time asleep as it was an easy way to cope with the stress and the only way I could shut out anxiety. Despite this I was eating healthy, working out daily and physically feeling fit. But my physical happiness was always contradicted by my mental state. Part of my physical challenge was in fact spurred by the difficult relationship. For some stupid ass reason I thought if I lost weight and got into shape it would sort out my relationship issues. Obviously I couldn't have been more wrong. But being physically healthy helped me through the process.
Fitness being a good outlet for stress and the healthy eating side gave me something I could focus on, new recipes, editing and changing them to suit my student budget.

The past 9 months have been crazy. It has probably been one of the best years of my life. After ending my relationship, I hit the bottle hard. Not because I was struggling but because I was finally going out and being selfish for a change. In hindsight it was a stupid thing to do. I should have focused on university but instead my social life came first. And as bad as it may have been, I loved every minute of it (maybe not the hangovers...).

I started to pull my socks up. Stop drinking (as much). And began to get on with my uni work. I was happy just doing my own thing, living my single life.

Attitudes Towards Women In Nightclubs

The attitude towards women who defend themselves against the objectification of today’s society has yet again proved to be a disappointment. A few months back, I was subject to harassment in a club unlike any I have experienced before.

Here is a little context:

Men grope. If you are going on a night out, particularly a girl’s night out, you have to be prepared for unwanted attention in an overcrowded club, as disgusting as this concept may be in the 21st century – hungry hands will usually find you.  This is what happened on ‘said’ occasion. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing a glare and a ‘leave me alone’ won’t solve.

The ‘star groper of the evening’ moved around my small circle of friends, putting his hands around waists, touching butts… and each of us, in turn, told him to go away. Once he had completed the circle, finishing his groping with me – I told him none of us was interested and told him to move away from us. Unbelievably, he asked me to clarify, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing (because he’s just such a catch with his hands all over my friends) so I repeated; and the ‘groper’ finally sulked off.

A New Kind of Period - The OrganiCup

Having recently been following Hannah Witton’s ‘The HormoneDiaries’ and having a sudden surge in wanting to become environmentally friendly as best I can, I decided to jump on the bandwagon, and give the menstrual cup a go.

Just a heads up... yes, I will be discussing periods and tampons and the natural functions of the female body. So if you're prude or old fashioned, and periods offend you, leave now. Or just get a grip because... hello... 21st century, without periods, you wouldn't be here. Continuing.... 

So... I searched around and settled on the OrganiCup.

How To Survive The First Week Of University

Going to University for the first time, is both exciting and terrifying.
For the first time, you are left to your own devices and yes, again, thats both exciting and terrifying. 
Getting through that first week is the hardest part of University, finding your feet, adjusting to being away from home, and meeting new people; it's a lot to comprehend! 

Here are my top tips on surviving the first week of university: 

1. Drink Plenty Of Water 

We all know Freshers is bound to take over. Keeping hydrated is key. Try to alternate with alcoholic beverage, water, alcoholic beverage, water. This doesn't mean you can't keep up. It just means that your hangover the next day - will not be as bad as your dehydrated friends! It's important to drink loads the next day too!