WHAT I BOUGHT TODAY

As this week is my mid-semester break from Uni, I decided to have a little adventure in the city of Sydney today with some friends as a break from assignments and reading. The main purpose of the trip was for me to take a massive (and might I add, flipping heavy!) bag of old books to my favourite book store in Paddington, which buys and sells second hand books. Don't worry, they weren't good books! Just reminders of my cringy vampire obsession collecting dust and taking up needed space. 

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (Second Hand) - $8.50 // Revlon Colorstay Nail Polish (300 - Bare Bones) - $16.95 // Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum (52 - Vanilla) - $22.40

Have you made any interesting purchases lately? Leave a comment and let me know! 

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Hiiiiiiii everyone!

Welcome to Hogwarts.... I mean, The University of Sydney

I just thought I'd try and fit in a quick blog post between madly trying to get through all of my readings for lectures tomorrow! Speaking of, that's mainly the reason my blog has been virtually non-existant for the past week or so - university!

O-Week (Orientation) was last week, and my goodness was it fun! I made a fair few new friends that have made sitting in massive, jam-packed lecture halls with intimidatingly intelligent lecturers spray words at you for hours just that little bit easier. Myself and two of my best friends stayed in a very cheap hotel close to uni for 2 nights, so we could attend as much as possible without having to worry when the last bus home left. Lets just say... my new adult privileges were utilised!

I started actual classes yesterday, and despite being scared out of my mind, I throughly enjoyed the new type of learning I will be doing over the next 4, 5 or 6 years. Although the work load is starting to pile up (2 days in... gah!), I'm having a lot of fun with English, Sociology, Socio-Legal Studies and Cultural Studies. 

For the first time in a long time, I feel very happy and content with the direction my life is heading. I don't have any significant worries nibbling in the back of my mind, and I feel free to just live in the moment and truly enjoy myself. 

Let's see where the next year will take me.

Until next time, 

Jess

P.S. My only day off from Uni is Fridays, so you can try to expect (I promise I will legitimately attempt to do this!) posts from me on this day!

LEGAL

So, I've now been 18 for 3 days. Has it been eventful? Well, besides the cliche'd buying my first drink in a bar and going clubbing (which I would love to forget all together) - I haven't really achieved that much as an adult.

Before my birthday, I was so focused on finally being able to legally drink and go out to clubs, I failed to see the huge amount of responsibility that came attached with this momentous age. I now have to contribute my opinion on whom should run my country (woo hoo, 8 months of slander and debate to listen to), make sure I follow the law because I can be sent to actual jail, and have to start paying taxes. The list could go on really, and frankly that scares me to no end!

It's not all bad though. There are a lot of exciting things to look forward to now that I am legally considered an adult and (legally) mature enough to make my own decisions.

Whilst I continue having an early-adult crisis, I'll tell you a little bit more about the actual day. In the afternoon, I had about 45 friends and family over for drinks and finger food. I had an amazing time, and received some lovely gifts - my favourites being a Nikon D3100 from my family, a voucher to buy concert tickets and a small bottle of Moet and Chandon Champagne.

After this, I went clubbing with some friends in Manly... and I'd rather not eternalise the events that followed on the internet where future employers/the human race may see and judge.

How did you celebrate your 18th birthday?

Until next time,
Jess

ROAD TRIP

Finally finishing one of the most hectic years of my life, which also happened to be my final year of high school, I thought I would have 5 or 6 months of endless free time and boredom before I started Uni. Oh how I was wrong! Since graduating, I have worked quite a bit, caught up with friends and tried to minimise my ever-growing pile of books I want to read. Having not been as relaxed as I would have liked, 5 of my friends and I set out on a road trip/weekend getaway last weekend.

On Friday morning, the 6 of us piled ourselves and our bags in to 2 cars. We set out on our 2nd road trip after Schoolies in November. Having passed my driving test in December, I volunteered my (lack of) driving skills. This road trip happened to be my 2nd time driving on freeways, with the 1st trip ending terribly (but that's a whole other story I'd rather not have to un-repress the memories of). I'm proud to say that I did alright, and managed to get up and back safely!

Despite it being Summer, and having travelled over 200km to the usually sunny, warm and lovely Forster, the weekend was spent mostly inside due to Australia's currently horribly cold, wet weather. However, we still managed to have a great time inside the apartment, passing the time with plenty of eating (mainly peanut M&M's), card games and a Game of Thrones marathon.

There may have also been a fair amount of pleading on my part for a couple of games of Cluedo. In my family, I ALWAYS win Cluedo, so to say it was disappointing that I lost the first two games of five is an understatement. Having not played in a fair while, my detective skills were rusty, and it took a few games to fine tune them once again. But I was victorious eventually! It was also pointed out that I may need to work on becoming a more gracious winner.... Loser's get upset when you thrust your excellent sleuthing victories in their face. Weird, I know!

This weekend was just another frustrating reminder that my current and seemingly responsibility-free teenage life will all too soon be coming to an end. After being offered a place in a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Sydney, I enrolled in the middle of January and will be starting classes in exactly a month. I still have the next month to spend with friends and my family and cherish every moment - including my 18th birthday (FINALLY!!!!!!!). Everything is so exciting, but mildly terrifying, as I attempt to dip my big toe in to the pool of adulthood - although I can't help feeling that there is someone lurking in the shadows, just waiting to shove me in when I am least expecting it.

I'm hesitant to belly-flop straight in, but who knows what great things could be waiting for me once the massive splash subsides?

Until next time,

Jess