A Clean Slate

It was hesitation, a deep breath that I decided to return to blogging. Perhaps a yearning for the connection of my mind to the keyboard once more. This is the first tentative step I will take to attempt to return to a hobby which I thoroughly enjoyed and savoured for many years.
 It is with a small but genuine smile that I whisper, 'Welcome back to The Random Life of Aveen'.

It has been 'random' to say the least. 2016 was quite a difficult year for me in my private life. I discussed some elements of this last year in some of the blog posts I managed with great difficulty to write.

I've tentatively decided to return to blogging. It's connected to one of my true passions, writing. I wasn't actually able to write for many months, particularly in the summer. I felt that whenever I did write something, it wasn't of a high enough standard for myself, or it was either too personal or informative on things I wanted to initially keep private. When I returned to college for Second Year, I did write some pieces of poetry and a few diary entries for my own thoughts. I might post some of the poems I wrote (mainly on the bus from Wexford to Limerick) in the months to come.

For now however, my main objective is to get back into the swing of writing regular blog posts. This blog was initially written as a way to explore and express my personality, to make sense of my thoughts by writing them down. In essence, it was a safe haven of discovery, creativity and occasional humour.

I'd like this blog to retain it's original purpose. A place for me to document and discover more about my life and the trappings of real life and living. I cannot deny that 2016 was a tough year, but 2017 in my opinion is a new start, a clean slate, of creativity, positivity and developing self-confidence that I lost in 2016.

 I'm determined to slowly deconstruct the walls I built around myself last year when people who I foolishly trusted, betrayed any sense of honour or personal integrity they possessed. I closed myself off from the world for many months due to illness which has thankfully passed. I want to become the more open person I was. Instead of being overly protective and wary of any negativity or comments. I am filled with a fire in my soul that was non-existent for many months until recently.

With the return of this fire in my soul, comes the return of the writing process. The desire, the need to write follows the spiritual fire of development and self confidence.

This will be a slow process but I need and desire writing about my feelings. I've felt that without writing in my life, it has been a dull time indeed.

Here's to a clean slate of writing my feelings, regardless of the dirty looks on sets of stairs or upturned noses in the corridors. The Random Life of Aveen and Awkward Aveen are back and more determined than ever to be a better person, filled with happiness and tranquility in my soul.

Until the next blog post, 

Aveen x

Fat Shaming & Skinny Shaming.

So this blog post has taken a lot of time, effort and thought to write. I would have written this sooner however, with great indecision I delayed writing this post, until now.

I suppose I am known for controversy on this blog, however this subject is deeply personal for me and has been an extremely negative part of my life for as long as I can remember so these are my views, and you may not like them. (And that's okay, we are all so diverse)


I've been reading a lot of blog posts recently about ''skinny shaming'' and how unfair it is to smaller framed people. It's not right, however, I'd like to mention fat shaming and how I have experienced so much of it as a young child and into early adolescence. I was never the thinnest child around the age of 9 or 10, but I would never have been classed as ''fat or obese'' medically. Yet I was by my peers. I experienced such awful abuse at a young age for being ''too big'' yet when we're children, particularly girls aged around 10 or 11, the majority of them are pudgy.

I had such little self-confidence until around the age of sixteen-and-a-half due to this and various other factors. I used to loathe buying clothes, as I would never be wearing a size 8 or 10. I remember a girl in my year during Transition Year talking about her size moaning that ''I'm actually a size 6, but my ass is an 8'' and sighing as if it was a global calamity.

My self-confidence increased when I started writing here on this little blog, yet also with having a growth spurt and thinning out a little. It's the same for a lot of girls. I think it's scary how we place so much self-worth into how others perceive us, instead of our talents and skills. I love school and do well in subjects, but for many, that wouldn't matter, only my looks would. I think this ideology is in a way, terrifying. Many focus on their exterior selves much more than their interior selves. I ask you, what is the point of being beautiful on the inside and be ugly on the inside from putting others down?

