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 back! | Figuring Out Where I'm Going in Life - The Next Chapter

Hiya Peeps!

I know it's been a super long time since I've been here, but please don't judge me, I've been super busy trying to figure a few things out and now I'm (hopefully) back for good. Setting myself a goal to post on a weekly basis on a certain day and time was obviously something that I wasn't going to be able to stick to, so I'm sorry for that also! 

As you may know, in July this year I graduated from The University of Glamorgan (now The University of South Wales) with a 2:1 in Media Production (I know, I still can't really believe it either!). Throughout the whole of my third year I didn't really think about what I was going to do after graduation, I guess I just focused on the work and holding onto the University lifestyle. I always knew that the time would come when it would all be over and I'd have to start looking for a job, but I tried to block it out. I'm one of those people who haven't figured out what I want to do yet, so actually getting my head down and applying for stuff scared the living wits out of me. 

Since I was able to get my hands on a computer with internet access, I've been a little bit addicted to Social Media. Don't laugh, I was even on Habbo Hotel and Neopets (and if you don't know what those are, I'm judging you!). During my third year at Uni, Social Media really became my thing, and I knew that it was what I wanted to do as a career. The whole Social Media movement excites me and watching how everything and everyone is moving online is fascinating. People use the internet so much in their every day lives and it's an industry that's moving so quickly, I can't see it ever being boring. When I finished Uni, I was lucky enough to land an internship with a Social and Mobile Media Agency in Newport and it completely changed my life. Being there, I learned so much and my passion for the business only grew more. I wanted to work in Community Managment and I wanted to spend all of my time online. 

 

I've since moved home to Essex, and finding a full time job is proving more difficult that I had hoped. Everyone told us it wasn't going to be easy, but I never ever anticipated that it could be this stressful. It's hard because everything you apply for asks for more experience than I have, but how am I ever supposed to get experience when no one will take a chance on me? I know my industry is a difficult one to get into and everyone is in the same boat, but I sometimes question where I'm going wrong. I have a part-time job which has been a lifesaver for me, but I can't help but look at where I am now and see that I'm in exactly the same spot I was in before I acquired my degree. It's really hard to be upbeat about the future when you literally have no clue where you're going in life, or really where you want to be. 

Last week I made the trip back to Cardiff where I studied to catch up with some of my friends and family, and my FMP lecturer from Uni. Going back was one of the strangest things I've ever experienced and being back in The Atrium was even weirder. I drove past where I lived, and went back to the place where I graduated and couldn't help but feel the huge lump in throat that it was all really over. I went back to my University to meet one of good friends who was also my FMP lecturer, Julie, and that was the strangest part. Being back in the building where I studied for three years didn't feel like home anymore. On one hand, I wouldn't have found it strange if my friends had walked in and we'd have gone to lectures, but on the other, I couldn't help but notice that it wasn't my life anymore. There were hundreds of people around me and not one of them knew who I was or that I'd even studied there before. Speaking to Julie, though, has made me feel a lot better about things. First, she gave me a kick up the backside about not blogging (probably why I'm back!) but she also helped me to feel okay about the fact that I'm not sure where I'm going yet. She reassured me that most people are in the same situation and as long as I have dreams and aspirations I'll get there one day soon. Seeing my best friends from Uni really brought it all home to me that most of us really are the same. We spent so long sharing all of our memories and I was so grateful to see them all again, but it was also so nice knowing that we all believe in each other. I think the Uni Glam Class of 2013 are the best yet! 

I've been thinking a lot recently about what the next step is for me. It's hard knowing that my University life is over, but that's not then end of my story. I've got so much more that I want to achieve and so many things that I want to see that I'm not giving up on. While a career is so extremely important to me, I've also decided that I might want to travel a bit. If you know me well, you'll know that I've always said I was born on the wrong side of the pond. My heart belongs to America, and even though I've only been there twice, I cannot wait to get back. I've decided that I NEED to go back. I want to spend part of next summer in Los Angeles, but that all depends on what I'm doing career wise at the point. I'm still applying for Social Media and PR & Marketing jobs every day in the hope that something will come along real soon. I guess I don't have a finalised goal of where I want to be. I don't know if I'll stay here in the UK or if I will make it to the US, who knows?! All I know is that I have great people around me, a degree that I'm proud of and the power to be whoever I want to be. I have no limits. I'm lucky enough to have the most supportive family and friends out there, and I know they'll be there for me whatever I do in life. 

I guess this is really a post for anyone who's in the same position as me, or for someone at Uni or someone who's thinking about going. It's a post for my family and friends, but it's also a post for me. It's good to talk about what you're going through and hopefully this way I'll find even more people that can relate to my experience. 

