2016 Book #1 (Review) : 'You're The One That I Want' by Giovanna Fletcher

So, as is my personal resolution most years, I want to read more this year and I've been coming up with a couple of ways to help me stay motivated to do that. So, firstly, I am going to number the books I read when I review them on here, so by the end of the year I can see how many I managed. Originally, I wanted to aim for one per week, but I know that realistically that'll never happen because it's hard enough while I'm at home on holidays, far less when I get back to uni! But the second strategy I intend on using is making proper use of my Goodreads account. I've had Goodreads for AGES but I never use it, so hopefully soon I will start working out how to properly use it to log my reading!

I ordered this book from the library because I watch Giovanna Fletcher's YouTube videos and am a fan of her whole family, and have also read and reviewed her début novel 'Billy and Me' in May 2014.

Brief Summary: Maddy, Ben and Robert are best friends from the day Maddy joins the boys' primary school, age 9. But at 16 things get complicated when Muddy and Robert become more than friends. Not only does this change the group dynamic, but occurs alongside Ben's secret feelings for Maddy too. Can the three remain friends?

I think the idea for this book is a good one, although I didn't enjoy it all the way through.

The way Giovanna's laid it out with alternating chapters between the characters at different stages of their life I really liked, however I found the language she used to be quite childish at times, compared to the age the characters were supposed to be. For example, when the characters were 21, they were thinking and doing things I (at 18) would find to be quite childish. I don't think this was deliberate, but rather a reflection of her style of writing which is to explain things in quite a lot of detail. It was well written, just perhaps not suited particularly to my taste.

I enjoyed the story and found it to be mostly quite realistic, I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen to the characters and I can't accuse it of being predictable because what happened, I really didn't see coming.

I liked that it discussed real life topics and situations that I, as a young person, experience, but sometimes I found that the storyline dragged as not much happened.

The ending was satisfactory, but I wasn't particularly impressed with the Epilogue. I won't say too much, and it's unlike me to say this at all, but I think it pandered too heavily to those wanting a happy ending and was therefore, in my opinion, a little bit cheesy!

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would say it's worth a read if you' re looking for something light which also makes you think about love and friendship, but I didn't enjoy it as much as 'Billy and Me'. I do, however, look forward to reading her 3rd novel 'Dream A Little Dream' as I've heard great things about it.

Film Review: 'The Danish Girl'

For Christmas I received some cinema vouchers, so this afternoon, on this horrible wet day,  a friend and I went an saw a film we'd both heard of called 'The Danish Girl', which came into cinemas on New Years Day.


Brief Summary: The film is based on the true story of a young male artist who realises that he is transgender and believes himself to be a women trapped in the wrong body. The film outlines his struggles and he goes on to become the first to attempt surgery in order to fully change gender.

I thought the film was well acted and I was pleasantly surprised that the overarching issue of the struggle of a Transgender man at the time was not forced upon the viewer in a campaigning style, but simply displayed subtly through a moving life story.

The lead roles of Einar Wegner/Lili Elbe and wife Gerda Wegener were played by Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander respectively and both portrayals were, in my opinion, excellent. They were believable and, I guess sensitive. To go off on a tangent slightly (but hopefully get across my point! ) I remember when Joanne Froggat, who played Anna Bates in Downtown Abbey, was awarded an Oscar for her performance in Season 4, when her character ewes raped, and she said that she was honoured to have been trusted with such a storyline and felt a very real responsibility to play it in a manner which would be respecting the hardships faced by many women. I am in no way stating that rape and being transgender share any ball part but I simply mean to indicate that the principle actors, particularly Redmayne, were given parts that came with a heavy responsibility of staying true to reality and I be live they did a very good job. I think this was the first time I have seen something starring Alicia Vikander, but I have liked Eddie Redmayne for a while.

There are only a couple of small 'criticisms', if you can really call them that, which I would make. The first is that I did find the film to be quite slow moving at times. I suppose this was because it was following the journey of one man, and was leading to one place, without any side stories and sub-plot, and didn't have very many main characters. It wasn't a boring film, but did drag at times. The second thing isn't a criticism, and I must be careful in the way I word it because I don't pretend to have much knowledge on the topic and wouldn't wish either to cause offensive or to contradict my previous observation. I suppose it was because the film began in such a way as to join Einar's story at the point at which things began to properly change for him, but, although there was some minor reference and explanation of transgender experiences previously in his life, his decision appeared very sudden. It seemed as though he was one minute pining for physical relations with his wife in order to conceive with er, and the next entirely focused upon finding his true identity. There are many explanations for this, he was trying ti fight his inclinations but was triggered into finally admitting it to himself and from that point couldn't turn back seems the most realistic o me. Therefore I do not criticise the script, I simply wish to note that I could see where some viewers may find confusion or a lack of consistency or even an argument for a hint of unrealistic storyline. I, however, think it worked very well- I mean, if they'd attempted to begin much earlier in his life, this would likely  only have heightened my notion that the film wasn't particularly fast-moving, as it would have taken longer to get to the real message.

