Sibling Rivalry

After the latest labour party leader conference which resulted in the two Miliband brothers battling it out, it really made me think about sibling rivalry.
It’s one thing arguing with one another in the safety of your home but when its broadcasted on television and plastered across newspapers, it’s a different matter.
For example, David Miliband has today decided not to be part of his younger brothers, Ed, cabinet, not only effecting his relationship with his brother but also could have a major impact on his political career.
Looking back over my childhood, I’m amazed at how much me and my older sister bickered, fought and screamed at each other, it fits the stereotype for sisters quite well though.
We had many incidents over the years but her slamming the gate in to my head ending, with me in A&E for 4 hours with a lump the size of an egg on the side of my skull, was around the extent of them.
Anything could get us started, whatever each one of us had, the other one always wanted, there is a video of when we were on holiday and we argued for hours about a stupid little receipt for something I don’t even know what it was actually for. I was only 2 and half at the time though so it was a big deal to me when my mum just threw away the trophy which we had fought/hit/cried over for an hour. Just want any parent wants walking around a big steam fair. In the summer. All afternoon.
Of course, not ever argument was over a stub of paper, there were the usual arguments as well about toys. Every year we would get the same things at Christmas so we couldn't argue. That didn’t really work out as planned because as soon as my sister’s present broke, she would replace whatever it was with mine. I have a feeling this may be part of the reason I was a tomboy from the ages of 4 until about 9.
She never wanted to steal my Thomas the Tank Trains, they bored her and she knew what would happen to her if she did. It wouldn't be pretty.
I remember one argument in the kitchen when I was about 8, I always had a bad temper, and she aggravated me about something so I hit her in the face with my plastic cup.
It may have been plastic but it was still good enough to give her a nice bruised cheek for the week.
I think we must have driven my mum made when we became teenagers, the screaming fights we had when i wanted to go to sleep but she continued to have her music blaring. The fighting over her taking my clothes and me taking back what was rightfully mine (she insisted she hated my fashion sense all these years but my clothes were always worth stealing, much to my disapproval).
I even had a lock put on my room to stop her but she always got what she wanted in the end.
At the age we are now, me being 17 and at college and her being 19 and living in the South of Wales, you would think we get along just fine, but you are very mistaken.
I recently moved in to her bedroom, the biggest bedroom in the house, which was mine but was an idiot and got conned out of it when she started high school.
I didn’t see the point in staying in my little room when she only comes back home for a week four times a year, even then she isn’t home most of the time.
She didn't appreciate my face book message telling her of this recent move either, which ended up with horrible text messages and silence from her for a few weeks.
Admittedly it wasn’t the nicest message in the world, ‘By the way, I’ve moved in to your room, see you soon’, but I couldn’t face calling her and being deafened in one ear.
She is coming back again in November for 2 weeks, during which I’m guessing we'll be friends for about 3 days before coming to loggerheads once again.
I’m not heartless; I do miss her being away for so long but I’m always thankful when she goes back.
We just love to argue, we are sisters after all, but I don't think it helps that we both have to win and won’t give up until we have.

