• LIVING WITH STRANGERS AT UNI •

Unintentionally, i seem to have started a little series about my life at uni. I say unintentionally because i wrote my first post to simply get the thoughts out of my head when i first started. However looking at my stats for these posts, you lot seem to enjoy them.

The next thing i want to talk about is, as the title suggests, living with strangers. This was something that i was really worried about. 

Who would i end up living with? 

Will we get on? 

What happens if we don't? 

I have to say, for the record, i got extremely lucky with who i've ended up living with.

Whilst at times it can be the most frustrating thing ever, like... when you just want to go to the kitchen and make a cheese bagel but you hear all your housemates having a party in there. You would go and join but you've already taken all your makeup off and are stewing in your space pyjamas.

Well, that might just be me.

But it is just for the year, then you can move in with whatever friends you make and you can go to kitchen whenever you want and get as many cheese toasties as your stomach can handle.

Uni is a very challenging experience and it's very important that when filling out the little boxes on the accommodation website, you think properly about the type of house and the type of people you're going to find it most comfortable to live with. There's the quiet house box, even a box that asks whether you'd prefer to live in an all- girls house... but don't take the piss and tick the quiet box so it's quiet when you want to sleep and the kitchen is free for when you want to invite everyone round for pres.

My biggest advice would be to make a bloody schedule for taking out the bins. Straight away. Even if you do it and then just sneak it on to the notice board if you don't want to seem like you're trying to be the mum. That bin schedule is important- and if it's your day, TAKE. IT. OUT.

I speak from experience. You can pretend like you won't care but a uni halls kitchen is grim place so don't make it worse.

But for real, even though it can be crap at times and even though you live with a bunch of people it can be quite lonely, it's really nothing to worry about. My biggest advice would be to make your room super homely and decorate it so it's a place you're going to want to spend loads of time. You're there for the best part of a year so refusing to call it some sort of "home" is only going to make you feel worse.

• SURVIVING THE START OF UNI •

Whilst it's only a month since I made the move to uni, it is arguably the most difficult month (dissertation aside, obviously). I often forget to do life updates on my blog and normally I just stick to makeup and fashion and that's about it. However, I'm the type of person that likes to know everything there is to know about bloggers and YouTubers and I think by habit I share more about myself on my YouTube channel just because it's less edited and seemingly a lot easier. But as uni is a topic that terrified me for a long time, I feel like it's something I really want to talk about. 

So, just to give you some context about my university life. I moved down to uni on the 4th of September from my little seaside town of Scarborough to Epsom, which is about half an hour South West of London. I study fashion journalism which can't come as the biggest shock as I've been writing my fashion and beauty blog for a good few years (rubbish as it may have been in the beginning). 

So as I seem to have survived a week by myself, freshers week, induction week and the start of my course, I feel that this would be a good time to have a chat about how to get through it successfully (with minimal crying).

Now, don't get me wrong, don't get it twisted, I did not find the first week the easiest by any means. Leaving home, my boyfriend, my friends and my parents was one of the most rubbish things ever... but it does get easier. I remember when I first slept in my little room in my halls I sat the whole night questioning whether or not I'd actually made the right decision and whether it was worth feeling this sad all the time. I definitely could not imagine ever feeling settled and happy being this far away from everyone I love. However everyone around me was in the same boat, feeling even more rubbish than I was and I found myself telling them a week later that it actually does get easier. And it totally does.

It's still not great to be away from everyone but after a few days you get to know the people on your course and in your house, you go out a few times with everyone and then you realise it's not actually that bad. 

My biggest pieces of advice are just to not put pressure on yourself to feel great about uni straight away, it does take time to settle in- especially if it's your first time away from home; and- FaceTime your parents or boyfriend or dog everyday if that's what helps you.

Enjoy freshers week and get to know your lecturers as well as possible.

Good luck.

POSITIVE VIBES ONLY.

Social media can often make us forget who's behind the camera, who's behind the screen and who reads your comments. Anonymity can be a dangerous thing in the wrong hands and people find it extremely easy to tear someone down. Scrolling through Instagram and seeing "ugly" and "fat bitch" thrown about ever 30 seconds is unhealthy and generally a really gross thing to see and do. You'd never walk up to someone and tell them that you really don't like their new haircut and expect them not to be hurt and slightly annoyed that you've taken the time out of your day to hurt their feelings.

It's easy to get caught up in the negativity that comes with being online but it's important to separate yourself if it starts to get you down. Turn off the wifi/ mobile data, set your phone down somewhere and watch a few seasons of Friends and realise something. It's not about you. If someone feels the need to throw hate and negativity on you, it's their issue not yours. And the worse thing you can do is let it affect you. Whilst this is easier said than done it's extremely important. 

Whilst I'm aware that the beauty/ fashion blog demographic is not 100% female, I quickly wanted to talk about international woman's day. It was a few days ago now but the events on Twitter annoyed me profusely. As I'm sure everyone saw, Kim K posted a "nude" selfie. Whilst she had sensored her private parts and was showing the same amount of skin as any regular bikini pic, people were quick to tear her down. 

And the point of this was what? 

Kim K is being who she is, she's raising her children, growing her already ridiculously huge empire and she looks damn good doing it. 

It's no one else's place to start calling her a bad mother or a "slut" for having body confidence. Her sex tape was 13 years ago people, can we move on now? 

The older I get the more i realise how unnecessary drama is. It weighs on you. It's not worth the bit of gossip to chat about at lunch. 

Can we please start loving and supporting each other now? If you've nothing nice to say then refrain from saying anything.

HOW TO FALL BACK IN LOVE WITH BLOGGING.

Committing to a blog is like committing to any other relationship in your life. Difficult... Amazing but difficult. 

And like any other relationship, spending too much time together makes you question whether it's going somewhere. 

I've been blogging for nearly 4 years so I feel like I've got substantial experience that qualifies me to talk you through how to fall back in love with your blog if you feel your inspiration fading away.

TAKE A BREAK.

This seems like the exact opposite of what you should be doing but trust me. 

Take the pressure off for a few weeks, write down any post ideas you have in the note section of your phone and then start back fresh with a clear direction.  

GIVE YOUR BLOG A MAKEOVER.

If you've followed my blog for a while I hope you've noticed my lil' (and by that I mean super big and exciting) makeover. I've done this many a time and it really helps with inspiration and getting you excited about posting. 

My template is from pipdig and it's super easy to use if you're not so great at graphic design or don't fancy doing it yourself. 

BLOG WHAT YOU WANT! 

One of the best things about having a blog is the lack of rules. It's yours and you can talk about whatever you want. 

If you're not interested in what you're talking about, it will show, and no one else will be either. 

Mix up your posts from time to time to keep it interesting. 

FOLLOW NEW PEOPLE.

Following other great blogs will flood you with tons of inspo, and support your fellow bloggers.

Seeing the great things that others are doing will also motivate the f*ck out of you! 

Hope this helps you out.