Reading Week

Guess who’s back? Back again? No, not Eminem but me. Apologies once again for not blogging in 3 weeks (I do like to pretend someone cares) but uni has been very busy.

Now I have the week off, or a reading week – half term is SO school/college – I have some breathing space and the chance to be at home. It’s always good to have the opportunity to catch up with everyone.

Besides that, I’ve been working on many assignments – a presentation, debate research, and two written assignments – for deadlines in just over a week. The presentation is similar to what I mentioned before but this time, it’s actually an adaptation of anything into anything. I’ll wait until we do the presentation to reveal what that is (secrets are exciting, right?).

I won’t go into details of everything I have to do as it may get rather dull but I will say I’m enjoying researching topics in depth, looking at academic journals and reports to use in my assignment. It’s interesting to see academics’ perspectives on topics and learning how to use them to argue for or against a subject you’re discussing.

I’ll try to write again soon, maybe not about uni as this is getting very uni-based now. We’ll see where it goes.

Thanks for reading, and follow me to read more in the future 
Hannah x

Starting My Course

Hello again,

For the past week and a bit, I’ve been having proper lectures and seminars. So far, we’ve mainly had introductions to the course modules and everything is becoming a bit more interesting. We’re learning about different interpersonal communication skills in Communication Studies and beginning to look at how well adaptations relate to source texts in Adaptation (surprise, surprise). I’m also doing two other modules – Writing For Different Purposes and Media Journalism & Society, and the ball is just  starting to roll with those too but I’ll save the details for a later post.

One of the first assessments we have is in Adaptation, where we have to pitch an adaptation on a fairytale to the rest of the class – in groups, not independantly. I’m quite excited about this, despite the fact that my knowledge on fairytales is hardly extensive; tragically I’m not a massive fan of Disney which has adapted pretty much every fairytale in some way. My group are keen to come up with an adaptation of a story that hasn’t been adapted before (if any exist!) or at least not too many times. Currently, we’re at the very start of the whole process – having only got the brief today. We have a ‘mock’ assessment of it in a couple of weeks, and will do the final presentation in November I believe.

University is a great step-up from college but one I’m really glad to have taken. The lecturers seem really interested in what they’re talking about and are generally really engaging which is excellent for someone like myself who has problems listening to a dull voice for longer than a couple of minutes.

Thanks for reading and if you have already followed or plan to, it’s greatly appreciated.

Hannah x

Freshers Is Over

Finally, after two weeks of Freshers activities – code for going out A LOT in the case of most students – the semester has properly begun. It’s not that I don’t enjoy a night out but I am glad to finally have some kind of routine. Induction lectures were slightly repetitive but understandably necessary given how much information was thrown our way.

To sum up Freshers, it involved people getting stuck in lifts, various fire alarms, a lot of people finally accepting they cannot handle drink… But will still ‘get on it’ again tonight. Honestly, can you expect anything different?

I don’t know how often I will write but until I do, have a good week. Feel free to comment if you would like me to discuss another aspect of student life.

Thanks for reading,
Hannah x

University Life

I have been absolutely awful at actually (good alliteration) updating this blog. However, now that I am settled in at University - well perhaps not completely, given that it's quite a big change - I will now start to do more regular updates.

I'm studying English at Bournemouth University. I picked it because it is a uni that has been recognised for it's excellence in the media fields and creative flair among students and lecturers. Not such a fan of the typical English Lit/Lang degree stimulus, BU's English degree was much more appealing - and in fact, my only option when applying to University!

So far, I have met some amazing people - flatmates, course/classmates, random people whilst walking back to where I live... and have even bumped in to people from back home in London that I had no idea were heading to the same place.

I also love how embracing everyone is. Students are notoriously recognised by other groups in society as loud, drunk, good-for-nothing members of the community. Although, I admit that we can be all those things at times - tell me, who isn't? - I am pleased to say I have met a huge amount of people who are extremely friendly, encouraging and intelligent in such a short space of time. So, please, if you're not a student, spare a thought for us as well as you and remember that smiling rather than scowling is beneficial for everyone.

If you're still reading, many thanks and I promise to write again soon.

Hannah x

The Secret Life Of The American Teenager

So this summer, I've been making the most of the sun by ... staying inside and watching a TV show called 'The Secret Life Of The American Teenager'. Having a monthly subscription to LoveFilm, I couldn't find anything I wanted to watch so settled for this teenage drama. Although I'm sure it is an extreme exaggeration of what most American high school students experience, I was hooked from the start and have been watching (way too often) the episodes available.

Without giving away everything, the show follows a group of American teens with their not-so-secret lives (ironically). The main female character is Amy Juergens, who is pregnant at fifteen by Ricky Underwood after 'one night at Band Camp' and the episodes follow their ups-and-downs, as well as their friends. Talk about sex takes up an enormous part of the dialogue, and the program focuses heavily on high school relationships, peer pressure and dealing with teenage parenting, marriages, break-ups (and divorces!).

