Waiting to go to University and Gap Years

Hi All!

Recently I've been doing a lot of research into universities, courses and personal statement information because I'm off to uni next year hopefully and I just got thinking about why I chose to not to go to uni right away and why some other people might choose not to. This post is just a few reasons why people may want to take a gap year or why it might be a good thing to take a gap year, and a few reasons it isn't a good thing. So lets get right down to business, I hope you find this useful.

There are a number of reasons that people might want to take a gap year and a number of reasons why people don't want to but it can't be denied that, if spent productively, that time can be really helpful for University later on or just life experience in general. Gap years or choosing not to go to university right away gives you the opportunity to:

• Travel and experience new places
• Teach or study abroad
• Work or live abroad
• Save some money for university
• Prepare yourself physically and emotionally for university
• Get work experience

Personally, I took time out before Uni to try and get my health improved, in sixth form I was constantly ill and I was in and out of hospital a lot so I thought that it would be a good idea to take some time out to get my body and mind into a better place before I went to university as it can be a stressful time. I also took the opportunity to undertake another course and gain some more qualifications in the subject I'd like to continue at university, health and social care. If you're thinking of taking some time out before university there's a few things I would recommend you consider.

• How easy would it be for you to settle back into your studies? Some people find it much harder to get back into the routine of revision, coursework and exams whereas others have said that gap years and time out made them feel refreshed and revitalised before getting back to the hard stuff. You don't need to make life any more difficult for yourself so really consider how that period of getting into a routine would affect you.
• What would you do? It's a good idea to have some thoughts on what you'd like to do in your time out, learn new skills? Travel? Earn more money? At least that way you will have less chance of just wasting the time that could've been spent productively. 
• Why are you taking time out? Are you doing it simply because everyone else is or because it's what you truly feel will be best for you? You may find that if you do it to follow the crowd and you end up easting that year/s you'll regret it.
• Are you prepared? If you're thinking of travelling or going abroad to study/work are you prepared to leave home and be completely independent? Lots of students tend to go on gap years and while they eventually end up enjoying it they find that leaving home for such a long period of time is unnerving or worrying. Think, would you be okay with long times spent from home? Are you financially prepared to travel or work unpaid in order to get experience? Is that a realistic goal for you?

Overall gap years aren't always a good idea definitely not if you're only doing it because A) Everyone else is B) You think tattoos or piercings will be cool from some exotic land C) You simply can't be bothered with uni just yet D) You want more time to party. 

However, gap years or time out can provide you with so many new opportunities you can gain life experience, work experience, earn your own money, explore the world or your home country and one of the most important factors for me personally, that time can give you an awful lot of scope to truly consider what you want to do with your life. Since I started college I've been shown hundreds of jobs I never even considered for myself, I went into that course determined I would become a midwife, I've swapped to wanting to be a dentist, health visitor, social worker and now I believe I have finally settled on a career I wish to pursue. I want to eventually become a university lecturer of health and social care. I hope you all enjoyed reading this and have taken something useful away from this post. 

Love Katherine. X

New Years Day Round Up

Hey Everyone!

I thought'd I'd make a really quick post just to sum up what my New Years day has been like, I'm doing this because I've finished the book I was reading, I'm sitting watching American Horror Story: Coven, listening to music and I've just finished squealing with joy at some of the clothes I've managed to order from the sale on Yours Clothing that I'll openly do a blog post on eventually... The point of that little paragraph is basically that I'm bored and have nothing better to do. 

