The Emoji Challenge!

Hello Everyone!

 I recently saw Troye Sivan's Youtube video on Emojis. In the video, he explained that he had recently been at a meeting where they had to go round the table and describe themselves with 5 emojis. I found this so interesting, and decided that it might be a fun thing to do here on my blog! I've decided to make this into a thing! (Its probably been done before, so if you know who started it please link them to me so I can give credit!) I'm going to tag a few bloggers at the end (no more than 5!) and would like them to do it, and then tag 5 of their favourite blogs! So, without further ado...

One

These Eyes are my favourite emoji on my iPhone. To me, they show when I'm being sarcastic. My texts tend to be very sarcastic and this doesn't always come across well, so when I use these eyes its very obvious! I also use them to question my decisions or what I'm saying! So, these are probably my favourite emoji!

Two

This dancing girl is my almost spirit animal. I use her when I'm talking about partying or going somewhere. If I'm nearly ready, I'll send this emoji! Just one question - WHY NO HANDS?

Three

This cute little smiling emoji is definitely my favourite smiley face! I'm a generally happy and smiley person, so I like the little rosy cheeks and cute grin! I probably use this emoji in every text I send, and it makes me smile seeing how happy it looks! 

Four

Having a nightmare? Don't know what to wear? THIS IS THE PERFECT EMOJI! Whenever I'm in meltdown, and I get a text, I'll send this emoji! This makes my friends know that I'm panicking, and they will help me! I also think its quite funny, looks like the poor thing is having a nightmare! 

Five

 Anyone who says they don't use this emoji on a regular basis is lying. The three monkeys actually stand for 'hear no evil', 'see no evil' and 'speak no evil'. I use this emoji when I think I'm saying something really stupid. Or, if Im just having a laugh, ill use this. Again, I probably use this emoji every day, so definitely means something to me! 

 Ive probably chosen 5 of the most common emojis, but I find that there is so many that I just have a nightmare scrolling through them! Also, Why did apple move the hearts to the last page of the faces!? (and the food...) 

My Tagged Blogs

Jessica and Megan at: Happy Dreamers

Tania at: Tania Garcia

Raven at: Just Write About It

Courtney at: Jacksons Cup Of Tea

Jezebel at: Jezebel Tuesday

 I look forward to seeing your 5 favourite emojis and who youve tagged! 

 Happy Wednesday, 

 Love, 

 Lucy Victoria xo

My Worst Fears

Hello Everyone!

 Happy Sunday! This week has been crazy. I've been out on Wednesday and Friday, so I've just been chilling out and relaxing after those nights. This week the insane dress situation came out. Is the dress blue and black or gold and white?! Absolutely ridiculous. 

 You know what else I find absolutely ridiculous? The fact that I’m Twenty and I have an endless list of fears. The reason this post comes around is because earlier, I was putting off making a phone call. A PHONE CALL!!!. I had to renew my driving insurance, now that I’m going onto my third driving year (since I’ve passed - but I’ll leave that!!), but I found that I could get it £100 cheaper elsewhere. My parents (how could they abandon me at times like this?) told me that I had to ring my insurance company to get them to match the quote. I put it off for as long as possible. around 5 hours later, I got the courage to finally pick up my phone, and you know what? I was fine. Can you call me an adult now?

Number One

I guess the best place to start here would be phone calls. If I know the person well, then I have no problem picking up the phone. If I know someone well but feel that its going to be an awkward conversation, I’ll avoid it. Call me on an unknown number, and I for sure will not answer. Doesn’t matter if I’m waiting for a phone call, I’d rather leave my phone and let it go to voicemail, then worry about calling people back. If I just answered my phone in the first place, then I wouldn’t have the worry of calling people! If I have to be the person to make the phone call, god forbid its not important, because calling people is one thing thats so scary to me. So so stupid right?!?!

Number Two 

 Cats. I am terrified of Cats. Not Kittens, but big cats that walk around the streets like they own the place. Listen up Cat, This is my road, my house is here, why should I have to cross the road? Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind cats that I’ve known since they were kittens (i.e., 1 cat), but if I see an older cat, I will move. Cross the road, walk quickly. Hell no if its coming near me. BACK AWAY. 

