I'm really trying to avoid starting my blog posts going: 'When I was younger...' but its getting harder. I know, I know I did it a lot when I was younger but this time round I have no other way of saying it so i decided to put this little sentence or two at the beginning instead. SO, 'when i was younger' I used to go travelling all the time, and I mean that literally. Near enough every couple of months I was in a different country on another holiday. My first proper holiday was in Australia, before we went to Tenerife a couple of times in Spain, and then the Maldives twice within the space of year-just to name a few of the most AMAZING holidays I've had.
This one will be ticked off in a couple months time. I already have a list of everywhere I want to go and things to see, so it's going to be a very good trip.

1. I used to be able to whistle but now I can't. The funniest thing about is that once I learned to click my fingers I couldn't whistle anymore whereas before I could click my fingers I was able to whistle. I ended up replacing one skill with one another.

2. I hate the word 'moist'. Why on earth was that word created? It's horrible.

3. I can't watch any type of horror films unless their like the purge trilogy. I tried watching Insidious with my best friend but I ended up sitting there with my eyes closed the entire time.

4. I can recite near enough the whole of Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone.

5. I've travelled nearly half-way around the world as a child but I can't remember any of it.

6.  I nearly drowned when I was about 6 while having a little barbecue on the beach with some family friends- when i decided to go near the water to pick up a shell, slipped on some sea weed and got dragged out to sea. However, I was saved by our family friends' dog who bit down on my t-shirt sleeve and dragged me out.

7. I come from a very long line of professional dancers and I began learning to dance at the age of 2 before stopping just before my 16th birthday.

8. I have a large skin graft on my arm from where I burned myself when i was 2.

9. I have over 50 books I need to read on my book shelf because my love for reading has come back.

10. I'm supposed to wear glasses part-time for when I'm on my computer, watching TV or reading which is near enough every minute of every day, but i don't. If my optician ends up ever reading this somehow, sorry and can i book my next appointment online?

I don't know about you but when I was younger I couldn't wait to be 16. I used to think it was the perfect age to be- you leave school (formal education at least), nearly able to drive and you're also that one step closer to being able to move out and go explore the world. Oh how times have changed.

Once you hit 16 you really want to be 18 and then once your there you want to be 21. The majority of my friends are 17 or are turning it very soon, with them all learning to drive. Not me. I have another 5 months before i turn 17 and i can even think about driving. Don't even get me started on the insurance rates.

One thing I've learned from being 16 is that adults begin to treat you like adults but you're still a kid to them. It's feel no different to being 15-except that school becomes more stressful and I'm beginning to look into how much everything is to do, i.e. learning to drive, university etc.

I'm nowhere as near as independent as I'd like to be because of the law, relationships are a bitch, one word-DRAMA, I need my own income but I don't have the time to get a job alongside school and extra curricular, and sometimes one little mistake can make you feel that the world is going to come crashing down in an instant. It won't. It never will.

Reasons why being 16 isn't all that bad include:

You don't have to know what the rest of your life is going to be like. You have time to decide what you wanna do, if you want to go on to further education, or if you want to take a gap year.

UCAS hasn't come knocking on my front door yet.

Metabolism- this deserve's its own praise, it's going to take a while all of the McDonalds to catch up with you.

We still have the rest of our lives to do all the boring stuff so we can enjoy this wonderful age while we can.

You will have the longest summer break in your life after GCSE's are finished. Trust me it'll be awesome.

16 is the year of weird relationships. Some people you thought you would be friends with life for (well-at least another 2 years) turn out to be someone you'll never talk to again after you realise your 'friendship' isn't that great after all and you learn that letting that friendship go is ok, because thats just life. This year I've reconnected with a lot of people and I couldn't be more thankful for it.

You're not an adult yet. All that responsibility can wait another year or two before it can even think about coming at me.

16 defiantly has it's ups and downs. You'll be happy to know there's a lot more ups then downs. At the moment I can't wait to be 17 (Alessia Cara reference, what up?)(Superwomen reference.). At the end of the day 16 has been a lot better than I thought it would be-even if I do complain about it sometimes.