So with it being New Years today I didn't get to sleep until around 2AM this morning because of fireworks (I live close to two very enthusiastic and rowdy pubs) so because of the late night I managed to get a good lie in until 10:06AM which was great and I feel totally well rested because of it. After that I hopped in the shower and used some of my lovely smelling LUSH cosmetics stuff i got for christmas the made me smell like a bath bomb... not complaining mind you. It's important to to say that I got dressed today in an aqua T-shirt I have that says "I like warm hugs" with a cute picture of Olaf... I swear I am an adult it just doesn't show. Anywho, I ended up just going for a quick walk around the block and coming home to the smell of New Years dinner cooking which was lovely, we always eat way too much this time of year, but then again, who doesn't?! We always have a laugh when we have a big family meal, usually me and my dad will have some form of food fight and my Mam and Grandma just sit and state in horror; today he flicked gravy at me. I was mature and waited a whole 10 seconds before putting squirty cream on his head. After lunch I ended up back in my hide hole known as my room, I did some blogging and that post can be seen here if you fancy a quick peek. I also ended up doing some online shopping and got some fantastic bargains, I've spent a ridiculous amount of time listening to One Direction's album 'Four' and once this has been posted I'm going back to reading. All-in-all it has been a fantastic start to the new year and I hope it continues this way for the majority of the year!
Let me know about your New Years day so far! I'd love to hear from you all.


Love Katherine. X

New Years Resolutions 2015!

So, it's finally arrived, the last day of 2014 and the anticipation of the forthcoming year (big words, I know right?)I thought I would post my resolutions. Anywho, I'm positive there'll be countless posts on this throughout the day on other people's blogs but I thought I would make my own little contribution to that; so here's my 2015 New Years Resolutions.

• Eat/Cook Better - I'm no different to the majority of people out there, I enjoy my food and I always eat more than I should at Christmas time but in 2015 I'd like to make an effort to eat at home more often rather than grabbing something from a shop or - eek- a takeaway when I'm too busy or running late. It's really important to eat as healthy as possible particularly as you get older and I haven't been the healthiest of individuals this year, well in the last 6th months at the very least. So, hopefully I'll learn to cook some healthy new recipes.

• Exercise More - This is really important to me as keeping health as I get older isn't just important for health it's becoming very clear that I'll have to have a significant amount of physical stamina if I'm to pursue the career I would like; midwifery. I'm not one of these people who sits idle most of the time, I exercise at home and I walk whenever I can rather than using my car however I'd just like to give my fitness level a little boost so I'm going to do about an extra 30 minutes of exercise per day and build up the time spent over a few months; I'm planning on holding myself accountable via this blog and posting about my fitness routines and plans in the very near future. 

• Find an Outlet for Stress - I'm a stress head. There's absolutely no denying it anymore. Stress gets to me far too easily and it's hard for me to wind down once I've reached that level of mania, this year I'm making a point to make sure I find an outlet for all of my stress to keep myself calm and relaxed rather than manic and uptight. I have a good few ideas of how to wind down after being so stressed, those being cross stitch, knitting, reading or writing. Hopefully I'll find something that suits me down to the ground. 

• Make Time for Blogging -  I adore blogging so as my fourth and final New Years Resolution I want to make it a priority to find time to post as often as absolutely possible, it may be difficult to post everyday for obvious reasons but I'd love to make time to post every second day and more often if I can. This blog is very important to me and I appreciate all those who read on a regular basis.

• Leave My Comfort Zone - This is pretty important to me, I've always been really shy and introvert but since starting college I've been much more confident. However, I still have difficulty leaving my comfort zone therefore I am going to work hard at leaving my comfort some whenever possible. Maybe through volunteering, travelling alone (I hate that) or even making a talent show audition. If I'm feeling really brave I may even try for X-Factor... unlikely but it's worth a try. 

• UPDATE: Learn a New Language: For about 10 years now I've wanted to learn a new language, literally any new language and when I was around 11 I discovered how much I love the German language and Irish Gaelic so I'm making it a priority to learn one of these two languages, I'll probably start with German as it seems much easier... if Imanage to learn two words in these languages I'll be happy. I may even move on to trying to perfect my English first haha!

So, there you have it. My new years resolutions have been made and I have to say it will be a miracle if i manage to stick to two of these, never mind four.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! Do you have any New Years Resolutions? Please let me know I'd love to hear from you.

Love Katherine. X