50 Random Questions | @amyjcollins

Hello friends,

I know it's not been long since I last posted, but I'm super bored on this Saturday evening because I'm ill and have no friends and thought I might as well channel my brain somewhere (slightly) productive.

I'm being really lazy (sorry!) and doing yet another tag post! It's pretty text heavy, but yeah! I hope you like it and maybe you'll learn a little something about me. I also tag any of you who write your own blogs to give this a go and let me know you've done it so I can learn a bit more about you. This also feels very 2008 and extremely MySpace, woohoo, CHILDHOOD! Let's get started...

1. Where were you 3 hours ago? Three hours ago I would have just been finishing work and heading to Tesco... Such a fun life.
2. Who are you in love with? My family and friends... And Harry Styles.
3. Have you ever eaten a crayon? I think everyone's eaten a crayon at some point, haven't they? And if you're sat there saying you haven't... you're lying.
4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? Shampoo bottle, face wash, sports bottle, Superdrug carrier bag and a One Direction toothbrush.
5. When is the last time you went to the mall? I work in a mall, so today.
6. Are you wearing socks right now? Yaaaaaaaas.
7. Does your family have a car worth over $2,000? We have two cars.
8. When was the last time you drove out of town? I don't drive.
9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? I was supposed to go yesterday, but didn't in the end which sucks.
10. Are you hot? Smokin' baby.
11. What was the last thing you had to drink? DIET COKE, duh.
12. What are you wearing right now? Black leggings and a grey Hype sweater.
13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? I don't have a carrrr :(.
14. Last food that you ate? Nanny Mave's Slimming World Shepherd's Pie and it was fricking awesome.
15. Where were you last week at this time? Probably the same place I am now... In bed watching trashy YouTube videos and dreaming about pizza.
16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? No clothing, just phone cases and make-up!
17. When is the last time you ran? On Wednesday evening in Insanity class.
18. What’s the last sporting event you watched? I just caught the end of Aston Villa v Liverpool when I got in from work.
19. What is your favorite animal? I love pigs and elephants. I also really like French Bulldogs. They're so cuuute and I want one so bad.
20. Your dream vacation? I'm super desperate to get to Dubai or Hawaii. They're both places I'd like to visit before I die. Obviously for any of you who know me, you know I really want to get to LA, but I look at that more as a long term thing rather than a holiday.
21. Last person’s house you were in? My own.
22. Worst injury you’ve ever had? I broke my leg when I was like two. My friend and I were jumping on a bed and I fell off. I was in plaster from my ankle to my thigh when my little sister was born. Here's a photo!
     
23. Have you been in love? No.
24. Do you miss anyone right now? I miss all of my Uni friends every day. I have a best friend called Aidan who lives in Ireland and I miss him more than words could ever begin to describe. I miss my sister when she's at Uni, but we talk every day which makes it easier.
25. Last play you saw? It was called 'Whose Coat is that Jacket?' and it was in Cardiff. It was actually a lot better than I was expecting and I recommend it to all of you!
26. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? My extreme awkwardness and my innate ability to constantly make a complete fool of myself :).
27. What are your plans for tonight? Sleep for the longest time, although in reality I'll be awake until 3am on Tumblr.
28. Who is the last person you sent a MySpace message or comment? I actually went on MySpace to check this, but it wouldn't let me view my old messages. I miss MySpace, though man.
29. Next trip you are going to take? I'm planning a trip to Florida in late March at the moment. It's all money dependent but I really hope I can make it happen. I've been so desperate to get back to the US for the longest time, so I'm super excited!
30. Ever go to camp? I went on Brownie camp about three times when I was younger. I literally loved it so much! I wish I'd been American so I could have gone to Summer Camp every year growing up. I've been thinking a lot about doing Camp America this year or next, so watch this space!
31. Were you an honor roll student in school? I was not.
32. What do you want to know about the future? If I should be as afraid of developing technologies as I am. The digital future both excites me and petrifies me. The thought of robots and what not really freaks me out. Other than that, I'd rather not know.
33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? I'm currently wearing Paco Rabanne Lady Million.
34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor’s visit? Hopefully not.
35. Where is your best friend? My best friends are all over the place, but I imagine they're all in their respectable homes at the moment.
36. How is your best friend? I think they're all pretty good, thanks!
37. Do you have a tan? I really don't and the though alone is heartbreaking. Take me back to this tan please. I want summer all over again!
    
