North/South divide?

I have to say that, since coming to London, I have definately noticed a cultural difference between the North and the South. I know my opinion is going to be bias since i'm from the North but you southerners certainly live life in the fast lane!! I've never known people to walk so fast, I feel like stopping people in the street and telling them to stop and take a breather!

I'm not just taking this opportunity to discuss the negative aspects of life down South but it really has surprised me how different it is down here. One of my flat mates puts her bread in the fridge and butter in the cupboard...what's that all about?!!

I read an article a few days ago and apparently the North East has been voted the nicest and friendliest place to live, well I couldn't agree more! Maybe i'm just saying this because I've always lived in such a small town and everyone knows everyone but sometimes I just feel like people here have no time for you, obviously i'm talking in general here.

I had always planned to move away from the North and live down here where it's all going on, work for a big magazine and focus 100% on my career. I'm glad I came to university down here because it's made me realise that up North actually does have some good points! Having grown up in such a laid back, quiet town i'm unsure as to whether I could keep up with the fast-paced life in London. I suppose I should stop complaining get used to it since I have three years of living a mere 40 minutes from 'the big smoke'!

Time to grow up...

So I found out some hugely shocking news recently concerning one of my friends who i've known since nursery. I got a text off her reading, 'Hi, I have some news...me and Nik are having a baby, i'm pregnant.' I can't even explain the huge wave of shock that hit me, literally knocked me for six! This is the girl i've grown up with, one of my best friends and she's having a baby! I couldn't believe it but it got me thinking...

I grew up with 4 friends who were always there for me, the 5 of us were inseparable. We went to all the same schools, were in all the same classes; teachers used to make special arrangements so that we could sit together at lunch! Then we got to high school. Things gradually started to change and we drifted apart. We obviously still kept in touch but we weren't even nearly as close as we used to be.

I suppose it is coming to university that has made me realise how much things are changing, it's scary that things can change so much without you even noticing. We have all gone to university, gone our seperate ways so to speak and hearing that one of your friends is pregnant really does make you realise how much we are growing up. I still think of myself as a child and seem to forget that i've moved miles away on my own and i'm living on my own; doing all my own washing and ironing and cooking!

I don't know why but i've always been a person who resists change. I love the familiar and will dig my heels into the ground if things around me start to change. However, hearing that one of my best friends is going to have a baby and seeing how happy she was really made me realise that we are all growing up and beginning to make our own marks in life. So i've now decided that from this day forward i'll 'embrace' change and all the opportunities it's bound to offer!!! As they say; 'these are the days of your lives' so i guess it's time to start enjoying them!!

Queen bees and wanabees...

"Watch your Back!"

The word 'bitch' has gained so many meanings over the past few years. Originally it was used to refer to a female dog. It was then developed as an insult, used towards girls and often used by girls! In today's society, however, it has developed yet another meaning and is now used as a verb. For example we might say 'to bitch' as in to talk about someone behind their back in a negative way.

So that's all the definitions out the way; I have to ask...is it just me or do girls have some sort of genetic malfunction which means they have to bitch and have to be unnecessarily rude and mean!? Don't get me wrong, in posing this question I'm not claiming that I have never bitched before, in fact it is because I do bitch, that I am asking this question. I realized recently, and was quite scared, that when amongst friends, I actually like bitching! Surely this isn't right?! In fact I strictly remember one of my friends exclaiming, 'I love a good bitch!'

I find it increasingly hard to understand why girls indulge in this behavior so much. There are actually books being published which are aimed at parents with girls and instruct them on how to help their daughter survive the cliques so clearly established in today's society. It's crazy!!

Upon coming to university the problem of cliques became so clear to me. I had literally been there for three days and I looked around and girls were jumping all over each other acting like they'd known each other for years, it was quite sickening! I don't see the need to be so fake and over the top and so refuse to take part, however, it would seem that this sort of behavior is the only way to gain access to these groups of friends.

The 'hierarchy of social importance' is ever present within today's youth culture and the 'high school bitchiness culture' was highlighted most recently in the movie 'Mean Girls'. A film based on the book 'Queen bees and wannabees' which focuses on the problem which bitchiness is causing within our society.