Number Three

 Another thing Im scared of, is complete darkness outside. If I have to walk somewhere when its completely dark, I WILL NOT GO. I will not. I also get terrified when I’m at home getting out my car at night. I also do not like driving down unlit roads. Where I live at home, there’s a road which is completely dark, surrounded by a woods, which leads to our nearest nightclub. Sometimes, (when I’m back home), I drive to collect my sister. I always freak out, have to have my lights on full beam and my music up so loud. I WILL NOT BE SCARED. 

Number Four

  Snakes and Spiders. WHO CREATED THEM? I hate Spiders. My house is my house and they shouldn’t be allowed in them. HELL NO. Snakes are gross too. Why should something slither along the floor and be strong enough to kill certain other animals?! I hate them so much. I don’t understand how people have them as pets, If I was sleeping in the same room as a spider or a snake I’d be terrified it was going to kill me. Not Cool nature, not cool. 

Number Five

  Exams terrify me. I’m the kind of person who gets worried about exams and will revise for days. DAYS. I guess the revision thing is good, but the actual panicking that goes through me is horrible. I suffer from mild panic attacks, so exam time periods are not the best for me. AT ALL. 

Number Six

 My friends recently experienced this with me, and will not stop taking the mick. So, fear number six is walking into a room late. Into a room with lots of other people. The other week, me and my housemates were running late to a lecture. By the time we got there, the lecture had already started, and everyone was silent. Ofcourse, I went into the room first and there was NOWHERE to sit. I mean, we would have to ask people to move and they would have to stand up. Now, heres me, worrier, going bright red. Ofcourse, I accidentally mutter a swear word (loudly..) so people at the front turn round. By this time I was out of the door, trying to get into the other one. Now, I moan at my friends when they’re going to be late. “DONT YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME?!?"

Number Seven

 I have so much respect for mothers. Childbirth scares the hell out of me. Why does something THAT BIG come out of something so small?!? Childbirth must hurt so much I can’t even comprehend it. I want children, but I do not want to put myself through that. I guess the outcome is amazing, but why must it hurt so much?!

Number Eight

 Number Eight is so superficial. In this modern day and age, losing my phone is a huge fear of mine. My phone is just part of me. It holds all my music, holds all my phones (my camera broke a while ago!), its got loads of notes on it, and it also has all my numbers on (Which I don’t remember any of!). I guess this one is so superficial. Oh well. 

Number Nine

 I also have a fear of dying. Whether it be me, or someone else. Death is such a terrifying thing, it can happen in any way. I would not want it to be painful, and I don’t want to be really old. Like, over 100. I feel like its going to get to the point when I’m so old I can’t do anything and that would worry me. I would not want this to happen!. Obviously I know I’m going to die at one point, but lets hope thats not soon. 

I probably have many other fears - but I feel like this post has gone on for so long! Does anybody else have any weird fears or share any of mine?!?

 Love, 

 Lucy Victoria xo

Cutting my hair?!?!

Hello Everyone!

I have had a manic start to the week. I had an assignment due in for yesterday (as well as a long day), and I made the mistake of leaving it for the last 2 days. I managed to get it all finished and handed in, but I did end up with 4 hours sleep the other night (yikes!!). This meant last night I spent hours sleeping (probably about 12 hours!), and so I'm all caught up on sleep now, but I think I've overslept so I'm still knackered!

 Tonight I think I'm going out - so that'll be nice. I'm looking forward to just letting my hair down and having fun. I still need to have dinner and everything - so guess I better start getting ready soon!

 Last night I was just lying in bed and thinking - does anybody else's brain go into overdrive when they should be sleeping?. I was wondering: have you ever not done something out of fear of what others may think of you? Why do we care what others think?! Recently, Its become more and more aware to me, now that I'm in my twenties, lots more people care what others think of them. But why should we care? Shouldn't you love yourself for you and nobody else? I think its so important to love yourself before someone else. I'm still learning to love myself, some days its harder than others. Some days I feel super confident and happy, and other days I just want to sit in my comfiest pyjamas and stay in bed. I don't think theres any problems with this - some days I know I eat badly, others I eat well. Some days I go to the gym, others I don't. Just random thoughts.

