May the good times roll...

Yes, we meet exam season once again.

By taking subjects that are predominantly essay based, I can get away with only having six exams over the coming weeks, the first of which I had today, my English exam. No comment on how that went, but let's just say that I'm so so relieved never to take or write a literature essay ever again in my life. So goodbye to Gatsby's delusion, Fitzgerald's overuse of patronising poetic descriptions and Rossetti's constant talk to betrayal. I have to admit though, it may have driven me insane but I enjoyed studying literature. I think that I'll just stick to reading now, rather than analysing books to it's bare bones.

After the unpleasant experience in the exam hall today, I decided to take a stride in the park, which I apparently needed!

I think that it's important to realise from time to time that it's okay to take a break from revision, stress or whatever you're occupied with. Just taking time out and letting loose actually makes so much more of a difference, and once you start whatever you were doing again, you feel rejuvenated. I certainly feel that way now and decided to take the whole day off, so that I freshly start tomorrow.

I have 5 exams left now all of which are in June, and these exams are the most important ones that determine which university I go to. So yes, no pressure at all. And also, to help avoid my motivation to falter, I've made a Tumblr account so that I can keep on track.

Best of luck to anyone taking exams this season. May the force be with you!

 

Visiting Cambridge

A little over a month ago, I went on a school trip to visit the University of Cambridge.

Cambridge is a collegiate university, meaning that the university operates under a number of independently run colleges which make up the university as a whole. 

The college we went to visit was Gonville and Caius, but to get there, we all decided to venture through Kings College for a little while as it certainly captured our attention the moment we left the coach!

Now, due to the atrocious weather, I was unable to take decent photos of Caius, so instead, I'll tell you some facts about Kings (which I took a lot of photographs off!)

• The College was founded in 1441 by Henry VI, the same man who founded Eton College 
• It's sister college is New College, Oxford
• The College lies on River Cam and faces out onto Kings Parade, which is right in the center of the city, within close proximity to Caius (just a 5 minute walk)
• It has an international reputation for it's own chapel, where every Christmas Eve a service named 'A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' is broadcast to millions around the world
• It also happens to be (quiet obviously), one of the most beautiful buildings throughout the whole university
• It's alumni include: novelist Zadie Smith, poet Rupert Brooke and the first Prime Minister of Great Britain Robert Walpole  

Bodley's Court

Front Court of Kings

Back Court of Kings, featuring The Gibbs' Building

Scotts Building

After striding through Kings, we made our way to Caius, where talks about the admissions process and all things academic proceeded. We then met current students at the college who spoke about their experiences about studying at Cambridge and had an extensive tour around the College itself. The visit was a real eye-opener, as the University usually has a lot of misconceptions attached to it, but with all myths dispelled, it certainly made some of my friends a lot more confident about applying.

All in all it was a great day! Apart from the horrible rain, I managed to find out a lot more about university life in general.

Long Time No Blog

So it seems that I've re-entered the realm of blogging?

I’ve been absent for 2 months due to some personal circumstances. I won’t delve into great detail for obvious reasons but in January, I finally found out that I was suffering from anxiety which explained pretty much everything that I was going through for seven whole months. Since then I found it immensely difficult to cope with certain things, which is why I decided to stop blogging all together until I felt ready. The reasoning behind this was that I didn’t want my posts to sound as if I was ranting or having a good old moan or whatever, and although I am known to many people for being an absolute pessimist, who would want to read negativity all day?

This is habit I was, and still currently am, trying to break.

Now, two months on, I’m feeling much better. I still have days where I feel completely worthless, however, I’m recovering. I’m learning to appreciate the beauties of life, and even though I’ve been going through some hardships, there are so many other people out there who go through experiences much worse but are still happy. Through hardship I’ve realised that I’m pretty lucky. Now I’m much happier and grateful.

image source

About my blog. I’ve made a few changes. At first, I started blogging with the intention of writing random things, but as the months progressed, I realised that most of my posts were revolving around the subjects of student life and studying. Therefore, I’ve decided to change the blog url/name to ‘A Students Confessions’ and as you can probably tell, most of my posts will be about student life. Apart from that, I’ll be writing some book reviews, and just random opinions of mine.

