Wednesday 31 December 2014

My Year - 2014 (review)

23:42
This year has been a strange one.

For the main part I was completely stressed out because of my blooming G.C.S.Es which practically destroyed me since I had to do 28 blooming exams. But so many things really made my year; and truth be told I think it has been my best year in my life ... so far.

I went to see Kerry Ellis and Rory Taylor in RENT, the musical, on Valentines Day. It was a Christmas Present from my parents and I absolutely loved it!!!!

I was cast as the main singing part in our school musical, Grease. No, sadly, I was not Sandy. But at my old school, we had three or four singers that would sing in all the songs. These were the best singers and would create the harmonies as well as teach all the rest of the cast what to sing. And because I had done that before, two years ago, I was given the role of the head one. Which meant I personally decided on all the harmonies and I was the only soprano out of the group too! So that was awesome! Also, since I was a trusted student by the teachers in charge, they asked me to help them choreograph the different routines and stuff which was amazing!!!!!!!

Three days before the dress rehearsal I had the auditions for a performing arts school; something that I thought would only happen in my wildest dreams. Since about 2000 people applied and only 150 people were given an audition spot. I have to say that those two days were probably the best two days in my whole life ... at that point. It was amazing to be able to work alongside such wonderful people who aspired to be in the same industry as I wanted to be in. It was completely amazing.

And then I had the school play and I was able to do the school play. Something that I love every single time I do it; and I'm actually really really sad that I can't take part in it this year! It was so good this year because I got to take part and lead some vocal warm ups too. Ahhhh!!! And don't forget about the fact that I got to perform, something that I love to do!

After that, I found out that I got into the performing arts school, BOA, and I cried and screamed a little bit. I was even allowed to leave school five minutes early because my French teacher knew how nervous I was!

Then, I was in Italy. That trip was so beautiful! I loved every blooming minute of it. It was full of so many interesting and hilarious moments. It was my best mates birthday whilst we were away, and in Italy - for those of you who do not know - you can be served alcohol at the age of 14. This meant that she and my other friend who were in the room drank a few ... dozen bottles. Okay, they only drank two between them and they were fairly small but still it was quite amusing to watch. I don't drink, therefore I did not take part. But out there, I was able to bond with people I wouldn't usually bond with and it was really nice; as well as getting a great help for my exams.

Soon after I competed in a festival and won loads of categories - yay me!! And I was awarded the most promising voice in the whole of the vocal section; in which I was competing against adults!!!!! So yay me!!!!!

After that, there were my exams. Which I have to say were not completely hell on earth. A few of them, mainly my science exams, basically killed me. But the rest were alright. Once I got over the bulk of them in my first blooming week!!!!!!!!!! But, at the end of that first week, I went to see two shows and we found a ferret; who is now my baby boy and I love him to pieces!!!!! I actually enjoyed a few of my exams too, which I know is mad; but I did.

Then came the longest summer ever! Which was beautiful and I had a great leavers day; in which I dressed up as Arwen! And Prom. Well ... it was probably the first big party I've ever been to and I really enjoyed it, No I didn't go on the actually dance floor; but me and my friends danced at the back of the room in this large square we created and it was really really really fun. I felt really pretty that day; naturally pretty you know. And I did love the feeling. And truth be told, since then I have felt like that all the time.

I went to see six shows for my birthday and went to the Making of Harry Potter Studios in London!!!! Which was literally amazing and I loved it so much!!!! Someone take me back please!!!!!!

I then went on holiday with my parents to the Lake District, which - although it did cause me completely agony because I have a bad back - but it was beautiful and I got a lot of reading done too which was awesome!!!!! Oh and I went to see How To Train Your Dragon 2 as well, which killed me!

Little happened the rest of the summer, but I when I went back to school I started at BOA and it has been the most amazing experience of my life ... so far! I love it so much! And no matter how much I complain and moan about how hard it is and how the 20 minutes of ab work a week destroys me; I love it.

Little else has happened this year ... oh other than the fact that I hit 60,000 reads on the first book of my LOTR fanfic on Wattpad!!!!!!! Ekkk!!!!!

Oh, and I went to my first convention and met so many lovely actors! And so many nice cosplayers as well!!!!!

