The Lion King

Hey Guys & Gals,

I’m 21!!!!! I’ve been a busy bee since I last spoke to you, so as well as celebrating my birthday I also handed in my dissertation- finally, so I’m almost done, I just have a few more pieces of work to do, but come April 26^th I will be done as an undergraduate student – so scary!

For my actual birthday I had my family over which was really nice and we had a right laugh. I got very spoilt and was given lots of lovely birthday presents, but the best part was getting my birthday cake. As you may have read in my blogs before I am a massive Disney fan and my all-time favourite film is The Lion King. My mum found a lady who made me a gorgeous cake with Simba, Timon & Pumba on it and it only took her 2 weeks, it would’ve taken me years!!!!

Keeping on the theme of lions, I also went away this past weekend to the elephant lodge at Port Lympne Zoo with my boyfriend George and my best friend Jack and their family. It was amazing, I was expecting to go there and we stay in tents but these tents were done up really nicely and were huge and had all the appliances/furniture we could possibly want. Where we stayed we were overlooking the cheetah and elephant enclosures, which was so nice because the cheetah had just recently had 4 cubs who were so cute but didn’t take a liking to my boyfriend’s dad as you can see from the photos haha. It was a really funny weekend, spent with great people and I loved seeing all of the amazing animals that were there. Because we stayed in the lodge it meant we could go on private talks and see the animals up closer than we would usually be able to. 

On our last day it was quite heavily raining and me and my boyfriend’s sister Rebecca were walking over to a group of baboons’ who looked like they were cuddling and it was so cute, but as we walked over to take a photo one must have touched the electric fence and they all jumped up howling, OMG never in my life have I been so scared, I don’t know what exactly I thought would happen to me but they made me jump haha. It was an amazing weekend which I would definitely recommend!

That’s it from me today guys and gals, next blog I will show you some pictures from the party I’m having on the 19^th J

Take care lovelies,

Xoxo

Laura

Birthday Girl…

Hey Guys & Gals,

Now I don’t want to speak too soon but tomorrow my dissertation should be officially complete. I have finally finished, all I need to do is the contents J eek so so happy. I never thought I’d actually finish it but I have managed to – yay!

It’s not all over yet though; I have a clinical file to submit for counselling that is due in April, but that isn’t a massive piece of work, so the main work is over. I don’t have any exams though so I will be finitto when that is finished. I will still be working in the office though so my blogs will still be running – unluckily for you hahahaha!

I’m hoping that everything goes ok and I get onto the Master’s but if it doesn’t I will be officially leaving the university in October, although I really hope that doesn’t happen and I will chain myself to the Avery hill gates haha.

Also as I mentioned in the last blog I have a birthday coming up on Monday. I will be turning 21! Ah I am actually pretty excited for this birthday as it will be my last big one before I turn 30- yikes!  I won’t be doing too much to celebrate it on Monday as I am obviously still in university, but in April I am having a Uniform Themed Fancy Dress Party at my house. I am going as the female version of top gun. I can’t wait it will be hilarious, I will be sure to post pictures in my blog to show you what everyone comes as, I’m hoping it will be a great night and doesn’t rain or even worse snow as we will be in the garden-ick.

Right guys, that is me done for today. Next time I speak to you my dissertation will be submitted, I will be 21 and I will have finished all lectures of my undergraduate degree. AHHHHHH!

Speak soon lovelies,

Laura

xoxo

Statistics = My Worst Nightmare!

Hey Guys n Gals,

Hope you are all well and enjoying the sunshine, I actually had forgotten what the sun looked like, it’s been so long since we’ve seen any. I thought I’d give you a quick update from my last blog which is my tooth still hasn’t been fully fixed but is expected to be today – grr. I hate the dentist with a passion now, I’m virtually living there atm. Since my last blog it has broken a further two times, but hopefully by tonight I will have a full set of working teeth- keep them crossed for me! Since last time I’ve also had an update on my tiredness and everything which was looked at in that sleep test I had to do, basically all I have is a Vitamin D deficiency, which is due to the lack of sunlight my skin absorbs, which makes sense 1. due to the weather and 2. Because the natural shade of my skin, seriously I’m paler than Casper the ghost.