Finally, I don't want to include spoilers so I won't talk much about the ending, but all I will say is I didn't expect it, and I always appreciate when a film catches me off guard, because I like to save predictability for cheesy rom coms haha.


Overall, I think this was a good film that has been released at a good time, when the issue it addresses has been in our media, most famously with Caitlyn Jenner as the modern pioneer for transgender rights. Understanding that we're all different and clearly showing that living a lie should never been socially required remains important, and I hope that this film aids that, along with being viewed simply as a great first release of 2016!

Reflection and Recycling Resolutions

Firstly, I hope anyone reading had a really special Christmas and New Year. For a few reasons, this is the first time I've posted since I returned home from uni over 3 weeks ago, and to be honest the break from writing has been nice. But it's a new year, and I'm ready to enter this fresh start with new ideas and good intentions, however cliché it may be.

Last year I made a series of resolutions, something I never normally do. And when it came to considering what I wanted to list this year, I realised that everything I want to change is everything I wanted to change last year.

I guess at first I thought I must have failed at achieving my resolutions, or perhaps I was simply far too ambitious. To be honest, both of those things are probably true, but what I know is that there's nothing wrong with setting the bar high, even if it means it takes me more than one year  to get where I want to be. It's not like I ignored my resolutions, I got somewhere with every one, they just aren't the type of things you complete and forget. They're long term projects which I hope will continue to improve my life. Well, we'll see. In no particular order ...

1) Improve my health (particularly weight and therefore body image) by healthy consideration of both diet and regular exercise. I've started a new routine of swimming and running. I can't say I love it or that it'll last forever, but you've got to start somewhere. As for the diet, I go through phases. I find it hard, but I'll get there, a few smoothies later...

2) Take my appearance a little more seriously- if I feel good about how I look, it could do my mental health a world of good. This means, in particular, taking care of my skin (Doctors appointment booked for Wednesday), keeping my hair nice (recently cut and started using new products and straightening more often) and just generally wearing things I like. AND POSTURE!

3) Write more. Just like last year, the diary has been started. Who knows if it'll last longer than a month this time? Plus my blog, and ideally some fiction this year, something I totally neglected in 2015.

4) Read more. The first half of 2015 saw me doing really well with this one, right up to the end of August in fact. Then I started uni and didn't read a single thing for pleasure! I still adore books and I'm going to try a new tactic with this one this year, but I won't say too much because it involves this blog and you gotta keep some things as a surprise!

5) Be a nicer daughter/sister. As most years, there's been ups and downs this year. But between working full time all summer and then being away at uni, I think this has perhaps improved by default. Things still aren't all rosy, but I think my increased independence is helping a little!

6) A 'romantic' experience of some kind. Yeah, that'll be right. Doesn't stop me dreaming haha.

7) Work hard on my studies. Perhaps unconditional offers decreased my motivation a little but I did manage to complete two dissertations, 4 x A Grades in my sixth year exams and lots of uni coursework as well as my first two uni exams during 2015. I still sometimes struggle with motivation but I'm holding my own, for now.

Don't ask much of myself, eh? Haha, I know this might have been a bit boring for some people who don't know me but it's done me good to write it down and I hope it helps someone to be brave and keep working on their resolutions. It's been a year and I've barely scraped the surface of my same 7. We'll all get there!

The difference between school and university exams

Although it hasn't made me stress any less, I think that the whole concept of University exams is really different- they just don't seem quite as significant, but stress you out at the same time!

I think there are many reasons for this:

1) You have a lot less revision time! Instead of like 6 weeks study leave, you get one revision week and then straight in!

2) You have fewer of them. In first year most people have 3, one for each module, but I had 2 this semester because one of my subjects is based only on coursework.

3) You have a lot more coursework to do! And a lot less time to do it in! Instead of working on maybe one or two essays for a whole school year, you have 6 or 7 to complete in a semester! That's approximately one a fortnight! This means time for revision throughout the semester is limited, but also means a lot of the pressure is taken off exams.

4) The 1st year pass mark is just 7 out of 20! That's 35%, which is a lot lower than school exams.

5) You're not spending every day surrounded by people taking the same exams and making you feel good/bad about your level of revision. My flatmates on the whole do totally different subjects.