Finally, I went to see the Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies. This destroyed my soul so much ... even though the book is 75 year old and I know what happened but well it still killed me.

And Christmas was great too, so I think that my year has been a great one and I really can't wait to live 2015!!!!

So Happy New Year people! I hope 2015 is great for you all!!!

-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER!
XXXX

New Years Resolutions 2015

21:55
I want to change. Not drastically; only slightly. But I want to change myself for the better. So I have set myself some New Years resolutions that I do actually plan to stick to!!! Yay!!!!! Maybe not New Years resolutions, more like New Year goals. But I actually want to do them. So here you go. 

1. To read more. 
Yes I read a lot as it is, however, I really want to increase my reading over the year dramatically. Therefore, I have made myself a goal. By this time next year I want to have read 30 books. Wooo!!!!!!!

2. Upload more.
I really want to be able to upload loads more on all my sites. I might have to create a time table when to do this for my different websites. But that will most likely be done at a later date. The sites that I want to update frequently are ... well this .... Obviously (who else read that in Allan Rickman's voice?) ... Wattpad and YouTube. So I definitely will try to do that! 

3. Become more organised.
This sort of links to the previous point. I am really really really unorganised. I leave everything to the last minute, which then stresses me out so much! Therefore, I am going to make myself a timetable or something that'll include practice, school work and other stuff; other stuff includes writing, blogging and general performing stuff. 
Oh, this also includes my room. I want things to be tidier because when I get stressed I don't tidy things away and then my room becomes messy and that stresses me out even more. So I'm going to attempt to keep my room tidy all year round. I have tidied my room now so then I start off the new year with a tidy room. Maybe then that'll help me keep my room like that for the whole year. 

4. To practice.
This, sadly, is something that I do not so enough. I barely practice my singing, acting and dance at all; just enough really to help me get by. But I want to do more than that. I want to really excell in my work; to become the best that I can be as a performer. This is mainly because I will be beginning to look for places at University's, meaning that there will be auditions against hundreds of other people ... get my drift? 

5. Build my vocal repertoire. 
Think this is fairly self explainitary. For those of you who don't know, a vocal repertoire is something that consists of loads of songs that can be used for auditions and performances and ... anything else that I'll need it for. 

6. To care more about my looks.
For those who don't know me, they will probably think that that is completely shallow. But in the industry that I want to go into you have to know how to make yourself look attractive. This means that I am going to have to work on different things to do with my hair and make up so that I look fairly attractive! 

7. Be healthier 
This sort of links to my precious one. Basically, I am going to start going to the gym in the morning and eating more balanced, healthier meals. This means eating very few sweet things and fizzy pop and fast food :( 

8. To play the piano again
I used to enjoy playing the piano, until one of my previous teachers made me hate it. However, I know that it will help me jn the long run. So, basically, I am going to teach myself how to play and then that should help with my signing and stuff too. 

9. To become happier and more confident in myself 
Think that is a given really; don't you? 

10. To save up money and get a summer job
Think this makes sense too. Basically I want to buy a load of stuff, but to do that and I need money to do it

Yeah, so they are my New Years Resolutions/goals for 2015. Anything you think I should add to them? Please let me know. 

Happy New Year people!!! 

-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER! 
XXX

Tuesday 30 December 2014

Top 14 Books of 2014

22:31
This year I have read so many amazing books but there have definitely been those that have stood out to me and those we follow me on twitter will know how some of these have affected me. Because of that I have decided to do this my top fourteen books of 2014. This is only my opinion and I don't think any of these books are actually new releases for 2014 - sorry if that's what you're looking for :(

14. So book fourteen is ..... The Da Vichi Code by Dan Brown. Just because this book is the last book on my list in now way makes it the worst book. Oh god no! This book was super amazing and it had me hooked from the very beginning. I mean I love this film - who doesn't life a little big oh Tom Hanks. But the book was so much better and Brown's research into everything and his depth of characters .... ugh! It was so good! Okay. A lot of you won't know what this book is about so I will give you a little preview. The Da Vinci Code follows the story of Robert Langdon in his second book - thought I would mention that since I made that mistake myself the first time I picked the book up - in which a man he was going to meet who is the curator of The Louvre is violently murdered and the police think that Langdon had something to do with it. Whilst escaping the police he and the granddaughter of the curator, Sophie Neveu, have to decipher a load of clues and riddles in order to find out everything that is going on. And it all has something to do with the Holy Grail.