I know this is kind of a serious post but I do also want to keep this blog light-hearted and fun to be a part of. I'm going to keep blogging about life after University, but I also want to keep the Beauty and Tag theme around. What do you want to see me talk about next time? Pleaseee give me suggestions because they're really helpful at moments of severe writers block, but I also want to write stuff that you want to read! Just tweet me @amyjcollins or comment any ideas that you have! There are plenty of other Social Media sites where you can grab me as well, links are all in the sidebar. I hope you're still enjoying my blog and I'll see you very soon! 

Thanks so much for stopping by, all the love in the world,

Take care, stay beautiful and dream big!

@amyjcollins

xox

Terrible Excuse for a Blogger! - 10 Different Ways to Apologise

Hiya Peeps!

So, as you can see by today's title, I am accepting that I have been a terrible human being. I made a pact with myself and you guys that I'd upload regularly (on a Sunday) and since I made that official, I haven't really stuck to it. It was all well and good me making the commitment to post on that day, but I'm a super busy human being and apparently also quite a lazy one. So this is me apologising without a real excuse, but hey, at least I'm trying! 

Today's post is kind of a filler ahead of Sunday's, and I thought I'd stick with something kind of topical. As I'm saying sorry, I thought why not give you '10 Different Ways to Apologise'. I've spent quite a while (at least an hour) trying to think of creative things to put here, so here it goes.

1. Hug them

Sometimes just simply giving someone a cuddle can do all the talking.

(Me and my best friend not apologising to each other, but it's a nice huggy photo. Sorry, Chris!)

2. Send them a video

More often than not, knowing what to say in person is really difficult. Whether you make a video (like the one above) or send someone their favourite video to cheer them up, it can sometimes be a good apology.

(I borrowed this video from YouTube! All credit to the person who made it.)

3. Write a song / poem

This is for all the lyrical folk among us. If words just aren't enough, or you can't say them in the right way, sing them! When things rhyme, they sound a lot cuter.

4. Buy a gift 

It doesn't have to be an expensive gift; in fact, it doesn't need to have cost anything at all. Gifts, like hugs, can sometimes speak the words you don't know how to say. Flowers are always a winner, as are chocolates (in my eyes).  For the arty and crafty people, there's always a handmade gift and if you're rolling in the money, your friend will almost always appreciate a car!

5. Write a letter

A letter is a really great way to say sorry. If you're not ready or able to be face to face with who you're apologising to, a letter works really well. It allows some space between people and gives them time to think. It also shows that you're sincere and you've taken time and effort to write it.

6. Dress up funny and pay them a visit

This is more for those of us who are really awkward with confrontation and have real panic when it comes to apologising (me!). It adds a bit of comedic value to the situation and nothing says sorry like me dressed up as a really pathetic looking mouse! 

(This wasn't an actual apology, this is me and my friend on Halloween but it's the best picture of me dressed up that I could find. Sorry, Jack!)

7. Cook something 

This would never work for me as I'm a terrible excuse for a chef, but for some of you it will. Baking a cute cake or someone's favourite meal could be the perfect way to cheer them up. Just make sure everything is cooked properly before serving it; you don't want to make someone ill as well as mad at you.

8. Public apology

When I use the term 'public apology', I'm actually being quite vague. In my eyes, this can vary from anything to saying a big sorry in a restaurant full of people to posting an apology tweet or blog post (hey, isn't that exactly what this is?!). Basically, it's public in the sense that other people will see it and see how sorry you are, and hopefully that way, so will the other person. (Please don't go with a cringey Facebook status, though. That really bugs me!)

9. Apologise through somebody else

Sometimes saying 'sorry' to someone's face is really difficult, especially if you're shy or uncomfortable with confrontation. If writing a letter isn't something that would work for you, why not talk to someone else about how sorry you feel. That way they may share how you feel, and it can sometimes be really sincere. If the person you've upset hears how sorry you are, maybe they'll accept your (sort of) apology.

10. Just say 'Sorry' (and mean it).

But finally, when it comes down to it, sometimes the best way to apologise is to just say 'sorry'. A face to face apology is probably the most heartfelt and sincere of apologies and it usually means the most. If you really mean it, it'll come across in your face and body language, and with a bit of luck, all will be fixed!

So there you have it, peeps. I truly am sorry! If I could write a song for you all or pay you all a visit dressed a chicken, I would. I hope this helps you if you have something to apologise for / someone to apologise to. If you liked this post, please let me know on Twitter @amyjcollins. Follow me, and I'll follow back and we can chat. Please follow (bloglovin') and share this post where you can. It really means the world to me!

Thank you so much for sticking around and being patient with me,

Take care, stay beautiful and DREAM BIG!

All the love in the world, 

amyjcollins

xox