why I am embracing my youth

Over the past few years I have seen and felt the insane pressure to grow up quickly. Teenagers my age find themselves acting in very adult-like ways, and although I know there is only two years to go until reaching adulthood, I thought I would lost reasons why I am embracing my youth, and my time left before plunging into the big and wider world.

• Cheap transport. Londoners: oyster cards are your saviour. For those who travel on trains regularly: 16-25 railcards are brilliant for savings, and mine is currently in the post being delivered to me. 
• Student discount. I have a student discount card from NUS and it entitles me to 20% off many shops, including Miss Selfridge (who I have made two cheeky sale orders off recently), asos, Dominos, national rail and many more. 
• Homecooked food of a good standard, cooked with love, time and care. I heard this luxury disappears upon reaching university.
• The lack of major responsibility, for example children, or having an important job role. That is still yet to come.
• Time to recover from poor decisions and cleanse your mind of any burdens etc.

image: we heart it (source)

• It is completely and utterly acceptable to form crushes on attractive male American actors as seen on television shows. 
• Death is inevitable, and everybody knows it. Making the most of the many years we hopefully have ahead of us can never be a bad thing.
• No money troubles, loans, debt, mortgages...the lot.
• We're growing up in the technological age, with tertiary and quarternary industry expanding by the day. We can embrace our knowledge of technology since birth and make sure opportunities come out as a result of it.
• There's only so many years that you're young. I am by no means an ageist person, and I personally cannot wait to become older and travel the world. However, only some things can be done without shame as a child (i.e bouncy castles, seriously stupid mistakes..that sort of thing).
• In a few years time, everybody can discuss their adolescent years, cringe at embarrassing memories and regret those haircuts. Consider it bonding - and by that time, we would have all been there.

• Acting older than our actual age won't speed up the growth process in any way. Fact. 
• I can blame many things on exam-related stress.
• Many people actively want me to succeed, whether it be teachers, friends or family. 
• Librarians always smile at me, as I am one of the only students that uses my local library. I can consider myself somewhat appreciated.
• I can watch embarrassing yet hilarious shows such as 'First Dates' (Channel 4, Thursdays @ 9pm) as I am not on a relationship show. Yet. One could argue that that may change in a decade or so...

What are your thoughts on this whole topic?

Thalia

xxx

Wimbledon inspired nails

nail polishes used: beauty uk green and purple (from set, unnamed) & la colours energy source. I would have preferred to used darker colours, but I found these two colours to be slightly more summery and matched well. 

 spot anyone in particular?

 my take on Wimbledon nails: simple polka dots, step by step.

other ideas: racing stripes, gradual dots, green cross, curved zigzag & geometric french manicure.

So this week saw Wimbledon 2013 commence! Having spent 14/16 years growing up nearby SW19, I often spend time watching Wimbledon on television and I have grown to love it. On Thursday, my Mum, Grandma and I attempted to go, but by 10am 'The Queue' for ground tickets was a staggering 8 hours long. 8 hours?! Alternatively, in order to not shatter our Wimbledon dreams too quickly, we walked through Wimbledon village and to the High Street. The Morrisons there has adapted a new name, one worth photographing:

Murrisons. Love it.

After walking into Wimbledon, we took the train home and ate our pre-bought pasta pots in front of Wimbledon on television, and the sense of bliss was restored. Using the three aforementioned nail polishes, I created five more simple nail looks as shown. I find control and accuracy really difficult, and I'm seriously considering purchasing a simple nail art kit to add to my 90-strong nail polish collection. My favourite look is the curved zigzag, and I would say that the polka dots are the easiest to do. I wouldn't be able to calculate how long each look would take on all ten nails but none are too complex and time consuming.

I hope you liked my Wimbledon inspired nails! Have you been watching the tournament? My favourites are Murray, Robson (British pride), Tomic (half-Australian pride) and Janowicz, who has one hell of a serve!

Thalia

xxx

now playing: florence and the machine - over the love 

the importance of university?