 I am now approaching the end of my degree, which I am terrified about, purely because I have no idea where I’m going to go from here and to be honest I’m not actually ready to go out into the big wide world- ick! I had my interview for the MSc Therapeutic Counselling course and got a conditional offer of a 2:1, so unfortunately this university may be stuck with me for a while mwahaha. But we will see what happens with my grade classification first.

Now as this title of my blog suggests, statistics is something which is really getting on my nerves in my dissertation, I’d literally be sorted with my project is it wasn’t for stats- it is the biggest pain in my life. The sad thing is that I’ve actually been told to do one of the simplest statistical analyses ever, yet still using SPSS my brain just won’t grasp it. So I decided to take action and I bought my new ‘bible’ which is Psychology Statistics for Dummies, which I realise I can’t really reference in my dissertation because it will make me look like a doughnut. But seriously anyone in the same boat as me, I promise this book is the answer. It will probably pretty soon become my lifesaver (once I stop putting off doing statistics altogether- seriously I could find any excuse to put it off, I tidied my room the other day to stop from doing it). So yeah if any of you are like me it is definitely worth buying, I know it may not be the most advanced statistical manual ever made but at least it makes sense and doesn't talk in some advanced language which no one understands.

So seriously go and buy it! Right ladies and gents that’s it from me for today, I will be back to talk to you at the end of the month, where not only am I going to be turning 21 but will also hopefully of finished my dissertation.

Take care,

Xoxo

Laura

Gappy Valentine’s Day!

Hey my lovelies,

Now this blog is obviously going to be about Valentine’s, however it is going to be about my experience this year if Valentine’s, which you will soon realise turned out to be a bit of a fail for me.

So I need to take you back to where this all started, which was 2-4 years ago in October. At the time I was a volunteer young leader and was running a game for the guide pack I worked at. So as part of the game I was holding hands with two or the guides and running in a circle, however on my run I smacked into a wall (follows on nicely from last week’s blog on my many disasters).  Anyway the outcome of that accident was me losing one of my front teeth. However, scarily enough the night before I’d had a nightmare of myself hitting my face with my hand and all my teeth falling out and them not being able to get fixed. So I was distraught at the time thinking like my dream I would be toothless forever.

Obviously my tooth got repaired and I knew when I approached my 21^st birthday I would have to have a fake one put in as the repaired tooth would eventually fade, I honestly thought I wouldn’t need a false tooth until I was at least 60, but clearly I needed this. On Thursday in preparation for my crown which is being fitted next month I had a temporary tooth put in. Well on Thursday night I was eating away and it fell out- leaving me with NO front tooth! So at the start of Valentine’s Day I was toothless – it really was not a good look. I looked like the advert for cosodyl mouthwash. This also meant me and my boyfriend couldn’t go out as I can now only eat soft foods until my permanent tooth is fitted. My valentine’s day was not really all that romantic.

Whether you’re single, with someone, have an ‘it’s complicated’ status, I hope you had an enjoyable Valentine’s Day. I will speak to you guys soon, by which time I will hopefully have my teeth fixed!

Xoxo

Laura

Greenwich’s Clumsiest Student?

Hey Lovelies,

How’s everything going? It seems like ages ago that I last spoke to you when actually it wasn’t so long ago I’ve just been really busy with my dissertation. Now, as the title of this blog suggests today I’m going to talk to you about a number of ‘incidents’ that I have had whilst I’ve been a student here, because the number is ridiculous – I am WAY too clumsy!

So what have I done?

• I’ve fallen UP the stairs outside the Mary Seacole building
• I’ve fallen down all of the stairs outside Queen Anne Court and landed on all fours, the security guard I met whilst I worked at Greenwich during clearing then came over to help me and said ‘I wondered when you’d be gracing us with your presence again’.
• I’ve got my memory stick jammed in the computer
• I’ve had a coughing fit in the silent zone of the library
• I’ve skidded on the grass (because the mud made it slippery) on my way to a lecture, that was my mistake I shouldn't have been walking on the grass after it rained.
• I’ve reversed into a wall on Avery Hill campus when I had first passed my test
• I’ve scratched my car on the hedge when parking at Avery Hill cause I reversed too far into it (I’m still not very good at parking)
• I’ve slipped down a couple of steps on the inter campus bus service

Most recently I dropped my coffee on the dome floor, and by recently I mean this morning. So yeah needless to say I am an accident waiting to happen and although on their own those clumsy moments aren’t TOO bad, put them all together from the same person and I think it proves I am possibly one of the clumsiest students here at Greenwich. I can’t blame the university because they are all my fault! So all I’m saying is if you see me carrying a coffee – watch out! Haha I’m joking I’m not that bad, but still I’m not the most graceful person on this planet, let alone this campus.