I'm sorry it that was a completely awful summery of the book but it's so hard to write anything about it without giving away the plot line. This book was so amazing and if I haven't have read so many other magnificent books this year, I suspect that it would have easily made it into my top 5 at least.

13. The next book in my list was The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer. How can I describe this book? Well ... It's a little bit odd. It is written from the point of view of a boy with schizophrenia and this is perfectly shown through the abstractness of the whole book! The writing style is like that of a young child - similar to that of a book that I am studying for A-level English literature which is bloody awful - and it actually works. It uses a lot of thought in it and it clearly shows the characters emotions and thoughts to the reader straight away. Something which I think is so beautiful. 

I can't really summarise this book with out giving everything away; yes, it's one of those books. So I shall write you the blurb. 

'I'll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name's Simon. I think you're going to like him. I really do. Bit in a few pages he'll be dead. And he was never the same after that.' 

What the hell! I mean what the absolute hell! How awesome does that sound. And that, fangirls and fanboys, is why this book is in my top 14 books of this year. It literally took me no time to read because the chapters were minuscule and the character's story was so interesting that I literally couldn't put it down!  

12. Gone by Michael Grant is the next book on my list. Now then, this book was awesome, don't get me wrong but it went a lot further than I expected it to. I know that there are several more books in the series because when I went to buy it in the shop there were about twenty of them all lined up and looking really really beautiful. Well ... maybe not twenty ... but there were a lot of them. So when I read the book I was expecting it to finish long before the timer ran out. Oh ... I haven't mentioned the timer yet have I. Well, basically at the start of each chapter there is a countdown to ... no ... I'm not going to tell you that, you'll have to read the book to find it out. Anyway, I saw the countdown kept going down and that the book wasn't getting near the end anytime soon so I was really really confused. But this book actually really suites this because I don't think the story line would work without it ..... I'm rambling now aren't I ..... sorry .... it's like 2:00 am at the minute and I can't sleep.

A brief summery of this book is that:
One day in a small town in America, suddenly over the age of fifteen disappeared. That sounds pretty awesome when you think about it initially. However, these children soon discover that they are trapped in a dome of sorts and that as soon as you hit your fifteenth birthday, you disappear. As time goes on, things begin to get a bit violent as the resources begin to wane. And people begin to have these powers; these mutant powers. Children, alone and with magic powers. That's really going to work out well for everyone.

This book, I have to be honest with you, I loved it from the very beginning. It is beautifully written and incised me instantly. It is so action packed and I am really excited to discover what happens in the next book .... when I eventually get round to reading it.

11. This next book is something that I suspect would have been part of someone else's top five, at least. However I was not too impressed with it. Don't get me wrong, I did like it, but I really don't see all the hullabaloo about it. If you haven't guessed yet, then I suppose I will tell you what it is. Number eleven on my top fourteen books of 2014 is The Fault In Our Stars by John Green,

For those of you who don't know, the Fault in our Stars is about two teenagers who both have different forms of cancer. Basically they meet at a cancer support group and fall in love.

Think that's the easiest way to describe it to you. And if you don't know what it's about, have you been living under a rock for the past few years?

Okay, I'm going to admit something to you all. I did not cry when I read the book. It did not upset that much. I read it in the middle of my exams, I was super stressed out and just curled up in bed with about three buckets worth of chocolate and read it in about five hours. Maybe it was because I was so stressed out that I didn't get so emotionally attached to the characters; but I just didn't/ It was a good book but I really don't see why everyone loves it so much.

10. City of Bones is a book that I actually began in 2013; however I didn't read it all until this year so it is allowed. It is by Cassandra Clare and puts a whole new spin, for me anyway, on demon hunting books.

Basically it is about a young girl, who's mother disappears, and she learns  that she descends from a lines of warriors who protect our world from demons. She then joins forces with others like her and heads into an alternate, far more dangerous version, of New York City; known as Downworld.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would, and yes it took me a few chapters to get into to it completely. But it did interest me from the very beginning.

