Blogging Vacation is Over!

Canterbury

"It's been a long, long time...."

Wow, this can't possibly be happening!!!! Kayla back to blogging!!

Yes! I have come out of my hibernation and am back to typing furiously about my not-so-exciting life!

I suppose you all deserve to know what has been going on my life. Well first off, I had been working 3 jobs. One of which with M&S, I happened to love. The others, bar-tending in a club and waitressing were quite stressful. Not so much of being afraid of making mistakes but of the owners.

Then in April '15 I left London and moved to Canterbury in Kent to start my nursing course.

It's only been a little over a month into my course and it's interesting in certain areas. Some of the basics are a little droll to hear but it has to be done.

I consider myself lucky to have the house-mates I have because I had a bad enough experience with College house-mates back in Ireland. I live with five girls and all of which have different personalities. Two of the girls I get on really well with. You'll find that we go to church together, sing in the Christian Union together and watch our favourite movies together. Homesickness doesn't seem to be a big deal as I've been living over here since 2013.
There are days when I'm awfully bored but there's always something new to look forward to. For instance I have my bestie Edel coming over in June. Lots to show her and also lots of movies to get through.

Canterbury is perfect for me, with its cafés, library's and parks. I love to walk in a unknown direction and get lost. I'll end up finding hidden gems, like craft shops or old, historic buildings.

My friend Claudia and I like to go for some tea and cake and have a long chat about our interests and stories.

This little park is one of the pretty places I get to stroll through while walking into town.

Canterbury is a very expensive city to live in however, so as a student I have to give myself a set budget per week on saving money. I admit that I take care of myself first because I'm the only love in my life, so a treat is allowed once a week, for example that could be going to the cinema or for a meal.

Getting back to blogging will be hard. If you could ever believe I have more free time now than I did when I was working, so perfect time to be getting back into it.

And another nice thing I get to do today is giving myself the time to catch up on everyones blogs... well the favourites that is, with a nice subway.

Lots of love,

Thankful Thursday

Hello m'dear :)

This week was full of busy bees, but it flew by. I can't believe it's October! Time is going by so fast. Seems mental that it'll be 12 weeks till Christmas.

I feel so happy that with having my own little regular 'Thankful Thursday', I don't feel disappointed when I haven't written anything in such a long time. This pushes me. And reflecting on the good things that occurred throughout the week makes me smile, knowing that there isn't always sadness.

So my 'Thankful Thursday' week involved:

-Reaching my 50th blog post... WHOO HOO :D (previous post).

-Chocolate brownies.

-Getting my 1st ever proper wages. I felt so grownup with a payment slip.

-Zen time with cleaning... I know weird right!

-Ordering photo albums of my 'Summer Time' in London... 'Harry Potter Studios, Watford' and 'London Visit'

-Having new friends to comfort me when I was upset.

-Talking to Mum about Christmas.

-Skyping my Dad.

-Free cupcakes from a Cafe owner.

-My Irish accent.

-Getting on great in my English Essay.

-Giving/getting hugs.

These are all very strange and random, but when I read these I think of my week of being positive, and that's how life should be looked upon.

Thanks for reading, love you all peep & creeps,

First Week of College

Hey hey :) I hope all you readers are well, and to those of you who are new, this is my blog full of stories, my travels, music & other rambling topics. I love all kinds of blogs, so comment below if you think I'd follow :)

Anyway I have been over here for a week, so far in North London, and have started my 1st year course in Nursing. I'm currently trying to decide what University I will be attending to next year (underline, because I'm determined to get it). I'm battling between 2 as my top number one choice: University of Hertfordshire, which is closer to me. And then there's Florence Nightingales School of Nursing & Midwifery, which is an academic school of King's College, London.

King's College would be amazing to get into, but I would be equally as pleased to get into Hertfordshire.

I'll have until only a few weeks to choose, so yes there are worries of whether I'll have be able to afford living in Center London. Living in London would be so expensive.

Anyway I will update you later sometime on my decision (I'll just pretend that your interested in things like that, heehee).

