My Little Corner of the Internet

1. Went out with a friend for drinks for the first time in ages. Sometimes it's just nice to get together and gossip.
2. Got sick. I feel like I get sick a lot, I think it has to do with stress weakening my immune system...
3. Pulled an almost all nighter finishing off a project before the deadline. Sometimes you just need to do that last minute refactoring.
4. Had some issues with my tablet. It kept restarting itself so I left it for a week and it reset to factory settings. Not sure what that's about.
5. Finally set up my Amazon Echo and kind of fell in love with the speaker. The Amazon Dot is great for most Alexa functions but if you want a music player the Echo is where it's at.
6. Made several videos talking about PLL because with the final 10 episodes, of course, I have a lot to say.
7. Spent so much time revising for exams. Tis that time of year.
8. Stressed a lot about the exams. They all went well but that didn't stop me from freaking out jus ta bit.
9. I didn't cope well with the random heat wave we had when I was trying to study for my exams. As a computing student I need to see my laptop screen so sitting outside wasn't an option, so I just tried not to melt in my flat...
10. Played Sims for the first time in a month and it felt great. I kind of abandoned it for Another Brick In The Mall...
11. Started to get back into writing again. I go through phases where all I do is write and then I don't do it for months. Uni usually keeps me busy and I usually forget about it. But when I'm in the zone I love it. I used to write all the time when I was younger, fictional work and blog posts. It was great.
12. Watched a season of Project Runway: Junior and a season of Project Runway: All Stars. While I like the spin-offs no one can replace Hiedi Klum and Tim Gunn as hosts for the show.
13. Was surprised when one of the best queens from season 9 was sent home from RuPaul's Drag Race after a terrible lip sync. If you don't know the words you're going home, we all know the rules.
14. I bought a capture card to try my hand at recording console games. Specifically Sims for the PS2. I have never completed a single Sims game for PS2 but I have about 5 of them so I want to do it. It'll make me feel accomplished. So watch out for my Sims channel this summer.
15. Got excited for a new Sims 4 game pack being released this month - Sims have just been doing some great things lately and I'm excited for more.
16. Started playing Magikarp Jump and fell in love. It's a really simple game but I love how it's designed. Just so cute. If I could have made that my game for uni I think I would have had so much fun.
17. Went out for drinks with some people on my course. I was hesitant at first just because I am not the best at socialising with new people but it actually turned into a really good night. I definitely think since coming to uni I have become more confident.
18. Left it too late to make plans to go see Latrice Royale whenever she was in town. I always want to see the queens from RuPaul's Drag Race when I'm in town but it usually never works out. The only queen I have been able to see and meet is Bianca Del Rio. Which I have to say was one of the best experiences of my life. So I hope to meet plenty more drag queens in the future. It's a magical experience.
19. Tried to go to a cool bar twice but the first time I went, it was dead and the second time it was packed and so I didn't end up staying long both times. It was kind of disappointing because the place sounds so great. Too bad I haven't really been able to experience the awesomeness.
20. Started posting on my Sims YouTube channel again after finishing exams. I am motivated to get back into making videos, I always do when I have a lot more free time.

Well...This month I really struggled to get 30 things. Mainly because I really didn't do much over April. It was a lot of me sitting in my room coding or watching something or sleeping or playing Another Brick in the Mall. I mean I try to update these posts as the month goes along so I can keep track of things I did but definitely not a lot of things going on. But yeah, I'm proud I was able to get at least half a list of things I did in April, so without rambling anymore, here is a list of things I did in April:

1. Watched 13 Reasons Why. I normally don't jump on things as soon as they are released and while everyone is talking about them but I wanted to watch this because I read the book it was based on. It broke my heart. It was really good and had a great message but I only recommend if you are in a strong state of mind because it is a really heavy show.
2. Bought the Sims 4 Bowling Stuff pack and didn't use it. I bought it to check out over Easter but got sucked into playing Another Brick in the Mall instead...
3. Bought and started to play Another Brick in the Mall. I decided to buy it after watching Conflict Nerd's Let's Play on it and I'm obsessed. I could let it run and watch the little people running around all day.
4. Was off for Easter for 3 weeks and it was wonderful to catch up on all the sleep.
5. Went on a road trip with my friends to the coast for the day. Was successful as we did not get lost but at the same time it wasn't a very nice day but at least the rain stayed away.
6. Prepared to say goodbye to Pretty Little Liars as the second half of the final season premiered. I have dedicated a lot of time to this show and I will be sad to see it end. At the same time, I am dying to find out who A.D is.
7. Bought a new colouring book and fell in love. I found it very relaxing. Until I coloured a tiny bit outside the lines...
8. Went to the amusements with my family and won a lot of tickets. Too bad I couldn't find any prizes that I wanted. But I have the tickets for another day.
9. Regretted not getting tickets for Vidcon Europe. It looked like a blast...maybe next year!
10. Spent a lot of time staring at code trying to get my uni assignment finished. You think it would be easy to make your own mobile application but it's really not haha. I don't know how people do it for a living.
11. Watched Girl Boss on Netflix. Not my favourite thing. Took a while to get into because the main character was not my favourite. Felt like the story was missing a lot.
12. Was a little bit disappointed by the Snatch Game on this season of RuPaul's Drag Race. It felt shorter or maybe the characters weren't as strong as previous years which is sad. But there's always next season!
13. Started watching Gossip Girl yet again. It's become one of those shows I stick on TV when I don't know what to watch. It's something fun and good to tune into when you want some scandal in your life haha
14. Attended a hackathon with my boyfriend. It was my second hackathon and we actually ended up joining up with a team sitting next to us with a similar idea. It all turned out for the best though because we came second!
15. I won an Amazon Echo at the hackathon in the raffle. It was totally unexpected. I usually never win things like that.