 Im also thinking about cutting my hair! At the moment, my hair (when straight) goes down the the middle of my chest. I want to cut it so that it just hits my shoulders - like this:

 My hair at the moment is brunette, probably around Kylie's colour, with blonde dip dye (which is kind of fading into a dark brown. Has anybody else cut their hair to make it shorter when its been around chest length!?!

 This post has kind of been everywhere - so I hope thats okay. Just my ramblings of today!  

 Love, 

 Lucy Victoria xo

What To Watch On Netflix

Hello Everyone!

 Happy Sunday. Hope everyones looking forward to a fun week ahead (Who else DREADS Mondays?!?!). I've been out twice this week, so Wednesday and Friday were fun nights for me with my friends. This week I also know that I've been procrastinating to the max. I have a deadline on Tuesday and all I seem to have done is potter around the subject, writing the slightest few facts that I need to know. I definitely need to buckle down and finish that today, and here I am writing down a post at 4am. You know why I'm here at 4am? I'm watching Netflix. I have become obsessed, and I can't stop watching series.

 One of the series on Netflix that I am loving right now is The Carrie Diaries. Based on the story before Sex and The City, The Carrie Diaries follows a young Carrie Bradshaw in high school. It stars AnnaSophia Robb as Carrie, and the adorable Austin Butler as Sebastian Kidd. I could watch Austin Butler all day - I am seriously going crazy. There are 2 series of this, as unfortunately it was cancelled back in May 2014. That makes me ridiculously sad because I honestly love it so much, so you should definitely try and watch it. I can sit for hours and just watch it (I accidentally watched 7 hours of it yesterday...)

 Another series I bingewatched when it first came out was Orange is the New Black. Again, there are 2 series of this, and follows Piper when she gets put into an all woman's jail. I loved the first series of this programme, although I wasn't a massive lover of the second series. But, either way, I'd definitely recommend giving this programme a watch. 

 Greek was a programme which I had never heard of before until I logged into Netflix one day and it was there. I decided to add it to my list, not thinking much of it. However, One day when I was bored, I decided to start watching it. And what a mistake - I don't think I did anything for the next 2 weeks. On Netflix there are 4 "chapters" which go through the stages of Casey Cartwright's experience at university once her brother has joined. Honestly - I loved this. 

My favourite programme to date. The Vampire Diaries is something that I just fell in love with. Following Elena Gilbert, a girl who happened to get involved with the Salvatore brothers because of who she was a doppleganger of. On Netflix there are 5 Seasons, each episode around 40 minutes long. This was the first series I ever watched on Netflix and it took me a month to get through the whole series. I'm also very attracted to the majority of the male cast, so I couldn't really go wrong here...

 A follow up from The Vampire Diaries, The Originals goes back to the beginning, setting the scene for the ever popular VD. Although this series doesn't have the Salvatore brothers at the beginning, its very addictive and worth watching. If you like the Vampire Diaries, you'll love The Originals. There's only one season on the British Netflix, but you can access the other series online elsewhere. 

 Who doesn't love a little bit of Drama?! Gossip Girl has that, following Serena and Blair in NY, and has a flawless cast. On Netflix, there are 6 seasons, so plenty of watching! I'm still working through this series, but I am loving it!

 Life Unexpected was also something that I had never heard of before seeing it pop up on my recommended Netflix list. Again, I added it to my list for a rainy day, and when that came I decided to click and watch a few episodes. However, A few episodes (and hours) later, I found I was again addicted to the programme. Life Unexpected follows an unconventional family  - Teenager Lux found her birth parents (who had been separated before her birth), and wormed her way back into their lives, with lots of twists of course. There is one season on Netflix, but there is another that can be found online elsewhere!

 Probably the most unexpected that I loved on my list is American Horror Story. I am absolutely terrified of Horror normally, but I love watching this programme. I love the fact that all seasons are different, and follow different characters. I also love Evan Peters - a little bit of an odd crush for me to have I think! I can never watch American Horror Story at night (or in the dark), because it absolutely terrifies me (haha), but my housemate has assured me season 3 is not as scary as Asylum, so I'll start watching that when I've finished with The Carrie Diaries!! (There are 3 series of this on Netflix!!)