Light Up Lynn

How often do you look over your shoulder while walking home? I can assure you it no doubt increases when the sun goes down.
Personally, I hate not knowing what is in front of me or who could be close by, but what I really detest about walking home is the vast lack of lighting around this town, just what we need as the cold, wintery nights are beginning to close in.
I frequently have to walk or bike home after I finish college at half four, when the sun has already vanished, the grey clouds cover the sky and cars have already switched on their headlights.
My parents cannot always come and pick me up so I have two walking routes home; I could take the route which includes a never ending walk up Wootton Road but cars have no respect for pedestrians, escpecially in the rain. Or take the cycle route which passes the populated Lynnsport but has no lighting along half the path which boarders North Lynn and is surrounded by bushes.
A little ruffle in the bushes is enough to make the hair stick up on the back of my neck and put me on edge until im home.
I can remember being taught at primary school about stranger danger and always being told not to go out after dark but there really is not anyway around it when it is dark at about 5pm.
Either way, it really is a lose lose situatiton, especially for me being a vunerable teenager most likely listening to music and carrying a bag full off books that slows me down to a crawl most of the way.
We have all seen the scary films, girl out alone in the dark, guys hiding in the bushes ready to pounce, girl gets attacked and usually left for dead.
In summer, time never really crosses your mind, the sky is still light around 9pm and there are plenty of people around the streets.
But now, once people are home from work, there are only groups of rowdy teenagers around which does not exactly fill me with confidence if something did happen.
But I am not the only person that does not feel safe, a national survey recently revealed that the majority of young females do not feel safe walking at night due to the lack of lighting on streets and cycle paths.
It must be a parent’s worst nightmare when their child does not answer their phone and they are half an hour later than they said they would be (my mum has given me “the lecture” many times about not answering my phone when im out) but it was around this time last year that two young men were stabbed along the cycle path between King Edward VII school and what was Park High school.
So, how can you escape the darkness? Simply, you cannot. Unless of course you only leave your house between daylight hours or stick to the rare heavily lit areas.
But that is impractical for most people, myself included.
With winter already starting to close in, I have already started planning on how to stay safe in the dark.
First on the list is start driving as soon as possible.
And second, avoid being outside alone - I know I am going to be roping in some loving friends to walk me home from now on.
Or failing all that, sweet talk my parents round to picking me up.

I've decided that i really must write to the council, the lighting on cyclepaths near me is terrible, its only a matter of time before somebody gets raped or murdered down there.

Universities

You may think GCSE’s and AS Levels are hard, but just wait until you have to decide on a university.

It’s now time when you are in your last year of sixth form or now leaving the nest you’ve known for the past 18 or so years to explore by yourself.

Or you have just entered the wonderful world of A Levels.

I’ve already decided after looking at numerous amounts of prospectus and university campuses that it’s not really for me, I know I wont sit there and work for another 3 years without something pushing me to do it but some people can and I wanted to share my experience of university choosing/deciding.

First thing you have to know, every university is going to say they are the best; “you will love it here, everyone is so nice”, and sell themselves to you like never before but try and remember to focus on the important stuff like where you will possibly have to live for the next year or so of your youth and most importantly who with.

Also now would be a good time to learn to cook and use the washing machine unless you have a lot of money to pay somebody to do it for you (if you do decide to go.)

Second, ask yourself if you can see your self at whatever campus it is you are view and do you really want to study that subject, so no pressure then.

It’s good to talk to people already at university who can tell you what its really like, the cold hard truth, not those that are there to show you around the campus because likelihood is they got something out of it or do just really love university.

That is a very important thing to do.

Every prospectus will have the students from the course you want to do that have succeeded and go on to bigger and better things, but remember to ask about the average Joe’s and what happens to them.

Third, don’t just follow your friends. Its hard to leave behind the people you have grown up with and become so close to but don’t settle for a university because it is close to you, go to one which will be best for you.

Try not to freak out when you see how many UCAS points they want, it’s mostly about your personality but try and aim for those but don’t be disappointed if you don’t get the grades you want, there’s always resits or other options which may only become clear when you think you cant get in to the uni of your choice.

I’m not saying all this to put people off going to get a degree, I just know from experience that High Schools tend to spoon feed students and when they leave they end up like a fish out of water, which to put it frankly, won’t help in the long run.

You need to hit the ground running if you get what I mean?

Obviously, university is good for a lot of things and is one of those things that lots of people do to get life experience.

You get a degree at the end of it which is crucial to getting some jobs in the economy these days.

It’s the place where most people make their friends for life, not that I know myself, but my older friends that are at university have told me.

You get a taste of the real world, no mum’s to do your washing and ironing and pick up after you or drive you around which is freedom for some people and really does help.

My friends love it where they went, it was a shock for some leaving a small little village for the big city life but everyone wants to get something different out of university.

Even if you are unsure of what you want to do, who says you have to decide straight away, apply in a few years time so you can travel, save money or just take a break from education which has been your life for about 12 years.

Saying all that, starting to order prospectuses now or even thinking about options after A Levels is a very good idea, I didn’t for until earlier this year and regret it now because I could have saved myself time and focused on what I want to do which is becoming a journalist.