9. Although this book took me a while to get into it, I was so glad I read it because it is blooming amazing. Number nine on my list is The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I think that everyone will agree with me when I say this, this book is definitely  nothing like any other book that's out there. Yes, few dystopian books are identical but this is far from anything out there.

If you don't know it is basically about a young boy who wakes up in a lift that takes him to a maze. He has no memory of anything before that. He only knows his name. And in this maze there are other boys; all of whom don't know their past. Since his arrival, nothing in the maze is the same.

Is that a really bad synopsis? I'm rubbish at them!!!! Anyway ... this book is so good, though I did have to start it three or four times to actually get into it; but once I got past the initally difficulty I really enjoyed it.

When I finished the final chapter I was a bit disappointed to be honest; they built the book up and then it just sort of ended. However, when I turned the final page ..... OMG!!!!!!! Pure genius!

8. The Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin is amazing, though very difficult to read and fairly embarrassing when you read it on public transport, especially with the multitude of sex scenes in it, and since a lady one time next to me was reading it over my shoulder. This lady was at least sixty and I think she was getting off of it. Ugh! CRINGE!!!

I can't really give it a plot summery because it is so long winded, however basically it follows the story of different characters that live in this world called Westeros. The book mainly revolves around the Stark family and how Eddard - the father - is asked to become the Hand of the King. And ... well ... basically .... well it all goes to shit!

7. When Rainbows End by Cecelia Ahern or Love Rosie as it is known now is such a beautiful book. It was written in a way that I really doubted I would like - through the exchange of letters, emails, etc between Alex and Rosie. Usually I don't like this style but in this book it was written so beautifully and the characters emotions came through so perfectly that I had to love it! And the ending!!!! Ugh!!!!!

A rough idea of the book is that it follows the story of Rosie and her best friend Alex as they grow up and begin to realise that they are completely and utterly in love with one another. Though different things in life get in their way.

And there is really very little else I can say about this book; it is too beautiful to describe in any number of words. Other than one of course, beautiful.

6. This is the second time that Dan Brown will be on this list and that is because he is such a blooming amazing author. This time, it is with Angels and Demons; this is his first book, though it was the second film which is blooming confusing; don't you think!

This follows the story of Robert Langdon who is called to investigate the symbolical meaning behind a murder of a man who helped create the largest amount of anti-matter. This anti-matter was stolen and placed somewhere inside of Vatican City around the most important time for all the Catholics in the world; conclave after the sudden death of the Pope.

Let me tell you something about Dan Brown's writing. It is pure genius!!!! Literally! He is such an amazing author who really doesn't give anything away until it is absolutely necessary. And then when he does, you are so shocked by it all. He doesn't always end chapters with it either, sometimes he'll just throw it into the middle of a chapter and then you just sit there thinking; what did I just read, wait what???? Meaning then that you have to go back and reread it!

But that huge moment that there is at the end when the main mystery is revealed whether that be a key murder or the riddle is finally solved; you realise that he has been subtly hinting at it through out the whole book. Dan Brown is truly a legend!

5. Uglies by Scott Westerfield is the next book on my list. This book I read most of when I was lying beside one of the lakes in the lake district this summer in this blistering heat; I got a horrid sunburn from it. This book I had no idea if I was going to love it or not; one of my friends had suggest for me to read it about two years ago and I only just got round to it and I have never been so enticed by it.

It is based in a dystopian future in which everyone at the age of sixteen is given extreme plastic surgery in order to look beautiful. Tally Youngblood and her friend, Shay, rebel against this vision and meet people who look just as we do now a days.

Uglies is so beautiful because it expresses the idea that you don't have to conform to society in order to be pretty; that everyone is pretty in their own rights. And that is probably why this book is in my top five. It is shows young girls .... and boys ... that they don't have to be conventionally pretty in order to fall in love. Something which people now a days really don't understand!

4. The Enemy by Charlie Higson is such a blooming amazing book and I wish it could be higher than this but the top three were truly outstanding reads so I really couldn't place this any higher. But it is so amazing!!!