 I know that my sister and my housemates have really enjoyed watching Pretty Little Liars on Netflix,  and my parents really love Breaking Bad. I have lots on my list which I'm looking forward to watching, including PLL, BB, Greys Anatomy and ALL 10 SEASONS OF FRIENDS!!!! What?!?!

 Who cares about my degree? Certainly not Netflix!!

 Let me know what you've loved watching at the moment!! Is there anything on Netflix which I should put on my list?! 

 Have a good week, and I'll see you all again on Wednesday!

 Love, 

Lucy Victoria xo

The Liebster Award

Hello Everyone! 

 Earlier this week Bethany Rose from Illusive Bethany Rose  nominated me for the Liebster Award. Thank you! Go check out her blog. For those of you who don't know about the Liebster Award, here are the rules!

 

11 QUESTIONS GIVEN BY Bethany Rose

1. What made you start a blog?
 I wanted to start a blog because I found it difficult to keep up to date with my writing in an actual diary. So, I started a blog so I could write everything down so that I didn't forget things that I wanted to remember. 

2. Whats one quirk you have?
 A quirk? hmm. I think I'm quite outgoing when I want to be, so my friends all think that I'm super odd. 

3. Last Television Show you watched?
 The Carrie Diaries - I AM OBSESSED. Why was it cancelled?! Also, Austin Butler <3

4. Who inspired you to start a blog?
 I'd heard about lots of blogs mainly from Youtubers, such as Zoella and Sprinkle Of Glitter. But, nobody in particular inspired me to start a blog. I just felt that it was something I needed to do. 

5. Who is your all time favourite blogger?
 Again, I don't really have a favourite blogger. I just follow lots of blogs on Blog Lovin' and keep up to date with my news feed on there!

6. Have you traveled, If so where?
 I've travelled a lot as previously stated. My family goes on lots of cruises, so I've been on those to places such as Alaska, Norway, The Med, The Caribbean and The Middle East. Ive also been to Canada, South Africa and Mexico (for a day). 

7. What is your dream job?
 My dream job would probably be reading and publishing books, but I am studying for a degree in Social Sciences so I'm quite interested in Anthropology. I feel like I might end up with a job in HR. I'd also love to become a full time blogger, but I think thats something so far away!

8. What is one quote you live by or would like to live by?
 I love quotes, reading them and writing them. One I really like is just "Wake Up and Live", and I love this picture. 

(Source)

9. What is your favourite snack to have while blogging?
 At the moment I'm really into Hummus and Pitta Bread, Or Easter eggs. The other day I was eating popcorn, and I've also eaten Scotch Eggs - Do you guys have those everywhere?! 

10. Who makes you smile more then anything?
 My Family. 

11. Who is your number #1 Blogger crush?
 I have no idea. I really like Hannah Gales blog (Fashion, Beauty, Life & Lists), and I really like Rosie Ladkin's too (A girl on a journey). 

11 BLOGS I NOMINATE

1. Raven - Just Write About It
2. Raven - Miss Rayfancy

3. Bobby - Pressed Powder 

4. Ana - Astounding by Ana
5. Gweni - Beauty By G
6. Sarah - Tasting Lifestyle 
7. Dimitra - Powerful Smiles
8. Courtney - Jacksons Cup Of Tea
9. Jaimie - Jaimiesam
10. Kelsey - Suite Casanova
11. Tahlia Lily - Tahlia Lily

MY 11 QUESTIONS

1. How long have you had your blog for?
2. Whats your favourite song at the moment?
3. If you could marry one celebrity, who would it be and why?
4. Whats one word you hate saying?
5. If you had the ability to change one thing, what would it be?
6. Whats your favourite blog post to date?
7. If you could kiss the last person you kissed again, would you?
8. Whats one thing about yourself that wouldn't normally come up in conversation?
9. What is your favourite meal?
10. What is your favourite item of clothing?
11. If you could read one persons blog and only theirs for a year, who would it be?

Hopefully you guys got to the end of this post! I had fun answering the questions so thank you Bethany!

Love, 
 Lucy Victoria xo

Is Celebrity Obsessions really a thing?

Hello Everyone!