6) Instead of January prelims and then May exams, you have two sets of "real" exams.

7) In my case you have just started the subject, or haven't studied it in a long time! This won't be the case for everyone, but when it does you do feel like you have a bit of catch up to do!


Although all of these make uni exams different, I think the main thing I've realised while I've been revising is that, at school, when I was revising for the end of year exams (which to be honest doesn't feel that long ago!) , I knew that everything I'd been learning and working on for the whole year basically led up to how well I performed in the exam hall, and that I basically needed to squeeze in every bit of info I could possibly remember. Then it would all be over. Whereas at uni, I feel like, yes the exams are important, but you're actually revising content with the view that you'll need to know the stuff as you continue through your course, provided you don't drop the subject. For International Relations, for example, there was so much content that I just couldn't remember it all, but I will be going back to look at it in the weeks to come as it will set me up for understanding what is to come next semester.

So, all in all, uni exams are quite different to school exams, but not in either a bad or good way! And in the end its still an exam, you still have a cover sheet to fill out in every booklet, an exam timetable, and a requirement to raise your hand and have the invigilator give you more paper if you're like me and have massive writing! And you still can only use clear water bottles and pencil cases and sit at your own individual desk with a wee number in the corner. It's familiar, but different.

For me, I'm just really happy that I'm now freeeeeee to go home tomorrow and enjoy 6 weeks holiday, chilling, working and spending time with my family and friends. Now I'm done with uni for a bit I hope to be on my blog more. I hope anyone who was a bit worried about what exams at unit might be like is reassured that yes they will feel different, but are still nothing to get really worried over!

How important is a title?

So this is one of those many times when I have a wee idea and then start typing without much clue where I intend on going, so bear with me!

I suppose this is my own thought shower version of ‘What’s in a name?’ or ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’. The idea sparked when I re-watched on of my absolute favourite films: ‘Stuck in Love’ starring Lily Collins and Nat Wolfe. I first watched this film maybe a year or two ago, and had sort of completely forgotten about it, until I saw it online recently, remembered how much I’d enjoyed it, and decided to re-watch.

I could have done a review I suppose but something changed my mind. The next day, a friend asked me for some film recommendations and I found myself suggesting this film, and then defending it by saying something along the lines of “I know the title makes it sound lame but I promise it’s really good and emotional and thought provoking.”

Now, I’m not slagging typically considered ‘lame’, girly movies- I was having a bad day earlier this week and ended up watching the Bratz movie for goodness sake!! But for someone reason I really wanted my friend to know that the film I was recommending to them was, in my opinion, pretty intellectual! Or at the very least, held a real message and featured some excellent performances from the cast.

Yet when I said the title I could imagine my friend writing it off as a chick flick.

Was the title a mistake on the creators’ part? Or is it my (our) fault for holding such silly connotations with perfectly normal words? Or, is it our attitude to so-called chick-flicks? When did it become embarrassing for a film to fall into that category? When they became mass-produced?

As I sit here I realise that I have no real answer to this question! Haha. But I hope I’ve intrigued anybody who’s still reading to at least give the film a go! Honestly, I love it.

And feel free to let me know your opinions on titles in the comments!

 

Catriona

"Good things come to those who wait"..... Hmmm

We’ve all heard the saying. Maybe from our Grandparents, who always have a cute wee meaningless moto to apply to every tough situation, or from our parents who want us to learn the art of patience.

I understand the idea behind it. If you hold on, aren’t impatient and continue to work hard and be a decent person, eventually the prize you’re after will be yours. Well, most of the time. It’s a saying designed to raise hope and spirits. To encourage perseverance and defeat doubt.

However, I cannot say I agree, on the whole, with this particular saying. As I said above, the truth is really that good things come to those who work hard, or at least do something other than the implied strategy of simply waiting.

I’m sure some of the people in the world perceived to be the luckiest had to do very little to obtain their good things, but most had to do lots. I think that, too often, we believe that things will be handed to us on a plate in exchange for patience and recently I’ve realised that, if everyone did nothing but wait, there would be no good things for anyone.

I’m not condoning rushing into every opportunity and demanding a positive result, hard work AND patience are required. In fact, patience is essential because, as another popular saying goes, “nothing happens overnight”.

But to only wait, and therefore fail to put effort into things seems to me to be greedy and undeserving. Surely we deserve what we earn!? Don’t get me wrong, I am the worst for waiting for things to come to me, instead of making an effort to aid their occurrence. But I guess that’s why I talk about these kind of subjects on this blog, to inspire myself as much as anyone reading.

So that guy/girl you like who hasn’t asked you out yet? Go ahead and strike up a conversation! That ability to play piano you begrudge your friend? Have a go practicing yourself! That part-time job you think you would be really good at? Hand in a C.V.!

