Things I Wish I'd Known Before Leaving University with an Art's Degree

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So, you were eighteen, you were passionate, you were excited, you wanted to go against everything your teachers/parent's wanted you to do and you went to study the creative arts. You've invested minimum three years, and thousands of pounds, and it has all culminated in one final show / production / piece that you've created and you have never been prouder of yourself, or felt more accomplished.

But then, graduation comes and goes, and suddenly your finding yourself looking into the black hole of the now nearly non-existent Ideastap Jobs Board and wondering what went wrong in your life.

For those of you who are just leaving university and getting ready to enter the big wide world - I'm not trying to put you off. And those considering going to university to do it - trust me it will be a brilliant decision, and you'll have the best time of your life whilst you're studying.

 Jobs

When you leave, it's going to be hard, it's going to be so, so hard. You are going to doubt every decision you've ever made, you may be filled with so much anxiety at times you no longer want to leave your house. You will put in endless hours on bars, and in shops, and feel like your life is going no where, but always remember that as long as you keep working, going to class, attending other people's shows, and trying really hard to do what you want to do,  then everything will work out. And I'm not guaranteeing you'll get the job of your dreams, and live your life as an actor or artist forever because you might not. But you will have tried, and it will be worth it.

You might apply for 100 jobs before you get an interview. You might get the first one you apply for. But you all will eventually get an interview, and you will eventually get a job. No one has ever been eternally jobless for no reason. It will happen for you.

Homes

You might move in with your parents to save on rent and you will sacrifice a lot of the independence you've been enjoying throughout university. But, if it means you can put in a few more hours a week chasing your dream rather than serving someone's drinks then it might just be worth it.

It also might not be worth it depending on what kind of person you are - but I will tell you from experience it is nearly impossible to hold down a full-time job, and continue to practice, or better yet work, in the field you actually want to be in. Also, if you want to life in London then paying rent will eat all of your probably measly wages, and you'll have to live of baked beans and fish fingers again. (This bit is actually quite a lot like being at uni in reflection.)

Motivation

It is this hard for everyone, not just for you. At the end of the day, it is the people who strive the longest who are likely to have more success. It's the people with the most motivation, and often the most to lose who will work harder. Hard work tends to lead to greater achievement.

Likewise if you realise early on that the artist lifestyle isn't actually for you. That's fine too. Find something else your interested in, volunteer, intern, change fields completely if you want to.

Friends

You will no longer see your friends everyday. In fact, you may go months in between meet-ups. But when you do see them, it won't be any different. Those who you don't see anymore, or who when you meet-up with them you no longer have much in common. It's OK to let them go. It will happen naturally, but don't feel guilty or sad. You'll meet plenty more people, and make new friends, and have a fabulous time.

Life

Essentially the point I'm getting at is that life is hard. After uni, what happens is life. When your in education, there is always something that's certain, regardless of what happens in your personal or family life, your education has a structure, there is always a next step and there is also someone to guide you through it. In life, suddenly nothing is certain. It's a hard adjustment. But it does get easier. Just keep trying, and live life how you want to. Be a nice person, help people, do small things to help make the world a little bit better. Or big things if you can and want to. At the end of the day, your career doesn't have to define you. The way you choose to live your life as a person is just as important.

Wishlist: Pick of the Sales

It's that time again! When everything you've already bought is a little bit cheaper, and every thing you put off buying is now affordable. BUT in order to get there you have to trawl through a load of people standing around your rail, dropping things on the floor, wiping their hands on stuff you want, and just general being awful. OR spend about 4 hours online shopping only to realise when you go to checkout everything you wanted is sold out in your size. So as I was busying myself with option number 2, I thought it would be nice to take the pain out of sales shopping for some of you if I could.

Accessories 

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I'm in love with these sunglasses, but I know the shape won't suit my face. Please, someone give them a loving home! Also - these shoes...I've seen them in real life and I just want to stroke them again!

Shoes - Whistles - £70 / Sunglasses - Zara - £12.99 / Hat - Whistles - £22.50

Dresses, Playsuits, and some Culottes for good measure. 

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This black playsuit though. It may not be the most summery of colours - but it will see you through all the season's because black tights. I also desperately want some culottes, but I am far too scared to order any online as I can predict the future when they are just weirdly full length on my little legs.

Dress - Topshop - £20 / Playsuit - Zara - £25.99 / Culottes  - Topshop (branded)  - £75)

Tops

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This glittery sweatshirt is so perfect for that moment in the evening at a BBQ or on the beach when it just gets a little bit too chilly, but theres no way your ready to go inside! Also  - suede and denim. They need no further explanation.

Suede - Zara - £17.99 / Sweatshirt - Whistles - £60 / Denim shirt - Zara - £17.99

Happy Shopping Everybody!

My favourite Instagram Accounts: Part 1

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After having such a great response to my blogging favourites a couple of week's ago (here) I  thought I'd share a few of my instagram favourites. These are three account's I follow that I just can't help but like every photo they post.

