Summer has Begun

My second year of university just flew by and the summer holidays are finally here. James' sister has just had her wedding,  we're off on holiday to Fuertuventura on Tuesday, there are festivals to dance at and then my biggest solo adventure to date- volunteering in Tanzania.

One of my favourite things to do when the weather gets warmer is going on little nature-filled adventures! (some may call them country side walks..). I love getting lost in wanders this world has to offer and exploring unknown places. Recently, we stumbled upon a beautiful route right outside my small town; there's no need to travel to the ancient pyramids to see wanders, we just have to open our eyes a little.

What are you up to this summer and your favourite things to do?

Volunteering in Africa

In August, for 3 Weeks, I will be travelling to Tanzania in Africa to volunteer on the childcare project. When I was 16 I went on a missionary with my church at the time and it was one of the greatest experiences.  However, my dream has always been to travel to Africa to help those in need. Due to logistical and financial reasons, I never thought this dream could be possible, until I discovered International Volunteer HQ.

During my trip I will be placed in an orphanage in Arusha, Tanzania where I will help with the general running of the orphanage, teaching, cooking, cleaning, farm work, and caring for the children and babies. On the weekends I will be able to explore the culture and the many beautiful sites that the country has to offer, including Mt. Kilimanjaro, safaris, waterfalls, Zanzibar, etc. 

I hope to broaden my world view and come back home with new perspectives and unforgettable memories I will carry with me through my entire life. But most of all I hope to put a smile on those children's faces every day I am there and give them a feeling of love and comfort that they deserve - even if I am only there for a short time. The thought of travelling on an 18 hour journey alone is petrifying yet this is something I feel I really need to do.

Even though IVHQ has much more affordable prices compared to other programs, traveling abroad still comes at a high price. Thankfully I have money saved up and will continue to keep my part-time job while at Uni during studying which funds all my personal costs. However, if you are able to donate any amount of money to help for supplies, toys, games and clothes for the children I will be forever grateful. I will keep a diary and take snaps of where your money will go! 

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this message and for your support! I can’t even express how excited and grateful to have this opportunity in front of me. 

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something personal.

This was originally a post for my personal Facebook and after a huge response, I thought I would post it on my blog. I eventually deleted it off of my Facebook as it became too heavy but I still wanted it to be somewhere I could easily share again. 

I have a father who, as a child, experienced severe brain injury. He appears quite normal from the outside; it is a hidden disability. Although providing for me (and still does), brings laughter and love in my life, growing up there were times i completely disliked him. I have been told stories by my grandma and auntie and uncles about how he was as a child and about the accident itself. Yet, no one had ever helped me understand my dad's brain injury and the effects this had on his personality properly; to me this was just dad, nothing wrong with him, just dad. As I grew older there were times I blamed him for not acting like 'a real dad', blamed him for the stress and eventually blaming him for my mental health. Obviously brain injury effects everyone differently depending on what part of the brain has been injured. Executive Dysfuctions are a range of cognitive, emotional and behavioural difficulties that appear after injuries to the frontal lobe (like my dad).  Some of the main difficulties my dad has are impaired social skills, self-awareness, lack of attention and concentration, learning rules and controlling emotions and these effect him, those around him- mostly our family on a daily basis.

The reason I came to write this post was the other week I was in a conversation with someone who knows my dad and actually said to me 'why can't he just be nice?'. I was deeply offended but I realized I have lived with my dad all my life and still have difficulties understanding him myself, so how can I expect a stranger to understand? 

I think the main reason I wanted to post this was to make you more aware of these 'hidden disabilities' that anyone can have and not to judge before knowing their story.

This charity and website is brilliant and I encourage you all to visit. https://www.headway.org.uk 

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Day 2

I am spending the next few days trying to cram a 3000 word uni assignment in 3 days; now this is a challenge. Another resolution that I failed to add to my post yesterday was time management. I am not bad and will always get things done right - but when it comes to the subjects I do not enjoy, my time can be all over the place. This year I will make sure I complete all my assignments at least a week before the deadline.

Make the days count.

First Year at #Roey

I am no longer a Fresher!

This first year at university has been the most hectic, life-changing, amazing, confusing and crazy. I originally had my heart set on the university of Bournemouth. However, after being accepted into BU, I just did not feel ready to move so far away; results day was very stressful for me but I made the decision to reject Bournemouth and  here we are at Roehampton University- just 15 minutes from the heart of London.

I found a flat and shared with 3 other lovely girls but as my family home was only 45 minutes away, (and at the time of moving out my mum was admitted into hospital), I found myself being at home for the majority of the weeks. I was also travelling home to visit my boyfriend/he would be down so often and after a few months, I moved back to my hometown; saving a lot (A LOT) of money. I was well suited to commuter life - I'll make a whole post on commuter life/tips it the future- but it doesn't mean that my student and social life was affected; I made sure I still attended all my lectures and the uni events.

I am studying Mass Communication, which is a combination of media, culture and journalism; adding a bit of variety into my studying. The lectures and seminars could sometime drag, that's the learning experience I guess... Thankfully I had a great bunch of classmates and good friends to make it bearable. OH AND I PASSED WITH A 2:1!!!!!

This post was really just about looking back on this year and how much of a different path I took to what I planned this time last year. Uni has created so many memories this year (below are a few snippets) and I am super grateful. I start my second year in two weeks and although I know it will be mostly work and no play; I know it's going to be a good one :)