Meet The Vamps Tour

Hello all, 

Where has the time gone? It feels like yesterday that I was writing my last post definitely not two weeks! I'm really sorry for the lack of posts in the last two weeks but now's my chance to turn that all back around. 

Two weeks ago today (Wednesday 15th October) was the day I got to see my favourite band perform once again. This band is called 'The Vamps'. There's honestly not too much to say other than the fact that they were amazing! The entire show was planned to perfection and I loved the way that each member had the chance to have their own 5 minutes in the spotlight. It was also great how they remembered their routes and exactly how they started and this was evident throughout the show. 

This was the fourth time i'd seen The Vamps live and I believe that this was definitely my favourite! If I could live the entire night again no doubt about it I would. 

I will now leave you with some photo's that I took throughout the night!

Thank you for reading! 

Jessica x

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♡ Living With Anxiety ♡

Hello all,

If you follow me on twitter you may have noticed that i've been contemplating a blog post on this topic for months now but finally I believe that I am ready to share my experiences with anxiety with all of you. If this can help just one person i'll be extremely happy. I decided now would be a good time for me to finally upload a post surrounding this topic as just last week was 'Mental Health Awareness week' and Zoe started her campaign of the 'Don't Panic Button'.

About a year ago now I drafted an extremely long post on my old blog however I never got around to posting it. I've now decided it'd be better to give a concise overview of my experiences and if you'd like to know more then i'll create another blog post rather than bombarding you with loads of information in just one post! 

So where do I begin? I guess from the very beginning. I started suffering from an anxiety disorder back when I was 7 years old. This first occurred during the transition between infant school and junior. I'd avoid school as well as need a lot of time off due to the symptoms anxiety left me with (severe migraines & tiredness). This all lasted for around a year and then sort of seemed to 'fade away'. I can't particularly remember anxiety dominating my life in years 4,5&6 however I do of course remember times where i'd become overwhelmed by this awful feeling. 

In year 7 (aged 11) is when things became particularly bad for me. As of the first week of secondary school anxiety had almost taken over my life and has done ever since (5 years). As part of this mental illness i'd avoid school and my attendance got seriously low. I'd suffer from migraines and tiredness (as I had done previously) making the whole experience even worse and the thought of school was enough to make me extremely upset and cause an anxiety attack. I endured the same secondary school for four years and as I believed that the school was the cause for the stress and worry I decided to move. For most this would make you anxious but for me it was a mixture of excitement and extreme nerves. In fact I couldn't even turn up until 11 am on my first day due to continuous anxiety attacks. Once i'd settled into my new school I realised it was one of the best decisions of my life but did make me realise my anxiety didn't just revolve around school anymore but near enough anything and everything.

I've been visiting the hospital for 5 years due to my anxiety and have been through cognitive behaviour therapy twice and both times at CAMHS. Even though I found this useful whilst it was taking place I find it extremely hard once the course is over as I feel as if you're just left and I rapidly go straight back to stage one again. I'm still suffering from this illness and it still gets me extremely down. I am personally still looking for ways that could help me get through this but I believe talking to people is a great place to start (hence this blog post). So if you suffer from anxiety or any other type of mental illness please feel free to contact me and we can talk about it (information on my 'contact me.' page).

I hope my story has made you realise you're not alone and that i'll always be here as someone to talk to.

Please leave suggestions below if you'd like to see more posts on this subject in the future or tweet me!

Lots of love

Jessica x

Useful links:

Childline

Mind UK

NHS Useful links

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ZoellaBeauty Soak Opera & Let's Glow Review

Hello all, 

As many of you all will be aware Zoe (Zoella) recently released her beauty range 'Zoella Beauty'. Just like many others I was extremely excited to get my hands on some of her products. As soon as it was released in my local super drug store I was straight down there to buy whatever I could. The products were so popular that almost everything was out of stock so I was left with 'Soak Opera' and 'Let's Glow' which were high up on the list of things I was most excited about. I was slightly disappointed by the fact Superdrug had run out of 'Blissful Mistful' which I got to test in store and smelt amazing. So lets start by reviewing these two items.

Soak Opera:

Well I guess the first place to start with this is the packaging! It's super cute and so Zoe. That's what I particularly like about this range; it reflects Zoe in so many ways. The bottle size is perfect and I can tell it'll last me a while. I do love a good bubble bath and tend to go a bit over the top when it comes to bubbles but I used a fair bit of this and it hardly left a dent. The scent is exactly how I like it light and fresh. I guess you could say it was slightly floral/fruity. One things for sure this scent definitely isn't is overpowering. The scent sticks to you for a fair while after the bath which is also an added bonus. The cream is in no way drying on the skin leaving it feeling super soft. Finally probably the thing I love most about this product is the fact it's bubble bath but you're also able to use it in the shower as a shower cream! I can tell i'll be using this time and time again. 