@melodramablog

This account is run by a fab lady based in the US of A. She is a creative blogger, and is always posting cool and quirky things that she's either made or found. I love this Vnyl sign, (and the 'M' because I just really want one of these for my own bedroom right now!) There is always lots of colour, and fun in her post's, and the captions are amusing too! What more could you want!

@carnetprune

This beautiful minimalist account is run by a blogger in Paris called Angeline. Now I'm a sucker for any Paris based instagram account, I think the city is pretty much the most aesthetically pleasing place on the planet, and I've always had a deep rooted love for it, so I probably am biased. But, basically, I just want all my photo's to look like her's all the time. There is a great mix of food, fashion and everything in between. And this lady has got that instagram theme thing DOWN!

@_hollywhite

Holly has one of those accounts where it's all just lovely and monochrome all the time. She's got the art of a good pic down to a T. Like Angeline, she has a nice mix of fashion, beauty, lifestyle (and of course the obligatory morning cup of coffee snap). And her account is less of a 'If only that could be my life' and more of a 'That could actually be life if I just spent more time arranging my photo's' and I mean that as a good thing. (obvs - she's in the favourites!)

So if your after some new accounts to follow, these ladies come highly recommended by myself! And (cheeky plug) you can find my account here too, if you would like to come and say hello!

TopshopXOlympusPEN: Photography Basics.

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Now, don't get me wrong I am by no means an expert when it comes to taking a photograph. In fact, until a few weeks ago I could get to grips with composition of a photo, then stand there with my camera in auto and hope for the best. But then I attended the TopshopXOlympusPEN workshops, and I basically learnt the basic's of operating a camera in manual, and I've found it SO useful, that I thought it would only be fair to share my knowledge!

The Event

The event itself was brilliantly organised, and well thought out.  The session I attended was taught by Cleveland and Victoria from In the Frow. We had nearly an hour, and were all given an Olympus Pen to try taking the perfect flat-lay with the props Topshop had provided. The camera was lovely to use, I also brought by own along and used that for some of the shots as well, and these are the ones I've used here.

Both the teachers, and the other Olympus staff there were super helpful, and now I'm so much more confident using my camera, and I hope my photo's are starting to slowly improve too! So here's a summary of what I learnt, and hopefully it will be useful to someone out there who was as clueless about this as me!

 

What I learnt

This is the before snap -  when I shot the photo in auto, (my camera does normally take better photo's than this in Auto but given that we were undergound in Topshop with TerHERible lighting, this is what it produced.)

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So exposure is basically to do with how much light is coming through your camera lens, this is important for quite obvious reasons. Too much light = photo is too bright. Not enough light = photo is too dark. You get the idea. But the exposure can be controlled but changing these three elements.

Aperture 

This is the setting that controls the size of the opening that is letting the light through the lens. Aperture is measured in f-stops, and basically the lower the f-stop number, the larger the opening and the more light will come in through to your lens, and vice versa.

Aperture is also what allows the focus to change between the items in the foreground, or background. Basically when you see those great looking photo's with a product nicely in focus and a blurry background - this isn't done in editing, but by changing the aperture settings! A high f-stop should be used for this effect, and low f-stop for a landscape or similar where you want both the background, and foreground in focus.

Shutter speed

Shutter speed controls the amount of time that the light is let in for. Changing this allows you to take photos of moving objects.

ISO

This is useful if you are shooting in different lights. So for example, a lower ISO on a bright day, and your image will come out crisp and sharp. In low light, you will probably need to have a higher ISO, but too hight and it may decrease the sharpness that's achieved with the lower ISO.

And this is the after photo, after applying my new knowledge. As you can see I spilt a LOT more nail polish after this process, and the photo is brighter, sharper and less shadowy than above!

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I hope this helped even a little - if you have any tips to share please feel free!

Bonus snap: me practicing at home with better lighting and the amazing items Topshop gave every participant in a goody bag! I'm now completely addicted to these Vita Coco coffee things!

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Picnic Perfect

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Ducks, ice cream, and tiny sausages

Really is there anything more classic "Summer in London" than a walk along the Serpentine with ice cream in hand, and a spontaneous picnic? Not in my opinion friends.

And this time, I even decided to be extra prepared for any spontaneous picnic-ing by wearing the picnic blanket on myself! I jest, but this outfit is pretty heavy on the gingham, in a good way of course because really - what could be more fun than frolicking around in a frilly gingham dress? And what gives you a better excuse to get over-excited feeding ducks and having Ice Cream than being dressed just a teensy bit like a five year old? Very little I tell you!

You can just about tell that we are in London, thanks to some building's peeping out over the tree-tops (and one very large one!) But if it wasn't for this, the endless reems of Boris bikes, and the concrete pavement (and people of course, so. many. people) you'd think it was somewhere out in the lush green countryside!

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I took hair inspiration from the ever-stylin' Little Miss Katy, as I have a theory that pollen in hair might be cause of a certain particular kind of sneezing that can wreck havoc, and ruin a lovely summer picnic faster than those pesky grey clouds you can see in the distance! (That, and I left my replacement Frizz-Ease under my desk on friday night...)