Bit of a random topic this Wednesday, but I feel like this is interesting to discuss. This is a long post, so stick with me! Not only this, but we got a topic in one of my lectures the other day and I found it amusing. "Why do humans become obsessed with celebrities and people we don't actually know?". I've always been quite curious to the answer of this question. We've all done it, found someones account on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook and just looked at everything they've done recently. I know that I've found someones instagram and gone through all their images, looking at what they've done recently. I feel like this is something that everyone's done, so I can't be alone in wondering the answer to this question!

A common known phrase amongst teens (and probably adults now) is the phrase 'Fangirl' / 'Fanboy' or 'Fangirling'. This is linked to celebrities. According to Urban Dictionary, a fangirl is defined as "A female who has overstepped the line between healthy fandom and indecent obsession". Why do people become obsessed with people they don't know? For example, the media portrays people (celebrities) as these amazing individuals with perfect personalities. Take Justin Bieber - Once a teenage heartthrob (and still is to some), turned into someone who probably shouldn't have done half the stuff that he did. But, he still had a group of followers who praised everything he did..."WOW, Justin's been arrested..and he's smiling in his mugshot! how funny". Now think of someone that you know well. If they got arrested, there would not be this kind of stigma attached to it. 

Another 'celebrity' that has a large following is Nash Grier. A Viner, Youtuber - and a teenage idol. Nash Grier has come under fire for many backhanded comments, especially about the gay community. Why, in 2015, is this still a big deal? How does a boy with millions of adoring fans have this kind of stigma attached to a large part of human community?! To me, it seems incredible that people still follow and believe in his views and the things that he does. Now, again, I'm not hating on Nash. He has apologized for his wrong doings, but that doesn't mean that they don't exist, because they do. Everyone is so easy to forget what he does because they adore him. Is this just the celebrity culture?

 This topic is interesting to me, because last Summer I found myself watching videos including 5sos and following Tumblrs dedicated to them. Now, I wouldn't say I'm obsessed with them, but I felt that they could make me happy and in my opinion could do no wrong. Therefore, If I kept this up I could become "obsessed" with them. Then, I saw a post which stated some bad views on them. The person writing stated some things that had happened when they had met some of the band members. This suddenly threw things into perspective. Was I looking at these Celebrities because I thought they were something that they weren't? Why did it depend on whether I liked them or not? Did it matter? Turns out, once I had questioned everything, I decided that they were just a band. Yes, they did (and still do) make me laugh, but other peoples opinions didn't matter to me. This is because I don't know them as people (and probably never will), so why shouldn't I just appreciate their music? That's what they're all about after all. So, even after reading bad things about them, I still appreciate them as a band. But, I stopped myself from becoming obsessed with them - after all, they are just a group of regular teenagers (and twenty year olds). 

The same that I can say about myself cannot be said about other people. Mostly young teenagers find themselves basing their happiness of a certain person or a band. Why is your happiness essential on what someone else does? How do you know that those views aren't just opinions from a day when their idol was having a bad day? I mean, come on. We all have bad days, maybe someone woke up to some bad news. Maybe they just broke up with someone. You are left guessing, and will probably never know. The media will only portray things as much as they feel will entertain, and thats what we are lead to believe. Just look at how many men Taylor Swift has been linked too - has she dated them all? Maybe, but you don't know! You just don't know unless you actually physically know a person. 

 So, why do we become obsessed? I think it's partially to do with the media, and the culture we have been brought up with. Twitter has now become a platform to interact with your favourite celebrity straight away - sometimes they see, and sometimes they don't. Fan accounts are now a thing, and "fandoms" hate against each other if they disagree over awards or whether someones dating someone they think is wrong. Why can't people just get along with each other? How do you know for certain that the person you idolise isn't in love with the person you hate? 

