What a busy week!

I should really be revising for my English assessments next week instead of blogging, but too much revision turns your brain to mush. Fact. 

Anyway, where was I? *brain sizzles from doing first assessment today*
Oh yeah.

TGIF.

Monday
Woke up at 6.30am (I know.) to make sure I wasn't late. I was going away with school later that day on an Environmental Science/Biology residential trip.
Hauled my 34890 suitcases onto the minibus and left school in the afternoon. I'm a light packer.

When we arrived I actually thought we'd been accidentally dropped of at Elstree Studios. I thought it was an ecofriendly Big Brother House. *queue my uncanny Marcus Bentley impression*

Plus, the weather was brilliant: sunny and not a cloud in the sky. This is Wales we're talking about and it's not often that we get such nice weather!

Went for a tour of the building and grounds before having tea.

In the evening we went out to lay humane mammal traps. I was hoping to maybe catch a black bear, but when I saw the size of the traps my expectations were lowered dramatically.

Tuesday

Had a full blown cooked breakfast. Scrummy. 

Went out to check the mammal  traps. Someone caught a field mouse. No one caught any bears. :(

After putting 4 layers of clothes on we went to the beach, and it was freezing! Had a nice walk down through the sand dunes and finally reached the coast. Threw a few quadrats (boring) and then we had lunch (YEY).

By the way, I thoroughly recommend rolling down sand dunes. You're bum might be a bit sore afterwards, but it's well worth it.

Had 'ellllll of a time on the walk back to the coach. Our group at the back arrived about an hour after everyone else.

Went then to another beach which was stunning. They've filmed Doctor Who there.

I took that photo on my Samsung Tocco Lite. Impressed? You should be.

Had a lovely curry for tea and then sat down to watch Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents. Our teacher came in half way through and asked what we were watching. On screen at this point there was a man in a Borat mankini. Luckily, when she looked up it was another scene. After about 30 seconds of silence, my BFFL piped up and said 'It's about holidays,' and our teacher replied 'OK' and walked out. Lydia Jones is a life saver.

Just before going to bed some boys were mucking around and pushed life saver Lydia Jones into me. Her head and my nose banged together (more on this story later).

Wednesday

My nose was still hurting.

Had another English breakfast.

Went pond dipping in the morning. It was better than I expected it to be, even though it consisted of us staring at little nymphs and leeches trying to identify them. I caught TWO amazing creatures. The first, what looked like a twig but was actually a shell which was protecting a black and yellow

worm-thingymabob. The second, a huge fly-thingymabob. I was better at the catching than the identifying. Can you tell?

In the afternoon we "cleared" a stream.

Returned to school looking like tramps, with shoved up hair and no make-up on. Attractive.

Thursday

Nose looked a bit swollen.

Normal school day. No need to write about it. We did play basketball, if that counts for anything ...

Revised for my English assessment.

Today

Woke up feeling stressed and nervous about the assessment. I had to remember and write six sides of A4 in an hour.

Decided it was time to go and see about my nose.

Had RE first lesson and watched 300 (my now most despised film). Sneakily read and reread my essay under the table.

The bell rang. Queue panic.

*hour passes*

Came out of the lesson feeling quite proud of myself. Managed to write over two thirds of my essay and I don't think I forgot anything. We have time to finish it off after half term.

Mum picked me up to take me to the hospital.

The nurse asked where it was hurting. I said my nose.

I discovered today that there are a few different parts to a nose, and I had to say which part hurt. It was more difficult than it sounds.

I have to go back next week to see how it is.

After going to the hospital, Mum and I stopped for a McDonalds. I had Chicken Selects with BBQ dip, then a Wispa McFlurry. MMMM.

Woah. This blog is bigger than my essay *shudders at the thought of more assessments next week*. If any of you have read this to the end, you deserve a medal. Here you go.

Bolt: "Thanks Megan."

I think it's time I wrapped it up.

Goodbye.  

Media vs. Medicine

They both begin with M, but are two completely different careers:
Media: This industry includes newspapers, magazines, radio, TV broadcasting and film production companies. Its glamorous image means that competition to get started is tough.
Medicine: Learning to be a doctor means following one of the longest courses of study for any career. The competition to enter this profession is very stiff, and selection is based on a lot more than just academic ability.

I want to do these when I leave school, but obviously I can't do both. I have to choose between them *tips teenage hormones over the edge*.

Let me introduce you to my inconclusive argument *waves hello*.
1) I would like to work in media because it's exciting and different. I'd love to be a journalist. How amazing would it be to work for someone like heat or Elle?! A showbiz journalist gets to go to huge parties and premieres. They get to interview celebrities. Like it says above; it's a glamorous career. Plus, if I ever have children, I could become freelance. I could take English and French for A Level.
But.
It's very competitive. It takes time to work your way up. The pay is much less than that of a doctor. Is it really all I expect it to be? You must have to be pretty talented to work for major magazines and newspapers. Do I have the ability and determination?