In terms of uni work I’m still plodding along doing my dissertation I now have more or less everyone I need for my study but I had a massive gender imbalance and by that I had 10 girls to every 1 guy. But I’m getting there slowly. I will be sure to keep you all posted! I hope you guys are all finding your work alright – we can do this, we’ll get through it together J

Take care guys,

Xoxo

Laura

Stepping out of the Comfort Zone – Ahh!

Hey guys & gals,

How are we all this beautiful day? That’s a complete lie, it isn't a beautiful day- it’s freezing cold and windy outside but still I’m trying not to let the rubbish weather we've been having affect me.

So most of you would have started back on you r lectures by now, I have this week. I started a programme called Adult Development and Mental Health, which is run by Oliver Robinson and I have also started the Counselling Skills module run by Brinley Yare & Val Sanders. Both courses seem like they are going to be really enjoyable and are both subjects you know I am interested in.

The counselling skills module has been interesting, because it is completely different to any other course we have done before. We don’t sit behind desks and listen to a lecture; we get into groups and put the counselling skills into practice. However because it is such a different course we are stepping out of our comfort zones by a long shot, because not only are we practicing counselling but we also act as the client too and so therefore need to talk about ourselves. The course is going to be a personal challenge but will be really fun as it means we are FINALLY going to start the journey into learning how to be a counsellor.

With this being my final term, I’ve had to start making some grown up decisions, and really really don’t want to as I really want to be young forever L , the idea of being totally independent is so scary. It’s like I’m basically waiting for Peter Pan to come and take me to Neverland- if only! But although all these decisions I’ve been faced with are daunting they will hopefully set me up for my future pretty nicely – providing I make the right ones.

I hope you are all well and good lovelies, I will speak to you really soon!

Take Care,

Xoxo

Laura

P.S. Btw whose been watching Celebrity Big Brother?  I know it’s rubbish but for some reason I’m addicted.

New Year, New Start, New Favours…

Hey Guys and Gals,

It’s 2014 yaaay, this year I graduate – arggghh. I hope all of you had an amazing Christmas and I’m really sorry I didn’t post a blog at the end of December, I was running around like a headless chicken so completely forgot, but I’m back and hopefully have my brain in gear now J So how have you all been? I hope you all had a nice relaxing break and got to do everything you wanted to. I FINALLLLLLY got some time to relax which was really nice and I spent a lot of time with my family and friends who I haven’t seen for ages.

It’s scary to think that this term is my last term as an undergraduate student, well this is providing I actually pass haha, but fingers crossed that all goes to plan. This year for Christmas I got lots of little bits which I asked for like tickets to Jersey Boys, going to the Elephant Lodge in Port Lymphe zoo with my boyfriend and his family, and having tea with the tigers – which basically means me feeding tigers, lions and cheetahs – which I’m beyond excited about, because as you might have gathered I love animals.

                                              

Lots of big changes are going to be happening this year for me, which absolutely terrifies me haha. First, I will be flying the nest and will hopefully be moving into a flat in the summer, I can’t cook so that is going to be a nightmare lol. Obviously I’ve got the course coming to an end which I am actually really sad about cause I love it so much, but hopefully I will get onto the masters programme here, so I may be a student for another three years. There is also the fact that in March I’m going to be 21 J

I have another BIG favour to ask you guys, as you know for Psychology we have to recruit our participants. My friend Jack Driver is currently recruiting for his research project which will only take a few minutes and you can complete it online. Just click the link, to complete the survey https://greenwichuniversity.eu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cIPDo5oQWYMWLlz

You guys were absolutely brilliant for me, so if you get a spare few minutes he’d really appreciate your help.

Speak to you soon guys,

Xoxo

Laura