Of course it is perfectly fine to care about how you look. I always do something with my hair in particular. Whether I straighten it and put a cute bow or wear a huge doughnut bun. I like to make an effort. But it's when it consumes you and you forget about what's on the inside.

So this brings me back onto skinny and fat shaming. It shouldn't happen full stop. But I feel that I've been reading so many blog posts about SKINNY SHAMING, and nobody will speak out against fat shaming, which I experienced for such a long time during an important time of psychological development as a young girl. I'm better now, I even take OOTD's and take selfies, for fun. I don't hide any more. I stand up tall and wear skinny jeans all the time.

 But girls have to stop putting each other down based on their size, appearance, body shape or even hair style. Just because someone isn't the same body shape as you, doesn't give you the right to call them out on it. I'm 5''8 with curves and hips. A lot of girls have an athletic figure or all sorts of figures, just because they're different doesn't mean you should tell them they're ''weird'' or even ''fat'' It's just disgusting and shows contempt and ignorance (in the context of lack of knowledge) on your behalf.

I think at times that society has conditioned us to believe that unless you have the ''perfect'' body, you have nothing. Excuse me, but I would rather have good grades than a flat stomach (but having both would be preferable!) We've all become so accustomed to seeing Size Zero models on the runways, airbrushed on magazines and on television. I often wonder, if a regular sized girl was to appear on a runway, would she be called normal or would she be considered the awful F word? It's definitely food for thought.

On a final note. Don't partake in body shaming, whether it be fat or skinny shaming. We are all unique individuals with unique experiences. Calling someone an unkind word could lower their self-confidence and esteem even further when they may already have body issues. Nobody is perfect. I've seen girls who look like models, with beautiful exterior looks, be the worst people, constantly putting others down and gossiping in the back of the classroom judging everyone on their appearance. Be kind to people. If anyone says hello to me in the corridors, I always make it a point to say hi back and ask how they are. You don't know what anyone is going through. Some days we need someone to ask how we are, or to say that they like your new hairstyle or scarf. Above all, be a good person on the inside. What goes around comes around.

Stay Strong, Happy & Fearless

Aveen xx

A Letter To My Ten Year Old Self..

Hey Everyone!

As you can tell by the title of this blog post, this is a letter to my ten year old self, basically if I could meet my ten year old self, I would offer myself this advice. So here goes!

Dear Aveen, (Aoibhainne, long story okay)

Well, this is weird. You thought of this idea in work and thought it would be a cool thought. At this moment, it’s nearing the end of summer 2014. Which in all honesty was a pretty good summer for you. The Gaeltacht, a summer job, blogging and just, living. Living and breathing happily with no anxiety or worry building in your stomach is quite a good thing. I think going back to your time it’s a completely different scenario filled with the things I hate now.

Age ten, being told you have your whole life ahead of you (which is true) but feeling stuck in a never ending spiral of hate, tears and questions. The year you got your first mobile phone, the purple one with the pretty design. You were also in Fourth Class, the year you started writing in your diary about what everyone in school was doing to you. I still have that diary in my room despite not writing in it for nearly seven years. It’s painful to read whenever I muster up the courage to, but you’re stronger now for going through it all.

At the moment life is really good. I’m nervous for starting Sixth Year, a time you never thought would ever come. It always felt like you would never escape that gravelly yard with the ‘gold stones’ which you all collected in the pencil sharpener.  Even then you were so determined to do well in the Entrance Exam for secondary school. To get away from all those awful girls was one of your main plans for years. Good news is that you do get away from the majority of them which makes you content for a while. A word of advice, those who you trust most mightn’t share the same trust and respect for you. The people you thought you could trust most, will try drag you down past their low level but all you can do is keep your head held high and ignore all their online taunts and be a bigger better person with the moral high ground.