Another exciting month of things. It's crazy how fast time passes. I feel like this month had a lot going on. :)

1. Made pancakes from scratch for the first time in my life. It went okay. Made them a few more times after that and am slowly getting better. I'll be a domestic goddess in no time lol.
2. Updated my dream suite on Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the first time in forever. When I updated my game for the amiibo update my dream address got removed. Had to create a new one and I wanted my town to look great. Come visit!
3. Became obsessed with the Hillywood Show's parody of Suicide Squad. I love all their parodies they are so amazing. I discovered them through their Twilight parodies. I definitely recommend you check them out.
4. Caught a Pikachu with a party hat on Pokemon Go. I love when they have themed Pikachus. They're really cute.
5. Cried at the Vampire Diaries finale. Hard. The show ending was something I was just not prepared for. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I am still really sad that it's over but I am also really glad the ending was good. If the ending wasn't good then I feel like the last 8 years would have been wasted.
6. Got tickets to see Steps in November with my sisters. I used to love them when I was younger. Who didn't love them?
7. Had a week off from uni and spent a majority of it playing Sims and Animal Crossing. My two true loves. It was great.
8. Talked to an old Animal Crossing friend for the first time in a long time. We've known each other about 3 years. So weird. But also really great.
9. Caught up with my friend to talk about her ENGAGEMENT. I still feel too young for such a thing to happen but yes, that's happening. I am so happy for my friend, the wedding won't be for a few years yet there's still no time like the present to get excited!
10. Was surprised by my boyfriend as he came over to surprise me. It was just something simple as showing up at my house because I hadn't seen him in a while. It was a great surprise. We cuddled and watched TV and it was wonderful.
11. Rewatched my KCon videos for the 100th time. Sometimes I get sad or bored and I like to remember that time. It was such a fun time with one of my best friends. I hope we can go again.
12. Cried at Nashville because they know how to pull at the heart strings. Rayna passing away was so emotional but the way the show has been handling it has been great. Though part of me will always wish it hadn't happened.
13. Got excited that McDonald's Monopoly is back again. I have never won anything super fantastic from it but I still have fun. Plus, who doesn't love an excuse to go to McDonald's more than normal lol?
14. Made chocolate Rice Krispie buns on a whim with my boyfriend. My flatmates were appreciative of the treats. :P
15. Started watching Project Runway, I like it. I love fashion things and I know RuPaul's Drag Race was partly inspired by this show so I decided to give it a go. They only have two seasons on Netflix and I've watched them already so looking for something else to watch now.
16. Was outraged when Mondo didn't win Season 8 of Project Runway. Can you believe they chose Gretchen?
17. Started to struggle with Korean. It's a busy semester, I have a lot of uni work to be doing so I don't focus on Korean as much because I am not being graded on it. Definitely a step up from level 1. Don't know how well I will hold up as weeks go on but I am remaining hopeful.
18. Went to see Beauty and the Beast. It was a really great movie, I enjoyed it. Although I felt like Emma Watson was lacking something as Belle.
19. Studied a lot of one test. It was not the most fun thing in the world but I feel it took up a majority of my time this month, so there was that.
20. Spent St Patrick's Day sober, spent time playing Animal Crossing and Sims instead - the story of my life haha. Still a really great day though.
21. Spent the afternoon with The Sim Supply and Conflict Nerd at their impromptu Belfast Meetup. They are really nice guys. And they are the first YouTubers I have ever met so that's cool.
22. Finished my first ever essay for uni. As a computing student we don't tend to write essays, we write code. So to say it was a challenge was something else.
23. Filmed a video to go along with my essay. It was a group thing and I have never filmed something with other people in the room so it was kind of awkward but I made it through and we made a complete video so, that's an accomplishment.
24. Went shopping and actually got some cute dresses for work placement. You can never have too many dresses.
25. Enjoyed the little bit of sunny weather we had and went to play mini golf with my boyfriend. He likes to say he won but I think I did. We don't tend to keep score so who really knows...
26. Freaked out about who the returning drag queen would be on RuPaul's Drag Race. My heart will always hope for Shangela to come back. But I did love Cynthia, so it's good to see her again!
27. Built my own house on the Sims 4 because why not? I feel like everyone tries to make their own house at least one time playing the game.
28. Watched iJustine compete on Chopped. I discovered Chopped when flicking through channels one day, I got really into it even though cooking competitions aren't really my thing haha. But when I found out Justine was going to be on it I was super excited. It's sad she didn't make it past the appetiser round but I believe she will go one to cook some great things.
29. Decided to cancel my Glossybox subscription because I wasn't really using the products. It had been a great treat over the past year but sometimes you can have too many beauty products and it seems like a waste. Especially when you aren't using them.
30. Had a weird time adjusting to the clocks going forward. I was just playing my DS, looked at the clock on my wall that said 2, but my phone said 3, I was super confused for a minute lol.
31. Rewatched all of DaveDays old music videos about his Miley Cyrus cardboard cut out. These were some of the first videos I ever watched on YouTube and I loved them a lot. And DaveDays even got to meet Miley Cyrus because of the videos. So great.

This month I feel like I did nothing, most of the things that are on this list probably happened within two weeks. But what can I say, sometimes it's just a dull month....But still, here are some things I did in February!