I have never questioned that university will be essential for me. As cringe-worthy as it may sound, I adore learning, especially when revolved around subjects I actually like. I've always been an academic student, and even from a young age it has meant I have stood out within my class, usually for the wrong reasons. I was often made fun of for working hard, for asking for extension work or completing my work quickly. Back then I didn't realise what this necessarily meant, I just continued walking along the path that I felt was right for me.

As I grew older the situation pretty much remained the same, my knowledge and hopes to do well academically evolved in the same way and at the same time as I did, both physically and mentally. Academia kept me grounded whilst I was living in India, as despite how hideous I was socially and how I was despised by others never intervened with my grades, which frustrated the bullies significantly. In a way, having academia as my outlet worked perfectly for me, as it meant I could filter my feelings regarding school into one area, one purpose, rather being the balanced individual that most twelve year olds attempted to be.

source: weheartit (here)

So now, after skipping a few years we reach current day. At sixteen I have recently finished my GCSE exams and have a long summer ahead of me, one that until August 22nd will have the background thoughts relating to exam results crowding the back of my mind. In September I will be starting my AS Levels in Sociology, Geography, English Lit/Lang and French, probably taking the first three mentioned to A2. As I life-planner since the age of twelve (quoting my Mum), I regularly go on the websites for various universities within the UK, specifically those listed within the somewhat famous Russell Group. I've head it drilled into my mind for the past three years that I should be reaching for that level of teaching in the future, and luckily school has supported me in terms of motivation and encouragement.

I recently discovered the *perfect* course for me, one that is ridiculously exclusive and terribly hard to get into. But I am determined to try. Human, Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge would mean I could study a range of subjects I am interested in; Sociology, Anthropology (both Social and Biological) and International Relations. I am fascinated by cultures, society, and the way people think without it being too scientific or psychological. It needs an A* and two A grades at A2 to get in, as well as an A at AS level, a killer personal statement and many successful interviews. This would also have to be backed up by numerous A* grades at GCSE and the ability to express my passion for the subjects mentioned. I am so passionate about doing well in the future, and I know I will do everything until I can consider myself 'successful' (happy, earning decent money, enjoying work, good family situation and ideally, living in Australia).

source: weheartit (here)

So the purpose of me writing this post was to understand your opinions on the importance of university. I comprehend how it is completely not for everyone, and I know of many people who did not go into further education that are perfectly happy in their current situations, and are undoubtedly successful. What parts about university did you enjoy the most, what bits did you regret? I'd love to know. As many say, life begins at university. I still have two years to wait until starting the new and significant chapter of my life, but being a life-planner I am so interested to know, and I cannot wait to explore new beginnings, both academically and socially.

What are your thoughts? Also - are you a fan of a more lifestyle sort of post like this one? I enjoyed branching out and writing something more personal and relatable.

Thalia
xxx

prom 2013

Myself with Alethea, Aimee and my parents

Abbie, Lydia, Chris, Chloe, Izi, Ciaran, Keir (my lil' brother), Hannah, Tim, Rosie & Rachel 

To celebrate finishing GCSE exams and the end of compulsory education, my school hosted a year eleven prom last week. It was lovely - held at a local golf course, there was a view over a huge lake and watching the sunset was absolutely beautiful. I loved seeing everybody all dressed up, and watching them all dance (note: I do not dance..ever). The situation allowed me to collate my thoughts regarding the last three years spent at my current school, and how in total I have really liked the experience. Contrary to the popular opinion of many teenagers my age, I actually love being at school and that sort of environment. I find being in a productive environment is really refreshing, and I love being taught such a variety of things from people who excel in their fields. Anyway, enough gushing...

So since last week life has been a blur. I've spent a lot of time tidying and organising (reality: recycling years worth of science, maths and history work), purchasing birthday presents for friends and getting ready for my Grandma's 6 week visit to the UK. I am honestly so excited to see her again - anybody that has family living abroad will understand where I'm coming from. Living 17,000km apart, numerous time zones away from each other and in different hemispheres adds some complication in terms of contacting each other sometimes, however it means when you see them again it feels so lovely. Family reunions are my favourite, always.