38. What are you listening to right now? Jacks Mannequin - The Resolution
39. Do you collect anything? I actually collect Mugs. It's a crazy thing for me to collect actually as I don't drink any kind of hot drink, but I've been collecting now for about 8 years. Every time I enter the Disney store, I leave with a new one. I bought my latest because I love Sebastian, but also because the quote is just super cute!
40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know? Probably myself and all of my friends.
41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? Literally never.
42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? Quite a few times, actually.
43. What does your last text message say? 'We are the famous CFC x x x' This was from my Dad ahead of Chelsea's clash with Man Utd tomorrow.
44. Do you like hot sauce? No, no, no, NEVER.
45. Last time you took a shower? I had a bath this morning.
46. Do you need to do laundry? Just did some.
47. What is your heritage? Oh god, so boring. English and Welsh. No fun in me.
48. Are you someone’s best friend? I'd like to hope so, yeah.
49. Are you rich? Today I was ecstatic that my food shopping came to less than £10 because it meant I wouldn't be struggling all week for money. I think that answers your question, haha.
50. What were you doing at 12AM last night? Watching TV with my Mom and Brother.

So there we've established that I'm extremely boring and apparently have nothing better to do with my time. I hope you've learned some positively useless information about me. Like I said before, I tag you all to answer this on your blogs and link me to it in the comments. I promise at some point soon I'm going to write something of purpose and meaning, but for the time being please take these filler posts as me making an effort even at times of torrential writer's block.

Thanks so much for stopping by, 

Take care, stay beautiful, dream big.

@amyjcollins

xox

New Year Tag || Better Late Than Never

Hello wonderful people, 

I'm suffering from a severe case of writers block (nothing new there) and decided instead of writing something new for you this week, I'd head over to my drafts and look at the very few random ideas I've had. This was something I intended to post a little earlier in the month, but I guess it just slipped my mind. I'm going to give it to you anyway, because I'm super kind, but also because 'tag' posts are super easy for when you're out of creativity. Enjoy! 

1. What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?

I graduated University and that's something I'd never done before, hah! But in all seriousness, I think I put more effort into things. I've always been a 'sit back and relax' kind of person, and never really worked too hard for what I want, but in 2013, I really upped the ante. I started saving (horray, America) and properly started looking for a full time job. I don't have one yet, neither do I have enough money to go to America, but I'm still working towards them both so roll on 2014! I've also put a lot more effort into friendships because they're so few and far between as you get older, and I want to keep as many amazing people around me as possible! 

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I think my resolution for 2013 was to cut back on Diet Coke, and well, I didn't stick to that one at all.

3. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?

A successful relationship. And dreams that I actually follow through. In 2013, I set myself a lot of goals that were super unrealistic and I always felt down on myself when I didn't achieve them. For this year, I've made plans that are achievable and I have so much to look forward to if I can stick to it.

4. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I've said it a million times on here, but probably graduating Uni. It was a huge thing for me because, towards the end especially, I really didn't think I was going to do it. In my third year, I sort of became a nervous, awkward hermit and I didn't enjoy going to class or being a student. Obviously everyone has good and bad days, but I was super proud that I did it! 

5. What was the best thing you bought? 

A money bank that can't be opened. In fairness, I have opened it now because I do have something that I'm physically saving for and in reality I need to know where I'm at with money, but it actually meant I've saved a lot more than I thought I would be able to.

6. What was your favorite TV program?

In 2013, I started watching Glee and it's fast taken over my life. I absolutely adore anything related to musical theatre so when my friend Ellie introduced me to it, I was hooked. Now I'm back home from Uni, I have a few guy friends who are also obsessed with it and we sometimes have marathon Glee sessions. Don't judge us, we're amazing. 

7. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.

For the longest time I've battled with lack of self confidence and self belief. I don't think I'm good enough to achieve things which in turn makes me lazy and I don't strive for greatness as much as I possibly should. In 2013, I made had so many dreams and didn't stick to them, but it's only spurred me on to do more in 2014 and in years to come. In 2013 (with some help from good friends and Keep it Bright), I learned that no matter what life throws at you, if you work hard and believe in yourself, you can achieve great things, and you will. 

So there you have it. I hope this isn't too much like my 2013 recap and I do hope you enjoy it. Why don't you answer one of the questions above and leave it in the comments?!

Thank you so much for stopping by,

Take care, stay beautiful and dream big!

All the love in the world,

@amyjcollins

xox

2013; A quick recap and some (probably unrealistic) hopes for 2014!