That’s all for now really. I’ll try to blog when I’m not drowning under an interminable ocean of coursework prep and the like, evidently trying to test out the ‘work and life balance’ notion. Let’s hope that it works out!

Rahma. xx

A Brand New Start

Personally, that’s what 2014 is going to be about. Although 2013 had several rough patches for me, I’m more than determined to bounce back up and start fresh!

1. Rebranding my blog!

Over Christmas, I started to think about the direction my blog was heading towards, and after much consideration, I’ve decided to rebrand it and make it more personal. Hopefully this will be done in 2-3 weeks, so until then, I won't be making any new posts.

2. Five months to go.

It’s absolutely insane to think that I’ll be over with school forever in just 5 months. No more petty drama and 5am mornings. Although I’ll end up missing school dreadfully, the end of August officially marks the start of my gap year which I’m tremendously excited about!

3. Reading Challenge.

I took part in the 2013 Reading Challenge by Goodreads setting myself a target of reading 30 books. This year I’ve set a target of reading 90 books, not just restricting myself to classical novels, but exploring a wide array of other genres.

4. Get sporty.

I say this every year but the only ‘sporty’ thing I ever end up doing is playing 20 minutes of badminton and then giving up. This year however, I'll try my hands on sports that I haven’t played before, one example being lacrosse. Or maybe I’ll start swimming again after such a long time. Whatever it is, my main goal is to become more proactive in sports.  

5. Be positive!

This is something I’m working on day by day. I’ve finally got over my pretty serious anxiety issues relating to school and other things, and honestly, I haven’t been this positive for a very long time. Realising that life is too short for being negative all the time, I’m thankful for everything. 

Here’s to making 2014 a memorable one! What are your New Years resolutions? Feel free to share them in the comments below.

Rahma xo

Goodbye 2013!

It's only fair to say that time has gone super quick! 2013 was full of ups and downs, but most importantly, new experiences. I've learnt so many life lessons that I simply didn't know 12 months ago. I finally found out that failing at something isn't the end of the world, and that with every end, there is a new beginning. New opportunities.

There are many things I'll remember 2013 for. Looking back, the only words to characterise the insanity of it all is drama-ridden. Quite literally. A year full of drama, both funny and petty.

As it all closes, 2014 will be a fresh start with many exciting things to happen. And oh, the World Cup. A perfect reason to stay glued to the television all day (the only ever time I watch football with anticipation).

x

The 2013 Playlist

Music has been pretty interesting as far as 2013 is concerned. I have quite a varied music taste, anything from country to electro-pop will suit me fine. I also have quite a thing with opera. I can honestly sit down and listen to it for hours (not that it features in this playlist). Here’s some my favourite albums/singles of the year!

Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience

This needs no introduction at all. All I can say is that it was the perfect comeback for Justin.

Taylor Swift – Red

Again, I’m a big fan of Taylor! With this album, I somehow felt that it’s quite grown up and mature, in a way. I mean, it’s much different from Fearless.However, I just think that her "you've ruined my heart...I hate you now" kind of songs are getting quite tiresome, so I'm hoping that there'll some new singles in the coming year not dealing with this theme.

Ellie Goulding – Halcyon

OMG PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT.

Bastille - Pompeii  

I haven't listened to songs like this before, so coming across this was a 'trial and error' type thing. Looks like I didn't waste three odd minutes.

The Heavy - Short Change Hero

This song was actually recommended by my friend, and I must say, it's quite a tune. Pretty laid back from the usual pop, so much that it's a great tune to listen to whilst revising!

Blake Lewis – Your Touch

This song actually featured in an Internet Explorer advert and I really really liked it. It's quite amusing that IE choose great songs for their adverts, yet their browser is far from satisfying. Hmmmmm.

John Newman – Tribute

I absolutely love his style! His most popular song 'Love Me Again' is quite relevant to The Great Gatsby...extremely relevant in fact!

Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Last, but definitely not least. Another astounding album. Viva Coldplay!

'Tis the season!

Merry Christmas to all those celebrating today! May the day be full of festive fun and laughter!

Rahma. xo

Be Inspired

Watching BBC’s Sport Personality of the Year only meant one thing for me, inspiration. Seeing the achievements of both sportsmen and women recognised is one thing, but to inspire is something of greater value.

Below is the moment that clinched Andy Murray the most coveted prize this year:

One of the most astounding features of sport is its ability to bring everyone together, to rejoice both the good and bad, but most of all, the accomplishment of dreams. I think that being able to recognise that is a respectable thing, but taking a vital lesson from it is even more virtuous. Hard work is definitely on the cards. Like a 100m sprint – you don’t win by training the night before the race, but rather by devoting hours and hours for months leading up to the big day. Before you know it, you will be able to compete in that race with confidence and eventually- maybe win. This is a lesson of life rather than a sport one. Hard work pays dividends and sport is solitary proof of that. 

If  you're interested in watching the ceremony, click here (only avaliable on iPlayer until Sunday).

Lazy Monday

The day started off with a 5am morning as usual and back to school it was.

Since my lessons start at 11:05am on Mondays, I headed down to Costa to do some work there for a change – rather than going to school early and staring blankly at the wall (and of course, watching YouTube videos).

I managed to get some of my History work done although a brief spell of distraction soon came by when I saw myself singing along to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida playing in the background. Oopsy.

Speaking about music, I just realised that Made In Chelsea’s Andy Jordan released his new single titled ‘Whole Load Of Water’. I am so incredibly late it’s unbelievable although I do remember seeing a scene from last week’s episode featuring him in a recording session.

I may be a little bit biased here (or maybe entirely biased) since Andy is one of my favourite cast members (after Francis and Mark Francis of course!), but it’s actually quite a good song. I like the vibe that’s attached to it, it’s quite flowy (never mind the pun). If you want to listen to it, give this a clicky and I’ll let you judge for yourself.

Happy Blogging! 

December. December. I love ya December.

The final month of the year has finally arrived, and I must say that it has gone extremely fast. 2013 has only just started!

This month I’ll be participating in Blogmas set up by Amy, which is basically like Vlogmas on YouTube but for bloggers. Amy kindly extended this to those who don’t celebrate Christmas aswell so below are my plans for the month:

·        Firstly, *insert a face exhibiting a genuine expression*, I will try to post everyday for this month. If not everyday, then once every two days. This will prove an immense challenge for me but I welcome it! It’s about time I posted a lot more, but essays and high school drama takes up 99% of my day. Hopefully not this month. So that’s one commitment, post everyday. Even if it’s one sentence or a picture, I’ll post.

·        Secondly, December can only mean one thing. School holidays! I cannot wait to take a break from moany teachers, drama, long train journeys (although I cannot really fault the Underground service), not necessarily essays but everything from within. Great thing those 5am mornings will halt for two weeks. Phew. I hope to make this holiday a productive one so that I don’t go back to school in January with mountains of work.

·       The image of London transforms during Christmas. The city just illuminates with Christmas lights. The sad thing is, even though I live in London, I hardly ever go central. This month I’ll be visiting Central London and take pictures of the festivities that are taking place.

·       Gain membership with the British Library (and just stare at St Pancras Hotel while I’m at it). Since I’m under 18, I need to apply through ‘Special Arrangements’ and then wait to see whether they accept my application or not.

·       And of course, even though I don’t celebrate Christmas myself, there are some aspects of Christmas that I do like so I’ll make this as Christmassy as I can.

So yeah, that’s it really. Let’s make December 2013 a memorable one by joining Blogmas here.

x

Visiting Royal Holloway

Back in June just after the completion of my exams, I attended the open day of Royal Holloway university in Surrey (just 40 minutes on the train from Waterloo) . Below are some of the pictures that I took of the amazing day and after visiting and finding out the Founders will be my accommodation, I'm definitely applying! 