Please don’t be ashamed of my actions. When the flashbacks start when you’re older, don’t ignore them. Please. Do something about it and go see someone earlier than I should have. When the darkness starts following you in the inescapable maze, fight it and fight it hard. There’s so many more happy times to follow, not just for you age ten but for me, a month off eighteen. Remember that ‘’Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, but only if one can remember to turn on the light’’ You read it in The Goblet Of Fire aged seven remember?

You’ll get glasses in another year. It seems so horrible at first, these grotesque awkward things on your face but when you have good vision wearing them you won’t complain for long. Your chubby cheeks will disappear in a few years. They might start calling you ‘’Four eyes’’ and countless other insults but trust me, you’ve something they don’t, imagination, motivation and a hell of a lot of determination. I can say this enough, It Gets Better, I promise. Just hold tight, something that seems impossible when you’re desperately hiding your tear stained cheeks and red eyes from the teachers and those awful girls every day in that horrible playground.

At the moment in 2014 you have a much better life. You feel happy, you remember what a smile is and you know how to produce one on your own face with one dimple on your right cheek. You still have glasses but they’re actually kind of cool. You have a blog that’s been nominated for awards and people actually email you for advice on blogging and all sorts. Slightly weird thing to balance with studying Leaving Cert subjects at Honours level. Yes, even maths! The reason you were so awful at maths in 4^th class is because you couldn’t actually SEE the board, despite your arguments that you could. You actually love school now, you always loved learning but even more so now with teachers that have faith in you and know you are so determined to do well and become a primary school teacher. Yes, STILL you want to be a primary school teacher even though your experience of the place was so horrific.

However, maybe that’s why. To stop any other innocent child from having to cope with so many horrible bullies, self-doubt, self-loathing and general atrocities that you did. I’m not saying the next few years will be easy, they won’t be I can promise that. But, they will help you develop into a more confident girl, still striving for perfection in your school work and with that same hard work ethic and determination that the ten year old girl with tear stained cheeks attempted to strive for.

Keep Strong.

Aveen. (It’s only Aoibhainne in school now, yay!) 

''Everything’s In Order In A Black Hole, Nothing Seems As Pretty As The Past Though''

Hey Everyone!

It's the end of another week, which honestly shocked me, this week flew by! Many of you will be delighted to hear that another AwkwardSprinkles day was had on Saturday! Which means TWO new videos, aren't you all lucky?! :D

Grace and I met up down the town and sauntered around the town, catching up and having lots of fun. We later went to Grace's gaff (our obsession with 'gaff' is becoming slightly terrifying) to film two new videos which are so utterly random and strange, I'm slightly concerned about how we will be perceived afterwards! :)

I didn't really do much this week, I kind of took things easier this week. As a result I feel rejuvenated and eager to finish aims I had planned for the summer instead of just reblogging GIF's of Dan Howell (That said, nothing wrong with spending countless days drooling over Dan Howell's jawline) I also bought the magazine that will be featuring a massive poster of him in August. Life = Made.

I also made a Facebook page for my blog, you can check it out here and I'll be posting on this page whenever I write a blog post or make a YouTube video. I made the Facebook page after nearly a year and a half of procrastinating doing so!

In other news, the Long List for the Blog Awards Ireland was released on Friday. If you check the sidebar, you'll see that this little blog was nominated in THREE categories, for Best Lifestyle Blog, Best Personal Blog and Best Youth Blog! I was completely and utterly shocked when I read through the nominee's! I had to read it a couple of times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. So I'd like to say a massive thank you to the lovely people who nominated me, I really and truly appreciate it and this has given me the confidence to announce to my family and friends that I have a blog! Some of my family and friends knew but I don't think many did!

So The Random Life Of Aveen is no longer a quietly kept secret and it feels good to be able to say, ''Yep, I'm a lifestyle blogger and an occasional YouTuber as well being a Leaving Cert student''

I also developed an obsession with loom bands. I bought a couple of packets just to try it out and I was honestly hooked at once. I've made nearly a dozen loom bands so far and I'm experimenting with different designs which is really fun.

