Strictly Come Dancing Week 1.

Now last year I did a bit of a Strictly Come Dancing series on my blog, but I started mid way though the season because I’d only just started my blog, I never had to write about 15 individual couples, and the thought of doing that now seems mind blowing! So I've decided to keep as short and sweet as I can about each couple until there are less of them and I can rave and rant about my favourites and my not so loved couples! 

I just wanna start off with a little comment about the new head judge, Shirley Ballas. No one can ever replace Len Goodman, but she's impressing me so far, I like her, she knows her stuff and she's offering the couples some wonderful advice to improve so I think she's a good decision made there.

Now the couples!

Some stood out, some didn't and some did for the wrong reasons! 

My favourite performance of the night was a toss up between Kevin and Susan and Joe and Katya. Kevin has a soft spot in my heart, and Susan really loves him too so naturally I'm going to be supporting these two cuties till their very last dance, but Susan looked really beautiful and graceful dancing the Viennese Waltz.

Joe and Katya had one of my favourite dances and it made me wanna join in, the jive is so fun and happy and he did it really well scoring some impressive scores for week 1! I couple to watch I think.

Next up is Aston and Janette, I have these two in a sweepstake at work but I haven't bonded with them yet like Kevin and Susan! Saying that their foxtrot was really good, I'm not too sure about the moves they added, probably trying to play to Aston’s dance background in a boy band but the foxtrot I liked.

Another jive was performed by Mollie and Aj, but I didn't much enjoy it, poor Mollie to me looked a little lost, maybe trying to remember the steps or she didn't feel totally comfortable or happy but I think she's got potential and want to see her improve each week.

Reverend Richard Coles and Dianne, we can tell our rev isn't going far on strictly, but he is having fun and giving it his all and I admire that so much more than someone like Aston who has a natural flare for dance. I didn't like his cha cha cha but I think he will do really well in ballroom.

Ruth and Anton danced a lovely Waltz, but I got bored watching it. I absolutely love Anton, but I think he struggles keeping up with the other pros on the show, he's very classic ballroom, and I really do think he maybe should have a seat on the judging table. He has so much experience in dance and a killer personality that he needs to be on that judging panel.

Davood and Nadiya are one sexy pairing! And their cha cha was steamy and I didn't want it to end! I hope to see lots of great things from these two going forward!

Debbie and Giovanni are a weird but wonderful couple. Everyone I spoke to prior to Debbie actually performing thought she was going to be a useless old bat, I defended her thinking she's got potential, I think good things will come from her and I'm so glad I was right! She smashed that Paso and I'm so looking forward to what else she's going to bring.

Jonnie and Oti, omg I tingle all over at the sight of these two!! Love love loved their Waltz and with Oti’s amazing ability to create unique routines I think these two are going to wow me over and over again. 

Chizzy and Pasha were supposed to have danced a cha cha but we didn't see much, she's a natural mover and has great rhythm but hopefully we will see more of the dance they should have been performing next time.

Charlotte and Brendan are my boring couple. Brendan is my least fave pro, he's passed his moment and I don't like his attitude. Charlotte is reserved, which isn't a bad thing but I can’t connect to her, Jay 2 years ago started off quiet and reserved but I easily connected, I can’t do this with Charlotte and I think this will be the safe and boring couple as seen in their Foxtrot.

Simon and Karen are a couple I hope improve week after week but I have a horrible feeling they will go fairly soon. Their Paso was ok, he is a complete beginner to dance and to learn that in 2 weeks is amazing, but I'm not sure he can compete with some of the others with a history in dance.

Alexandra and Gorka, holy moly Gorka is a babe isn't he?! Anyway…this is a couple that is clearly going to go far in this competition, she looked beautiful and at home on the dance floor in the Waltz and I really do think she will thoroughly enjoy this whole experience with a humble heart.

I actually forgot about poor Brian and Amy! I guess that shows I didn't think too much to their Tango. Another couple I fear will be eliminated early in the competition.

Aaaaaand finally, Gemma and Aliaz, a couple I think will have their ups and downs but will go far, I could see genuine moments in their cha cha where she was smiling at Aliaz and you could tell she was enjoying herself, yes girly! I want to see this! 

If you cant tell by now, I love Strictly, and I easily get swept up in the glitzy world and really look forward to the weekends, call me sad, I don't care! This year the person I shared my love of strictly with, my Nana, is no longer with us, she passed away at Christmas, a couple of weeks before we were due to go to our first live tour, so I am going to enjoy this year even more, for both me and my Nana. 

Thanks for reading!

Vikky.

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My top tips for University.

I regret going to uni. Probably not the best way to start a tips post about getting through uni but I’d say going to uni was the biggest regret of my life.

This leads me to my No1 tip: Do you really need to go to uni? What reasons are you going for? I say this because I always wanted to go to uni to study Spanish, but on A Level results day I found out I bombed and didn't get the grades, my tutor pulled me aside for a chat and suggested I do a foundation degree in animal management and welfare, there weren't really any entry requirements and he knew I loved animals. Swept up in all the joy my friends were feeling and jealous of their excitement at starting uni I got swept up in the moment and enrolled on the foundation. I’d never shown any interest in working with animals, never studied an animal related subject, yet here I was, going to do a degree! WTF! At the time I thought going to uni was the thing to do, there were no other options and if you didn't go to uni you'd be screwed. Boy was I wrong! Looking back now I was just so ashamed at my sucky A Level results, green eyed at every single one of my friends and peers as they were all sharing their uni stories and excitement and I didn't want to be left out. I was wrong. I wish now I’d taken a different route, an apprenticeship, internship, starting work somewhere and working my way up the ladder, maybe re-doing my A Levels to get the grade I wanted to do the course I wanted in the first place. Think long and hard about if uni is right for you. Hell I have a shitty degree now, student debt and I work in a food store! So I guess you could say I'm one of those failure stories you hear about people not getting their dream job after uni and are stuck in a minimum wage job 10 years later! Even now I have no idea what kind of job my degree can get me! 

