Eighteen

The most interesting thing about personal teenage blogs is that fact that beyond ranting about branded t-shirts and bras you get to watch someone, a complete stranger, develop into a real, independent human being.

This year, I turned 18, the blog name 'Alice's Teenage Life ' is hugely misleading because I'm legally an adult. This year, I took the most important exams of my life, spluttered my way through university applications and auditions. I've trained up behind a bar for the first time, and left my first job. I've done more this year in my development as a person than I have done any other year of my life.

But most importantly, I've moved out.

In August, I was accepted into the University of Nottingham to study English. I have to make sure that I'm paying my rent on time. I have to feed myself, clean up after myself. I can stay out until Four in the morning and not be shouted at. I can buy a bottle of wine for myself as pre-drinks. Step back for a minute, and think about how strange that is. In one year, many teenagers-turned-adults are thrust into this world of both freedom and responsibility. Many of us have led very sheltered lives, and suddenly we can do whatever we want within the realms of the law. We're being thrust into debt and being told to have the time of our lives.

Just, how odd is that?

Think about it for a minute.

I'm just glad that University exempts me from taxes for now, it's a jump, but at least it's not 'OH, YOU'RE EARNING MONEY? THAT'S COOL NOW SHAREKTHNXBI'

P.S- I'll do a write up on this semester over Christmas. Pinky promise.

Exams, Monologues, and Literature, oh my!

Part 1: Exams

Yup, it's that time of the year again. Exam season. And you know what? This time the grades that I get actually count for something. As in, if I do well in these exams, I've got a place at one of the UK's top universities. If I don't, then I'm screwed. So yeah, pressure. Here's to hoping I can get that AAB!

Part 2: Monologues

My audition monologues may not have gotten me into drama school, but I don't want all that hard work to go to waste. Following exam season, I shall upload renditions of my four favourite monologues: Hippolita from 'Tis Pity She's a Whore; Titania from Midsummer Night's Dream; Rosalind from As You Like It; and Queen Margaret from...well, pretty much all of Shakespeare's histories, but more specifically Henry VI Part III

...Remind me why Juliet is the Classical monologue that everyone knows and jumps at?

Part 3: Literature.

I'm considering starting up a series of posts, yet again, after exam season, discussing my responses and interpretations of different plays, poems, and novels, everything from Young Adult to Gothic Horror. These interpretations and 'essays', if you will, will be open for any students, such as myself, to use as sources and critics for coursework. I'll mainly be doing this to improve my essay writing skills between 6th Form and Uni, but I understand how hard it can be to find literary critics with alternative or otherwise out there interpretations of texts.

And now this is in a blog post, I guess I have to commit. Permission granted to e-slap me if I don't pop up again around August time

P.S- My Blogger commenting is really glitchy, as in, I can't respond to comments. Sorry guys :(

How to Revise for English Literature

1- Return home from school, switch on the computer, put on some Pain of Salvation so you have a 'trigger' in the exam.

2- Feel glad that you've gotten this far. Open up Facebook. Complain about revision.

3- Reluctantly dig out your AQA Anthology, which holds all the poems required for the exam. Do private, dramatic readings of the required poems to yourself until you get to 'My Last Duchess'

4- Go get dinner, you've earned it.

5- Continue reading through the poetry until you come to the end of your studied poems.

6- Check Facebook again.

7- Check the AQA mark scheme.

8- Make witty Facebook status concerning said mark scheme.

9- Sit back for a while. You've earned another break.

10- Start thinking about prom, allow these thoughts to distract you from revising and check Youtube for make up tutorials.

11- Perform said make up tutorial.

12- Curse your lack of concentration.

13- Write a blog post concerning revision as a product of your procrastination.

14- Finish blog post and eventually decide to go and do some more revision.

15- Theexam'stomorrowohshit