Thalia
xxx

p.s - my dress is from LightInTheBox if any of you are interested, they do custom measurements which I personally found super helpful, as I am much shorter than the people the normal sizes are designed for! (petite girl problems).

p.p.s - as many of you are aware, GFC is supposedly disappearing really soon, so if you want to stay reading my lil' slice of internet you can follow via bloglovin' here.

I hear a voice that's so unknown

 navy peplum tee asos / grey skinny jeans h&m / tweed bomber jacket new look / navy boat loafers asda

Today concludes my nine-day break from school which in reality feels more like twenty five minutes. I've got two weeks until my exams are over, but then things get better! I have prom on the seventeenth, and I cannot wait to blog photos of my prom dress and pictures form the actual occasion. My Grandma is coming over to London from Australia and I literally cannot wait to see her - we're really close and she shares the same nail polish addiction as I do. then, later on in the holidays my best friend Katie is coming to visit: an internationally-educated gal like myself, she's moving to Shanghai soon so a good catch up in London is needed. I'm off to Italy with my Mum and Grandma for a few days in July, so photos from Rome will adorn the blog pretty much as soon as that happens. I also expect to see friends in Cardiff, Stoke-on-Trent and family in Edinburgh so summer will be pretty busy! In addition to that, now that I'm 16 I've taken the opportunity to apply for lots of summer/weekend jobs. It's pretty time-consuming to fill out all of the application forms however I hope some good experiences will come out of it.

What are your summer plans? I'd love to know.

Thalia

xxx

now playing: angie miller - you set me free

sentimental vibes

 black turtleneck dress (worn underneath, skirt shown) new look / navy and black lace lightweight jumper new look / ivory satin and fleece bag gap / black biker bots new look / purple ombre nails (post coming soon)

Hiya,

Yesterday, my Mum, brother and I walked around Richmond Park in SW London. It is so lovely there, being large, green and open, it is the exact opposite of what I'm used to seeing in London, so it provides a lovely change. These photos were taken in the Isabella Plantation, the area adorned with hundreds of flowers in a range of beautiful colours. It was also really nice to get out of my back garden and take outfit photos elsewhere - it definitely proved a nice change from the dark teal panels of my fence. 

I never even realised the extent of my love for New Look's teens section until I listed my outfit components, but wowowow gosh I seriously love it there. It is a perfect destination for a petite girl...which reminds me, I'm thinking of writing a post on clothing for petite girls so do let me know if you're interested! I wore this dress to my birthday in March, I adore how comfortable it is and versatile. I wore tights with the outfit (of course, this is England), however I'm pleased to say that London is finally warming up. I also donned some ombre nails, which I didn't think I'd like them as much as I do, but nobody could ever deter me away from trialling various shades of purple, because, well..I'm obsessed. I plan to do a post on them asap so do look out for that.

flowers in the Isabella Plantation

Onto a more personal topic - today is the first of June. This therefore marks three years since I got on that nine and a half hour flight with my family and relocated back home from Delhi to London. The thought brings back so many happy memories, especially when contemplating what has happened during the past three years of my life. They seriously have been the best, I have met so many amazing people at school and through the world of blogging. Thinking that nearly half of my time spent back home in England has been published online via this blog is absolutely crazy, but in a good way. Today my Mum, brother and I are having a celebratory Nando's and mark the happy day. I wish my Dad were here though, but he's up visiting family in Edinburgh. I always find myself becoming super sentimental on this day every year, but I always remember that negative experiences in India led to positive outcomes, including meeting two of my closest friends and becoming a much stronger person. I rarely ever say this, but I'm proud of the person India sculpted me to become, and the person I have grown to become over the past three years. 

Phew - essay over!

Have a lovely weekend,

Thalia

xxx

now playing: young and beautiful - lana del rey