Although perhaps the story lines were a little too unrealistic in parts, I was pleased to see that the high school stereotypical characters - jock, nerd etc - were given other aspects to their personalities. For example, Ben Boykewich - one of Amy's love interests - appears rather nerdy at the start. However, he is attractive and makes (a lot of) his own mistakes, allowing us to warm to him. It was good to also see that Jack Pappas - a footballer - who would usually be depicted as a womanising jock, only had one or two partners whilst he tried to maintain his dedication to Christianity and constantly battle to win back his 'real love', Grace Bowman.

Favourite Episode: Hedy's Happy Holiday House (it's all about Christmas!)
Favourite Character: George Juergens (Amy's father) or Tom Bowman (Grace's brother) - they get the funniest lines

Hope you liked my review - check the show out if you're interested. If you don't mind something that's a little corny which isn't too serious, you may like it!

Thanks for reading x

Our Holiday

From the 1st - 5th July, I went on holiday to Bognor Regis with three of my best friends, Amy, Taylor and Blue (yes, that is his real name). For people of our age, it's hardly the height of excitement but for our first holiday together, it was still good fun. If you don't know where Bognor is because you're bad at geography or live elsewhere, it's on the south coast of England, somewhere between Portsmouth and Brighton.

During our stay, we took a few trips to this pub (The Regis) and even made friends with a few locals on our first night. We were so excited we missed off the name of the pub... props to the bar staff for putting up with us playing pool so badly.

We also visited a few of Bognor Regis' finest tourist attractions... unfortunately, it was closed (in case it's not clear, we're not 50+ anyway)

After paying around £10 to throw some darts at the fairground, we won a creepy bird toy...

During a trip to Brighton, and not content with just having so-called 'Swag', Amy felt the need to have it written on her head - literally!

In Butlin's, we even took a ride on their very own yellow submarine - we didn't like the colour but did not choose to paint it green.

Here we all are during a stroll along the sandy (stony) beach

And finally, here's a rather creepy looking photo of Blue and Amy on the golf course... I don't really get it either

Despite the weather not being too sunny, it was great to spend a few days away with these three. This lot certainly put the 'crazy' in crazy golf but I wouldn't have them any other way :) Thanks guys!


Follow me on twitter @hannah_10x

5 fun things to do this summer

Hello and welcome to my new blog - Thoughts of a Scribbler!

Now that my exams are over, I have a lot of free time to fill over the summer so I thought 'what can I do?' Obviously, if you wish, you could try and get a job (or work more frequently if you already have one), but I'm going to discuss five fun things you can do this summer. Some of these things will depend on your age so not every idea will be suitable for everyone.

1.) Go on holiday - It's already June so if you are going on holiday, you probably have it booked by now but it's never too late to snap up some last-minute flights and accommodation in the sun if you haven't. If your funds or age limits you to beautiful Britain (okay, it's basically never sunny) then consider camping, a spa weekend, caravan/chalet sites, or stay in a cheap B&B with a mates for a few days. Whatever you decide, there's so many travel companies nowadays, you're bound to find something that appeals to you - even on a low budget!

2.) Watch a film at an outside cinema - these pop-up cinema screens appear more prominently over summer, offering a great outdoors cinema experience. They can be found in some city centres, on selected National Trust sites and even in local parks. A great way to enjoy a film on a warm evening (weather-permitting) with a partner or group of friends - you can even bring you're own food and drinks along and have a picnic... how lovely!

3.) Visit a theme/water park - Although I'm personally not a fan of rollercoasters, if you are a thrill-seeker, be sure to book advanced tickets and spend a day/weekend at a theme park such as Thorpe Park or Alton Towers. If water parks are more your scene, check out Splashdown, Wet 'n' Wild or Waterworld.

4.) Explore a new city - whether you live in a city, in the suburbs of one, or live in the countryside, this is great fun. Take a map, buy a travelcard, and go all over a local (or distant) city, whether at home or abroad. Even if you think you know where you live really well, take new routes, try a different mode of transport and discover places of interest. Perhaps take a camera and document your travels in your own blog.

5.) Produce & edit a video - maybe you have a burning desire to discuss an issue? love to sing? or you are an aspiring actor, director, editor? whatever it is, get a camera (doesn't need to be a brilliant one) and create a video. Whether it's amusing or tackling a serious topic, it is a great way to be creative - you could even upload it to Youtube if you think others will benefit from it (be careful to adhere to copyright and community guidelines).

So there we are - five fun things you can do this summer. Got any interesting or original ideas? be sure to comment below! There are so many to choose from but I hope if you're bored, this helped in some way to offer an alternative to sitting at your computer or television all day. Thanks for reading!


Follow me on twitter @HannahDOnline