I know there are (hopefully) many people in the same position as I at this moment in time. I have just over three months of university left. Obviously this is quite a daunting time for everyone. Here is another guide (I've decided I really love writing these) from me to you to help get you through your third year.

Sunday's are usually the most depressing day of the week, right? I'm sure there are plenty of people out there nursing hangovers from wild Saturday nights, being slumped in deep depression with the realisation that you must return tomorrow. But what can be worse than Sunday's? Sunday's which feature in January. January has been named the "Monday of all months." - Personally I feel this is completely unfair, it never chose this life. Yet, it appears so true. There's nothing worse than leaving your house in the morning and it still being dark outside and returning home with the same darkness. Everyone's in debt and depressed from Christmas so having fun is no option.

Though it doesn't have to be this way, here is a little guide, from me to you, some ways in which we can make January the Friday of all months (maybe this is too optimistic?). Together we can get through this, to beat our Winter Blues!

 NEW YEAR NEW ME

January is the one month you can have sort of a fresh start. Whether that's being Dry January or becoming more organised, or start going to the gym. You can leave everything which happened in the year before in the past. This is your month, the month you get to reinvent yourself, you can come out on top being as fabulous as ever! It's a chance for you to try out your resolutions before dropping them in coming months.

THE TELEVISION

Since you're all still broke and stuff from Christmas what is better than burrito'ing up in your duvet and watching the new series of Pretty Little Liars on a dark night? Also, everyone knows that the awful shows which you hate to love are going to make a reappearance in your life and you love it - you know your Saturday nights will once again be complete with Take Me Out. I know none of this beats the Christmas films and shows which we all know and love, but it's better than nothing. 

COMFY

This is the month you are still allowed to be comfortable. Wear those joggers and jumpers with pride, pop on your fluffiest socks, order yourself the Domino's winter survival deal (just for one night only, the diet can be put on hold). Grab alllll the blankets and curl up with a nice mug of tea! No-one will judge your for being a slob, trust me, we're all doing it.

SUMMER LOVING

January is the month where we can all start planning our summer holidays - how exciting! It's normally around this time we all start finding cheap deals and putting our heart and souls into planning. It's the month where many festivals announce headliners and we all start deciding which ones we'll be attending. This gives you something to look forward too, it'll come round faster than you think.

WINTER SCENES

The snow is setting, the frost is too, this is the time of year everyone becomes a photographer. You take photos which unintentionally become Instagram worthy. It's also the time of year which I love going on walks, find yourself a park or a river, get your wellies and boots on and get yourself a good smacking of fresh air and obviously an opportunity to go and have a drink on the way home...

BRIGHT UP YOUR LIFE

Winter was created for grey right? And darkness? Well who says it has to be this way? Wear your brightest clothes, paint your nails crazy colours. Go against the crowd. This is probably the best time to stand out. Embrace the colour.

It's ok everyone, the worst is nearly over, please share ways to beat the blues...

"This isn't real, you know what it is? It's St. Elmo's Fire. Electric flashes of light which would appear in dark skies out of nowhere. Sailors were guided entire journeys by it. But the joke was on them, there was no fire. There wasn't even a St. Elmo. They made it up. They made it up because they thought that they needed it to keep them going when things got tough, just like you're making all this up. We're all going through this, it's our time on the edge."- Rob Lowe, St. Elmos Fire. (1985)
We've all been there, right? The sudden feeling that don't belong. A feeling of others taking your place. A feeling that all of a sudden, you are old.

This is something which I am currently very in touch with. 

I first noticed this in the summer of 2015, myself and my friends from college went back there to watch a performance by the class who were in their second year. It all got a bit strange, partly because only half of them knew us. All of a sudden we were being treated as though we were members of the public, we had no privileges like we did the year before. We then went to the nightclub, which we attended every week and no-one was there who we knew, the layout was different, the music was different. We all felt a bit awkward and out of place.

