4 ways to stay motivated to revise

I'm on exam leave right now which is very exciting but very weird. It's odd to think that I don't have to go Sixth Form until September, and that feels ages away! But for the next month, I will have to dedicate my time to revision before I can spend the rest of that time carefree. Sometimes the motivation to revise is so difficult to find, we've all been there, and you may be experiencing  that lack of motivation at this very moment! But with exams coming up it's so important for us to revise and get ourselves in gear because we do not want to look back months from now wanting to hit ourselves for not working hard enough. That's my biggest fear. But I have found many ways to keep myself motivated to revise that I would love to share with the lovely lot of you who are either taking or are about to take your exams.

1. Follow "Studyblr" accounts on Instagram and Tumblr. A "studyblr" account is someone on social media who shares pictures of their pretty study notes, their revision hacks, share pictures of their daily progress through "100 days of productivity" and so much more. My favourite Studyblr account is called "Elkstudies" by an 18-year-old girl named Ella from Ireland. I really suggest that if you have Tumblr you follow her account, or at least stalk her feed when you need the motivation to revise. I find studyblr's so helpful because not only do they give you some great advice, but all the pretty notes and stationary really make you want to make revision a habit that you're proud of. Take a look for yourself, as I've included some pictures as an example of what you can find on a studyblr and I've included all their accounts too so you can go over and give them a follow!

Photo by: http://fuckstudy.tumblr.com/

Photo by: http://arcane-sonder.tumblr.com/

Photo by: http://studyparadise.tumblr.com/

Those are only a few of many amazing photos that can be found for inspiration, just search the #studyblr hashtag and you'll be greeted by greatness! But as a starting point, here are some other people to follow on Instagram:

@lycheestudy

@peachystudy

@studeying

@tbhstudying

@studybreakdwn

@elkstudies

2. Write a revision plan before you go to bed and tell people about it. For example, say I wanted to do 5 hours of revision tomorrow. I'd write down a plan like this:

• Complete a past business paper
• Revise urban and coats case studies
• Do half of a maths paper
• Do a character analysis on Candy & Curley's wife
• Write up notes on the poem "The Manhunt"

Having a plan gives you something to work towards, and if you share it with someone you'll feel even more motivated as you've set yourself the expectation to finish it all! Furthermore, if they asked you "how did your revision go today?" and you didn't do it all, knowing well that you told them you were going to do however much revision, you may feel kind of embarrassed. I know I would anyway, so for me this trick really works wonders. Also ticking each thing off is super satisfying, trust me.

3. Set yourself something to look forward to! That could be a shopping trip at the weekend, a meal out at that restaurant you've been wanting to go to, or even just a night in with your friends! Rewarding yourself for all that hard work is super important because we all know how stressful revising can be sometimes. We need that bit of stress relief to keep us sane, so the idea of having something to do later can be very motivational. I especially recommend setting something to do straight after you've finished revising, so you can think to yourself "only two more hours" until you do that exciting thing!  

4. Remember why you started, and why you're doing this. Whenever you feel a lack of motivation to do some revision, just take a moment to picture the day you get your results back. You want to be happy and proud of yourself right? You don't want to turn up to results day knowing deep down that could have, and should have, done a lot more revision to prepare yourself. At the end of the day, it's your future lying in your hands, but it's not the be all end all.

I really hope that if you're in exam season that you're not too stressed! I wish you all the best of luck and believe in you all! I know everyone says it, but all you can do is try your best! Remember to have regular breaks, to drink loads of water, and find time to relaaaaxxx. You'll be great.

Lauren xx

Friends, and why I don't have many.

I have gone through plenty of friends, some of which I speak to now, some of which I don't. A few of them can bugger off for making feel like crap, others I need to thank for being there for me, even though we're no longer close. But recently I've been feeling a bit... friendless. I mean, it's not like I don't have any friends. In the grand schemes of things I actually have loads. However, not the kinds of friends that every time you are with them you end up in hysterics and tears. Neither do I have a friend that I tell everything too. Apart from my boyfriend of course, he's my best friend, and that I'm very grateful for, but I'm talking about the friendship that is shared between two girls (or a guy and a girl who knows). All in all, I know the reason I lack these friendships is through all my own fault. 

I had two very close friends,  let's call them Bugs and Bunny. Bugs I met through my church's youth group. I automatically wanted to be her friend, but we attended different middle schools and I was scared to ask for her number, being the shy and anxious 13 year old I was. A few months later, I started my first year at High School. This is where I met her again, as we were placed in the same class and I was so so happy. Within time we became best friends, all was good. (I still have videos of us singing and dancing to Beyonce  and it's rather shameful yet hilarious all the same.) 

A few months later I started to talk to Bunny, she was in my general set and she seemed really nice. In year 9, I suffered with anxiety, and spent a lot of my lunches and breaks crying in teachers classrooms. (What a freak I was). My German teacher noticed my crying and took me down these weird flights of stairs that I didn't even know existed, and led me into the student support office. I then spoke to the kind, friendly woman (who turned out to be Bunny's mum, what a coinkidink!) for at least an hour, and I spoke to her at least once a week from then on. While these chats with were happening, I also grew closer to Bunny, spending more and more time with her. 

Sooner or later I had to introduce Bugs and Bunny together. They hit it off straight away; we were like the three musketeers, and it was great to be in a solid friendship being rather unhappy, like I was in year 7 and 8. In the beginning of my second year, I met my boyfriend. I'm not going to go through how I met him, I can save that for another post. With meeting my boyfriend, I started neglecting spending time with Bugs and Bunny, and I made an entirely new group of friends out of nowhere. Lets call them the squad (this includes my boyfriend btw ;) ). I spent so much time with the squad, at the local park, at the cinema, and I never experienced being with such a big, yet close, knit of friends. Guys were involved too, which was strange for me, as up until then I never had any confidence with speaking to the male species. The squad was everything. But then the squad crumbled.

