Post University Update

If you asked me if this is how I thought things would be after Uni I would have said a resounding no. 

I wasn't sure what I was going to be doing but this was not it. How do I feel about this? I'm not sure yet. It has made me realise though, if you are student thinking once you leave University everything will fall into place and you'll land the high paying and fulfilling career straight away, then you're probably wrong. 

People might say to me that I haven't got enough experience perhaps. In some ways they're right and getting experience is hard, however it is something I've done since leaving University. In the subject of my degree? Of course not! 

Honestly, it's not that I'm really unhappy with where I am. At the moment I have a job which although not a graduate role is helping me gain plenty of skills which future employers will hopefully...respect. My problem is I don't know what I'm working towards as I haven't decided on a career path. 

From all this ranting and what sounds to be negativity, I want to tell you something. This message isn't just for the students and graduates but for everyone and it's the one of the most important things I've learnt...

  Look for opportunities and find your own ways to make yourself stand out.

 You can't just expect things to work out for you and you definitely cannot expect your dream job to present itself to you out of "luck". Although this sounds obvious, what I mean is, you won't get anywhere if you don't talk to people and create opportunities to gain the experience. Sometimes you find opportunities in the most unlikely situations!

Hayley x 

I've finished University!

I can’t believe it. I’ve finished university. Words that I’ve been dreading for a long time. 

The last few years of my life have flown by; I’ve been at Uni concentrating and working desperately hard to earn my degree. Being a student is an odd lifestyle, and definitely a big contrast from living at home. Suddenly, no one is telling you where to be, to tell you be tidy, to do this, to do that but also no one to cook for you or do your washing. But having independence is something that has taught me many lessons and a lot about life. 

Going to University was never really fully planned it just happened; I know it was what I needed to become independent and was the perfect opportunity to study the subject I am so passionate about. However, the thought always was there, “What on earth am I going to do after uni?”

The questions began demanding answers and although I wanted to make decisions about post uni, but, to me, it made sense to concentrate on actually getting the degree first. So that’s what I did and without a plan I worked as hard as I could so I knew that I would feel I got what I deserved. 

 Since completing my degree I have spent two weeks in America, this included a couple of visits to the iconic New York City. It was the perfect break after numerous exams and the stress of completing my dissertation. 

But now, BOOM, suddenly it’s July! I still have no idea what I’m really doing. For now, I feel okay about this but I can feel the impatience growing. It’s a weird time finishing uni, they have been an amazing but very stressful three years of my life and now I’m ready for the next challenge… whatever that might be.

Have you recently finished university? What are you doing now? Let me know in the comments or tweet me @_bowsandbuttons.

Hayley x 

September Summary

September flew by, I know everyone says that about every month but seriously, I literally don't even know where September went, especially as I usually find its a month that is a bit of a drag! I've been loving the start of the autumnal weather and tried to make the most of my time before entering the third and final year of my degree (scary!)

All in all it was a great month! The most exciting and biggest achievement was that I FINALLY  passed my driving test!! To some people this may not seem much but it was a real struggle and I thought I could never do it, but using all my determination and positivity I managed it! It's amazing what the results a positive attitude can have! (I think you can probably tell my excitement over this by the excessive amount of exclamation marks oops!)

After passing my driving test I was able to move back to my University home in the lovely Plymouth. I'm so happy to be back, and after a summer of working and driving lessons, I've finally got to spend some quality time with my boyfriend and just had time to relax. We also celebrated our two and half year anniversary this month, crazy!

Also for the first time since being at Uni I visited Cornwall, my boyfriend and I drove down to Looe which is a lovely little seaside place with lots of little touristy shops, rock pools and pasty shops. I definitely need to try to get down to Cornwall more before I move away from Plymouth next year!

Another first for this month is that I went to my first ever live rugby match (Exeter Chiefs vs Harlequins), to be honest I wasn't keen on the idea of going, but, I am surprised to say I actually really enjoyed it! I would even consider going again (and that's saying something!) I must admit I didn't understand all the rules but understood enough to know Exeter won (wooo).