I like to call this the "St. Elmo's" effect. I don't know if anyone has ever seen the 80s film St Elmo's Fire (which if you haven't I highly suggest you do because it is the best film ever to have been created) then this is where I got the idea from. It's a film about a group of friends who, to say the lease, are struggling to come to terms with leaving their college lives and how they're trying to cope with keeping jobs, friendships and relationship. There's a scene in the film where two of the friends from the group peer in the window of the Bar - St Elmo's Bar - to see their friend on the table which they would always sit at with all his new work friends. They then discuss how they thought they were going to be friends forever, and how forever got a lot shorter. It's not a film to watch if you're on the edge.
I've reached the point now, where when I go home from uni, to the pub, where I'd drink every week and not recognise anyone in there. Not even the staff. This is when my dad asked me "Are you feeling a bit, St. Elmo's? and you know what? That's exactly what it is. I guess I'm feeling it now more than ever because I left school 6 years ago which wasn't really a bother for me because I only had about 3 people to stay in touch with. But then I left college, and went to uni and all of a sudden when we came back - everything had changed. We couldn't meet up in our usual spots because someone else had taken them. We couldn't go to places where we would always go because we felt so out of place. I dread to think how much I'll be hit by the St. Elmo's effect once I leave uni.
Though, there is only one way to beat the St. Elmo's effect - find somewhere new. A new joint. We are yet to find a new joint, I suppose it's hard when you're rarely home...
So if you're ever feeling as though you're living in a past in a world that's quickly moving forward, then just remember, this is your St. Elmo's moment. It's your time on the edge. We're all going through this.

Before things got all uncomfortable...

xoxo

"There's a starman, waiting in the sky. He'd like to come and meet us, but he thinks he'd blow our minds." - RIP David Bowie, a true hero. Someone who's music and fashion had rather a big influence on me in my late teens. I grew up with my dad listening to his music, I definitely wouldn't dress in such an outrageous manor if it wasn't for him. The world has lost one of it's most talented and coolest human beings. Rest In Peace.

Hey guys! 

It is official, I am now old. My 22nd birthday was spent drinking far too much vodka with a side order of terrible dancing. That being said, I think it was my favourite birthday yet.

Last year I wrote how 20 was kind of a really shitty year for me and that I wanted 21 to be everything my life used to be when I was 19, I suppose this is kind of a blog post reviewing the year and things which I may have learnt.. So I started putting silver in the insides of my eyelids again, I started drinking strongbow again.. I suppose I thought if I did the actions of my 19 year old self I would magically become her. 

There I am up there, 19 years old, having a great time doing drama stuff and drinking stuff..
After drinking strongbow and talking to boys who I would speak to when I was 19 and trying to relive my life. I kind of accepted the fact I wasn't going to be getting my life back any time soon and realised I had everything I needed anyway, it was more of just finding myself and I feel I've acheived that this year.

21 was also the year I finally went blonde - more bronde really - after debating it for a good 7 years. It was a risk, I could have completely ruin my hair, it could have gone yellow, ginger heck, it could have even fallen out! But I plucked up the nerve and away I went! 

I attended my first festival without the comfort blanket of my brother, I put a tent up, made a fire, made friends, ate actual food this year, managed to catch all the bands I wanted to AND survived the mental crowds without his help. Amazing.

21 saw my third trip to Disneyland with my housemates. Already looking into my next trip.

Being 21 was probably the second best year of my life, so far.. oh c'mon, nothing's gonna beat 19! Once again I was surrounded by my amazing friends I met at college, also by the three amazing ladies who have been in my life for over ten years now - I think they're gonna be stuck with me, poor sods.. 

Here we are, 2016! Would you believe this year my blog is 3 years old?! Craaaaazy stuff!! 

I don't really like to make new years resolutions because I never stick to them, so instead I have set myself a few goals.. Which I obviously will stick to, most definitely. Yeah right...

Lose Weight: If you've been reading my blog for a while you may know I have been struggling to lose all the weight I gained in my first year of university. I'm going to Croatia at the end of March and moving back to Oxford in May when I finish uni. I've decided that enough is enough and I cannot carry on this way, I'm not living a healthy lifestyle. Before uni I was very toned, very slim, mainly because I was dancing and exercising everyday at college, but I also ate so much better and not so much. So yes, starting January I am going to start working out, eating less, I've had a massive wave of motivation come over me lately and I am determined to be able to fit back into the shorts I could wear before I left for uni. It's not gonna be easy, but I'm so determined to get there.

Drink More Water: I've decided I don't drink enough water, honestly, I haven't had a glass in about 3 days. It's a bit of a shame because I was so good at this during the summer. I've got myself a litre bottle and will be drinking two of those a day. I read an article of a woman who started drinking two litres a day and it reduced her under-eye circles and made her skin look all dewy and lovely. Therefore I will be giving this one a good go.