2) I would like to be a doctor because it's interesting and rewarding. Imagine being able to say that you've saved somebody's life. If it wasn't for you, they'd be dead. It would be amazing. Not to mention, the pay is great. You don't ever hear of doctors out of work do you? There's stability.
But.
Don't you have to train for about 5 years? If I'm not mistaken, when you graduate you don't even become a doctor straight away anyway. It takes time, and lots of it. Do I want to spend that much of my life in education? I'd have to take Chemistry, Biology and Maths for A Level, not my lovely English and French. If I did take a gap year, which I REALLY want to, I'd be a year late leaving university.
So. What's more important: money or pleasure? If I have the ability to become a doctor, shouldn't I do it because I can? To be a famous, witty journalist is my dream, but could I ever become one?

Do I go with my head or my heart?
Any help, views or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Life Goes By At 150mph

'Hit 'em with the stats Meg!'
• In just over a month I'll be 15.
• I sit my GCSEs in 2 years.
• I'll be driving in 3 years.
• My A Levels in 4 years.
• That means I've got 4 years left at home until I leave to go to University.

4 years seems an age away. But I remember when it was announced five years ago that London were to host the 2012 Olympics. I remember watching Beckham play in the 2006 Football World Cup. It seems like only yesterday when I met my friend in LIDL's car park and walked along the pavement for my first day at Comprehensive School three years ago. So, really, four years isn't that far away.
I'm very excited to go to University. "It's the best time of your life!" My neighbour left home this year to study and it sounds great. But, when I do move out, I'm facing the world alone. No Mum to wash my clothes and iron them for me. No Dad to go cycling down Mumbles with. No brothers to fight to the death with.

The scariest thing that faces me is: I'll have to cook. Yes. Make healthy, substantial meals. I cannot cook. I tried to make Pasta before. Forgot to drain it, just poured the sauce in with the water. It ended up as soup. Another time, I was left the responsibility to boil spaghetti. Big mistake. I cooked it for over an hour. It burned. End of cooking career. The only things I can make are Chocolate Brownies. Funny that.

When I turn 15 in December I'll be half way to 30. THIRTY. Childhood ends at 18, yes? That's when you officially become an adult. This means it's not long until my childhood is over. I've been thinking so much ahead at my future, that I haven't noticed it slipping through my fingers. Teenagers wish their lives away. Always want to be older than they are. Can't wait to finish school. They go clubbing, drink, smoke, even take drugs and become pregnant. It ruins their lives.

I wish we could all press pause on the remote control of life. Before we know it, another month, year, decade has passed us by.

Megan Amy Jones: Aged 14. Year 10. 2010.

Blown out of proportion? X-tra hype?

For those of you on Twitter, you'll know how much I love The X Factor. In fact, everybody who knows me is aware of my obsession over the show. When The X Factor is on, Twitter explodes. Everybody is talking about it. The first live show drew nearly 13.5 million viewers. It's recently published it's own magazine. But, this nationwide, or perhaps worldwide, phenomenon certainly takes it's on toll on people.

The biggest story to come from this year's show is Gamu Nhengu. First, she wasn't chosen to become one of Cheryl's top 3, not even her wild card choice. Over 260 000 people have joined the Facebook page 'Gamu should have gone through'. The nation was in shock. Then an even more shocking story broke: Gamu and her family were going to be deported. Her Mother's Visa application was rejected. It was the top story. Nobody cared about the Politics of our country anymore, it was all about this one girl. There are rumours going around that she will face a firing squad when she returns to her home country of Zimbabwe. How much of this rumour is true I don't know. I sure hope that it is 100% false.

Cher Lloyd and Katie Waissel. More controversial than Jedward. Katie came across as a bit of a prat in her first audition. What we didn't know was that she had a record deal out in America. She had been signed under many different names. She's far more experienced than she's making out.
As for Cher. I was undecided about her when I saw her first audition. She was sixteen? SIXTEEN?! The Judges clearly loved her, especially Cheryl. It was obvious there and then that she would be in the live shows. What no-one expected was her to forget and mess up her song in the Judges' homes stage. Katie did exactly the same. Surely, after not being able to sing a song they should be sent straight home? No. They were both put through. Twitter was in uproar. How could she justify putting them through? Well, Cheryl's certainly got away with it.

Recently, Cher's been in the news for other reasons. She's been causing tantrums and clearly not being able to cope with all the pressure. What do you expect? She's now 17! She's been given a counsellor and has been locking herself in bathrooms. If I was under that much pressure, I'd take myself away from the situation straight away!

But, people's opinions of the contestants change on a weekly basis. One week it's about One Direction, the other it's about Storm. The true talent in the competition gets overlooked and forgotten about. Who will survive the shows and come out on top? What's your opinion of the show? A great money maker, but compromising the health and well being of the contestants. Is it really worth it, for 3 hours worth of entertainment?

Monday 13th September 2010, but it should have been Friday 13th.

Here's how my day turned out.

8.00
Mum said to me 'You've got an Orthodontist appointment at 11am today, so I'll come and pick you up from school at 10.20; Don't be late!'
'Yeah. OK. Whatever.' I say back. Just to let you know, I'm a zombie before 10am, so don't try and talk to me and don't expect me to take in anything of what you say, OK?
I worked out in my head that at 10.20 I would be having break, so I wouldn't need to come out of any lessons (or so I thought).