I think its so important to remind yourself why you admire someone. I think that its okay to look up to someone and admire what they do. Maybe they make you happy, helped you achieve something you didn't think would be possible before you knew about them, they saved your life when you were down. Theres a whole list of reasons why its okay to love whoever you do. But for the sake of your happiness, do not judge them on something you don't know. Did they physically save your life, or was it something that they did that helped you? For example, their music? If someone else has a bad opinion, let that be their bad opinion and don't take it to heart. Think about how much time you spend idolizing someone, sitting on twitter asking for their follow (Has anyone ever seen the spam accounts that tweet someone the same thing over 40 thousand times?!?!?). Think about if you were in their position. Would you want someone to spam your twitter account just for you to follow them? If you had a bad day, would you want thousands of cameras in your face when you went to Tesco or Walmart? Would you want to think about what you can and can't wear for fear that you may be judged on whether your outfit is good or bad? Lets be honest, I wouldn't want to get up and look perfect before I went out. I love my sleep - I can't function without a nap, and thats okay. If i didn't nap, i'd be grumpy and my housemates would not enjoy that. So, I like to leave as little time as possible to get ready. Likewise with relationships, I wouldn't want every single person in the world to know or have the ability to know about what I've done or who I've been with! I think the reason so many celebrity couples break up is because of the media. One celebrity hangs around with their friend for the day and suddenly their cheating on their partner. Oh what a world to live in!

 So, while its okay to admire someone for what they do and the way they handle situations, in my opinion its important not to think that you just admire the way someone looks, or the way they act. This opinion could change hugely, and you'll realise that the Friday night you had planned and cancelled because your fave celebrity was doing an online podcast, was SO NOT WORTH IT. Admire who you please, but keep your real life friends close and rely your happiness on something other than what someone else does. Like everyone always says, the only person you can always rely on is yourself. 

 Let me know your opinions on this!! 

Love, 

Lucy Victoria xo

My Birthday Gifts!

Hello Everyone!

2 weeks ago today was my birthday, and I got some gifts which I thought I would share with everyone on here!

 My first gift was this wonderful Breville blender (I know a blender is an odd thing to ask for for your birthday, but I'm on a health kick at the moment and one of my housemates had this blender, and I really wanted one!). Basically, its so great because you put the fruit straight into the blend active cup and replace the lid with the blade, which then blends straight things into the cup. It means you don't have any washing up except for the blade! Honestly, I find life with this so much easier and have way more smoothies now! I'd definitely recommend this blender!

 I also got the lovely "Honey" by Marc Jacobs perfume. Honestly, this scent is so nice because it lasts for so long and is quite a fruity, sweet smell. It is described as being "pear, mandarin orange, notes of honeysuckle, orange blossom, peach, and honey, vanilla, woody notes. A natural scent." This perfume is my favourite at the moment because it makes me feel quite summery and is light to wear. The bottle is actually very lovely, and I think it makes a cute decoration in my room. 

 As I go out quite often, I love to have a small over the shoulder bag to use. This is because I feel that while clutch bags are super cute and go with the outfit, they're much easier to drop / lose. Seeing as I am known for being clumsy, I always have a bag with a strap. For my birthday, I got this super cute one from River Island. Its a black cushioned bag which has a gold strap. It is large enough to fit a purse, phone, make up (I don't actually take any apart from lip balm so I'm not sure what exactly would fit in here), hand sanitiser (I love the small hand sanitisers from Bath and Body Works in the US!) and my house keys!

 Another thing I got was 'The Fault In Our Stars' DVD. I'm a big fan of the book and the film and therefore decided that I needed to own this! Shailene Woodley is absolutely amazing at acting, and Ansel Elgort is also very good at what he does. I feel like everyone has heard of this film, and if you guys don't, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!

 A few month ago, My hair straighteners broke. I found that I could borrow my housemates, but it was interesting for me to see how much I actually relied on my hair straighteners for a quick hairstyle in the morning (as my hair straightens in about 5 minutes!). So, my parents kindly replaced my hair straighteners with these GHD's. They are the best brand in the UK - I'm not sure what the equivalent would be in the US!

Lastly, my friends from University brought me these beautiful earrings! They're from Pandora and I love them so much. They're very me, and I've been wearing them constantly since I got them! So Thanks girls! 

 That's all the main things I got for my 20th birthday this year! Hope everyones week went well and let me know if you have any of these listed above! Whats on your birthday list this year?:)

Love, 

Lucy Victoria xo 

*I know the pictures aren't great quality - but I'm in my university room and its extremely difficult to find a nice backdrop with this horrible carpet! haha.