What worries me is that girls now enjoy bitching, it's become so normal that the feeling of guilt has completely disappeared. Girls feel that they need to be mean and ruthless in order to claw their way up the social hierarchy. There are actually websites which give girls tips on how to be the mean, bitchy, popular girls. There are countless blogs devoted to bitching, constantly commenting on how bad a certain person looked or basically highlighting all of their bad points. Have we lost the ability to focus on the good before the bad? It is easy to answer yes when there are forums and websites devoted to answering the age old question 'Why are girls so bitchy?'

Many people have asked the question and yet up to now no one has been able to answer it. Bitchiness has become built in to our society and with girls constantly striving to become the 'queen bee' a girls world has literally become a survival of the meanest!!

A lifetime away from love...

"And ever has it been that loves knows not its own depth until the hour of separation." - Kahlil Gibran

In my own opinion, I can honestly say that I couldn't agree more with Mr Gibran! Having traveled hundreds of miles down the country away from home I was naive in thinking it would be an easy ride; the perfect opportunity to move away whilst knowing I can go back whenever I wanted. When I chose my six university options I was a single girl and absolutely loving it! I was soo (emphasis on the so!) excited to move away and meet new people (mainly new hotties) and create a new place to call home. Weeell needless to say (100% typical of my luck) things changed pretty quickly after I accepted an offer from UCCA university in Surrey.

To cut a long story short the whole singleton life came crashing down around me one random Sunday afternoon. I was working at Superdrug, pretending to look busy by testing all the perfumes! So in strolls this boy who instantly grabbed my attention. I carried on "working" and noticed he was talking to my supervisor so I casually walked over and joined in! Shy girls get nothing as they say!! I realise that i'm not really cutting the long story short here so anyway...in the end we ended up swapping numbers and six months on I am indeed still with him and couldn't be happier.

Those six months before I moved here were fantastic, I knew I was moving away in September but both of us refused to talk about it and I just wanted to put it to the back of my head and enjoy the time we had left together. Little did I know that September would come a lot quicker than I had expected! We were both still pretty optimistic about the whole situation; I told him to think of it as me just being on holiday and not think of the move as permanent. For the first two weeks that worked perfectly well but slowly things began to change - not really for the better either.

Having decided to give this place a chance and stay positive about the whole situation I began thinking. I know that I chose to come here because at the time I thought it was what I needed to do. I was so focused on my career ambitions and was so unprepared for love to come along and completely obscure my vision. Nevertheless I am really proud of myself for moving away from such a tight-knit family and a close circle of friends. I've put myself in a position which is completely out of my comfort zone and I know i'm gaining crucial life experience with every step I take.

That thought alone, however, doesn't shorten the distance between me and what my heart desires. 'The best thing to hold onto in life is eachother." - well I didn't did I?! I upped and moved when I know full well I could have been doing the same course a few short hours away from home. Well that was my decision; a decision which, at least for this year, I have to live with!

A long distance realtionship is ever never going to be easy, it's just one more hurdle to over come and just adds that extra bit of difficulty to the relationship! And is it just me or are boys completely immune to any kind of emotion?! Here's me on the phone pouring my heart out and he's giving it 'yeah, i miss you a bit!' Well thanks for that, that really reassures me!! Men, i dunno!!

Regardless of this it would seem that nowadays long distance relationships are becoming more and more popular. The technology of today makes it so much more easy. Web cams allows you to see each other at your own convenience and with the Web 2.0 quickly advancing sites like facebook and bebo allow you to contact each other constantly. Alongside traditional methods of communication such as email, text and telephone you can be with your partner without actually being with them!! It great!

If there is one thing i've realised since I moved away it's that relationships certainly come in many different forms. I regularly speak to my friends who literally could not live without their boyfriends and would actually need a survival guide! This doesn't mean that they are any more in love than those who can make a long distance relationship work.

There are relationships which open you up to something news and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that ring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started and those that bring you back. However, the most exciting, amazing and significant relationship is the one that you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you that you love....well that's just fabulous!!! And if you have found this someone, all i can say is make sure you hold on tight!