1. Started back at uni after being off for a month and a half. It's always an adjustment.
2. Became obsessed with the song Fall Back by A.Leean. AKA KPop singer Ailee. I am so excited about her US debut. I met her at KCon New York and she is such a queen.
3. Built a fabulous vampire mansion on the Sims 4. It took a solid 3 hours I'm pretty sure, but it was worth it.
4. Started back at my Korean classes. Coming back for level two was not as hard as I thought it would have been. That being said, I am still very far off from being fluent.
5. Went to see Fifty Shades Darker. It was good, better than the first one but I still had my issues. Although I can't tell if that's just me being annoyed it wasn't exactly like the books or not.
6. Celebrated my one year anniversary with my boyfriend. He was super cute and planned everything perfectly. I couldn't ask for a better person to have entered my life. He's pretty great.
7. Had a really chill Valentine's Day - after the greatness of our anniversary, me and my boyfriend decided to spend Valentine's Day at home with pizza and Netflix. It was a great night in.
8. Celebrated a friend's 20th birthday. This is only the beginning, all my friends are turning 20 this year...it's gonna be weird. When did we all get so old?
9. Went to see Bianca Del Rio on her last night of her comedy tour Not Today Satan. I laughed a lot, my face hurt from smiling. She's my queen. One of the best drag queens from Drag Race and so nice in person. When I met her last year I died. And when I found out she was coming back of course I had to go.
10. Made friends with two guys during a pub quiz. My friend and I were there just for some drinks, didn't know there was a pub quiz on. The guys next to us needed help and so we quickly became friends. We promised to go back and help them again haha.
11. Freaked out over How to Get Away With Murder some more. What even was that season finale?
12. Fell ill for the first time in a long time. It was the proper kind of bed-ridden illness and not just a cold. I slept a lot and couldn't even fully rest because I knew I had to recover for a test I had in uni the next week, it wasn't very pleasant.
13. Won some new boots in an ebay auction. They were pretty and I justified buying them because as a girl, I actually do not own that many pairs of shoes.
14. Bought new notebooks and pens to make notes for uni. Super exciting stuff.
15. Successfully bought one new dress for work placement. I know I need a few more but it's a start.
16. Went to see the Lego Batman movie. I normally don't do superhero movies, but that one was pretty great.
17. Cried over an episode of Nashville. This is what happens when you get attached to fictional characters. It's not good. But at the same time it is. But no one prepares you for the feelings.
18. Started watching Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23. It's a shame there's only two seasons of the show.
19. Caved and bought the YouTubers Life game. I have seen several YouTubers play it before and thought it would be my kind of game so took the plunge and bought it. So far, it has been very addicting so worth the money.
20. Started watching Zalfie play Sims and Deligracy's Barbie Let's Play. Both of their Let's Plays made me want to play Sims a lot.
21. Played Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City for the first time in months. It is always good to go back to an old game.
22. Got really into playing Suduko on Brain Training for my DS. I have had the game since like 2008? I always replay the Suduko levels to get faster each time. It's been my go-to thing when I can't sleep.
23. Had my nails done by a beautician for the second time ever in my life. It was an anniversary present from my boyfriend, my nails were pretty for weeks but it took forever to try and take the nail polish off.
24. Logged into my old Moshi Monster account I made in 2009. I never understood why that blew up to be a big thing. I liked the puzzles you could play in it though. Can't believe I still had an email with the login details in it.
25. Spilt water on my laptop like an idiot. I blame the fact I was ill at the time. Hoping it can be fixed although at this point it doesn't look good.
26. Thought Vampire Diaries was on hiatus but it's not...so I need to catch up on that before the series finale!
27. Ran out of gas in the flat on pancake day and therefore could not make pancakes. The struggles of not checking your gas meter on a regular basis and having a gas stove.
28. Created a new Neopets account (I've lost count of how many I've had) with the intention of keeping this one forever (I say that every time) but it lasted all of two minutes because the website wasn't loading lol.

I know a lot of people would say that 2016 was a terrible year, and for a lot of reasons it was. But for me? 2016 has been a pretty amazing year. I think it's easy to get caught up in the negative of things but I think going into 2017 we should focus on the positive. And so that's what I'm going to do.
In this recap of my 2016 I am only going to focus on the positive. This year has been an amazing year for me and I want to share all of the good things that have happened with you today.
Just like last year, I am going to talk about things in chronological order since that makes the most sense. It's hard to think back to the start of the year but luckily for me, I like to document things. Whether that's online, or writing a journal, I always have the memories somewhere.
One of the first big things that happened in 2016 for me was meeting Bianca Del Rio. She is the winner of RuPaul's Drag Race season 6 and one of my favourite drag queens. The night I got to meet her was definitely an unforgettable one. Mainly because I was asked to come on stage and lip sync for my life in front of her. Talk about pressure. And of course, plenty of my friends were there and recorded the whole thing, so I think I'm going to be remembering that for a long, long time.

A quick look back on my Twitter, and the rest of January consisted of me playing Sims, and not having very much sleep. Something I think I need to work on this year. Sleep is precious, make sure to get enough of it.
In February I started dating my boyfriend. We've been together almost a year now which is crazy to think about. I don't want to say too much about it but we've had a good relationship over the past year, and I'm hoping 2017 will be a good year for us too. I never thought love would be in the cards for me last year. As my first long-term relationship it was an adjustment but I think I've adjusted quite well.
Then in March, I began house hunting with my two friends. We were looking for somewhere to live during our second year at university and that was an experience. Student houses are not the most glamorous of accommodation but they are something.
During this time I was also starting Mandarin classes for the first time. Definitely not an easy language to learn. Let's just say I didn't make it far in those classes. However later in the year, I ended up enrolling in a Korean class and I find that language much easier to learn. So I think I'm going to be sticking with Korean for now.
April was spent watching a lot of TV shows, I watched Suits, RuPaul's Drag Race and Nashville. I also got addicted to Neko Atsume which is an app about cats. I thought it was really adorable and so I posted lots of photos about it on Twitter. I still play the game to this day so there's no regrets.


