Blogging in 2014

Well, another year is almost over. And as everyone in the history of ever has pointed out at the end of every year, this one went rather fast. The year certainly did seem to fly by, with the months quickly bleeding into each other and the hours becoming seconds.

But this year has been a big one for me, both emotionally and physically draining, with some of my biggest challenges and achievements yet. This year I completed two dissertations, and therefore my degree, and I graduated from education, and left to my own devices with what is essentially a glorified and very expensive piece of paper. (Pretty scary stuff, I gotta say).
I also moved from my student home into the city of Manchester, and became a business owner. Again, pretty scary stuff.
Although this year has contained some great highlights, it’s had a lot of darkness. And I think that has reflected in my neglecting of this blog.

I looked through my posts from this year and noticed I only wrote 7 blog posts since the beginning of the year (excluding this one), while in 2013 I wrote 17. That, I think, shows the difference between the two years for me. This year has been a real struggle, despite the highlights. It’s been emotional and yet also emotionless, with the year passing in such a blur that now it almost feels as if it never happened.

What I’m hoping for, is that next year will be better. That my mental health will improve, and by extension my physical and emotional health. I want to achieve more and aim higher, and most of all I want to be happier.
2014, for all its triumphs, also had crippling lows; days where I struggled to even find the strength to get out of bed, and sometimes I couldn’t even find that. Overall, I don’t see 2014 as a good year, though I was lucky enough to have met some amazing people, who are now friends for life and made some wonderful memories with them.

2015 is a new start. I’m looking forward to what’s next. And to getting back to posting blog posts more regularly, as well as uploading my photographs more regularly to my Flickr, rather than letting them build up in queues waiting to be published.
Next year should kick-start a new chapter of my life, and I’m hoping for a positive one.

I hope everyone out there had a very Merry Christmas and will have a very Happy New Year, and to those of you who didn’t, or for those who find the festive season difficult, then I hope you stay strong and that you can find some happiness and peace during the coming days and weeks.
Hold in there, you’re not alone, and it will get better. I promise. ❤

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Well, it’s been a while…

5 months to be exact!

I’ve certainly been a little rubbish in the upkeep of this blog! I think it became one of those things where it had been so long since I wrote something, that I found it a little too easy to keep putting it off as it had already been so long anyway.

So, sorry about that, dear readers. I will certainly be making a much better effort to be updating this regularly- I miss blogging!

Well, since I last wrote a post, quite a lot has happened! In the time I’ve been gone, I’ve completed my degree, graduated and moved out of my student house and into Manchester. So, in my very weak defence, I have been busy!

I think this post is lacking in some colour, so let’s throw in some photos of the above events. Let’s start with mine and my boyfriend’s graduation!

Dom’s graduation!

My graduation with my nutcase of a sister and brother in law!

My graduation! (This isn’t my ‘final’ professional photo by the way- just one my boyfriend took as I was posing!

So, that was a pretty big thing! A few other big things happened in the time that I’ve not blogged for (turning 22, meeting one of my best friends for the first time in seven years!) but I think I will leave some of that for the next post! (Let’s not dry up all my subjects too quickly!)

Oh, and for anyone who may be wondering, I graduated with a very high 2:1 (as in, a few points from a 1st) in Photography and Creative Writing. 🙂

Well, that’s it for now! Just a quick little update! It’s good to be back!

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Update- I’m organising an exhibition!

Well, well, well… long time no see, huh?

I’ve not posted a blog post in a LONG time… for various reasons that I shall get into in a moment. But this post here, marks my come-back to blogging and I will be posting regularly once more as of now. 