Hiya Peeps!

So as 2013 draws to a close, I thought what better way to celebrate my final post of the year than recapping everything that's happened in my life. For the most part it's been a pretty good year and I've had amazing people around me, but 2013 hasn't been all fabulous. Despite that, I've learned a hell of a lot, hung out with some amazing people and I've smiled almost all the way through. So without further ado, here's what happened to me in 2013... (And I'm sorry it's not in chronological order, I'm painfully lazy!).

Possibly the biggest and most talked about thing for me this year was when I graduated University back in July. I know it was 6 months ago now, and I haven't really stopped going on about it, but I actually still can't believe it happened. I've blogged about it a lot and you can check that out here, here & here and if you want to see the exact moment I 'officially' became a graduate, skip to 0.55 of this video and listen to my family scream at me... I won't talk too much about it because I've already said way too much, but I had the most amazing time with some really incredible people who I can't thank enough. I learned so much about my future, but also about myself as a person, so good job Cardiff, you treated me well.

After I finished studying, I was also lucky enough to land myself my first real bit of work experience with Social and Mobile Media agency, Coup Media. It's also something I've spoken about already on my blog and you can read more about it here, but like being at University, I learned so much while I was with them, and it's only made my passion for Social Media grow, so cheers guys!

2013 was also the year that I started to take blogging seriously. Now I know what you're all thinking... 'Amy, you haven't taken it that seriously, you haven't posted in about a month' and you're right. Towards the end of the year I have been slacking, but I promise you, 2014 is our year! I hit 2000 views which is absolutely huge for me, so thank you to everyone who's read previous posts or is reading now. Whether you've read all of my waffle from the beginning or whether this is your first time on my blog, thank you! And while we're on the Social Media topic, I also wrote my 20,000th tweet in 2013. A lot of you will say that this is because I don't have a life, but I think it's just because I have a lot to say, and I really like the internet. Tyler Oakley also followed and then unfollowed me this year, but I'm keeping this in because I'm so sad that it's no longer a reality.

For me, this year was a big year for music. I'm not necessarily talking about artists that have broken through into the top 100 or that have kick-started their careers, but I'm talking about music that I have discovered this year, and artists that I've been lucky enough to see live. Artists like SoMo, Kid Ink, Jay Loftus and Lewis Mokler have had my heart this year when it comes to discovering new talent. I also happen to have a love affair with Little Mix, Union J and Wiz Khalifa this year. I've been lucky enough to see some of my favourite artists this year including Hoodie Allen, Tyler Hilton, Bruno Mars, Ellie Goulding and Mcfly, among others! Music has spoken to me a lot in 2013 and pulled me through so much. I'm starting to realise that I think I love music more than people.

2013 is also the year of McBusted, and I honestly couldn't be more excited about it. I'm going to be seeing them in 2014 with my sister, and I'm super stoked. I've been wanting McFly and Busted to collab again for a really long time so I can't wait to be a part of it. It's also the year of the first McBaby and that's another thing that is super amazing. Being part of a fandom for such a long time, you really feel it when things like this happen and I just know he or she is going to be the coolest and most spoiled kid of all time!

Oh and for those of you who know, you'll now how hard the next two things were for me. Lent came around and I really wanted to have a good stab at it this year. I always give up things that I can't stick to, but this year I was going to push myself. I drink A LOT of Diet Coke and my Uni friends thought contracting me to give it up for 40 days would be a laugh. I knew it would be the hardest thing ever, but I decided to give it a whirl... And I actually stuck to it. And on the last day of Lent, I bought a crate of 30 cans of the gorgeous, fizzy, sugar free goodness and haven't looked back since. I also battled with my weight a lot throughout 2013. My anxiety got really bad, and in turn I think I got really lazy and just put on a lot of weight. I also think being in the University environment doesn't help when everyone around you can eat whatever they want and it goes to your thighs, rather than theirs. However, I have also lost a lot of weight this year. So far I've lost about 2 stone and in 2014, I hope to lose more. I've been at a bit of a standstill for a while so am looking for a bit of extra inspiration to push my weightloss in the new year!

Looking ahead to 2014, I have a lot of dreams and things I want to achieve. All of this year, and most of my life I've talked about my love affair with the USA. I am 100% certain I was born on the wrong continent, and this is something I want to work on over the next year and many more to come. I want to spend some time in America, whether that's a two week holiday or a three travelling trip, I'm going to do it. Ideally I want to hit up Florida before the summer, Los Angeles in October and New York for xmas. All probably completely unrealistic, but if I even manage to achieve one of those I'll be a happy little soul. America has had my heart since I was 11 years old, and I can't wait to get back.

