Just Life.

This post is dedicated to all the lovely people that have recently started following my blog! This added motivation has suddenly made me start to write a blog post which I haven't done in awhile on a Saturday night when I could be watching TV or sleeping. However, I felt that this would probably be the best use of my time at the moment and I have forgotten what it feels like to type anything you want to say, rather than trying to answer a vague question for an essay. It feels good!

Anyway, so what has been happening in my life? Well, since returning from a dreadful Gold Duke of Edinburgh Expedition a few nights before, I returned to school, which wasn't one of the things that I would have like to be doing (for your information, I would have liked to be sleeping for days on end until my body had fully recovered from mental and physical damage - this is what Gold D of E feels like). After an 8 week summer playing with horses, swimming, tennis and family, I had no time for doing serious IB work that was on my list of things that preferably needed to be done before term starts, and preferable before my wonderful trip to Wales (D of E - so not wonderful in the slightest unless you count the free ice cream at the end). Well, as you may have guessed, work wasn't at the top of my priority list, so after returning back from mountains and sheep poo, I managed to do some but not all.

However, after returning to school at the beginning of September, I soon returned to my routine of constant work followed my interruptions of food, sleep and chatting withe IB lot which had been lost with the loss of structure to my days with the rigid school timetable). But, I have to admit, returning to school wasn't actually as bad as I thought. However, I have now realised that this is my last year in obligatory education, meaning that university or life will be next outside of this little bubble of free hot chocolate, sarcastic but hilarious teachers and amazing friends. Soon, I will have to face the world by myself without this security blanket, which truly terrifies me.

It hasn't helped with all the stress of applying to university as well as finishing off the ever lasting Extended Essay (16 pages and 4000 words later) that is the bain of any IB students life - which I did tonight (Yippee!). However, this month full of work and stress which has lead to pure exhaustion has put a lot of perspective on life. If I can get though this year scotch free (with a limited amount of mental breakdowns), then I will be pretty well set up for life with the attitude of wanting to get things done and not waste any moment of having time off.

Therefore, I leave you with this thought: how will you make the most of life. I also would like to dedicate this post to all the people that have been going through a difficult stage in their lives - we will damn well get through this and live to see the other side!

Much love,

Harriet

xxx

10 Things About Me

1) I love horses and have been riding since I was 4 years old, which is 13 years of my life. Couldn’t live without it!

2) I am learning to drive which isn’t unusual for a 17 year old but still something that is happening in my life.

3) I DON'T LIKE TEA, which is shocking I know because I am British but here I am wrecking the stereotypes

4) I don’t like Nutella because I don’t like the idea of chocolate and bread, which someone must think is a little odd, not just me

5) I love politics and like keeping up to date with the news while reading my economist every week – you can judge all you want

6) I do the IB (as you can see from my blog post last week) and I really enjoy it.

7) I eat Jaffa cakes normally, i.e. I don’t bite around the jelly and leave it until last

8) I’m not a grammar perfectionist

9) I am a dog person

10) My motto is Keep Calm and Gallop On – i.e. don’t look back at things and regret them, move on with the wonderful adventures of life.

Merci Beacoup,

Much love

Harriet xxx

Why I love the countryside

So half term has swung around again in the busy school term and as always I go and stay with my grandparents in the Cotswolds. Now people may think that as I go and stay with my grandparents every holiday and enjoy it, I may be a little weird and not a 'normal' teenager. However, I love it!

I feel (yes, feelings!) that not only the countryside offers a little break from my mundane routine of school and homework, but also a new breathe of life (cheesy, I know). You feel automatically refreshed and ready ( but not looking forward) for your life where there are traffic lights around every corner, which I don't enjoy being a learner driver.

After living in quite a busy town near London, I have found myself craving for a country life where you see horses in fields everyday. My dream is to earn a lot of money, retire to the countryside at about 30 and buy a horse. I'd love to wake up every morning and just see fields of grass with no annoying people insight. Be able to shout with out people staring at you everyday.

I also believe in the country way of living, something I feel everyone has forgotten in the last few decades as we (as a population) only see the town way of life. The country way, I feel, is much simpler and more make do and mend. And by this, I do not mean that we haven't got any Internet or mobile phones because we do and are still connected to the world like everyone else.

Finally, I believe in the work of farmers and how they provide all our food and how we should be more grateful for the work they do to keep us fed as a nation.

I hope I haven't gone off on too much of a tangent but more of these rants to come!!

Much love,
Harriet
xxx