Let's Glow:

Anyone that knows me would tell you candles are literally my favourite thing! I could spend an absolute fortune on scented candles so when I heard Zoe was releasing her own scented candle I could hardly contain my excitement. This scent is super light and goes perfectly with the scent of 'Soak Opera'. It's the perfect candle to have lit in the autumn or whilst having a pamper evening as the scent is in no way over powering. The packaging is once again adorable and I especially love the fact it comes in a tin accompanied with a lid. This makes it perfect for storing avoiding damage and allowing you to get the most out of the candle. 

Have you tried any of Zoe's products yet? What do you recommend I try next?

Lots of love

Jessica x

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Choosing The Right College and Course For You

Hello all,

It's that time of year again, that time where all the colleges hold their open days and you're expected to make what seems like the hardest decision of your life. I hoping that by writing this blog post I may make you feel a little more confident when choosing your college and courses. 

In no way am I an expert in this i'm purely speaking off my own experience seeing as I was in this position just a year ago. 

My first tip would be to keep open minded about all the colleges you are going to view.  Before even viewing the colleges I went to see i'd already made a judgement of how much I'd like each one and it's fair to say that what I thought was going to be my least favourite is now my college today. You can't make a decision when you don't really know anything about the college so try not to make a judgement before visiting. 

Secondly don't be afraid to ask questions. Many people give up their own time to help out at the open evenings and are purposely there to answer your questions so please use them. In each department there'll be both teachers and students of the subject able to give you first hand information on the course. This is particularly useful if you have a few colleges in mind as you'll be able to compare what each college will be able to offer you. This is also extremely helpful if you are unsure what courses to take as you can ask for information on the subject that you may previously never thought of taking! 

As well as this i'd visit subjects that I feel i'd be interested in however not definitely going to take. You may find that one of the courses you choose doesn't work out so it's always a good idea to have a backup or two. Don't feel pressured into taking a course you won't enjoy because of pressure from friends as this will dampen your whole college experience. In the first couple of weeks most colleges will allow you to move courses around to make sure you're completely happy so if you feel you've made the wrong choice you'll always have the chance of changing courses later down the line.

Furthermore if you have a set career goal or an aim of a specific university course now is the time to start looking at this also. Some universities/jobs require certain A levels so it'd be a good idea to find these out early so you can choose the right colleges courses that can lead onto further education. 

Finally look at as many colleges as possible. Make sure you look at every college in a commutable distance so you can compare and make sure it's a place you can see yourself. Don't worry about where your friends are going just make sure you choose the right college for you. 

I know this whole experience can be extremely daunting however once you've started I believe college is 100x better than high school as long as you keep on top of the work load and attend every lesson. I could go on for hours about this topic but I won't waste anymore of your time. If you'd like to ask any questions then feel free to leave them in the comments and i'll reply asap. 

With love

Jessica 

x

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My Autumn Essentials!

Hello all

Yesterday was officially the first day of autumn and as anyone that knows me would tell you autumn is my all time favourite time of the year! I absolutely love the crisp cool air in the morning upon your face and the excuse to just snuggle up on the sofa in front of your all time favourite movie. I thought now would be the perfect time to let you in on my autumn essentials. 

1) Grab a mug of hot chocolate. Everyone knows that when the weather outside is a bit nippy we all crave the warm loving feeling that a hot drink gives us. Hot chocolate just screams out autumn for me so this had to be included in my list of essentials! 

2) Invest in red. When I think of autumn I instantly think of the colour red. That beautiful red that the leaves change to fills me with absolute excitement. If I could my entire wardrobe would be filled with these gorgeous shades of red during this time of the year. My absolute go to would be a red flannel shirt accompanied with a pair of skinny jeans and black ankle boots. 

3) Stock up on candy. We all know autumn means halloween and lots and lots of movies; this all calls for one thing! CANDY! Don't have the embarrassment of having no candy on halloween night so why not stock up now? If it somehow manages to vanish before October 31st it gives you the perfect opportunity to go and buy some more!

4) Snuggle in a big warm coat. When the weathers a bit cooler than you're used to having that extra layer is much appreciated. A nice big coat is super comfy, practical and offers a big fashion statement. 