When I was younger I used to read books everyday, some over and over again because I loved them so much. However. as I got older this habit disappeared and got to the point where I would only read books if I had to for school. I wanted to change this massively after I realised how much I used to love it (and after discovering bookstagram, book galore in other words).

While on a little trip to Waterstones in my town centre, this little book caught my eye. Mostly because of the very vibrant cover. Now, I have to admit that I have never read Pride and Prejudice BUT it's on my to-read list I promise! Lydia is based on the character of Lydia Bennett from said book but you don't have to have that much background knowledge of its original contender to understand this one.

As my first read of 2017 I can say that this book is very thoroughly enjoyable to read. Lydia is a breath of fresh air when it comes to similar books. Despite being VERY flawed. I personally really love Lydia as a character due to how passionate and vivid she is.

I really enjoy it when books use a POV style of writing through their characters, which Farrant did really well. As much as I enjoyed it, I did feel like something was missing but i don't know what? Perhaps I'll come back to this once I've read Pride and Prejudice in hopes that the missing aspect will no longer be there.

On the plus side the book has provided me with one of my new favourite quotes:



"Lydia is the youngest of the five Bennet girls. She's stubborn, never listens, and can't seem to keep her mouth shut--not that she would want to anyway. She's bored with her country life and wishes her older sisters would pay her attention . . . for once!

Luckily, the handsome Wickham arrives at Longbourn to sweep her off her feet. Lydia's not going to let him know THAT, of course, especially since he only seems to be interested in friendship. But when they both decide to summer in the fasionable seaside town of Brighton, their paths become entangled again. 

At the seaside, Lydia also finds exciting new ways of life and a pair of friends who offer her a future she never dreamed of. Lydia finally understands what she really wants. But can she get it? 

A fresh, funny, and spirited reimagining of Jane Austen's beloved Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Diary of Lydia Bennet brings the voice of the wildest Bennet sister alive and center stage like never before."

                                                                      -Lydia by Natasha Farrant.

First off, how on earth is it 2017 already? Last year went in the blink of an eye I swear. Second of all-HELLO! How are you? How was your Christmas and New Year? Mine was full of a lot of naps after eating a bit too much, friends and family and a lot of good TV.

In-between the awkward little stage between  Christmas and New Years I sit down and make a list of my new years resolutions to say the least. Last year I managed to succeed in doing all 5 which I'm very proud of. SO I wanted to add a few more to the list this year and tell you wonderful lot why its important to set goals for yourself and how to stick to them.

Setting goals gives me a plan to follow, something to aspire too, set in small baby steps, which I tick off as I go.  Just making one minor change in your daily routine can lead up to some pretty big results. I've always found that setting goals, as small as they be, take me one step closer to my end goal. Their essential to your development and success.

This may sound really sad to some BUT i really like setting goals. Having that guideline there makes me so much more productive and gets me started on that road to success. I know that the vast majority of goals set for the new year is the whole new 'new year, new me' thing and 'this year I'm going to become healthier, I'll start working out and eating healthy'. HAHAHA no. I know so many people who did this and gave it up within a couple of days. I think its because a lack of motivation, and the goal being too big. If they were to put them down into smaller goals then they would be a lot more achievable. For example-'I'll only east junk food 3 days a week, and then once I've done that I'll only eat junk food on the weekend'. It's not good to cut junk food out completely because you still need that balance (I'm going into  awhile other post right now-expect that within the coming months!! Hint hint!!).

I'm babbling again, aren't I? Sorry. Bit of a bad habit of mine. Like many years before I've written down some goals and I wanted to share them with you. Mainly so you can keep me accountable if i tend to wonder off within the next month. One of them I haven't put into action yet (but i will tomorrow!!). Have to say, there a lot more realistic and smaller than last years but if I can stick with them all one year, I can do it again!

So...here are my 2017 goals/new years resolutions.