January Wrap Up

Hello there! January always feels like the longest month of the year to me. The weather has been atrocious in Swansea with rain being a constant talking point.

New year, new start. I've made a commitment to the gym. This month I finally took the plunge and spoke to a personal trainer in order to help me lose weight and gain some definition. I haven't started yet but it took a lot for me to go and speak to someone about it. I'm actually looking forward to absorbing some knowledge from someone who is more knowledgable than myself.

Adulting? I often think about my future and where it is heading. For the longest time I have been thinking about studying medicine and becoming a doctor. A few of my friends know this and have encouraged me but this month I spoke to my PhD supervisor about it and he's giving me his backing and has been so helpful. It's terrifying thinking that I want to stay in education for another couple of years after finishing my PhD but I never want to live a life of what ifs...

Finished Reading:

• Animal Farm - George Orwell

Currently Reading:

• Binge - Tyler Oakley

It's been a short list this month but I plan on upping my game. I didn't realise just how much I had missed reading until I started again. It's been helping me keep my anxiety in check and it's nice to be away from a screen after being attached to it for work. 

According to Goodreads I've read 1 out of 20 books for my challenge so far and I'm on track. 

Hope you all had a more exciting January than I did!

August Wrap Up

August was a bit of a blur. I’ve never liked summer and in all seriousness I’m not a massive fan of August. I used to get bored during summer holidays to the point I drove my Mam crazy and I don’t think anything has changed.

Because why not have a party? I was blessed enough to have my parents throw me a rather large graduation party. The reason it was so late was because of fast and culturally there was no way my family was going to throw a party without feeding everyone. I am grateful to my Dad who cooked every single dish on the tables that night. I’m not saying he’s the best Dad/Chef/Superhero I know but let’s face it, he is.

They trust us alone! As a thank you for all the support they gave me during my time in education I sent my parents on a short holiday to Istanbul. So whilst they were soaking up the sun, my sister and I headed into Cardiff and spent the day window shopping and enjoying some good food. We also ran a Twilight marathon because we wanted some easy and cheesy viewing. It was nice to get to spend some time with Sai after a stressful exam period and then a tiring month of fasting.

This card is the key to life. The only other exciting bit of news in my life is that I finally took out a library card. I am looking forward to getting myself in there and perusing through the shelves!

Finished:

• Cloaked - Alex Flinn
• Landline - Rainbow Rowell
• Panic - Lauren Oliver
• Boy Meets Boy - David Levithan
• Half Bad - Sally Green

September TBR:

According to Goodreads I am 4 books behind on my reading challenge which is much better than it was before. (I was behind by like 8 or 9 books which was not ideal). I'm hoping that September will be more action packed so keep an eye out!

June Wrap Up

Hello everyone. There was no May wrap up from me because it was entirely taken up by exams, but here I am for June. Things have been changing in my life so it's about time I gave you guys an update.

Examination season. My exams ran all through May and into June. It was definitely a stressful time, especially with it being the last set of formal exams that I will have to sit. I finished them off by the first week of June. The relief that settled my whole course when we finished was unbelievable. It was nice to just sit in the student union bar and not discuss revision and past paper questions.

What do you expect. I spent nineteen days in utter agony waiting for my results. During this wait I had a meeting with the external examiners. It was weird to think I was talking to people who had seen my answers and who knew what my results were. On the other hand it was nice to be able to give feedback about my course, lecturers and the university in general.

I'm graduating! I received my results at about 1 in the morning. I will officially be graduation with a 2:1 BSc in Medical Genetics. I am absolutely ecstatic to know that three years worth of work at university paid off and I'm now looking forward to the next part of my life. I'm hoping to go on and do a Masters or a PhD so there will be a lot of applications in my life.

Beach bum. So with the rest of the summer ahead of me, I don't have many plans yet. Mostly my days have involved heading down to the beach and spending time with friends and family. It's nice to be worry free and I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the summer is going to contain.

Finished:

• We Were Liars - E. Lockhart
• Soulmates - Holly Bourne
• The Ocean At The End Of The Lane - Neil Gaiman
• The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight - Jennifer E. Smith
• Trouble - Non Pratt

Currently reading:

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I've picked this book up a number of times but just never seem to finish it because something has cropped up. So, with my timetable completely free I am going to finish this book!

According to Goodreads I have read 23 out of 50 and am behind by one book. I am really hoping to be ahead by the end of next month.

Hope you all had a good June!

April Wrap Up

Well, I did warn you all the next few months would be boring.

Let the farewells begin. This month has been really slow. April has seen me finish university and start my Easter holiday. However that also means I had my last lecture along with a lot of other lasts. Honestly, I didn't think I'd be as upset as I was but I've made a lot of friends and also a lot of good memories whilst being there for three years.

It's like 'Hell Week' but longer. Easter has meant the impending doom that is exams. Right now I'm spending about 10 hours a day sitting at my desk and looking over notes, answering past papers and looking at research papers. As much as I'd like to say all that is interesting, it really isn't. I have had my fair share of tears this month because of the stress of it all and my anxiety has definitely been making more of an appearance which at time has made it much harder to work. I'm glad it hasn't gotten to the point where I am getting no sleep and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it won't get to that point.

Cardiff booktube meet up. I did have two days out worth mentioning this month. The first, a Cardiff booktube meet up. What an experience! I was very nervous to meet up with everyone because I had yet to interact with anyone over any other social media platform but it was amazing. Everyone was so kind and I soon felt like I was just part of the gang. I'm really looking forward to the next meet up and catching up with everyone.