Basically the book takes in London, after a worldwide sickness that has infected adults; either killing them off or turning them into cannibalistic zombies. The children live in the post-apocalyptic world and since their is little food left in their area then they are forced to travel somewhere else. A boy they rescue says that there is a safe heaven in Buckingham palace; but could it be too good to be true.

Although it's a horror - something that I probably read the least of - it is blooming brilliant. And I'm loving apocalyptic books at the minute; so I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

3. This book has the be the one book that I have ever read in my whole life that I can relate to completely since I obviously am one. Number three in my top 14 books of 2014 is Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. If you haven't read this yet; go an read it now!!!!!! Rainbow Rowell has basically created a book that is completely us. And it is brilliant.

Fangirl follows the story of the story of Cath who goes away to college with her twin sister, Wren, who suddenly decides that she wants her own life. Cath struggles to accept this but goes along with it, having to get a new room mate and live like any ordinary teenager. However, Cath is a fangirl who writes fanfiction on the Simon Snow series and she uses these books as an escape. Her fanfiction is very famous on the internet. As well as learning to balance her writing for pleasure and her writing for school, Cath is flung into a new environment and is forced to create new friends; oh the horror.

I literally had to write that like seven times because I wanted to reveal so much to you that would probably reveal the whole plot line. As you can probably tell by the way I am rambling; I loved this book. It was perfection and Rainbow Rowell really put across the struggles that we, as fangirls and boys, regularly face in everyday life!

I truly cannot wait to buy the rest of her books; this woman is a gift!

2. Procession of the Dead by Darren Shan is a book that was given to me by one of my closest friends for my last birthday. And I literally couldn't put it down. My dear friend was actually absent on my birthday - I don't blame her for that though, it was in the middle of our G.C.S.Es and she didn't have an exam so she had the day off - so she gave it to me the next day. Along with another book that I won't talk about at this moment in time. After the exam of that day, I didn't know it but my dad was taking me and my mum to go and see a musical for our birthdays - her's is the day after mine. He spoiled us by getting us first class virgin tickets - OMG! - and booked a table. For basically the whole trip there, I read the book. I read it when we stopped when we were walking round London. I read it before the show. I read it in the interval. I read it on the train back. This book was amazing! It also helps that I have a certain love for Darren Shan; have done since I picked up one of his books for the first time - something that me and my dear friend constantly bond over.
I've gone off topic now.

Basically, Procession of the Dead follows the story of Capac Raimi who arrives at The City in order to make his mark in the world and follow his uncle; he wanted to become a gangster. And because of this he runs face to face into the Cardinal - the leader of the city. As Capac grows more and more ambitious, he begins to learn what the true cost of ultimate power is.

How awesome does it sound!!!! It is so awesome!!! I love it!!! I really really do!!! Yes. It is insanely rude and graphic but it is just written in a way that is far too beautiful to explain!!!

And that is why Procession of the Dead is the second book on my top fourteen books of 2014.

1. This has been the easiest to place because it was so astounding and I loved every single bit of it. I'm always suggesting this book to people and as soon as you know what it is you will understand!
My top read of 2014 is The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.

The 5th Waves follows the story of Cassie Sullivan, a sixteen year old girl who is attempting to survive in a world that has been almost completely destroyed by the waves of an alien invasion. Cassie is all alone and knows from experience not to trust anyone; the only thing she wants to do is to save her baby brother Sammy.

This book is brilliant. One of my friends did the review for it before it came out and she said how outstanding it was; and truth be told I didn't believe her. Until I read the blurb. OMG! It intrigued me instantly because of the few lines that are quoted from the book itself.

The 1st wave took out half a million people.
The 2nd wave put that number to shame. 
The 3rd wave lasted longer. Twelve weeks ... four billion dead. 
In the 4th wave, you can't trust that people are still people. 
And the 5th wave?
No one knows. 
But it's coming.  

How blooming epic is that extract!!!! Ugh! This book is so amazingly written and Rick Yancey has this imagination that is on the same scale as Tolkien and Rowling!!!! I can not wait to read the rest of the trilogy. I'm going shopping so might buy the latest book then and pray that it lives up to the mountainous standards that he has created for himself. Rick Yancey, I tip my hat at you sir!!!!

