A thankful year

Hello!

So usual when I blog its a dismal array of things going wrong in my life, but one of my friends has helped me in trying to look at the positives.

I am still somewhat dubious in how this will aid my life but here goes!

Firstly, its my boyfriend (yes I know here comes the soppy crap) BUT, he is my backbone. He keeps me going every day, with constant support, acknowledgement of little things and knowing what I like. We have our hard times, mainly due to our situation, but we still manage to thrive off each other and he always has that positive and optimist attitude (which frankly I lack in). And, most importantly, he is my best friend.

Well enough with that, I don't profess to be a women who needs a man, in fact being independent is one of the main 'life stories' I was taught as a child, and in some respects that worked/ still works for me today. But having someone their to support you, god knows I don't have many people who do, gives you a burst of life like no other. People thrive off compliments and recognition it is just a cold hard fact.

Secondly, one of my biggest achievements in the last year is my weight loss/ healthy eating/ exercise regime. Being bigger has always been in my family, they say it's 'in the genes' and for many many years I believed that and didn't help myself. I was told constantly by my mother that there is nothing you can do about it, nothing to be done, you will just be bigger your whole life. Let me tell you a bit about my mother, she was 22 stone until a few years ago when she had a gastric bypass operation on the NHS, now I have a very strong opinion on people working for what they get, in this case of course there are many factors of why she was obese which I will not delve into. She told me she had fought many years trying to lose the weight naturally but nothing worked, however, from what I saw through my childhood she stuffed her mouth with whatever rubbish she could find, an example of this is she would get me to walk to the local shop and get her a two tier tray box of milk tray nearly every other night. Anyway, she received the bypass and is now only 10 and a half stone. But she still treats her body like a rubbish bin eating chocolate everyday, crisps, using the excuse of that's what she feels like, and she won't gain weight. Did she really deserve a new life when she treats her body the same? That wasn't and isn't for me to decide.

Anyway back to me and my journey, since 2012 I have lost 3 and a half stone; my heaviest being 12 stone and now my current weight is 8 and a half stone. My target at the beginning was 9 stone, but I have exceeded this, which I should be proud of, but I still have a way to go and new targets to aim for. Not only have I lost this weight through extremely healthy eating and exercise, I have incorporated it into my everyday life it isn't a 'diet' it's a lifestyle. Many people think that losing weight is a temporary thing and once it has dropped off you can relax, well it isn't, you have to either maintain your weight through exercise and watch what goes into your body. Some people are very lucky and are naturally slim and have a high metabolism, I'm not so lucky, mine was extremely slow and the only way to change this for me was through exercise.

Here is a quick breakdown of how I managed it:

•  I started with home workout videos: Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, Davina workout and lastly what motivated me the most was Shaun T's Insanity (highly recommended) 
• I focused in on my diet and started replacing some of the things in my cupboard/fridge for things with higher fibre content/ protein content/ lower fat (eg. replacing white pasta with brown pasta) 
• When I started to get more serious I joined a local gym (The Gym) which is very reasonable in price and has just what I need. 
• I then started to look at my general food intake and meals and decided there were ways to improve on them (More vegetables, less carbs) and god knows I loved my carbs. 

Me at my biggest (not a great pic I know)

Me today. (Yes I am pale)

And here I am today. Feeling a lot better about myself but I have target areas which still needs to be sorted; in my case the thighs and bum area.

Another piece of advice is; having a target really helps, whether it is weight or body measurements (you have to remember muscle is heavier than fat) but I would rather be toned than flabby!









It is hard to break out of the mentality that you are no longer a fatty bum bum, but I am nearly there, I will always be worried about my weight it's just me, and being a bigger child too is difficult. Also, you have to take into account I am only 5ft 3 Inches, so being bigger when you are small makes you look MASSIVE, so that will always be a worry (I am wearing heels in the picture of me today ha!).

Thirdly, I suppose, is that I am at University studying English Literature and Politics, a course I thought I would never be able to get onto as my A-levels don't reflect these subjects at all. I am determined to do well and achieve a high degree level- my first year results are not in yet so I can't tell you if I'm filled with joy or angst yet! However, I have been reading a lot more and feel I can do well if I worked hard.