In May I was starting summer holidays after finishing my first year at university. It felt good to be done with university for a while. I felt like I had a much needed break. This is when I started to make more YouTube videos again and decided to make my second YouTube channel.
I think that it was a good idea to start another channel just for Sims content. I just find that my Sims content doesn't fit into the rest of the channel which are all videos of me. Plus it means I don't feel bad for posting so many Sims videos. It also helped to keep me productive over the summer months because it meant I always had something to do.
In June I celebrated my 19th birthday by going ice skating with my friends. I also put together party bags which I think went down really well. I swear that young adults appreciate party bags more than little kids haha. At least my friends loved them. Who knew all you needed was mini water pistols and party poppers to have fun? That and sugar, sugar is a must.
Also in June, I left the country for the first time to go to New York. Talk about a holiday to remember. I went with my best friend Jasmine for KCon and it was the most amazing experience. I won't talk too much about it now since all I did when I got back from New York was talk about the fact I went to New York.
I just had such an amazing time and to be able to share that experience with one of my close friends was even better. I am also so glad that I was with Jasmine when she went to see her KPop idols in person. I hope that in the future there will be more opportunities for her to be able to meet them. Seeing KPop idols perform in person is an incredible experience. And if you get the chance to experience it, I definitely recommend it.
And of course I would love to go back to New York one day. It's an amazing city and I wish I had gotten to see more of it when I was away. But I guess it just gives me an excuse to go back.


When I came back from New York I threw myself back into playing Sims. I had went a whole 4 days in New York without it and I was missing it dearly haha. I also began to play a lot of Pokemon Go. I was obsessed with Pokemon Go for a long time when it first came out. I had spent so long waiting for it to be released in the UK that when it finally came out I couldn't get enough of it. I even played in when I went to Rome in September.
Rome was another amazing experience that I got to have in 2016. I went from never having left the country to going on two holidays in a year. That's a big deal. Again, I won't say much about my trip to Rome since I already made a blog post talking about it. But I had a great time there. And I think it was the perfect way to end the summer before I headed back to uni. Everyone says that when you are young you should travel and I think 2016 was just the beginning for me.


After Rome came the hard work of starting university again. Second year so far has been so much more work than first year. So it was a big adjustment for me. That and moving into my student house was a lot to take in for the first month or so. But soon enough I settled into a new routine. There are still flaws in this routine but I know things will work out in the end.
Obviously moving out wasn't the smoothest of transitions. We went without wifi in our student house for a month and it was a whole new world having to pay for food and bills on your own. But I think it went pretty well. We also had a roommate situation but luckily we were able to deal with that as soon as possible and everything worked out for the best.
On top of starting university I was also looking for a job for my placement year. I was completely new to the process of applying for jobs and going to interviews so it was a learn as you go type of thing but everything worked out well in the end. I got offered a job in the middle of December and I start in July which is wonderful. Something less to think about for now.
And to end the year I was able to spend lots of time with friends and family over Christmas which was really great. Ever since going to university I don't get to see all my friends as much as I used to and so I think that it was good that I got to see them when they came home for the holidays.
I was always worried about keeping in touch with friends after we left secondary school. It's a lot harder when you don't see each other everyday but when you do get to hang out again it's really fun. And I hope that I can continue to keep in touch with my friends no matter where we go and what we do in life. It's definitely something that takes work but when you have really good friends, it's worth it.
I am now currently enjoying my time off from university and preparing for another crazy year ahead. I have no idea what exactly 2017 holds for me, but if it's anything like 2016, then I welcome it with open arms. If you had told me this time last year that this was how my year was going to turn out I wouldn't have believed you. It's been so amazing. And I'm glad that I got to share it with such amazing people.
So do I have any expectations for 2017? Not really. I'm not expecting this year to be like the last one, maybe it'll be better, maybe it'll be worse. Who knows? I just know that I am going to continue doing my best and see where it takes me. I'm definitely going into this year with a positive attitude, and I hope everyone else does too.
I hope you all had a good 2016, despite all of the bad things that happened. And I hope 2017 is a great year for you. I feel like the whole world is hoping 2017 is a great year. So let's see if we can make it one.
~ Courtney x

