June 2016 | Monthly Wrap Up

Wednesday 29 June 2016

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June has been great. Honestly, it’s been one of the best months of the year.

Favourite part?


On the 3rd I met Giovanna Fletcher at one of her book signing events. I seriously fangirled and still find it surreal that I actually met her. She was ridiculously nice to me and even said she would read my blog! I don’t know whether or not she’s read it or not, but I’m still buzzing.



As this month has gone on I gradually finished more and more subjects, I’ve had increasing amounts of spare time, which has been great. I’ve felt myself relax a lot more and I’ve had some great times with my friends.

Then there was prom. My last post showed some of the pictures I had taken. The night was better than I had expected it to be and I felt so pretty in my dress!


Best read?


I finally finished Moranthology this month guys!!! I’ve been reading it steadily for months article by article, and I fell in love with Caitlin Moran’s writing more and more each time. I just love her a lot. I also read Gi Fletcher’s Always with Love, which is the sequel to hr debut novel, Billy and Me. It was very romantic and a great easy read during the exam period. 

Favourite tunes?


To be honest, I haven’t really been listening to anything in particular this month. It’s just been various things on YouTube and probably some McFly here and there.

What did I learn?


That I really rely on structure in my days in order to be productive! I’m definitely a creature of habit.

What’s happening next month?


July. Well, hopefully I’ll be seeing some of my friends from Wales for a bit, which will be great as I haven’t seen some of them in nearly a year! I’ll also be going to London for a few days with my nan which I can’t wait for! I love London but haven’t explored it much, so hopefully it’ll be a greta opportunity for some more exploration. We’re going to see Romeo & Juliet as well, which I know will be amazing!



What’s been on my mind?


SUMMER!! I’ve been focussing on the summer ahead of me that I knew was just behind the exams that lay in my way, which gave me some motivation to be productive. I’ve also been thinking a lot about my blog and plans for the rest of the year. Hopefully you guys will like the posts I have planned!

Favourite blogger/vlogger?


Nicole at Thrifty Vintage Fashion has been great this month, I think. I don’t know, this is one I always find hard as I usually end up read/watching loads of different people then commenting on whoever I’ve majorly binge read/watched, but that’s not really happened this month.

Favourite post?


Agent Carter! Come on. I ranted about one of my favourite hows bing cancelled, it was a great relief for me to write! I also posted two poems that I’m really proud of: I Believe and Let It Rain, I hope you guys liked them - I’ve got loads more poems that are, so far, unpublished.


Biggest inspiration?


I’ve really seen loads of bloggers being very supportive of one another this month, and it’s great to see and be a part of the community.

Any other favourites?



F.R.I.E.N.D.S!! I have been obsessed and have watched about 4 series so far in just a few weeks and I have to say that I really love it!

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If you liked this post you might like: May 2016 | Monthly Wrap Up



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Prom in Pictures

Monday 27 June 2016

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Prom was great - thank you to everyone who has made my secondary school experience.

Jemima x



If you liked this post you might like: Why We All Need to Dream



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Let It Rain | A Poem

Friday 24 June 2016

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Original picture found at

I think of you and watch the sky 

grow ever darker in my eyes

you told me once to not let go

told me to stand my ground and though

you mayn’t always be here

you would always be there
to watch it rain

let it rain, you said

let it rain

see your fears pour down the drain

and hear all the voices say

let it rain - 

just let it rain.

----------------------

Today, I have my last exam and my prom, which means that I've finished my time in secondary school. To me this poem seemed oddly appropriate and I thought that I would share it with you guys. I wrote it a while ago and it's gone through a few different versions - I hope you like it!

Jemima x








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My 2016 Goals: Revisited

Wednesday 22 June 2016

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Life Goals



Get up when my alarm goes off


Seeing as, on the day of writing, I slept in for 45 minutes, this one's going really well.

Finish my novel


Eh, okay, this one’s not gone too well so far. My exams kind of got in the way and, while I have worked on it a bit (I’ve added a few thousand words), I’ve not been able to give it as much attention as I would like. However, I decided before that exam period started, that I would wait and properly get a lot of it done in the summer, which starts for me next week! Hopefully I can get the first draft finished by the end of the year!




