Elise Paramore

My first year of uni has allowed me to learn many lessons. From making sure you wear shoes in your halls kitchen after there's been pres to remembering to shut your curtains at night when you get changed because your one way window doesn't work at night. One of the biggest takeaways I had from my first year at uni is be organised. As someone who really wants to achieve a lot academically, making sure that I was on top of coursework and revision was so important, and actually being organised elsewhere in your life as well can seriously help. I found that thinking ahead and being organised allowed me to save money and time when travelling home and to see my boyfriend, as well making the most of different opportunities. I want to pass on some of my tips for being organised that hopefully will help you out in the future. https://byalex.co.uk/blog/top-5-influential-dutch-graphic-designers/ 1. Get a Diary  In the age of smartphones, this tip might seem a little redundant. Adm...

Throughout my life, I have enjoyed reading. As a child I sped through many books and adored escaping to the fantasy worlds of my favourite books. However, as I grew older, and it became more important for me to be reading, I fell out of love. Throughout my GCSEs, I despised reading, as I wasn't reading for fun, I was reading for the sake of reading. However, as my GCSEs came to an end, I re-ventured into the world of reading, picking up a book every now and then. I also went on to complete an A-Level in English Literature, reading a scope of poetry, plays and prose, and explored a large variety of styles. The title of this post actually comes from the final line of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' in which the main character Prospero addresses the audience. This final line struck a chord with me, because its inviting the audience to use their indulgences to set him free, and at the time it got me thinking about the indulgence of theatre. The idea of escaping to a world dif...

I am writing this follow on post around two years after I published my last. I find it strange to re-read my thoughts after going through a set of A-Level exams. Whilst my thoughts on the pressure put on young people to achieve 5 GCSEs is the same, I now understand that GCSE results do not make or break you. You can still achieve great things even if exams are not your thing.  A Levels opened my eyes to a new kind of pressure, made up of both the environment I was in as well as the newfound pressure of my own expectations. One of the biggest difference between GCSEs and A-Levels is that you are your own motivator. You are expected to want to do well and that you will put in the work needed to get the grades you require for your next stage of life. This new desire caused me to become increasingly stressed and disappointed when I wasn't making progress during A levels.  As much as I got the grades I needed to progress onto the University of Southampton (the dock pictured ...

As of today, I officially have only 1 GCSE exam left to sit. I can't believe I am actually able to say (type) that. Just over a month ago, I sat my first exam. One of twenty (although I technically have twenty-one in total, as I had a practical drama exam), and now I have completed nineteen out of those twenty. That is an unbelievable thought. And if you had asked me a month ago, how was I feeling, I would have told you that I was so nervous and stressed. Ask me now, I still feel like it isn't real. The whole exam process is bazaar. You spend two years learning content, exam technique and how to apply that knowledge. Then you spend weeks revising that content. And then you have a half an hour pep-talk, recapping two years of content. And then you sit an exam. And that's it. Totally finished. All in the space of a few hours. I personally find this whole process so crazy. It's an unfair reflection of ones abilities and mental capacity. For some people, including me, exa...

We make choices everyday. Whether they are the little things, like what drink am I going to have with my lunch or how should I do my hair or the substantial things such as how you choose to react to a situation which could so easily be escalated. There are other types of choices to which influence our futures and can change the course of what we want to do and what we actually do. This next week I make some very important choices which will influence my future. Today I had to take some headshots ready for an entry workshop which I will be doing later on in the week and it made me think that the decisions that I am about to make, will influence everything about me. Whether I go onto study performing arts full time or whether I go to a normal college and do A levels. Whether I stay with my friends in my comfort zone or whether I step out of that zone and meet new people. I think that these decisions are so important but at the same time we shouldn't sweat it. I personally am lucky ...