Last month I said that I wanted to try and be a bit healthier during in September, I've got as far as purchasing an exercise bike and was being good at regularly using it but now uni has started up I'm not being as good (tut tut!).

One last thing that happened this month; I had a bit of a spur of the moment thing and had a fringe cut in, not sure I'm loving it that much and doubt it's going to be staying around to long!

Finally, my goals for October include continuing my attempt at being healthy, cracking on with dissertation work and also setting up society at University with my fellow blogger friend from Sweet Heart Fashion- which I am very excited about!

What did you achieve in September? Have you made yourself any goals for October?

Hayley x

Update #1: 20 years of life and What I'm doing in April!

Recently I turned 20 (on 22nd March to be precise). I literally can’t believe it! My 18^th only feels like last week! Now I’m out of teenagehood and at the beginning of the journey into my 20s. This is the decade of my life where I plan to achieve most of my life goals, so, no pressure or anything! So far, there have been good years and there have been not so good years, but at currently everything is the best it’s been. My achievements of the last 20 years are very much defined by education which all led up to where I am now, studying for my degree. But especially over the last year I’ve tried to do more, I’ve taken on more challenges; worked on improving my writing, volunteering and doing more things I didn’t think I could do before. While I view my teenage years as the time to have made mistakes, my 20s are the years to get it right and set a good foundation for my 30s, 40s and so on.

As for my birthday, it was full of surprises, cake and pizza. Thank you to anyone who wished me a happy birthday! Being at University it is weird not to have my family around me to celebrate my birthday but I was treated to many surprises! Including my Mum, Dad and sister sending me a cake in the post! (This was delivered through Baker Days, if you would like a full review let me know!)

Anyhow, that’s all over now and it’s all about exams and revision for the next month and a half. I’ve nearly finished my second year of University which seems crazy! For now I’m living back in my hometown as lectures have finished. I’ll also be in Spain next week which I’m looking forward to as I haven’t been abroad for what seems like ages and I really need some sun (it's currently extremely cloudy here).

My goal for this month, alongside revision, is to blog more. I’d love to hear your suggestions about what you would like to see posts about and any feedback on my blog content or design!

                                 

                                                                                                          

                      Hayley  x                       

Time for a Chat ❤

So, I realized I haven't actually done a chatty post on this blog yet! Therefore, I thought I'd formally introduce myself and just let you know a bit about me, the person behind this blog. I'm not sure where to start, maybe by the fact I'm suffering from shock that it's already March, I have literally no idea where time is going! I have one and half weeks of lectures left for this academic year, then I face horrendous exams and the realization that I only have one year of University left! As much as I enjoy University, I cannot wait to get on with my life and see what the future has to offer. I've been in education my whole life and I'm fed up of my life being defined by achieving grades; numbers and letters on pieces of paper! Although arguably University is a challenge in itself, I want to start challenging myself in ways that are worthwhile and achieve my goals. I guess you could say the aim of University is to get a good classification in order to get a job, but is it really that simple? I don't think so!

Anyway, bit about me and the future for this blog! So, if you are wondering I'm currently studying Psychology, regarded by many as a pointless subject, but of course I'd argue otherwise. I personally think it provides important insight and explanation to behaviour and reveals the capabilities of the human brain and body. Even if you wouldn't consider studying Psychology, I highly recommend for you to read about it, you might even discover for yourself how exciting and interesting it is!

On this blog, I don't just plan to talk about beauty but to express my thoughts and discuss topics which are  current and of importance (maybe even a few book reviews!). Of course, if you've read my previous posts it will be very clear that I'm a bit of a beauty junkie, in particular, in love with LUSH and I am highly supportive of their campaigns, which I'm sure I will discuss on this blog in the future. Other than that there isn't much else to know; I love living near the sea, writing and going shopping (obviously!).

I plan to regularly blog and I'd love to hear suggestions of what content you'd like to me to post!

Hayley x