Write everyday


I’ve definitely completed this one so far and I’m really proud of myself for it. Whether it’s been small pieces, poems, blog posts or part of my novel, I’ve managed to write something everyday this year (or edit something I’d already written). My writing muscle feels very exercised at the moment!

Read 20 books


So far this year I’ve read 10 books. Half way through! I’m completely on track for this one and can maybe smash my goal if I read a lot this summer!



Experiment with make-up looks


I think I’ve completed this one. Since buying my Chocolate Bar palette in Nice I’ve tried out a lot of different make-up looks and have tried to improve my technique. Even though I will never be the greatest make-up artist ever, I do think I’ve improved and I think I can improve further in the remaining months of the year.


Have 30 minutes screen-free time before I go to bed


Ha! Nope all round on this one!

Visit 2 museums


When I first made this goal, I forgot that I would be visiting some museums in Nice during my February trip. During that trip I visited the Matisse Museum, the Cocteau Museum, the Monaco Aquarium and the Modern Art Museum. I think that the Modern Art Museum was my favourite - loads of the pieces had great backstories or could be interpreted in various different ways. I loved it. 

I’ll be visiting London a few times in the summer, so I think I’d like to go and explore some more of the museums that are offered there.




Blog Goals


Hit 20,000 views


Nope, still not on that one. I’m currently at around 14, 500 views, so I have 5, 500 views left to go (roughly). But seeing as that’s an average of about 28 views a day, that shouldn’t be too much of a problem!

Do another collab


This hasn’t happened yet, but I have talked to a few bloggers about doing a collar. Not to mention that I’ll be contributing to a group blog soon - I’ll keep you updated on that!

Improve photography and editing


This is quite a subjective one. I think what I am aiming on this is just a bit of improvement, and I think I’ve achieved that. The summer lighting will definitely help me on this one!


Update and improve the header


I don’t know whether you guys noticed, but I changed my blog header a few weeks ago. I really love my new design and think that it works really well with my pre-existing scheme.

Double my Bloglovin’ followers


At the beginning of the year I had 27 Bloglovin’ followers that had been gained over 7 months. I wasn’t at all expectant. My following on there began to grow way quicker than expected so that, half way through the year, the number of followers my blog has is nearly 7.5 times the original amount. WHAT?! Thank you all for smashing this goal for me - I still can’t believe it.







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I Believe | A Poem

Wednesday 15 June 2016

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I believe in blossom in May,
chances lost yesterday
I believe in shouts and screams - 
realistically unattainable dreams,
I believe in the light of hope
the madly rogue couple about to elope
I believe in sword fights and dragons,
People too scared of the effect they’ve had on
the lives of mere strangers 
just passing by,
I believe everything’ll change here
and we’ll be left staring at the sky,
I believe in past lives
the “I’ll be there in five”s
I believe in pirate ships
the power held between your lips,
I believe in pixie dust
and the magic it can do,
I believe in talks at dusk
to watch the world with you.







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Why Canceling Agent Carter was a Mistake

Monday 6 June 2016

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If you follow me on Twitter it's likely that you will have seen that I have a slight obsession with Peggy Carter. Peggy is a character in the Marvel Universe, born in 1921 and is most associated with Captain America as they fought together in World War 2. In the films, Peggy is first seen in Captain America: The First Avenger and is portrayed by Hayley Attwell.

Credit

You may be wondering right now, 'Jemima, what's the point of this? Who cares about some random character?'

Well, I care about her. I care about her a lot.

Not only is Peggy Carter fabulously British and have great taste in lipstick, she is one fiercely strong female character. Strong female characters are ridiculously valuable to me and to many other people I know.


We learn a lot about Peggy through both the films, comics and her own TV show which I will come back to later. She is one of the founders of SHIELD, she probably lied about her age in order to join the army, she has a family and finds love after Steve dies, she kicks sexism's arse and is traditionally feminine while doing so (seriously, can we just appreciate Peggy's dresses, hair and make-up for a second. Thank you).

As a young girl there aren't many superheroes you can identify with in order to look up to. We constantly hear about little boys being inspired by the heroes they see in comics and in films. But where are the girls? Believe me, I love superhero films and am a huge fan of Marvel in particular, however, when I look at the casting and the main characters in most all of these films they are almost exclusively male. Thinking about the most recent Marvel film, Captain America: Civil War, there were only 2 female superheroes: Black Widow and Scarlett Witch. (By the way where's Black Widow's film?! It's about time we had one.)