I know it's been forever since I have written here but I have just been so busy.
I am halfway through my second year of university and everything seems to be going by in a blur. Second year is a whole different ball game compared to first year. I feel like they were taking it easy on us last year to allow us to adjust to being in a new learning environment and now this year, they've decided you've adjusted enough to throw you into the deep end.
It's not necessarily a bad thing but it definitely has been keeping me on my toes.
So yes, I have been struggling a little bit but that's okay. I wouldn't say I'm drowning - not yet anyway. But I'm trying to remain hopeful haha.
Anyway, my main point of this blog post was to fill you in on where I have been the past few months. Since I've started university I haven't really been able to blog, make a YouTube video or even really update social media as much as I used to. I mean I have been trying to write this blog post for over a month so I think that's an indicator of how busy I've been.
It started off with moving.
This year I decided it would be best to live closer to the university, it's a lot handier because it means not having to travel everyday, it's cheaper and it's a lot easier to make it to last minute group meetings. So living away from home has been an adjustment.
I actually don't have that many complaints about living away from home. Mainly because it's not a permanent move and I go home every weekend haha. But I actually enjoy it. It's nice to have a place you can go away from home. While yes, I do live with roommates, we have different routines and so often I am sitting by myself in the living room. Which I realise sounds a bit sad but I like to be on my own so it's fine haha.
I like having a quiet place of my own to go to. And it's also nice to live with different people. I mean at first I was worried I was going to end up getting sick of seeing my roommates but honestly it's pretty great. I did have a situation a couple of months ago where my former roommate had decided to move out, which caused a bit of a hassle, but now everything is settled again.
I know everyone has a different experience with living with friends etc. when they go to uni so I wasn't sure what to expect with my situation. I currently live with a friend I made at uni who is in my course and a guy I used to go to secondary school with. Which seems like a weird combination but it works. We all get along well and there's not really any conflict about anything which is pretty positive.
Aside from the moving another big thing for me right now is job hunting. My degree requires me to take a year of placement work and so I have been applying and interviewing a lot recently. Two things that are new to me.
I have to admit it is something I was worried about because I haven't had any previous work experience so I thought it would mean no one would want to hire me. But I have heard back from some places I have applied to which makes me hopeful.
I was also worried about interviewing because I don't think it's something I have ever been good at. I don't consider myself a master at selling myself to people. Even when I make YouTube videos I don't do it to appeal to anyone other than myself really haha. So it was something new.
Each interview experience I have had has been different and I have learnt something new during each one so I'm glad I have been able to put myself out there. I think it helps to build confidence to do job interviews and it also does help you learn more. But I still always get nervous before I have to go to one. Sometimes you're just worried you'll say the wrong thing haha.
But again it's been a pretty positive thing. Even if I don't get the job at least I have the interview experience, so it's not really a bad situation.
And of course the main thing this year that has been keeping me busy is university itself. In this one semester I think I have done more work than I did in my entire first year. Which I think is crazy. Although it makes sense, last year I was completely new to coding and so we had to take everything slow.
This year, I am currently working on an android game project and there's nothing slow about it haha. It's definitely a learning curve. But I am up for the challenge. Even though I'm coding something completely different than I'm used to I find it interesting. I also think it's cool that we get to make our own game. Even if it doesn't turn out to be the most amazing quality I'll still be proud of it.
We are currently still in the early stages so we don't have much done right now but I'm excited to see what we achieve. Another positive thing is that I have a really good team for this project which is great. We all get along well and are determined to do well in the project which means there's not much conflict.
On the other side of that you can also end up in teams which aren't so great. Which I have also experienced this year. It's tough to work on something when you know the other people on your team aren't interested. So it's been a struggle but I am working through it. Slowly but surely.
Aside from group projects, there has been a lot of other work too. This year I am learning C++ which has some things that are similar to Java but also some things very different. I picked it up pretty easily which has been great. I'm so glad I enjoy coding haha. Otherwise I don't think I would have made it through my first year.
On the social side of things, it's been lacking recently. But I know it's because I am still adjusting to my new work load. But I also know my friends have been busy too. It's just a hard time of year to be seeing people. At least I will get to see them over the holidays.
I really can't wait for it to be Christmas haha. It'll be really great to spend some time relaxing and not having to think about uni work for a bit. I know it's not stressful all the time but it would be nice to feel as though everything wasn't going by so fast. I mean I can't believe it's almost 2017.
This year in general has just been so crazy. And if you had told me that when I left secondary school things would be this way now I wouldn't have believed you haha. It's definitely been a good year. But I'm getting ahead of myself, we still have a month of this year left so let's make the most of it.
I hope you enjoyed reading, and I hope to be posting a blog post again very soon. I can't make any promises but we'll see how it goes haha.
~ Courtney x

What. A. Month.
February has been insane and so I thought I would give you guys a little life update to let you know what's been happening. First of all, I have started my second semester of university. And it has been taking up all of my time as usual.
Going into this semester I was a lot calmer than last semester. Last semester I had no idea what I was doing but I'm glad that I have now established some sort of routine with myself.
However my timetable is different from last semester's so I have been having to adjust to that. It's not that different but it still shifts when I have to go to uni and how long I stay there each day. I'm still in til 6 on Mondays and Tuesdays though.
I have also decided to take up Mandarin this semester on Thursdays from 5-7. Looking back I wish I had picked a different timeslot to do it in because it means my Thursdays are now incredibly long. Still I am enjoying the class so far. It's something new. And I have always regretted not learning Chinese when I was younger. So now I am taking the opportunity to learn a little bit. I'm not saying I'm the best at it but I wouldn't say I'm awful either. I haven't decided whether I should continue Mandarin to level 2 yet but I guess I will let you know by the end of the semester.
On top of that we have also started a new module this semester. It's a group project one and I was super nervous when I found out about it. I have never been great at working in teams, mainly because it was always a case of no one wanting to do the work, leaving it all to you to do. So I was worried it was going to be the same with this module.
We were put into our groups randomly and so I had no idea who I was going to be working with. Considering there are over 400 people in our class the chances of me being grouped with someone I knew were very unlikely. I ended up being in a group of complete strangers.
Luckily though my group is really nice. We all get along well and I hope that we can all work together smoothly. I know we won't always get along and there will be disagreements but I hope we make it through the semester without wanting to kill each other at least haha. It's still the early stages of the group project though so you never know what could happen during the rest of the semester. I'm still trying to remain hopeful about the whole thing.
Aside from class, I have been spending more time with my university friends outside of class which is nice. I feel very lucky to have made friends so quickly since starting university. Although being one of the few girls in a computing course makes it a lot easier to make friends. All the girls kind of just stick together haha. So I have made a couple of good friends at university so far.
I have even decided to live with one of them next year which I think will be fun. Which is another thing I have been thinking about this month.
After realising just how much I had to go into university for class last semester I realised it would be a lot easier for me if I moved closer to the university next year. So I decided to move with a friend from secondary school but we needed at least one other person to live with so I asked one of my new friends.
And so for the past couple of weeks we have been house hunting. I have to say it feels very adult to be searching for a house. And I know it's only going to be my house for a few years but I'm excited and also scared. I know we all have to leave home at some point but I can't believe how fast this is all happening. But I will be sure to share the ups and downs of living with friends whenever the time comes.
Also this past month I have been busy with a boy... I don't want to go into too much detail about it but let's just say I'm really happy with them.We aren't official yet but we are dating. And that's good enough for me. I'm in no rush to be in a serious relationship. I'm just excited to see where it goes.
Moving away from student life I will also mention some TV shows I have been sucked into this month. As they have also been taking up a lot of time.
First off, Pretty Little Liars is always taking over my life. This season is leaving me with a lot of questions as usual.
I also started watching New Girl. I like it. I think it's very quirky and fun. I am almost caught up I just need to watch the latest episodes of season 5.
Finally the Amazing Race season 28 has officially started and I am loving it so far. I think I will make a separate blog post talking about the Amazing Race because I love it so much. I got addicted to the Amazing Race when I watched the season Joey Graceffa was on. This season features Tyler Oakley and Blair Fowler, two other YouTubers that I love and so of course I am obsessed with this season. I'm excited to see how far these two teams make it in the race. I am also hoping that one day I get my dream of an all YouTuber version of the Amazing Race because I would love it so much.
And so that is everything I have going on in my life right now. When I write it down here it doesn't seem like a lot but for the past month it just feels like time is flying by. It just feels like I have been going all the time and never have time to really stop and just breathe. Hopefully things begin to slow down this month. Although I kind of like that so much is going on right now. It keeps me busy. Compared to January when I was off university for a month and barely did anything. Still, I would appreciate if I had some more time to sleep.
I hope you guys are also having a good start to the year. I hope you are working hard to achieve your goals and haven't given up on all your New Year's Resolutions yet. Let me know in the comments how things are going. And I will be sure to keep you updated on my life as the year progresses. I hope to make blog posts more often than this but I can't make any promises.
~ Courtney x