“I’ll see what happens” is so easy to say, but the answer is nothing if you truly believe that “Good things come to those who wait”. Wait, sure. But that comes after. First, you’ve got to DO.

Raisin

 Yes, I have been absent for a month and a half. No, there's no excuse.

I return with more of a typical blog post, where I talk about an event in my life instead off just asking lots of questions and theorising about things..... Don't worry, more of that soon.

Over 3 weeks ago now (wow!) was probably my favourite weekend of University so far. I spent the Friday night and Saturday in Edinburgh at the Scottish Universities Folk Festival (SUFF) with my buddies from the Folk&Trad Society and stayed over at a school friend's flats which was a nice catch-up, but the element I especially want to talk about is a little St. Andrews University tradition: Raisin Weekend.

I'm not sure if I ever actually announced it on my blog, but the university I decided to study at is University of St. Andrews. I've been here for over 9 weeks and I love it. We all have good and bad days, but overall I definitely so far feel that I made the best possible decision for me.



My Academic Dad, siblings and I!

One rather unique thing about SAU is vast number of strange traditions, dating back many many years. One of the most exciting of these, especially for freshers, is Raisin Weekend.

In St. Andrews, we have academic families. During the first few weeks, first years are 'adopted' by 3rd years, until you have an academic mum, dad and often many brothers and sisters. On Raisin Sunday, you go to your academic mum's house in the morning for  'tea party' and games and then to your dad's in the evening for another party. And then on Raisin
 Monday you report to your mum's to be dressed up in whatever weird and wonderful costume she decides, and then to your dad's to receive your 'raisin receipt', which is most often an awkward-to-carry objects which you and your siblings transport to the Quad, where all the first years have the world's largest shaving foam fight! It's kinda mad but loads of fun!


Scavenger hunt with my sisters!

I'll admit, Raisin was something I was really quite nervous about, because, while it Amy sound all nice nicey, a fair amount of alcohol and drinking games is involved. I must clarify, it IS NOT a stipulation to drink, and you can still have loads of fun without drinking, but playing drinking games and getting a bit tipsy has become a large part of the tradition. Some academic parents can be more adventurous and mean than others, and of course you only hear the worst stories (mostly only rumours!)




Scavenger hunt fun with the fam (and some strangers haha)

But my raisin was soooo much fun. I was woken by my mum's with a tequila shot at 08:45- and I won't go on and on and list lots of drinks (and can I just confirm that I was very sensible about not getting really drunk or making myself ill!) but it's fair to say that my morning welcome set up pretty much what the day would be like! My mum's were very inventive, getting us to play drinking versions of popular children's party games: musical statues, pass the parcel, Jenga and many more! I found myself wheeling a shopping trolley around my accommodation block, playing water balloon cricket on the grass and running around town on a scavenger hunt, carrying out tasks such as the chariots of fire routine on the beach and imitating a lizard- all while attached to 3 of my siblings by string! I then proceeded to my dad's to play Weetabix dodgeball and eat lots of pizza!
All in all, it was a really funny exciting day and I urge anyone who chooses to study St. Andrews to really get themselves involved with the traditions because its something you'll remember for your whole academic career and beyond.


The raisin Monday foam fight was really very random! Myself and my siblings were dressed as Harry Potter, butt then of course we arrived at different our dad's houses, so we all met our other set of siblings and carried our raisin receipts to the quad (mine was a rather large flag!)  where there were lots of official people and police- I hadn't relished how organised and formal the foam fight was! So basically we all had this slightly hangover foam fight where we lost all our siblings and friends are were suddenly surrounded by strangers! Eventually I found some of playmates and friends and, when it was all over, we headed back, freezing cold, to get showered- there was nothing to do but to walk straight into the shower, fully clothed! The looks we got from tourists and passers by as we trudged home were hilarious!




My 2 academic mum's and all the Harry Potter's!!



Covered in foam!



All in different costumes with our raisin receipt!

I think Raisin is something which is, and should be, fun. Stay safe, give everything (within reason) a go and just enjoy. I had an essay due on the Monday so made sure I handed it in there Friday before which was the best decision ever because you just want to be able to relax and have a great time. As I said, Raisin is a memory forever and a definite selling point of St. A's haha!





To the quad we go!!

But even if you go to a different unit or just in life in general, I hope you take from this an idea of some of the strange traditions at SAU and an open mind towards trying new things and letting your hair down (I promise, I'm the worst for being negative, and the socialising of things like Raisin can seem haunting, but uni is about meeting new people and what better chance?!)

Catriona xxx