The squads group chat died down and we didn't meet up with each other much anymore. I wanted to spend more time with my boyfriend so I did, almost everyday. We still do.  Although it's great and I love him so much with all my heart, I miss the friendships I used to have. My relationship with Bugs and Bunny felt so strange whenever I spent time with them, and even though we are still friends now, it's not the same. On Snapchat, I'd see them spending time together and I'd be riddled with jealously. I'm so lucky that me and my boyfriend are so close and get to spend time together, we're each others best friends. But I was that crappy person that ditched they're friends for a boy and that I regret. Don't make my mistake.

Now, I'm not saying I don't have any friends, I have plenty. But somehow still, without my boyfriend, I feel lonely. I'm too afraid to reach out, to open up and to be my self with anyone else. There are even people that I'm friends with now, that I still feel separate from them. I could become close to them, but nonetheless my mind just doesn't let it happen.

I hope soon that I can have that strong friendship with someone again, the kind where we're always at each others houses and doing things together and weeing ourselves laughing. I miss it.

Much love,

My Emergency High School Kit.

School is a place full of sweaty humans strolling the corridors like dead zombies. Not just that, but girls. Girls who get periods and cramps and needs. If you're a girl like me, you'd know that in high school, you're going to be asked for one of  following: pads, spray, paracetamol and chewing gum. It's just going to happen and there's not much that we can really do about it. Apart from be a super human of course, who carries all these necessities around with them, then you're the coolest (and nicest) kid on the block. So I've decided to gather all the products I would ever need during my school day and stuff it into one of my makeup bags. I'm going to need these things too, so I might as well have them in one place rather than  let them loose in my bag (we all know the problems that will cause). So this is what's inside my emergency high school kit.

1. First and most obvious one. Pads and tampons. Most females bleed, and often unexpectedly. There are sometimes moments when you crap your pants (almost literally) when you come on and find out you don't have anything with you. Therefore, finding someone who does is the best and you just want to squeeze them for being your lifesaver.

2. With periods come cramps. Great. And oh no, you don't have any pain killers! Fear no more, Lauren carries a bunch in her emergency high school kit and now the pain will be gone and you shall be freeeee!!! *applause*

3.Deodorant and body spray. People smell. Don't be one of those people. That is all. If so, I shall save you and all shall be well.

4 I always carry tissues with me. I'm greeted with colds in autumn to winter, and hay fever throughout spring and summer. It's like a full blown snot storm!! Tissues = needed.

5. Moisturiser! I always suffer with dry skin and without moisturiser I'd be flakier than a Cadbury's chocolate flake. Trust me on that one.

6.. Chap stick and lip scrub are a must, especially the bubble gum one from Lush. I sometimes end up just eating it out the jar, anyone else? My lips are dryer than the Sahara Desert so gotta keep those lips moisturised!!

7. Hair bobbles. Every P.E lesson I hear the words shouted across the changing rooms, "HAS ANYBODY GOT A SPARE HAIR BOBBLE?". Be their hero, they will owe you.

8. Last but not least, concealer. Before school my face could be blemish free, but by lunch time I will feel unwanted spots sprout upon my face. Not cool. So it's always great to carry concealer around in case you or any of your friends end up in that position and feel your self esteem drop. As Elsa would say, conceal don't feel. 

That's all! Anything I'm missing that you would but in your emergency kit?

My "New Year" School Resolutions.

This time next week, school will have started up again. Early mornings, homework, revision, all the things in this world that I love the most! Not. I am the most unorganised person and it's shameful how lazy I am to get work done. I envy people who seem to have their life all together. You know, the ones who revise everyday, get homework done the day they get it, while managing to fit in exercise and extra curricular activities? These people actually exist believe it or not! However I am not one of them, as much as I'd like to be. So I'm challenging myself to some "new year" resolutions now that my last school year has started. It's time to really make it count.

My first resolution is to do my homework as soon as I get home. By that I mean as soon as I walk through my front door. This way I will be motivated to get it out of the way so I can spend the rest of my evening stress free. This will result in me not panicking the night before about that massive maths sheet I should've completed days ago, which will be fab because I might actually get the amount of sleep I need!

My second resolution is to go to bed early. There have been many occasions where I told myself I'd get off my phone at a certain time, then realise hours later it's one in the morning and I need to be up in five hours. But I'm going to be the responsible one now! I will put away my phone at least half an hour before the time I want to go to bed, and I will not be distracted by Netflix!! Who's with me?? (I realise the answer is no one, but we can at least try right?)

This next resolution is one I know I can do. It's to use my daily planner that I bought  from WHSmith. (Shown in the picture above.) At my high school, they hand out these ugly school planners that after the first week of term end up lost, soaked from the rain, or shredded to pieces. So with this one, I shall look after it as if it was my own child and pretend I'm as super organised as it will make me look. I will write in all my homework, revision sessions and anything else I might need to jot down and remember. Ooh look at me and my sleek little planner, pretending that I know what I'm doing with my life. Ha, I'll fool them.

My final resolution is to work as hard as I can. To revise whenever I get the chance. This year is going to be so bloody stressful, but in the end, if I try my best and achieve the grades that I'm hoping for, all the stress will be worth it. At least that's what I've been told. I'll squeeze in bits of fun along the way, but this year will be my year. I'm gonna smash it.

If you're going back to school what're your "new year" resolutions? If not, any advice on tackling my last year of school?
Much love,