Well there you go, my biggest achievements in the last year, it's not much (I probably have more) but these are the most prominent ones for me...

I would be interested in your achievements, however small they are!

Well goodbye for now (However long that it) and speak soon!

Sophie Rebecca xox

University, The start of the journey...

I know it has been some time AGAIN since I have posted but I have honestly been so busy.

Starting uni I naively thought that we would be eased in nice and slowly...get some explanations, expectations of what the tutors want etc.

No.

Clearly that is too much to ask.

Thrown in right at the deep end, asked to complete multiple worksheets, read tons of books and understand every single thing I read in so much depth my head is bound to explode.
As you may know my background is somewhat a mixture of academics and performing arts, mostly focusing recently on acting and performing.
You may also know I decided to change all that and go straight into academics again. I thought I was ready to handle it after a gap year, I thought I was ready for a pile of work and books. In some ways I was right, If I had gone straight from A-level to University I think I would have torn all my hair out by now.

The problem isn't really the worksheets, or even the reading, its having to analyse everything critically, having to know what the authors thinking, or what the difference between liberals views on ideology compared to conservative views.
And the most guidance they give you is; Well what do you think?
I have told you what I think! now help me put it into a comprehensible sentence/thesis/paragraph!

You have to be 10-20 steps ahead of everything that's happening. You need to know what's coming up in 2 weeks time and read LOTS for it.

One last rant, HOW and I mean this in all sincerity HOW do people manage to drink/stay up late/socialise as much as they do AND keep up with coursework/essays? They must be gods.

Anyway, amongst all that hate, I am actually getting used to the demanding work schedule and reading, however I want to get ahead of the game and I am finding that hard.

I think I may just start a literature blog, I think it would help me keep up to date and give some in depth analysis on some of my thoughts.

I am sure I will get into the swing of things soon, but of course being a student other matters are prominent like money/travel/friends?/ food. ha.

Anyway, I will let you all know when my new blog is out etc.

Have a good day! God knows I need some motivation right now ( I have a cold also, not helping)

CIAO BAMBINO/BAMBINAS!

Starting University

On the 17th of September I started my journey towards a degree.
It was induction week at Kingston University, got to admit, it was fairly boring.

But during the week I had a long think about what it is I want to do. I love drama, music and the arts. But am I the right person to be taking on a career like this?
No was the conclusion I came too.

I love acting, I love singing and being there in the limelight. But how often will that happen being in that career, thousands maybe millions of people want to pursue a career in acting/singing and I am not ready to be in those thousands. I am not saying I am 'giving up', far from it. When/If my passion comes to the forefront of my life I will go out there and attack any audition I can get. Until then my logic has taken over and I decided to change my degree course entirely...

Instead of Drama and Politics I have decided to go for English Literature and Politics. My love of writing has come at a later age because the pressure has been lifted of NEEDING to write, and it comes to WANTING to write.

I know at degree level the pressure will be back on, and this time tripled in amount but I am up for the challenge!
Saying it now the gap year I took was well needed, I didn't rush into anything and now I have had a look back at myself I know I needed a safety net.

However, whatever your dream is I suggest if you have that passion/drive for the subject or career, for god sake do not waste it and go for it. Even if you think its impossible, in my life time of nearly 20 years if I have learnt anything it is that nothings impossible!

For god sake I'm nothing special and I have sung in English National Opera, been in a TV advert, had multiple retail jobs the most recent being Buckingham Palace, written and review for the Royal Albert Hall and now I am going to university to study English Literature when I didn't even take it at A-level!
I think as the saying goes 'The proof is in the pudding' !

Onto another issue, one of my big worries about starting university was making friends...
As I am not living in halls or near the campus this is going to be a difficult situation for myself.
However, I have met a couple of people in my Politics class that are 'my cup of tea' as people say. They have a high level of intelligence, are that little bit older and respect learning.
Hopefully I can keep up with social aspects as well as learning but I know that will be a challenge.

I am one of those people who acts differently with different company or in different situations. So if people are having fun, I will. If people are studying I will get in that mind set so on and so forth.

Anyway, to wrap things up I can not wait to extend my knowledge of literature and English vocabulary. Maybe one day I will be in the publishing business (here's hoping!)

Like I always say I love opinions and comments..

Leave one!

Ciao for now.