Well guys, it's the end of another year. And that means it's time for a reflective blog post.
I used to make these blog posts all the time back when I had Bebo. I used to blog about all the big things that happened that year and talk about what I hoped for the next year. I actually think it's a really good thing to do because I like looking back and seeing how far I've come.
This year in particular has been insane. So much has happened and I have no idea where to start with it.
I think I'm going to start chronologically and work my way from there because it seems like it makes the most sense.
So according to my Twitter, 2015 started off quite boring. I was pretty lazy. Which tends to happen when you are off school for Christmas. And even though you have a ton of work to do that's due for when you go back, you always leave it to the last minute. Luckily the work didn't seem to weigh me down too much as I still had time to tweet about it.

On top of trying to get through my a levels, I was also very distracted fandom-wise. Four words. Fifty Shades of Grey. For the first two months of the year I was busy trying to get as much information about the movie as possible. And I was freaking out at every glimpse of Jamie Dornan in a grey suit.
Unfortunately the movie was not all that I had hoped it would be. Yet I still enjoyed it for what it was. And I am still excited for the sequels, even though we will be waiting until 2017 to see Mr Grey again.





The start of 2015 is also when I started this blog! I have had many a blog in my life and I decided that this would be the one that I stuck with, for better or for worse. This would be the one I stuck with. I have taken many different directions with blogs before but I feel good about this one.
The only other blogs that I have had for more than a year are my Tumblr blogs, and while they are great I wanted a more serious blog to post to. One that I could look back on and read like a journal. And so this fabulous blog was born. Here's hoping we make it through another year here and I don't randomly change my mind and start a new one. *Fingers crossed*


2015 also saw the start of my love for Tanner Patrick. His cover of Love Me Like You Do was a related video on my YouTube and I clicked on it on a whim. Best decision I ever made. Since then I have been loving Tanner's music and have been an active part of his fandom since around March maybe the end of February. He's a talented musician and I would definitely recommend that everyone check him out.



In April, I was introduced to the show RuPaul's Drag Race and that opened me up to the world of drag queens. I have to say that I love it. I find it so fascinating and I enjoy the show a lot. Everything about it is just fabulous. From the drag queens themselves, to their amazing costumes, to the challenges, to the shady drama. It's all very entertaining and so much fun to watch. I also think it's interesting to learn about drag culture and how much people give up to do something that they love like drag. It's an amazing commitment, and I commend anyone who does it because it's amazing.
After that, school was stressful as we headed towards exam time and the end of an era. Officially leaving secondary school was a huge accomplishment this year. I didn't think I would make it haha. It's crazy to think I left school seven months ago. I don't even feel as if I really left. It just felt like the natural next step which was good.
If I had to say anything about my time at school I would say it was good. I know that it wasn't always that great. There were always stressful times and you didn't always get along with everybody in your class but overall I had a good school experience. I worked hard, got the grades I needed and made some amazing friends I know I'll have for life. And some really great memories but also some not so great ones. Like I said, it wasn't perfect but I had a good time there.


Once exams were over and I hung up uniform for good summer had officially started.
Over summer, I decided to put my focus on YouTube and begin posting videos on a regular basis. I aimed to post five videos a week, one for every weekday. It was a challenge, but I did enjoy posting regular content to my channel. I felt like I was being productive with my time rather than just sitting around playing Animal Crossing.


During the summer I also started watching two new TV shows, Orange is the New Black and Young and Hungry. Both really enjoyable shows. Both completely different. I'm really excited to see where they go with the new seasons.
Another big event that happened in June was that marriage equality was brought to the US as gay marriage was legalised in all fifty states. That was a really big step for the world and I couldn't be happier about it.


June was also the month where I turned 18. However, I don't feel any different than I did when I was any other age haha. Are we supposed to feel really different when we hit a big milestone age? I never have. I just feel the same, it's just that now I say I'm 18 when people ask me my age hahaha.