2 female superheroes. Come on guys we need to do better than that!

Credit

In July 2015 ABC launched Agent Carter, a TV series where Peggy Carter was the lead. Set in 1946, a year after the war where Peggy is thrown into the American workplace of the SSR. Here she is no longer a commanding officer, but is just a woman battling a shamelessly sexist city. She handles the everyday jibes thrown at her and carries on with her life, eventually becoming a double agent for Howard Stark.


Throughout the show she sticks up for herself and doesn't rely on anyone else, even though she should learn to accept help when she actually needs it. In both series she says many things that stand up to the sexist natures of those around her, but at the end of the first series I think there's a line that stuck with people a lot: "I know my own value. Anyone else's opinion doesn't really matter."

The thing about Peggy Carter is that she isn't a superhero. She has no extraordinary powers or abilities, she just whacks someone around the head and has done with it. She is a hero plain and simple and I am utterly disappointed in the ABC for canceling a show that, for once, has a female hero in pride of place.






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May 2016 | Monthly Wrap Up

Friday 3 June 2016

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May’s been a bit of an odd one. But oddly good.

Favourite part?

My last official day of school was a week ago, and while I had an exam that day, it was mostly spent my friends and we had a great time. I’m oddly going to miss school, but at the same time I can’t wait to be properly gone! I went to see Judgement Day at the Millennium Stadium which was so much fun! It’s always great watching a rugby match (or two in this case).



It was also this blog’s birthday oh my god! My baby’s growing up…

Best read?

I’ve actually read something other than Moranthology this month! I read Darcy’s Story by Janet Aylmer really quickly, as I already knew the story inside out and back to front and I loved revisiting some of my favourite literary characters! I’ve also been quite obsessed with Rapture by Carol Ann Duffy. It’s a book of love poems but each seems really unique to me and they explore the theme in different ways.

I'm currently reading Me, Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, which is interesting so far.

Favourite tunes?

I’ve been listening to a lot of songs from YouTube this month. The most recent I think is An Unsolved Mystery by Melanie Baker. The lyrics are brilliant and really create a story that I just love so much! If you don’t know Melanie already go and listen to her songs, they’re so worth it!

What did I learn?

That hard work beforehand pays off and saves a lot of stress in the long run. I also came to the conclusion that Pride and Prejudice is actually my favourite book. I feel like I’ve betrayed J.K. Rowling - I’m sorry my Queen!



What’s happening next month?

I’ve got 3 weeks left of exams and then I’m free! I’m looking forward to see this summer so much! 

Something you may not be aware of is that I’m going to be contributing to a new blog soon. It’s me and six other bloggers. We’re each going to have a set day to post on in the week. Hopefully there'll me some familiar faces in the other contributors and really hope you guys like it once it's running. It’s so exciting! To keep updated with that new adventure follow the blog’s Twitter account!

What’s been on my mind?

First and foremost exams, but let’s be honest, that’s been on here for basically every post in this series. I’ve been thinking a lot about poetry and I've found that I've been more thoughtful this month. Don't ask me what I've been thinking about this month because it's been practically everything! My head gets a bit full sometimes.



Favourite blogger/vlogger?

I discovered Sam Chaplin this month. He’s a smaller YouTuber who has been blogging for a long time and I really enjoy his videos. 

Favourite post?

Well, posts have been a bit thin on the ground this month haven’t they? Oops. My favourite I think would have to be Why We All Need To Dream because I got a load of stuff off my chest and I think a lot of you guys feel the same way about it. I also liked reflecting on the past year in Happy Birthday Another Ranting Reader!


Biggest inspiration?

I don’t really know to be honest. My love for Rapture has spurred me on to write more poetry, I think, and I really love it. Truthfully the thought of the summer ahead is keeping me going - just 3 more weeks!

Any other favourites?


Downton Abbey. I’ve been binge watching it so much and I’m on Series 5 already. I’m also only a few episodes away from the end of Glee. I’ve been putting off watching the last series quickly and I don’t know what I’m going to do once it’s finished!

Found




If you liked this post you might like: April 2016 | Monthly Wrap Up


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