Wicked UK tour. The second trip I took during April was to go and watch Wicked the musical while it was on it's UK tour. I'll probably write a whole blog post about this so I won't go into too much detail here but it was just such an amazing time. I've owned the soundtrack for years now but have never gone to see the actual show. It was a pretty amazing day and a perfect way to take a break out of revision. It has been a bit gutting to come back down to reality with a bump knowing that exams are now less than a month away.

Finished:

• Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock - Matthew Quick
• A Day at the Office - Matt Dunn
• This is Not Forgiveness - Celia Rees 
• If I Could Turn Back Time - Nicola Doherty

Currently reading:

The Ask & The Answer by Patrick Ness. I adored The Knife of Never Letting Go and I have been dying to get my hands on the next book in the series. Now that I finally have it I have delved right into it. It's going much slower than I would like but I can't help that due to my workload.

Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes. Originally printed in German, this book seems to be splitting opinion. Adolf Hitler wakes up in 2011 and finds himself in the role of Adolf Hitler in a TV show. I don't know much more about this book but apparently it is satire at it's finest.

According to Goodreads I have read 16 out of 50 and am on track for my goal! I am pleasantly surprised considering I haven't been reading all that much.

I hope you all had a more exciting month than me. I can't wait for June -_- Good luck to all of you sitting exams in the next couple of months!

March Wrap Up

Hello everyone! I’ll be the first to admit that March has not been the most riveting month for me. The majority of the past 31 days has revolved solely around university.

Dissertation drafts. Drafting my dissertation was possibly the most stressful portion of this month. Trying to get it all down on paper was much more difficult than I originally imagined. To anyone who is looking at a dissertation next year, my advice is to start as early as you can.

Dissertation presentation. Amongst writing out a dissertation, I was required to give a presentation on my project to half of my course mates and the teaching staff in our college. I think mine went quite well as a few lecturers stopped me afterwards to say I had done well.

Assignments. The worst assignment I have ever had to complete was done this month. Constructing a Wikipedia page certainly wasn’t my cup of tea and I much rather would have written an essay. I’m not exactly having high hopes for that piece of work considering it was handed in two hours before the deadline.

Dissertation deadline. I officially handed in my finished dissertation on March 26^th after getting it back from being bound. I have never felt so relieved and tired in my life. I have pretty much been sleeping ever since but honestly I need to get back to work now or I’ll have no chance at passing my exams.

Mother’s Day. The only trip I have taken this month is to Cardiff. Sai and I spoiled my Mum but taking her out to Jamie’s Italian and have a girly shopping day. It was nice to just spend time with her before the exam stress kicks in and over delicious food was an absolute bonus.

Finished:

·      Severed Heads Broken Hearts – Robyn Schneider

·      Rivers of London – Ben Aaranovitch

·      Larby Lodge – G. P. Gallacher

Currently reading:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Set in the future, the world is in crisis and everyone escapes by logging into a virtual reality called ‘The OASIS’. When the creator of the game dies a video is released informing everyone that whoever can solve the puzzles and throughout the game will inherit his fortune. The catch? James Halliday, the creator, was obsessed with the 80’s. This book takes us on a journey through 80’s nostalgia and the need to beat the game.

Forgive me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick. Leonard Peacock is 18 and has decided that he no longer wants to live. Carrying an old Nazi handgun in his bagpack, Leonard has it all planned out. But before he can kill himself and Asher Beal, Leornard wants to gift the four people in his life who he loves with something special.

Slated by Teri Terry. Kyla is one of the Slated. Her memory has been erased and her personality removed. Kyla can’t remember a thing because the government believe her to be a terrorist.

According to Goodreads I’ve read 11 out of 50 books and I am 1 book behind scheduled. I’m sure that’s going to grow thanks to exam season.

Hope you’ve all had a better month than mine!

February Wrap Up

February was definitely a busy month for me. With a lot going on it’s almost hard to sum up everything.

I turned 21! I officially became an adult and celebrated it with family and friends. My 21^st was easily the best birthday I’ve had. I’m so glad that I had all my family with me for the day. I was spoiled rotten by everyone and just cannot believe how lucky I am to have all these people in my life that love and care about me.

New baby cousin. After months of being on bump watch my aunt finally gave birth to a healthy beautiful baby girl. I’m yet to meet her but hopefully I’ll get to have cuddles with the new member of the family.

Dissertation draft. Cutting it fine, I handed in the first draft of my dissertation. After 4 months of working in the lab and one poster presentation I finally began to write out my report. I’m hoping my supervisor will find at least some good points in it. 4000 and odd words written out of a maximum 7 500, so I may need to add some extra stuff to it.

New York! After months of looking into it, New York has been booked. Sai and I will be bringing in 2015 in the Big Apple. We’re starting to look into the different things we can do whilst we are out there. If anyone lives there or has visited please drop us some tips as we would love to know what no to miss out there.

Image from Google Images

Reading took a bit of a backseat this month as I’ve been attempting to get my dissertation done and out the way so I apologise for the very short lists.

Finished:

·      Every Day by David Levithan.

·      Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman.

·      Frostbite by Richelle Mead.

Currently reading:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Set in the future, the world is in crisis and everyone escapes by logging into a virtual reality called ‘The OASIS’. When the creator of the game dies a video is released informing everyone that whoever can solve the puzzles and throughout the game will inherit his fortune. The catch? James Halliday, the creator, was obsessed with the 80’s. This book takes us on a journey through 80’s nostalgia and the need to beat the game.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaranovitch. The first book in the series. A murder occurs in London and the Met police are all over it, or at least anyone deemed worthy. PC Peter Grant doesn’t seem to have what the police force is looking for to be part of the murder team. However he does seem to have something about him, a sense of the paranormal. Peter Grant is about to learn that there is more to London than he thought there was.

According to Goodreads I have read 9/50 books so far so I’m ahead of schedule.

Hope you all had a good month!