I just think young people need to prepare themselves for what’s ahead; sample a bit of everything, go to all the higher education fairs, see the universities for yourself (not just the pretty pictures they put in the book) and eventually something will stick, I did!

End of summer 2010

The time has come to say goodbye to summer…

It’s a bit sad looking back at what I have been doing since the start of July, pretty shocking to see how little work I have done for college as well.

Since I started my holiday 2 months ago, I thought that I would be very bored with nothing to do but now it’s nearly over, I have like a thousand more ideas I want to do.

When I finished college, I can remember trying to get a job in Lynn, I spent most of my time doing housework and hanging out with friends and sleeping and moving rooms in my house.

I loved it! It made me feel like a desperate housewives star, minus the scandals, children and well rich husbands.

Then it was August before I knew it.

The sun was out, I had a job and still had time to do stuff like go to the beach and just be lazy, which is problematic now I have to wake my brain up again and put it to work.

I’m still struggling to figure out what I did for about 10 weeks, which is very bad for a 17 who is taking A Levels.

I also had a great work experience placement at another paper for about 2 weeks which I enjoyed and helped me get up in the mornings.

But now, it’s the start of college.

I’ve been pro longing this since I got my results a few weeks back and got an E in History because now I have to decide what I want to do about it, double my work load or focus on my future in journalism?

Its tricky to decide honestly, my mind’s all over the place, I don’t really want to go back now that I’ve had another taste of the journalism world but im not really one for just giving up on things (and I cant leave my friends at college all by herself now she’s just starting thanks to me).

Another reason I’m not looking forward to college is I can’t manage climbing 5 flights of stairs everyday thanks to my fear of lifts.

I’ve had a nice stair free summer!

And now I have to sit through hours of filling out university applications when I know that university is not what I want to do so really its just killing off more trees’s if you look at it from my point of view.

But there is really no getting out it anymore. Despite what I said, I did miss college, not seeing my friends, I missed not being able to have an excuse not to do anything at home and mostly I missed the fact that I couldn’t wander in to town shopping on my lunch times.

I best be preparing myself for Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, just what every teenager wants to read.

Holiday in Dorset July 2010

After an enduring week of doing nothing, my parents and I headed down to the not-so-sunny south of England for our holiday. This was the first year of it being just us three since my sister moved to Wales. Our usual car journey consisted of me and her bickering in the back whilst my mum got annoyed with us and my dad’s lack of conversation. This year, however, was different.

When you’re young and have to stay in a car for around five hours, you usually sleep or eat or play with some amusing toy to pass the time. When you’re around ten, you have comics or music or spats with siblings to pass the time. The problem is being a teenager and travelling for five hours. Your in-between the stages of being too old for toys or magazines to occupy you for the journey and too old to have mastered the trick of staring out a window for hours which adults seem to do with ease.

I was in a dilemma of what to do. My magazine lasted about an hour before my head wanted to explode from reading while travelling. Conversation with my parents lasted about ten minutes, divided in to fragments throughout covering the topics of the weather, traffic and university (which was very short lived). And my iPod battery only lasts so long when you forget to charge it the night before. I attempted to do the adult thing of waiting patiently to arrive at the destination. Needless to say that lasted around five minutes before I was bored and like an idiot I hadn’t packed for such events as boredom in a confided space.

Luckily, I had time (two hours and seven minutes to be exact) to think about what to do on the way home. My ideas were; planning on how to avoid this ever happening again, finding better friends who text back and sleep.

The night before we left, I stayed up reading and watching the shocking programmes they play at night in the desperate hope I would sleep for most of the journey. Unfortunately this did not happen. Due to the “helpful” satnav giving directions every three minutes, sleep was a distant dream.  To put it simply, I am halfway to becoming an adult and must learn the art of staring out a window. Hopefully soon as many more car journeys ahead.

Information

Hello, I'm Hannah and this is my blog.
I'm not unusual or extremely fascinating or a celebrity but i have a lot to say and want to be a journalist.
I am strongly opinionated and like to write down my thoughts often.
I do not mean to offend people or judge them, this is just my view on things.
I have been writing them up over the past few months and decided they should be out there for people to see.