Royal Holloway Chapel.

Statue of Queen Victoria, who opened the building.

View from the Dining Hall balcony.

Founders Building

I spent most of the day at the Picture Gallery (forgot to take a picture of that guys, sorry!) where most of the Arts and Humanities talks were held. After that, I took a trip to the McCrea building to find out more about the Classics and History course offered at the university. Some of the aspects which captured my interest was the fact that it isn't far from London (but the train tickets it too expensive!), the fact that you can walk on the grass (I know that's weird but you may know where I'm coming from) and the stunning scenery. They even have a Harry Potter society LIKE OMG! But apart from all that, the university has a great reputation for History- and even has a year abroad option where to you travel to either travel to Europe or Oceania, which is obviously great. Taking all these factors into consideration, I've decided that Royal Holloway will be one of my five university choices. It really wasn't hard at all, my first glimpse of Founders really cemented my interest.

Howdy!

Providing information about myself is probably the only element I refrain from; but in order to provide a fraction of justice to the moonstruck province of Internet blogging, I'm willing to succumb. 

To kick things off, I'm a spontaneous perfectionist.

I’m Rahma. Just Rahma…not Rahman (why do people think this, it’s a guys name!). And also, the ‘h’ in my name is pronounced, never silent. It’s situated there with a purpose, so it would make sense to fulfill this. I have undergone some years of grief with people mispronouncing my name, so to clear any confusions, that’s how you pronounce it. I’m 17 so technically still a teenager, but I must say I still do get choked up with tears after watching an episode of Tracy Beaker, and endless laughter with what I think are great jokes from Horrible Histories (they are amazing and you know it).

Yep thats me! As you may guess, I'm a British Somalian which is fairly obvious. Born and bred a North Londoner, I'm also Muslim. I do have some strong opinions about religion in general but I'd rather not start a whirl winding debate about it. I'm currently in my last EVER year at school (Year 13, studying A2 Levels) and I'm embarking on a gap year before I apply to university to read History.

Apart from all that, I LOVE TENNIS! It’s by far the best sport on the planet and my favourite tennis 

player?Nadal. He’s remarkable. Great great tennis player. Amongst the greats of tennis history, I mean c’mon he won the French Open 8 times?! Who can beat that? Now my love of tennis is rooted back from my childhood days, it used to be a daddy and daughter sort of thing, watching it together, allowing the rivalry to gain momentum. So I started watching tennis when I was 6 and started playing when I was 8. I still remember Sharapova winning Wimbledon when she was just 17!

Other things I enjoy are languages (I'm trilingual atm and I aim to learn 10 languages- crazy right?), reading- mainly war poetry or anything relating to conflict. I despise feminist literature; I mean I'd rather learn how to execute a top-notch sandwich rather than reading anything feminist. It's incredibly depressing. Unlike any other 'average' teen, I'm a lover of ballet and opera. I relish the sounds of an orchestra and I'd LOVE to learn how to play the piano, cello, violin, double bass, harp and the clarinet. An unashamed superfan of Coldplay and Bon Jovi (there really isn't anything to be ashamed about lovin' these two), life without music would be rather dull and fruitless.

Amongst my idols are Martin Luther King and Eglantyne Jebb. Both devoted to a cause they were so passionate about, the one lesson derived from their tiresome dedication is never to give up on something you truly believe, however long it takes you to actually achieve that dream. I find that particularly inspirational, knowing that there's always a bright light right at the end of a dark tunnel and never to give into the obstacles you may face. Everyone has dreams; but there's a difference between those who lie in their beds all night thinking about all that they could do, and those who wake up, get up and start doing things so that they can actually LIVE that dream.

I didn't really start this blog with some sort of 'goal' or 'target'. I enjoy writing so after ahhing and thinking about it, I thought 'why not'? So I'll be writing anything from politics, book reviews to tips on organisation and revision etc. I'm also going to be writing about how amazing Horrible Histories is. If there is anything you want me to write about in particular, feel free to leave me a comment below! A reply is pretty much guaranteed.

Adios xx