I also bought some new music on iTunes, I got Ed Sheeran's new album 'X' the deluxe version, AM by Arctic Monkeys and the 1975's self-titled album. I'm really happy with the albums I bought, I'd been meaning to buy them for a LONG time so my days have been filled with lots of new songs (yay!)

Photos from my week!

With Grace!

Raindrops keep falling on my head...

LOOM BANDS! I made Wexford and Limerick loom bands for my cousins. (I'm writing this whilst still wearing my Wexford jersey, there's always next year)

Another loom band

Selfie at Grace's gaff|!

Stay Strong, Happy and Fearless, 

I'll see you all very soon!

Aveen xx

PS, Grace uploaded the latest AwkwardSprinkles video, mine will be on the way shortly! :) 

Lyrics: Arctic Monkeys ~ Fluorescent Adolescent 

The Myths Of Being A Lifestyle Blogger

Hey Everyone!

So today I'm writing about 'The Myths Of Being A Lifestyle Blogger' I know I have only been writing TRLOA for just over a year now, however I have noticed some things being said both online and also away from the computer screen about being a lifestyle blogger.

One of the biggest myths I've come across is that lifestyle bloggers have ''perfect lives''
Someone once said this to me in real life and I honestly just stood and stared at them in shock. My life is far from perfect I can assure all of you. As a seventeen year old Irish girl in Fifth Year with a Leaving Cert next June and Summer exams in little under a month, my life isn't ''perfect'' and trust me, never has been.

From reading other blogs, it's easy to assume lifestyle bloggers have perfect lives. We cut out the imperfections and blemishes both in our appearances and life stories, mentioning the ''good bits'' or as I like to call it ''the highlights reel.'' People compare our ''highlights reel'' with their ''outtakes'' and ''behind the scenes'' of their lives. You will rarely seen my ''outtakes'' or ''behind the scenes'' only the ''highlights.'' These will be completely parallel, they will never meet nor will these be identical.

I write about the good things in my life, a funny joke with friends, a photo I took of flowers and everything in between, emphasising even a small moment in my life that made me smile. I rarely write about waking up at 3 am every night from vivid nightmares or just for no reason, with my heart thumping with fear about the Leaving Cert, school, exams or  worrying about getting enough points to go to the college I want. That is the reality of my life, the fear of failure and a fear of underachieving in life, not the 'perfect life' apparently all lifestyle bloggers have.

Another myth or stereotype is that ''Lifestyle bloggers are too obsessed with themselves and their own lives''

I've been told that by writing about my life that I am ''vain and self obsessed'' and also ''want everyone to fall in love with my life.'' I never started The Random Life of Aveen as a means to 'brag' or to try put others down. I started blogging because I love writing. Writing is a huge part of me. I've been writing a diary since I was ten years old and I'm eighteen in September. That's a lot of notebooks about my emotions, life, hopes and ambitions.

I really don't want people to fall ''in love with my life'' Not trying to be self-deprecating but as stated earlier, my life isn't perfect. I don't want others to try mimic my mistakes or the ''good things'' I've done in my life. Everyone has their own lives and life paths to lead and this is mine. You just know about my life path as I write about my life.

Lifestyle bloggers aren't obsessed with themselves. We post photos of everything and anything that has meaning to us. I used to post photos back in 2013 of attending mental health conferences, award ceremonies, visits to tv sets, Croke Park and lots more. This was because that's what my life was like during Transition Year hence the title ''The Random Life of Aveen'' This year I'm in a serious school year, and next year will be even more so. Which is why I post photos of even the small things in life that make me happy, we all need something, however insignificant they appear to be, to make us feel happy.

I may post a lot of selfies and in the eyes of some people that's a sign of being ''shallow and vain'' and that I should stop ''obsessing over my appearance'' How does taking a photo of my face or clothes for my blog deem me as being a vain and shallow individual? It's become a more socially accepted idea to hate your own body with every ounce of your being than to realise that we're stuck with our bodies for the duration of our entire lives. 