5) Lots and lots of candles. I have a slight obsession when it comes to candles and when the evenings start drawing in I can't help but light a few candles around the room and relax in that calming glow they give off. Scented candles are my guilty pleasure and I could spend a fortune on them. 

With love,

Jessica

xo

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The Pointless Book Review

Hello all, 

Today I thought i'd try something a little bit different and do a cheeky book review for you all! As i'm sure most of you are aware Alfie Deyes (pointlessblog) recently released his much anticipated book 'The Pointless Book'. 

Ever since Alfie first mentioned the fact he was bringing a book out it was hard to contain my excitement and it's fair to say that this book definitely hasn't disappointed. For those of you that aren't sure what 'The Pointless Book' is it's very simply an activity book full of everything from playing games with your friends to baking a cake in a mug. You could say that Alfies book is very similar to the likes of 'wreck this journal' however the overall aim isn't to wreck the book. 

There's no competition with the book you simply complete it at your own leisurely pace however it's fair to say that it should take to a fair while to carry out all the activities and most of the activities you can carry out time and time again. It's definitely safe to say this isn't a book you'll get bored of quickly. 

The thing I like the most about this book is how interactive it is. The book comes with it's very own app which you can easily download straight to your smart phone called 'The Pointless Book App'. Some pages feature an image of a smartphone which instantly tells you theres a video that Alfie has created exclusively for the book giving you access to extra content! you simply open the app up and select the 'scan the page' option and a video linked to the page should pop up on screen! It's all magic if you ask me. 

Overall I believe that this book is a must have wether your a 'Pointlessblog' fan or not! 

RRP: £8.99

Available in most leading book shops.

Much love ♡

Jessica Benson

xo

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♡ NCS - Week 3 ♡

Here is an extremely long over due post about my final week on NCS a month over due in fact. So let hop back onto this old bandwagon and begin. 

Week three is all about pursuing our campaign as well as completing a 100 challenge challenge day. 

Monday was a day off however this didn't stop us from all meeting up to start preparations early. Around nine members of our team headed towards 'Hobbycraft' to buy the materials needed to create a tree. (our campaign idea is on the previous post click here to see it) We bought two massive pieces of cardboard, some paint and paintbrushes. We noticed that inside hobbycraft there was a table free so on the off chance we asked a member of staff if we'd be allowed to use it. After explaining what we were doing they happily lent us the table for the afternoon and offered all their help by supplying us with things like scissors and craft knifes while we were there. As teamwork goes I think we worked well finishing most of the tree off by closing time.

Day two was left for shopping however as our team had already bought a majority of supplies the day before and online we only had a minimal amount left to get and this included glitter.. lots of glitter. We returned back to our meeting venue early and finished the tree off completely. We were all extremely happy with how it turned out and finally felt as if Friday was going to be a success. 

On Wednesday as a team we went and volunteered at a local charity shop called 'Relate' the staff were extremely lovely and seemed very excited to have us there. They had us doing all sorts of things for example: Setting up a book sale, working in the stock room and handing out leaflets to members of the public in the street. It was a great day and gave us all the opportunity to get experience of working in retail and giving back the community. 

On Thursday we carried out 100 Challenges to raise money for 'Relate' overall we did very well and raised quite a bit of money. The aim of the event was to complete 100 challenges in our town within about 5 hours. We managed to complete about 97 challenges in the end. The challenges included things like start a conga line and get 5 people to join in, Do the Macarena in public and start a Mexican wave.

Friday was the big day, the day this had all been leading up to. CAMPAIGN DAY. As a team we all walked into town carrying all our equipment for the day. It's fair to say we got a few strange looks from the public when they saw us carrying a massive cardboard tree. We got to town and chose a spot to set up. It started off s a huge success and our tree was filling up with lightbulbs nicely however at about mid day this began to slow down a bit. Some of us went off to lunch and noticed that the town centre was much busier than where we were originally situated and so we decided to move. We managed to attract a whole range of new people and even had people asking about what we were doing and about NCS. At around 2pm a huge thunderstorm came over and resulted in us having to close the campaign early however I believe it was an overall success. 

This was then end of NCS and we were all so sad that it was all over! I haven't all met up as a team as of yet but we're trying to plan something for the near future. 

I would recommend NCS to anyone aged 16-17 and it really is an opportunity of a lifetime. 

I hope you have all enjoyed these little NCS blog posts. Let me know what type of posts you'd like to see in the future by leaving a comment below! 

- Jessica x

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