So this week was my first week in College. And it was completely different to my student life in County Galway in Ireland. I didn't feel as though I was being looked at in the College (Paparazzi, you know how it is!), I didn't have to keep my head down while walking through the corridors.

I was in actual fact, late on my first day. Can you believe it. JUST like my first day in Primary School. Buuut, this time it wasn't my fault. I was given the wrong room number, so..... No, it wasn't my fault! I and another girl came in late, apologizing and awkwardly climbing over people to get a seat. Also in my College they scan their cards for their roll call. So modern and new. I feel like I'm a VIP back stage, or old. I mean I even said it to a girl, "Oooh, everything is so modern." Haaaa! Even though I'm one of the youngest, I'm the one who is amazed by technology.

So, in class, there was a lot of tension. Everyone was x-raying the class, trying to see their competition for the year. And so I decided that I was sick of it, and that I was willing to make a right fool of myself. The tutor was saying how there was a pool table in the College, and that if anyone in the class could play. Some of the girls looked as though they had never heard of the word pool before. So I spoke out saying "Sure, when I get stressed out I play some serious pool!". Some girl believed me saying, "Aww, I wish I could play!".... WHO CAN'T PLAY POOL?

My second day then was thankfully more relaxing. I got the chance to sit with some remarkable ladies if I may say so (and I bloody well can, seeing as it is my blog ). Well they were telling me their stories of why they were there. And each of these lovely four ladies are Mommys. I felt even more childish then (with them speaking about their husbands attempting to make dinner the previous night). Me thinking, yeah husband, won't be getting one of them for a while. So I got to know these lovely ladies and the more I knew about them, the more I was amazed. One of which has 5 kids, 5 KIDS! And she has a job of which with taking care of kids, (Ooh the patience!) And what she said to me was that, she's been wanting this for 13 years. She has always wanted to become a midwife. Then there was this woman who volunteers to work with people with disabilities. She's excited each day to see these people, and feels great coming home. She love's her work, and she has what most women want, the support of her husband and children.

It's these sort of women I look up to. Not these celebs in pages of magazines with a few pictures and captions. People think they know everything about them and call them role models... anyway that's another discussion that can be posted for another time.

But I was glad that I was with these mature young women. Not stuck with people getting excited about a night out (which would be every night out!). The women that I met had their own personal stories of why they wanted to become Midwives/Nurses, and I felt as though I could relate with them. I felt excited that I would be meeting these women next week, for the whole year in fact. They were approachable, honest, funny, amazing women.

My day contained many debates in class, meeting the new Tutors, chatting at lunch getting to know the girls over a grande caramel macchiato, one girl taught me how to pronounce it heehee and then we both got 'Starbucks' loyalty cards, cos them guys are gonna have me stuck to them in the College right through the year. I was given 2 assignments by the end of the day, so yeah these Tutors are serious people.

What I want in the future is to get my degree in Nursing, then become a Adult General Nurse. Then I will climb that ladder, to see how high I can possibly go with this career. I could become a Nurse Consultant, or a scrub nurse... who knows? Or work with people going through Cancer. My grand-mother is the reason on why I want to do this profession, to comfort people. I feel as though I contained myself very well, that I remained strong for her when she was ill. And if I could be there for her, well then I could be there for other families & patients that are going through the exact ordeals that my Granny and family went through.

And the thing about being a Nurse, is that it isn't really all about grades. Books can't teach you how to break the news to a family that their loved one has died. I see it as a privilege being with someone crossing over after death, it is as equal privilege as giving life. There is fear, yes, but for me I believe that there is a place we will all go to after life.

Even a Tutor can't teach you on how to find dignity in giving someone a bed bath. It's all about being able to love and respect people when they are at their weakest moments.

Being a Nurse, you will see life begin and end, you will experience failures and triumphs. You will cry, laugh and you will know what it is to be human.

I'm ready for the challenge, so bring it on!

What was your first day at College like? Have you found a career in which you are passionate about? If so I would love to hear about it. I'm a true blog luvin' reader ;)

Lots of  Luv,