I've had this amazing Topshop shirt since last year, and it's a definite summer staple for me, but I always wear it as a thin, throw-on jacket. The back of this dress is so pretty, but in the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit, the Jacket did not come off once, excluding the taking of the above photo. I'm a pretty pasty one, and however lovely the back of a dress might be, getting my un-creamed skin out is not worth risking lobster syndrome (stay safe in the sun my friends.

Shirt - Topshop (similar here / Dress - Zara / Shoes - Converse

Travelling - Fantasy's and Fears

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Travel

'I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list' 

So if you've ever entered the world of pinterest, you may have seen a inspirational travel quote or two floating around, and these are often followed by pictures of lots of incredible places all over the world, that no I have never been to, and in reality probably will never go to. It's not that I don't want to. Believe me, I can think of nothing I would rather do than spend the rest of my life seeing those places - that is - as long as I could snap my fingers and be there.

People often talk to me about travelling, and all the marvellous places they've been, and want to go to. I always feel a little like I can't join in when the conversation turns global. I have travelled to a few places, and only ever really on holiday's. I've never been backpacking, I've only once been to a different continent and that was to the USA - again on a very comfortable family holiday.

People often tell me I'm just the sort of person who like's being near home. Although that is I guess in some way the case - I do feel more comfortable at home, of course I do, who doesn't? But there are several reason's I've not yet made the time to travel.

'And then I realised. Adventures are the best way to learn' 

I've been busy. Terrible excuse I know but I have been. When everyone else was on a Gap Year - I was doing a foundation course, then already a year behind I couldn't start uni any later. Every summer I needed to work, or had week's of work experience and internship's lined up, and I never made the time to go anywhere. I also thought it was more important, and that I could travel any time, and everywhere would still be there when the time was right.

'If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine - it's lethal' 

Well guess what destinations have always been top of my list?  Venice is sinking, and Cuba's on the path to Starbucks and Mcdonalds. Suddenly I've found myself in a full time job, with quite little holiday time, and restrictions on when I can take it, and I don't know when I'll ever be able to go.

But then, I brought this on myself a little. This is surely what I wanted when I put in all those hours over summer volunteering and interning - surely this is what it was for?

But in reality, I didn't make that choice because I would have rather one than the other. Really I was scared. I was scared of the flights, the trains, the hostel rooms. I was scared of getting mugged (when I live in one of the areas of the country with the highest crime rates...make's no sense) scared of eating something that has a secret nut in it that might kill me. I've made excuses and found reasons not to go, and now my anxiety has come to fill me with fear of what I've missed out on.

'Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it' 

Well if you are still reading, I hope you'll be pleased to know that I'm taking steps to overcome this. I've booked a week in Paris in August- it's not far, and it's not new - but I am going completely solo! I am terrified, but also excited. Hopefully it will help me get over some of my fears, and I'll be travelling a little further away from home in no time!

Here are my 5 most longed for trips. I may put them on my before 40 bucket list (I think before 30 is probably a bit ambitious, as some will probably be quite expensive, and time consuming!) If you've been to any I would love to know your recommendations.

My dream trips 

• Cuba


• Venice/Rome/Italy in general


• Namibia and/or Kenya (safari's and sand dunes)


• South America (backpacking please)


• Japan

Thanks for listening to my ramblings!

A British Summer and Another Button Down Skirt.

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Stormy Seas

After making plans for a weekend trip to the seaside, booking a BnB and train tickets, you can imagine how thrilled I was when I read the weather forecast and it showed high winds, and lots and lots of rain. As it is now officially summer I decided to just pretend that this wasn't the case, and we ventured on regardless.

Thankfully,  Brighton is one of those places with enough to do, that even a storm can't ruin the fun. (I actually have always really enjoyed being by the sea when it's stormy  - it  makes me feel like I'm in a dramatic scene in a period drama movie - not sure why...). But back on topic, we had a lovely day strolling the laines, eating cake, and making up new rules to play at the 2p machines in the arcade. In one of few breaks in the rain we managed to take some rather windswept photos, so I could share my weather inappropriate outfit with you.

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What I Wore

Jacket-Vintage / Shirt-Zara / Skirt-Topshop / Shoes-Topsop

I'd been very reluctant to go for a button down skirt as it's just become a bit too trendy, but my only other denim skirt is a rider, and I was need. I had a Topshop voucher, and this one had to do. But then, I haven't taken it off since I brought it. It's easy to wear, comfy and incredibly versatile. Ignore the hype, if you want one then buy one!

I stupidly decided that a non-waterproof, hoodless jacket would suffice and of course I wouldn't need an umbrella - don't be silly this is BRITAIN it's always sunny and it never rains - ever! You'd have thought that after 24 years of holidaying round the English coast I would've learnt my lesson, but alas, no. I got very wet, yet again.

To top it all off, my favourite comfy walking shoes that were the only one's I had brought down with me, are not only velvet (yet again, excellent choice considering you had actually checked the forecast Milli) and they then also got a hole in the sole. (The ever fantastically well made Topshop for you ladies and gents) So naturally, my feet got very wet also.

But the moral of the story is never let a bit of rain, wet feet, and a crumpled shirt spoil the fun!

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