Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

 

 

Title: Wintergirls

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Genre: YA Contemporary

Length: 278 pages

Published: 2009 (2011 UK Release)

This was one of those books that I didn't know existed and yet had been somehow surrounded with quotes from it without realising. The writing is that beautiful and lyrical in this novel that snippets can be found all over Pinterest and Tumblr. Naturally, as soon as I realised that these golden lines were actually part of a book I headed straight to my nearest Waterstones and picked it up. I couldn't wait for online delivery, I wanted it now.

 

My Week #1

Current TBR stack // Currently Reading: The Maze Runner by James Dashner // First attempt at drawing! // my beloved Deathly Hallows necklace // my fave Shakeaway // Primark & Lush haul

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This week. It's been a bizarre one. Monday was stressful/exciting as it was my last day at college! I finally signed off my final two practical assessments and now it's official - I'm fully qualified in Beauty Therapy Level 2 & 3! I'm not planning on taking much away from the course, aside from the skincare and massage which is something I'd be interested in specialising in if I ever took the beauty-route for my career. The rest of the week was quite mellow, although there were a few mental breakdowns scattered across the days. I took two trips into town which I was really proud of - my anxiety is a little temper-mental with large crowds - and I picked up a few lovely things in Primark, as well as the Comforter Bubble Bar in Lush which I frickin' adore. Probably one of my favourite Lush products. I also finished Insurgent by Veronica Roth and started The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I'm not planning on putting up a review for Insurgent as practically everyone has read it, but I must say it's a million times better than Divergent, both plot- and writing-wise. I wont say much on The Maze Runner because I'll hopefully be uploading a post on it as soon as I finish!

 

I hope you all had a wonderful week!

 

Posts this week:

- The Post Education Panic - I talked about the thoughts/feelings/pressures that accompanied my end of college milestone.

 - The Reading Habits Tag - I joined in with the Reading Habits Tag & discussed my favourite ways to read.

 

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The Post-Education Panic

 

Yesterday marked my last official day in education. For those of you who didn't know, I studied Beauty Therapy for two years starting September 2012, using up my last two free education years. I didn't have much of an interest in the beauty side of things - I chose the course as I'd be put into situations dealing with the general public and I thought it would help me battle my anxiety issues. Two years later, I've finally finally finished the course and I was overwhelmed by the sheer fact that I'd completed it whilst dealing with those issues that still cling to me today.

 

So yes, at first, I was ecstatic. But as the night crept on, the question of 'what am I going to do with my life?' well and truly began to circulate. And I have to admit, it's giving me some problems.

 

All around me, people my age are getting jobs and cars and going on group holidays with their friends. My anxiety doesn't allow me to get into a car without some panic and I wouldn't even dream of going abroad with just a few girlfriends, so it's making me feel really unsettled that everyone else seems to be carrying on with all the things I'm told I should be doing. But I know what my limits are and I know what I can handle, so why should I, when I'm already trying my best, push myself too hard for things I don't even want?

 

I saw this quote on Pinterest that made me think of things a different way:

source

 

And it made me realise that I shouldn't really care what other people think and expect me to do. It's my life. And no, I have no idea what I'm going to do with it yet. And I don't know where I want to work and I don't know where I want to be. But I'm only 19 years old and I only have one official day of non-education life behind me. And I'm thinking (and hoping) that I'll have some time to figure things out before I'm pushed into adulthood. There are things I need to work out - my anxiety being one of them - but I'm taking one step at a time and as one of my favourite quotes from JRR Tolkien says "Little by little, one travels far." Trying to figure everything out at once is confusing and overwhelming, so I think it's best to just work out the things that can be sorted and then go from there. And in the meantime, troll Pinterest for inspirational quotes.

 

What are your guys' thoughts on this topic? Do you ever feel pressured to do things other people are doing? I'd love to hear your views!

 

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What's On My Bookshelf #1

 

As a nod to the classic 'What's In My Bag' post that is always making the rounds in the fashion and beauty blogging community, I thought I'd do a little 'What's On My Bookshelf' post. This shelf is part of my tiny Ikea Alex unit that I keep next to my bed and is where I keep all of my current TBR books, along with five of my favourites for a re-read. The books on this shelf rotate regularly, depending on what I am reading/want to read next.

 

First Impressions: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

City of Ashes is the second book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, a book series that I have been dying to read since my adoration of the Infernal Devices series written by the same author. After finally finishing City of Bones (the first book in the series) on Sunday night, I was elated by the fact that I'd picked up City of Ashes a few weeks ago in preparation for this time and dove straight into the story.