I've mentioned it already, but I want to get to my goal weight in 2014. I'm not going to tell you how much I weigh now, but ideally, I want to weight 5lbs less than Harry Styles which I believe is 11stone. My friends know the reason why, but I'm not going into it on the internet. And when I get to that weight I want to maintain it. It's one thing to lose weight, but to stay there is the hard bit, so hopefully I can do it! 

I also hope that 2014 will be my year for luck in Love. Everyone I know is going to be freaking out about this because for the longest time I've been happy being single, and I still am but I guess I'm ready for someone to cuddle and eat Nandos with while watching trashy TV (soooo vommy I know, and I almost hate myself for writing it). I'm not asking for much though, so maybe Harry Styles will see my potential in 2014 and fall madly in love with me. 

So that's it. Thank you so much if you've lasted until the end of this post and thank you all for sticking by me this year. 2013 has been a pretty good one, but I'm almost certain that next year is going to be even better. 2014 is MY year. All of my Social Media links are in the side bar so come chat to me, I'm nice enough. Tweet me or tell me in the comments, what are your plans for 2014? 

You can check out my 2013 in photos on my Instagram or here!

Thanks again for stopping by,

Take care, Stay Beautiful and Dream Big (especially in 2014!)

All the love in the world, 

@amyjcollins

I'm an intern... Whaaaat?!

Hiya Peeps! 

On a Wednesday morning, a very nervous and slightly over dressed 20 year old called Amy Collins (that’s me!) got on the train at Cardiff Central and headed to Newport for her first day as an intern at Coup Media. 

I didn’t think it was physically possible to be so nervous and so excited about something at once, but apparently it is! When I arrived at the office, I literally had no idea what to expect. I knew the team was small so that made me feel a little more relaxed as there would be less people to impress and, more importantly, less people for me to be scared of! As it happens, the people here aren’t scary at all and I feel like I fit in well. 

I’ve been doing a bunch of different tasks since I got here and I’m really enjoying learning new things and working alongside a team who are as passionate about Social Media as I am. I’ve mainly been supporting the guys in the office and helping them out with extra jobs that need doing. 

The majority of my role had been emailing people and researching. I spent some time working with Steve on the Oi! Conference and emailing people who might be interested in attending, as well as doing some of my own research to find local businesses and bloggers who might benefit from the event. As well as Oi!, I’ve been working with Sadie and helping her with both the KMS and the Internacionale accounts. I’ve been talking to some beauty bloggers about their reviews of the KMS Frizz Fighter Kit and I’ve even had the chance to read a few! I’ve also been doing a lot of work on the Internacionale Pinterest account which I’ve really enjoyed. As well as adding to the boards that they already had, I also added some of my own which made me feel (stupidly) important! I also posted a couple of pictures on their Instagram last week and I got really excited when people started to ‘like‘ them! I’ve also learned quite a bit about Social Bookmarking sites since I got here. I used to go on Stumble Upon quite regularly, but I never realised how and why sites like it are used; I just ‘stumbled’ looking for cute cats or dinner ideas! Because users can tailor what they see, sites like Stumble Upon and Delicious are a great way to get your content out there and seen by a wider audience. All in all, it’s been a great experience so far, and my face has even appeared on the Coup website (gulp!). 

I was also lucky enough to attend the Oi! Conference at the Marriott hotel earlier this week. The day was really great for networking and getting to know people in the industry. I learned so much from all of the speakers, but also from people I met at the event; I even gained a new follower on Twitter! I found the talk from Mark Schaefer most inspiring as he spoke a lot about blogging and how to create spectacular content. As I'm new to blogging, his tips really helped me and I couldn't wait to get home and start writing. 

I’ve found being here at Coup straight after University really beneficial. I’ve not really had time to stop working which has meant I’m in a much better mindset. My brain is still in ‘work mode’ and because I haven’t had a massive break, it doesn’t feel like a struggle doing work, especially when it’s work I’m really enjoying. 

So after 8 cans & 5 bottles of Diet Coke, 16 train journeys and a new addiction Blogger, Pinterest and Stumble Upon, I’ve completed three weeks of an internship at Coup! 

Remember, take care, stay beautiful and dream big! <3.
Thanks for stopping by,
@amyjcollins