I also went on holiday with my friends in the summer. We rented a house for the week in Portrush and it was a lot of fun. I did manage to vlog a little bit when I was there and I got to spend some quality time with all of my friends before we went to university. It was very memorable and I'm sure we will be planning many more group holidays in the future.


The rest of the summer was spent playing Sims or working on YouTube. I still made the occasional plans with friends to keep in touch too. All of this was just a distraction from the approach of results day.
Results day was pretty nerve wracking. It's the moment when you find out if you are going to university or not. I tried to remain pretty calm about the whole thing but there was a tiny part of me that was worried that I didn't do as well as I thought I did.


Luckily I didn't have to worry much because I was able to get the results I needed to go to university.
That's when the real nerves started to kick in.
I was about to start the next chapter in my life. I was going to be in a new place with new people...I didn't even know if I would like my course.
Something else I knew that would really suck would be my friends leaving to go to university. I had went from spending everyday with them to never seeing them. It was an adjustment to say the least.
I was so happy that my transition from school to university was pretty smooth. Like I said, it felt like the next natural step for my life to go in. And I am so grateful for that. I know a lot of people that go to university because they were told to rather than that they wanted to and it doesn't always end up going so well. So if you are thinking about further education then it has to be your choice, someone else shouldn't be making the decision for you.


So for the past few months my life has been all about getting used to university and trying to make sure that I balance everything in my life again. Since starting university, my everyday life has changed dramatically and so I need to establish a new routine.
I have really enjoyed everything that university has been able to offer me so far. I have made some new friends, while still being able to keep in touch with my old ones. I find my course interesting and I am enjoying what I am learning. And I have been enjoying university nightlife.


Also during this time I was also trying to keep up with my TV shows. Most of them return after summer break in the autumn and so I always had to make time for them. In particular I have really been enjoying Nashville and The Vampire Diaries. I also decided to start watching Scream Queens this year as there is no more Glee to look forward to.
This year, my TV shows have really been on point. They have been so good lately that I really can't get enough of them. And I haven't even mentioned Pretty Little Liars in this post yet. Y'all know about how much I have been freaking out about Pretty Little Liars this year. It's been insane.


The latest TV show that I have gotten hooked on is 90210. I started to watch it just before Christmas and am almost finished with season 2. I wasn't sure what to think of it at the start but I have really gotten into it and am really enjoying it so I'm excited to see where that goes. I know the show is over now but I prefer to watch shows like that so I can binge-watch it all in one go. Waiting for new episodes of TV shows sucks.


And finally, the last big thing I can really think of that I have done this year is Vlogmas. If you don't know what Vlogmas is, it is when YouTubers vlog for 24 days leading up to Christmas from the 1st of December to Christmas Eve. It's actually not as easy as it looks to produce daily content like that. I was always staying up ridiculously late at night to make sure my vlogs were edited and uploaded for the appropriate times.
But I have to say it was definitely worth it. I really like vlogs because it's just another way to capture memories and look back on them. So I felt really accomplished about that because I thought that I was going to get through the first few days of Vlogmas and then quit.


So overall, it has been a successful and productive year for me. It's probably been one of the years in my life where I have experienced the most change. It hasn't always been plain sailing though, like everyone I have my ups and downs, good days and bad days. But I would say that the good definitely outweighed the bad this year.
I am definitely looking forward to next year and all that it will bring. I have no expectations at all other than I just need to keep doing my best and see what happens. And of course I will keep you all filled in on anything big that happens.
So thank you so much for reading, I hope you all had a wonderful 2015 and that 2016 will be equally as wonderful. Or if your 2015 wasn't so great that 2016 is your year and that it is so much better to you than last year. At the end of the day, I think the year is only as good as you can make it. Things might not always go your way but I think if you keep trying and don't give up then life can be amazing.
Happy New Year guys! Make it count!


~ Courtney x

Hey guys,
So today I wanted to talk about balance. Mainly trying to find a way to balance your life so you aren't spending too much time on one thing.
I have always had a problem when it came to balancing in my life. Specifically when it came to balancing school work and slacking off and having fun. I either do too much school work and nothing else or I just do nothing for ages and then feel super lazy.
And since I have been at uni this hasn't gotten any easier. In fact, it's a lot harder than ever to maintain some sort of balance.
I'm sure you guys have all seen the photo of student life and all the things we have to balance:

It's kind of insane.
Lately, I have definitely spent a lot of time going out with friends and enjoying myself. Which is definitely a huge part of student life. You are finally old enough to drink and go to clubs and so it's exciting and new so you go out a lot.
Yet, on the other hand, you also have a lot more work to be doing and deadlines and assignments and it can be a lot sometimes.
And of course, there is budgeting money if you are living away from home and trying to manage adult responsibilities like cooking and cleaning and the problems that come with living with roommates.
It's such a crazy time in your life.
And so yes it has definitely been a huge adjustment for me. I definitely feel as though I am doing so much more than I was at secondary school. Especially in going out with friends but also with university work.
It's kind of crazy how exhausted you can be from just a couple of hours of class a day. Meanwhile when you were in secondary school you were doing six hours of school, five days a week but now it seems next to impossible to turn up to a 9 a.m lecture.
If anything I know that you will never find the perfect balance of life. You are always bound to spend too much time focusing on one aspect of your life to let the other parts of your life suffer. It happens. There's no stopping that.
But what you can do is realise there is an imbalance and work on trying to even things out again. And not to beat yourself up about it too much.
Lately for me I would say I have taken the time to overindulge in sleeping and socialising and have not paid as much attention to uni work as I know I should  have been doing. So since then I have been working hard to keep up the workload of uni. But at the same time I will still find time to go out and see my friends and spend time with them because that's an important part of life too.
You just have to find a happy medium that works for you and it might take a while to achieve but I think you can do it if you really try.
Unless it's about getting enough sleep because that's just something I have never been able to achieve haha. I sleep too much or I sleep too little there's never usually an in between. But again, I just need to work on that.
But other than that I'd say I have a good balance going on. I go out with friends about once a week and I attend all my classes and work on things when I need to. I also remember that is important not to overwork yourself. You can take a break from life every so often and not do anything.
I fully support those days that you just decide to take off and do nothing. It's a really nice way to spend the day, especially when you have been working really hard. So I definitely think it's important to have that time to yourself too.
I think that's all I really have to say on the topic. It's just been something I have been thinking about lately because I have really been struggling to find a good balance. Which is to be expected when going through big changes but I think I have found my happy medium again. And I hope that you guys reading find your balance. It just means you are living a more well-rounded life and that your life isn't always focused on one thing because there's so much more to life than that.
So yeah, I hope that you enjoyed reading this blog post. I wasn't really expecting to talk about it in a serious way but I guess I did. I mean it is important to have balance in your life rather than focus too much on one thing. Because life's too short for that.
Anyway, like I said I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope that you are able to find your "happy medium" in life :)
~ Courtney x