We're always going to want to change an aspect of our appearance. I wish I had better eyesight, a smaller nose and lots of other things but I don't let that dictate my life. Nobody is perfect and we have to realise this. The idea of hating ourselves and picking out our flaws and imperfections, and doing the same with complete strangers is getting out of control.

 Judging a person merely on their appearance, not their personality, intelligence, humour, laugh, smile, music interests, hobbies and much more is just ridiculous. This ideology completely limits people into thinking that if they're ''pretty'' that's all that matters in life. That's not the case. I'm not pretty at all but I don't let that and the opinions of others stop me from achieving the best I can in life. I like to think that I make up for those ''flaws'' in my personality, I try to be kind, smile, laugh and be myself. 

The next time you call a lifestyle blogger, or anyone for that matter, those sort of names, think again. Just think about what you're thinking and saying about people you know in real life or only know from the laptop screen. I get various off-the-cuff comments about my blog, personality and appearance, in both real life and online,  but I don't let them get me down any more. So long as you know you're a good person (and act like it) and try your utmost best in life that's all that matters. 

So I hope you liked this blog post about the myths of being a lifestyle blogger. It took a long time to write this but I feel it conveys exactly how I feel about the myths surrounding being a lifestyle blogger. Thanks for reading this and you can comment below if you have any opinions on the post. 

Of course, blogging isn't all negativity, I love posting every week and I've made so many friends by blogging. 

Stay Strong, Happy & Fearless!

Aveen xx

The Kindest Words Get So Obscured..Between Your Thoughts On What They'll Say..

The Random Life Of Aveen in Photos
Lyrics from The Coronas ''Won't Leave You Alone''

Hey Everyone! 

As the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words, so I decided to use that saying today to tell all you lovely people about what I've been doing the past few days. 

Photograph One is of my favourite necklace at the moment and a Roald Dahl quote in the background. I keep the necklace & quote on my corkboard because I always look there. The full quote is ''If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely'' It's a really pretty and eloquent quote which is simple to remember, but also quite effective and in way, truthful. 

Photograph Two is of Company Magazine which I bought at the weekend, I love it so far!

Photograph Three is of the current book I'm reading, Will Grayson, Will Grayson which is absolutely excellent so far, only a couple of pages in I was laughing! (A rare occurrence as I usually just cry at John Green books) 

Photograph Four is of one of my favourite mugs, my red Starbucks mug! It holds so much whether I want to drink water, milk or hot chocolate! As it's Mid-Term at the moment it's getting an awful lot of use!

Photograph Five is my homework/study pile including extra revision I'm doing myself. Overall many of my teachers were quite nice with the homework they gave out, but some (cough business and maths) are giving tests after Mid-Term, lovely. 

Photograph Six is my whiteboard and I've written the tasks I have to finish by the end of the week. The only written homework I have left is a summary of what I want to do for my RSR (project) in history and one or two maths questions! The rest is only revision so I hope it isn't too bad.. 

Photograph Seven is my headphones which I use with my laptop (and currently using as I type!) they're brilliant for when I'm editing videos too. 

Photograph Eight is where I've been since Friday, on my bed with a laptop, magazine, USB cables and headphones. It's a brilliant week. 

And finally Photograph Nine is of me (oh the vanity, not) I had an opticians appointment this morning and I have to get a stronger prescription (my eyesight has worsened, oops blame my genetics) so I picked a new pair of glasses and sunglasses! The optician said I'll have them by the end of the week so they'll hopefully debut in my weekly post on Saturday or Sunday! :)

I didn't include the photo of me watching the music video for the 'last' My Chemical Romance song ''Fake Your Death'' because it wasn't a nice sight (tissues were needed to dry my tears)

I'm also doing something really ''culchie'' tomorrow which you'll find out about later in the week! 

Stay Strong, Happy and Fearless!

Aveen xx

AwkwardSprinkles; A Day In The Life!

Hey Everyone!