Now, as for the reasons behind my extended absence from WordPress… In early September my beloved cat Misty passed away. This was a really hard time for me and my family, and I felt as if I needed to write a blog post about it. I felt as if I had to write SOMETHING about her before I could continue with anything else, but I didn’t feel ready yet. Now, I feel as if I can address this and continue writing.
Some people may think it’s silly to be so devastated over the death of a pet, but to me she was a lot more than that- pets become a part of who you are, and you develop bonds with them you just don’t with anyone else. Misty was only 6 years old too- she wasn’t meant to die so young. She developed a form of blood cancer about a year ago and she had been battling it ever since. She had a nice last summer, but her condition deteriorated within a matter of days, and we ultimately had to decide to have her put to sleep. I stroked her and relaxed her and held her paw as she slowly passed. It was awful but we know we made the right choice for her.
I will miss her forever and life will definitely be a lot less bright without her.

 

Well, that was September. As for the time between then and now- I’m now in my final year of university. This semester my class and I are putting on an exhibition of our work on 12th December in Bolton, Manchester. Organising this and getting my work together has taken up a LOT of my time these last few months. Hence my delayed absence. 

HOWEVER, I am now back! I will be aiming to post weekly blogs again, probably updates on the exhibition between now and when we open mostly, but I’ll fit in some other stuff too. 🙂

To check out our exhibition website go to: www.exposure13.co.uk. 
You can also follow us on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram and like us on Facebook. All of the information about the work and the dates we will be open will be announced on those sites. Go over and share the links and support our work! 😀

Until next time, kids!

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My Life in Letters: S.

This letter marks my 50th post. It also marks the day I’ve finally submitted my research project! So thank you to those I interviewed, and not thank you to the eighteen people who liked my post pleading for help but didn’t send me any interview answers. 😉
(I’m joking, thank you, dear readers.)

So, the letter “S”… I think I will have to go with my old family dog Spike for this one.

Spikie was a japanese spitz crossed with an akita. A strange mix, which made him, particularly when he was younger and before his muzzle greyed, look almost exactly like a wolf with a collar.
When he was young he had a pure black face all the way up to his ears, which steadily greyed over the years.

We had Spike for 12 years before he eventually passed away. He was a part of the family. We grew up with him- he was the forth sibling. He was fiercely protective over us and was the most loveable dog in the world. There wasn’t a single person who met him who didn’t fall in love with him.

We all felt so lost when Spike passed away. He had been with us for so long that it felt wrong not to have a layer of white fur over everything.

We’ll always miss him and his old tricks.

Spikie,
They called him Spikie,
He was the biggest, bravest doggy in the world.
Spikie,
They called him Spikie,
He was the biggest, bravest doggy in the world.

– A song my sister and I made up for him when we were little. ❤

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Dear Readers (Part 2)

Okay, so I got a lot of likes on my last post, but only one person commented. 😛
GUIIIIISE.
Right, plan B. I am going to write the questions here in a blog post, and if you wish to be SUPER HELPFUL and make me super grateful then please PLEASE send me a tweet at https://twitter.com/CameraMemories and let me know if you’d be willing to answer them. I will then DM you my email address and you can send me your answers, along with your name and username on WordPress. Thank you, kids! (At the end of the post there’s a zoomed in version of my cats nose. YOU’RE EVEN MORE WELCOME!)

What sort of blogs do you like to read on WordPress? Why?
Why did you choose WordPress over all other blogging platforms?
What are the main benefits of using WordPress for a writer?
What effect has WordPress had on your exposure as a writer?
How many hits on average do you get per post?
Have you ever gained any career opportunities as a result of publishing with WordPress?
Would you recommend WordPress to other writers over other platforms?
As a writer, what are the negative aspects of using WordPress?
What are your concerns about plagiarism while publishing with WordPress?
How do you protect yourself against plagiarism?

PLEASE HELP MEH!! I don’t want to fail. 😦
(Plus my tutor is mean. I NEED VOLUNTEERS GUISEEE! <3)

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Dear Readers,

I call upon my followers and readers to please help me with a research project I am doing for university about whether or not WordPress is a good platform for aspiring writers!

It would be massively helpful if you could leave comments saying what you like about WordPress, what you are here to read about, whether you feel it is beneficial to you as a writer, and if there are any notable bloggers you feel I should take a look at for this project!

As a thank you, here is a picture of my cat’s nose. (I laughed at this for a good hour. You’re welcome.)

THANKS!! ❤

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