9.30
I was sitting in Biology shoving pieces of paper down my throat. You're probably thinking "Is this kid Bulimic?". No. It was perfectly safe. We were trying to find out where the different receptor cells were on our tongues e.g. on which part of our tongue can we taste bitter things? Blah. Blah. Blah. We had to use coffee to try and test for bitter. By the way, I HATE COFFEE. *bleugh*


10.40
French. Seeing as earlier in the morning I worked out that at 10.20am I would be at break, I hadn't given a second thought to my Orthodontist appointment. A boy knocked on the door and asked if he could see me. He walked me through the corridors and I asked him what he wants.
'You're Mum's been waiting in Reception for ages. Are you late for an appointment or something?' he told me. Crap. *queue running down the corridors. When I say running, I mean walking slightly faster*


10.45
After running (actual running this time) to get into the car, Mum asked the obvious questions. I wasn't really listening, I was trying to work out how I totally messed up with the time. This now meant we had only 15 minutes to make the 30 minutes journey into Swansea. Doesn't take a mathematician to work out that we weren't going to get there in time.


11.00
Still in the car. The 'Tour of Britain' was going on. This meant, that all the roads were shut and we were stuck.


11.10
Still in the car. Managed to divert away from the traffic, but it meant that we had to go a longer way. Stupid bikes.


11.20
Still in the car, but not too far away. My favourite song came on Radio 1: 'Enter The Ninja'. It's not really my favourite song. I actually hate it. Let's just say I love to hate it? I made Mum sit through it and I sang along to 'I, I, I. I am your butterfly ....' (that really annoying and catchy bit)


11.28
We FINALLY arrived at the Orthodontist. Too bad all the parking spaces had been cordoned off because of the slightly irritating stupid bike race. Mum dropped Oliver and I off in the pouring rain, and we ran (it was a sprint this time) inside. Just after I told the Receptionist we were there, I realised Mum had my braces in her bag, which meant that I didn't. Great.


11.50
Left the Orthodontist. (Nothing new for me, Oliver got his teeth molded and had an X-Ray ready to have his braces made, just in case you wanted to know.)


12.00
We went to Toys R Us (YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!). I was meant to be looking for toys to buy for Ben's birthday, but I used the opportunity to, basically, act like I was 4. I remember when I actually was 4, I had a Baby Born. I took it in the bath with me one night and when it came out, it wouldn't stop weeing. Thinking about it, I don't think it ever stopped ...


....


Mum said that we had to leave. I cried.


12.10
Seeing as I was going to miss lunch back at school, I had zero choice but to eat in McDonalds. Shame. I had to settle with a light bite: a large Big Mac meal. Talking of food, I fancy a brownie *takes a break from Blog writing, and devours 5843958309g of chocolate*.


13.05
Feeling slightly sick after my "snack", I glumly returned back to school. 'How was your McDonalds Meg?' 'How was Maccy Ds?' Had I really bragged to EVERYONE that I would be having lunch there? Yes ... yes I had.


13.06
I was told that our 'Fun Run' was cancelled because of the ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuubbish weather. What a surprise! I have to keep my fancy dress costume in school now until the weather is good enough. (Which means it will be there forever.)


17.00
I started to write this blog, whilst being on MSN, Twitter, Facebook, listening to music ....
I'm a girl, I can multitask!

19.10
I got ready for 'Zumba', and finished off my blog.

I hope none of my Teachers read this. The note in my diary was for me to have my teeth checked, not to go shopping and fill myself up with fat. Well, until next time ...

Help! What am I supposed to do?

So, ummmmm, welcome to my FIRST EVEEEEEEER blog! Who knows where this will lead? I hope there's a spellchecker on here, otherwise it could get a bit embarrassing...

I'll be sitting at my table in school, sulking, and wishing I was somewhere else in only 2 days! All you lucky people, going off to college. I have another 2 years of school! Plus, it's an important two years in school from now on (or so my teachers/parents say). GCSEs! Actually, what's there to worry about? I've already done one (it was only worth half a GCSE, but all the same). Don't mean to brag ... but ... I got an A! *smirks*

'MUM! MUM! COME AND HAVE A LOOK! I'M WRITING A BLOG!'

.........

Where was I?

So, at the moment I want to become an Astronaut, Doctor, work in the media, or be a journalist when I'm older.  Nice to have a variety of options isn't it? I've actually asked a REAL LIFE ASTRONAUT (I can't believe it either!) about doing what he does, and he said it's generally easier to be one if you're an American. Bummer. But didn't a British female go up to Space with the Russians? So, there's a glimmer of hope? Better start learning: Я никогда не буду иметь возможность выучить этот язык! = I am never going to be able to learn this language! ..... How long does it take to get an American Citizenship?

The end of my first blog is nigh. I have twitter by the way: @meganamy95. FOLLOW ME.

I need to stop rambling now, it's kinda boring. 'Til next time ....