Meet the Family

Before going to America I never really thought deeply about my parents and their roles in my life. Although I automatically saw them as role models however as I met more and more people explaining in detail about where I come from and my family I started to realise just how amazing role models my parents are, not just as parents but as people too. I'm lucky enough to have grown up to know the difference between right and wrong, to have high moral standards, to have a consistent work ethic and good manners. It's fair to say I'm very proud of how my parents nurtured me. 

My dad left school and was encouraged to go straight into work, which is unfortunate as he's pretty intelligent. He went into the army and then into factory, at some point the factory let him go and he started up his own building services business which he's continued to run, until he got a job as a supervisor for a housing company, considering his age we were all impressed and he's also going to be doing a qualification which is an equivalent to a degree.

My mum will be the first to admit she was no golden girl at school, she left school at sixteen and began working in a travel agents, she did this for years and her customers were very fond of her and so were her colleagues, for unknown reason and decided she had enough of that and decided to start work with my dad, helping out at first and then full time, in those years she got strong and she thought a lot, eventually she went back to college and then to university where she did a course in Nursing. She qualified almost a year ago and is now working on an elderly mental health ward in a hospital doing what she loves.

I'm really proud of my parents, because no matter how long it took, they got where they were going.

I'm very lucky to have such fantastic people as parents and I've never felt more blessed.

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Camp America questions answered

If you're a fairly regular reader of A South Wales Blog then you're aware that this summer I up and left Wales to go to America to work. When I came back I was very vague about my experience and since then I've had quite a few questions so, with the help of Amy Hodkin I put together this quick post! Applications for Camp America are open now however the sooner the better or you may not get placed!

How much did it cost altogether? 

£700

Who did you go through to apply?

I went through Camp America.

Which was really good as there was lots of support and we flew with Virgin Atlantic which was A-MAZING! I met so many amazing people at the airport!

Was the application process hard?

The application process is tedious I won't lie, you fill in an online application, then you go for an interview, you then need to fill out medical forms and get them signed by your gp. Camp directors can then sift through your application and choose to interview you, sometimes via Skype or FaceTime.

Did you go as an all round counsellor?

I did, I'm so glad I went as an all round counsellor, specialist counsellors lived together, while all round counsellors lived with kids and got to spend more time with them. 



Was it worth the money?

It was the most amazing experience I've ever had and I don't think I would change it for the world. It was more than worth the money!

You said on your blogpost you didn't achieve everything you wanted to - how come?

The only thing I didn't achieve is improving my health and fitness because I over ate crap for the whole summer. Hey, who can resist waffles for breakfast.

Is there a lot of opportunities to spend time with the friends you make?

The first week I was there it was orientation which was basically all staff together having training, playing games and learning about growth mindsets. You live with other staff 24/7 with the kids, you see most of them on a daily basis and after 9:30pm (when the kids go to bed).

What are the kids like?

Amazing, every child is different and my favourite part was getting to know each child individually and creating a unique bond. While you're there you'll learn so much about yourself spending time with the kids.

I had the most amazing time and learnt so much about myself while I was out there! I would urge everyone to give it a go!

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Fashion || My first #OOTD

It's been a long time coming! I've been asked to do #OOTD posts for months, maybe even a year and today I plucked up the courage to grab my mum and my camera and head outside to take some photos of one of my favourite college outfit.

I love my Matalan parker! £45 in store beating Boohoo's less attractive version sold for £65.

My jeans are from New Look £19.99 and after looking around Topshop I couldn't find anything to compete with these, they look great and are half the price of the ones I'd normally buy from Topshop.

My bag cost more than my jeans at 24.99! But hey, it goes with most things.
My top is also from Matalan for £12. I love these types of blouses!

What do you think?

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Bullying

We're all familiar with bullying, whether you heard about a particular case on the news, whether you know someone who's been bullied or maybe you're even a bully yourself. Bullying is something I grew up with from a very young age, bullied for the way I looked and bullied for the colour of my hair.

I hadn't really thought back to those days in awhile until one morning I read an article about Simon Brooks a 15 year old boy who committed suicide because of bullying, he's not the first and he certainly won't be the last. Reading this article what struck me first was a comment made about Simons personality 'he refused to keep quiet and fit in' ding ding, that's when it hit me. People just don't like people who don't fit in, but why is that? 

Growing up I never had a group of friends I used to float from one group to another looking for that one 'best friend' everyone else had but I never found her/him. Instead I constantly clashed with other people over things like what bag I took to school or how I did my hair. I was picked on for the most stupid things and this wasn't even high school yet. The other kids still knew I was different not only because I was a ginger, freckly kid but because I wasn't afraid to speak up, ask questions or join in. I didn't realise I was any different until I was a few years into high school when my dad pointed it out.

I really hated school up until GCSE's because I just didn't get why people seemed to have a problem with how I looked. I'm thankful that my experience of bullying was only verbal and I had such good support from my parents but I feel like schools don't do enough to stop bullying, and bullying has proven to be a huge issue with at least half of the suicides among young people are related to bullying.

Someone needs to stand up and tackle bullying because I can promise anyone that once you leave school everything gets better and better.

My dad always reminded me that I only had a certain amount of time stuck with these people and then I'd be off doing what I wanted to do. And guess what? I am and I've left them all behind.

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