Tip 2: Embrace your new life. Most people heading off to uni will be leaving home for the first time, and living on their own, without parental supervision! The thought of this is very exciting but can also be quite daunting, you're leaving your home, the space where you're surrounded by loved ones and comfort. But home will always be home and it will always be there. Living on your own is tough but fun, you'll make great friends in your halls and you'll be getting some independence. I believe this is when a teen makes their journey to adulthood. The typical stereotype of first year uni students is party crazed, drinking to coma status teens, but whatever you're into embrace it, have fun but be responsible and take every experience you can to the fullest. Because I didn't, I was too shy and insecure and I regret not experiencing more at uni, going out, making friends, joining clubs or teams, so whatever you want to do, do it, go out, join it! Live it!

This brings me onto tip 3: While you're living it up, living your best life, don't forget that you're paying thousands of pounds to LEARN!!! You're not working a party season in Ibiza, you're there to study, and write essays, and challenge yourself, and take exams, and attend lectures and seminars. You need to find a balance. You'll find yourself one day needing to study or meet a deadline, and someones planned a party, do you a) sack off studying, go to party, rush to finish project, get a disappointing grade? Or b) stay in and study, do some fine ass work and be proud of that super grade? Hell if you finish earlier than expected the party will still be there after. We've established that I'm an introvert and I’d substitute party for cinema or meal or movie night with friends but I mostly chose option a, and I'm ashamed to say my degree suffered for it. Planning ahead is easier when you know of things coming up that you want to attend, like seeing a film at the weekend or the party next week, you can easily plan your studies to fit around your social life, but the temptation of spur of the moment plans is super hard to resist, especially if friends are pressuring you to go out and fob off your studies you had planned. Stand up for yourself and don't let anyone make you feel pressured to do something you don't want to. At the end of your degree you want to graduate with a diploma that says that amazing grade you want, remember that.

Tip 4: Join clubs, teams, activities, make study groups. I did this to some extent but I let my own insecurities get in the way. I used to play badminton, and found that there was a team at uni and would loved to have gone to play with them, but I didn't, I was too scared because no one I knew wanted to come with me and I didn't want to go alone, FFS I wish I’d have just gone! I hate that I let myself get influenced by others and let my own scared little self get in the way of something fun, active and a chance to meet new people. Instead I joined my two friends horse riding, I could sit and walk on a horse but thats as far as my riding skills went! My two friends had ridden all their lives so I was like the 3rd wheel tag along to bring for entertainment! I'm actually getting angry at myself writing this because I wanted to do so much at uni, and did none of it and I'm actually kicking myself for it. Why didn't I just go for it and do what I wanted!! So if anyone reading this wants to do something, but is scared or is worried what their friends might think or scared to go alone, just fucking go. Because you'll be sat 10 years on loathing ourself for not living.

Tip 5: You will feel homesick, stressed, alone, pressured, all sorts of feelings and emotions, but they will get better. If you feel homesick call home, plan a weekend visit, have your family visit, show them around your new hometown. Keep in touch with friends who have gone to different uni’s, have them visit and visit them. If you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed with studying or have a huge workload talk to someone, make a plan to tackle it and stick to it. Set goals and smash them, they will keep you focussed and will cut down huge workloads into smaller more manageable chunks.

Make a budget, student loan wont last forever and it can be easy to start to run out of money. You could get a part time job, turn a hobby into a little business to bring a little cash in, like a youtube channel, etsy store, photography, blog, dog walking, anything. And its always a fab thing to add to your CV.

So theres my tips for all you freshers heading off to uni. In short, make sure you're 100% happy with what your studying and what uni you're going to and just live the fullest life you can, learning something you're passionate about and making memories you'll look back on and smile at.

Thanks for reading!

Vikky

x

Falling in love with photography again.

I picked up photography as a hobby a few years ago, but I've always been very self conscious about sharing my photos. I never believed they were any good. I had a heck of a lot to learn and made tonnes of mistakes along the way. In the end I gave up trying and just stopped learning and taking photos. I had no confidence and wasn't enjoying it like I thought I would.

Fast forward to now, I am loving photography! What sparked my passion again was a little spur of the moment shoot of two friends and from that day the urge to photograph stuff is craaaazy!

I never expected a portrait shoot would be the thing to awaken my passion, being a landscape enthusiast with a fear of portraits but I’ve done another portrait shoot since and I’m getting hooked!

I’ve been wanting to upgrade my entry level DSLR for over a year and last month I finally saved enough to upgrade and I’m in love! I went for the Nikon D7200 and splashed out on a new lens to go with and I want to keep it with me everywhere I go! I may have to name him!

I’ve also been playing around on Lightroom, editing new and old photos and learning new techniques. I’ve always been better at learning by doing and I really think my editing has improved from playing around.

I still have tonnes to learn, and look forward to taking better photos in the future. My editing skills can only get better and the lack of confidence I have about my photos is starting to shift a tiny bit. I’m learning that photography is personal, and I may love one of my photos but someone else might hate it and thats ok. 

I’ve decided that I’m going to create a photography bucket list, things to get me exploring and to challenge me to get better and broaden my skills with photography. I’m also planning on trying to go to more events near me and to carry my camera around with me more. Even writing this post is making me wanna go out and take photos! 

Thanks for reading and happy snapping!

Vikky

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