Blogging/Vlogging More: I said this alllllll year, but I am 100% sticking to it this year. Because I'm at uni my blog kind of becomes less of a priority when I am there, understandable. I think this is a real shame because I love writing it, I really do I just run out of time. So yes, 2016 is the year for blogging and vlogging, which you can find here - www.youtube,com/bethwilloughby . It's also the only New Years Resolution I have stuck with this year - go me!

Become More Organised: If anyone knows me then they know I'm am a complete mess. This is something I'd like to sort out. I write ALOT of notes and things, I think I'll be purchasing a diary after Christmas. I'm going to be buying storage boxes and really try to get my life together as I'm being shoved out into the real world in the summer. Sigh.

Saying Yes To The Dress: Obviously there is no dress, because for one to have a dress they must have a lover and to have a lover you must not be me. But yes 2016 is my year to say yes to everything, unless it's ridiculously stupid of course. I don't really care anymore. I think I need to stop playing life safe, we need to go for it! WE CAN DO THIS!

I hope 2016 is wonderful for you all

xoxo

Hi guys!!

For Christmas I recieved two pairs of tickets to see Elf The Musical in London, I went on Tuesday the 29th, it was the biggest surprise of my life, I will forever be grateful! You can see what else I got by clicking here

I decided to take my friend, Philip with me who had the fabulous idea to go to make a whole Christmassy day of it and take a trip to Winter Wonderland. It was somewhere we had spoken about going for so long and finally, after four years of friendship we finally went. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of disappointed, it was extremely busy - not really complaining as this is expected, given the time of year and the fact it's school holidays. But I just kind of found it all kind of... naff. Now, I love Christmas, anyone who knows me knows that I literally live for Christmas - no exaggeration! I feel like it could have been a bit more, well, Christmassy. I don't know, maybe it was because it was sunny, I just feel like it was taken over by rides which had no relevance to Christmas whatsoever. Though I did thoroughly enjoy the Market section and the Bavarian village, where I had a shandy, didn't really want to get merry as we had the show in the evening, sensible from me!

After wandering around being bashed all over the place for a few hours at Winter Wonderland, we then decided to find the theatre - so we knew where we were going - and then find somewhere to eat. But my lord, I did not anticipate how long it would take us to walk down Oxford Street... I am the worst fan of crowds, I love music festivals and I'm fine there. But Christ. The amount of people shopping was absoultely ridiculous. It took us a whole 45 minutes to walk the length, my patients was being more than tested, I felt that everyone was just walking around with their heads up their arses. Even worse, dragging their children aswell to get their bargains. Jesus, get a grip, go home and take your kids to a park, I can imagine the last thing they want to to do is shop. Anyway, after pushing our way through the entire population of the UK. We finally found the theatre and a Garfunkel's restaurant. I had a plate of roasted vegetable and blue cheese spaghetti. Which was soooo nice, if anything there definitely wasn't enough of it!

We then watched Elf The Musical. Two days later, I am completely lost for words, speechless. I've seen so many musicals in my twenty-one years of living and honestly, this one is the best I have ever seen. It filled me with so much joy, I laughed and I cried - with happiness, of course! I went in not really knowing what to expect - Elf is my favourite Christmas film, Ben Forester the actor who plays Buddy in the musical had alot to live up to taking on Will Ferrell's character, but honestly he was perfect, he played the character so beautifully. There is nothing I want more from a show than snow, singing, dancing, a flying sleigh and Christmas spirit, and Elf provided me with all of these. It was the most expensive show at The West End but was it worth it? Yes. I now fully understand the price of the tickets, you definitely get what you pay for, if not more, it's worth every penny. Incredible. Kimberley Walsh played Jovie and she was just remarkable. I hope to see this show make a return because it was the best thing I've ever seen.

We then chanced it and went to the stage door and decided if no-one was out in twenty minutes we'd leave. So we saw the chorus leaving, the actors who played Michael leave, and then. There she was. The woman I had idolised my entire life, coming out the stage door. Kimberley Walsh. if anyone knows me then they know that Girls Aloud are kind of a big deal to me. I kind of froze a little bit, she came over to us and signed my programme. She was also the loviliest person I have ever me. People say you shouldn't meet your idols incase they're not what you want them to be. But not Kimberley Walsh. She was everything I ever wanted her to be, and more.

Overall the day was somewhat magical. What a way to end the year.

Happy New Year  All,

Beth xoxo