And that, people, is it. That is my top 14 books of 2014. It has been a good reading year for me, and I hope next year will be the same too.
Please let me know if you have read any of these books and if so where you would rank them. Or what book would be your top book of the year. I really need some new read selections so please let me know.
Love you all
-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER!
XXX

Wednesday 10 December 2014

My disturbing imagination as a child

07:47
Earlier this year I watched Sweeney Todd, the film adaptation of the music with Johnny Depp, Helena Bohnam Carter etc in, for the first time and I loved it, obviously. 

But a few weeks ago I watched it again and I remembered something quite disturbing! 

When I was younger I was in a performing arts class in a small town near me. Bare in mind that I started when I was about 5 and finished when I was about 10. I'd done my 3 show with them - 2 shows twice a year - and we were playing a few improvisation games. Basically we were put into pairs and we had to make up a story that would involve the other people in the room somehow as long as it had something to do with a prop. Truth be told I have no clue what some of the props were, but I remember mine. It was a pair of giant, red scissors ..... I think some of you now where I'm going with this. 

So me and this other girl, you know I've quite forgotten her name, decided that we were going to be crazy hair dressers and we would randomly kill some of our costumers; putting their organs into sandwiches and selling them. 

Now bare in mind that I was like 6 when I did this. 

Next we got a load of the blocks that were scattered around the room and built a podium ... It's weird how clear this is in my mind .... And in the middle of the podium there was a hole that had some landing mats in it. There was a chair on there too. A chair that was just behind the hole. 

I remember performing it and snipping people's heads so that they tumbled into the hole and we were told how creative we were; even though the piece was quite gory. 

I was six and I basically created Sweeney Todd! What the hell!!!!! I'd never heard of it; not the film or the book. So why was it making a play about it. 

I had a disturbing imagination as a child I really did! 

Please don't tell me I'm the only one! Tell me that people have done disturbing things like this too!!! 

Please comment and tell me! 

-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER! 

Xxx



Friday 5 December 2014

Deadlines

07:49
Deadlines. 
They are a nightmare. 
Need I say anymore. For those of you who don't know, I am at a performing arts school doing my a-levels and today is my first deadline. I've always heard people saying how stressful deadlines are, but I didn't understand until today. 

I started my coursework like I would start a piece of homework, later than it was set. I was given what ... Three months to do this piece of coursework and I started it near the end of month two!!!!! Opps!!!! And it has stressed me out so much! 

I was up so late finishing some of it off and I still have a little bit more to do when I get to school! And when I wanted to finish it the other day, we ran out of printer paper! 

WHAT EVEN IS LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I basically think that someone somewhere has it out for me! 
My printer took forever to prit everything out last night; usually only printing half of it out! And my dog was constantly trying to sit on my lap because I was obviously sat on the floor because of him and for no other reason what so ever. Now, that was cute. Don't get me wrong. But it just felt bad because he kept giving me those eyes that mean say "do you not love mean?" "If you loved me you'd let me sit on your lap" "why don't you love me"
WHY DO YOU ATTACK ME WITH SO MUCH GUILT???? 

Anyway, eventually I got most of it done and it was nice; that moment of delight to know that all I had to do was annotate a script and that was it!! HURAH!!!! 

And then I remembered something else. I have another deadline that I haven't really been concentrating on because of this unit and that deadline is on the 15th and I've barely started it and now I'm hyperventilating and the lady besides me is looking at me like I'm a freak. Oh, I'm on the train by the way. So that's delightful, isn't it!!!!!!!! 

And this weekend I am performing, teaching and I have a meal to go to!!!! Ugh!  The world hates me! 

Oh and next week is my first assessment week in which I have 8 different things and ugh!! 

Just now realising how many times I write "ugh" ... It's quite a lot! 

So next week, not only will I be preparing for two auditions the week after, but I will be rehearsing everything and be writing the rest of this coursework! 

YAY!!!!!

Basically, what I am trying to say is don't put things off for a while. Do everything as soon as it had been set, especially for deadlines, because else you feel as stressed as I am at this moment in time. 

Basically, the moral of my story is .... Ummm ... Well don't be this ginger! 

I'll see you all soon! 

-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER!
Xx