Hey guys,
So today I thought I would give you an insight into my student life so far. I wouldn't say it's the most exciting thing in the world, but it's definitely a huge change from school.
After the whirlwind that was Fresher's Week, classes began and I had to develop a new routine for myself. Which I have to say, was harder than expected.
With university, the timetabling for classes can be very awkward. Especially for me. My timetable goes something like this:

Doesn't sound like the nicest timetable in the world does it? One thing I will say though is that even though I am in all day on Monday and Tuesday, I am not constantly in class. I get breaks!
Even though my timetable sounds horrible it's not as bad as it seems. I mean over the past month I have been adjusting quite well and have established some sort of routine for myself.
Mainly for me, if I'm not in class I am in the Student's Union. If you don't know what that is, it is a place with shops and areas for students and extracurricular clubs to meet. It is also a source of information for student's and holds events from time to time. I spend a lot of time there because I don't live on campus and can't go home between classes. But the Student's Union has quickly become a second home. I know some people prefer to go to the library between classes to work but for me, I can't work in that silence. And the Student's Union has just the right level of noise that is enough you can still work there.
Other than that, I do spend a lot of time in classes. Which was to be expected for my course. I knew going into it that I was going to have to work hard and so far I have. Overall the course hasn't been so bad. I find the pace easy enough to keep up with and I haven't been having too many difficulties.
I have had a few problems with programming (which if you follow me on Twitter, you know all about) but I have been working on it a lot and I understand things better now. Considering I have never coded before in my life, I think I'm doing well. Which is a great because I wouldn't want to be failing out of uni in the first year.
We are also learning about databases right now and since I studied that at a level it's nothing to worry about. We are also doing another module which is also new to me but is easy to understand.
As for homework...I don't get any.
I know, it sounds great, but we always have work to do even if it's not set homework. If, like me, you have never programmed before it is best to practice programming at home and do the recommended reading. Otherwise, it can be hard to keep up with class. So I always have something to do even when it seems like I have nothing to do.
 Even though we don't have set homework, we do have assessments. These are things that count towards are final grades so we have to work for those. But like I said, so far everything is fine. No major problems so far.
Moving away from school and talking about the other half of student life....socializing!
If you guys read my Fresher's Week blog post then you know I met a lot of new people on the first week of university and luckily for me, I have made friends with them. I am so glad that we had to do team building on the first day because otherwise I would find it so hard to talk to people. Especially because I am staying at home for university, I don't have the advantage of meeting new people in university accommodation.
So I now have a small group of people in my lectures that I know and we all sit in our little area in the lecture hall which is fab. It also means that I have friends that understand the ups and downs of my course and that I can talk to about it. Which I appreciate because my other friends don't understand anything I say about computing haha.
It is so great to be around new people. Especially when you have been going to school with the same people for seven years. It is also amazing to find new friends who have similar interests to you. One of the first people that I became friends with also loves RuPaul's Drag Race and that's when I knew we were going to be great friends.
It's things like that that make me really happy.
As for going out and partying...I haven't been out much since Fresher's Week. I mean I am not one for going out a lot anyway but as a student it's a rite of passage to go out and party. Which isn't for everyone. But for the vast majority of student's it is.
For me, I feel I am somewhere in the middle. I can appreciate a good night out, but I can also appreciate a night in a whole lot more. So I have enjoyed the occasional night out since Fresher's and it's been a well-needed break from class and coming home every night.
When I am not at university I do prefer to stay home rather than go out most of the time anyway. Mainly because after spending so much time at university I just want to sleep! Haha. One of the downsides to being a student is that sleep can sometimes be lacking. And I know it's no one else's fault but my own. Especially when I don't live with noisy roommates and I'm in my quiet house haha. But oh well...you can't be a student without sacrificing something.
On a whole, university so far has been amazing. At first I was a little bit unsure about the choice of studying Software Engineering in case I didn't like it but honestly, I don't regret it at all. We have been getting so many talks and emails about the opportunities that are available to us and it makes me super excited for the future. Which is something I thought I would never say.
So if I've learnt anything from being at university so far, it's that you need to follow your passion. Because if you don't you won't enjoy it. You study what you want and it will motivate you to do the rest. It sounds really cheesy, but it's true. If you make choices for you and not for others you will be happier. Because I don't think I would be fine with studying anything else and I don't think I've made a huge mistake either.
I'm content with how things are going and I'm just excited to see where they go next. :) Thanks so much for reading, and I will keep you updated as the school year progresses.
~ Courtney x