So this is a special post dedicated to a Day In The Life Of AwkwardSprinkles featuring my real life & blogger friend DaintySprinkles!

As it's officially Mid-Term, we felt it was time for an AwkwardSprinkles day, this time at my gaff/house! Grace arrived at my house and we immediately went on laptops (how sociable we are) talking, gossiping, eating chocolate and just generally relaxing.

We decided to walk down the road to Tesco/Costa which is really near my house (First World Perks?) We were slightly concerned that we would bump into people we knew, which is something inevitable if you live in a small town in Ireland. We flicked through magazines and I bought Company magazine for the first time! I think Grace is trying to convert me into a Beauty and Fashion Blogger!

We also paid a trip to Costa to get hot chocolate. To my utter grief, they had run out of marshmallows but I still had cream so it was okay. We decided to walk back up to my house where we embarrassingly vlogged in the middle of the road (with many drivers staring but it doesn't matter!)

You may also be delighted to hear that we recorded YouTube videos! I'm in the process of editing my videos (I have three videos coming up, the AwkwardSprinkles video, The Bloopers/Vlogs & also The TMI Tag) We discussed various subjects including the crazy Irish weather, people coughing/sneezing in exams, general gossip/rambling and LOTS more. So check out our YouTube accounts for those! Part One of AwkwardSprinkles will be on my channel and the Part Two on Graces!

We also took outfit photos which you can see below, we used my tripod 'FredOrGeorge' (Weasley reference) and I was very awkward when posing for photos as you can tell from the photos below.  Overall we had a brilliant day and I think we were both very sad when Grace had to go home :(

Bloggers heaven; laptops, Costa, Company magazine, chocolate and Wi-Fi 

Today's day on my calendar

I bought Company magazine! 

I hope you enjoyed an insight into a Day In The Life Of AwkwardSprinkles! 

Stay Strong, Happy and Fearless!

Aveen xx

''Do I sound Irish? Or is it like I've just jumped off a tractor Irish?''

Hey Everyone!      

So it's the end of another week and I only have one more week in school until Mid-Term! (Cheers ecstatically) which means freedom from school! So this week was relatively interesting, maybe I should tell you about it? ;) 

Well we'll start off with the title of this blog post and it's meaning. If you read my Twitter & my tweets, you'll see that I was tweeting with the following lovely people; Grace of Dainty Sprinkles, Tolly of Tolly Dolly Posh, Kate from The Fashion Chain, Mia from TeenageBeautyBlog and Rachel of Oh Hey There Rachel! on Saturday night (last night!) which was absolutely ''savage'' and we all discussed stranger danger with strangers (irony at it's finest) due to the Internet Safety Group! 

Later on in the night, myself, Grace, Mia & Tolly decided to Google chat, which was um.. interesting. Apparently I overused the word ''savage'' which I use to say like 'epic' or 'brilliant' Overall though, we had a brilliant chat and it's great that the teenage blogging community can get together like that. It's hard to imagine that say ten years ago, the technology wasn't there to do things like that. It really makes me realise how lucky we are to have the ability to communicate via blogs, Twitter and other social networking sites. 

Also on Saturday, there was a storm/weather warning in place where I live so I went to take photos of the waves at the seaside 'town' near where I live (I always have bright ideas) Turns out however, there was a multitude of people there too, some with phones, some with camera's and tripods, everyone taking photos as the waves crashed against the pier. My Mam didn't let me stand too close to the waves (for obvious reasons) but it was utterly spectacular seeing the waves rolling towards us, getting slightly closer with each crash. I took literally tonnes of photos, and my favourites are down below. One in particular I love is the photo with the man standing literally metres away from the waves, I know he was risking his life, (And I was terrified he was going to jump in) but I love the photo as it shows how huge the waves actually were. It puts the waves into perspective in a way. 

Also, this week I read the book ''Switched'' by Amanda Hocking, if I have time I'll write a review in a separate blog post! (I finished it last night at around 1am which is always a bundle of laughs) and I think I'll read the next two books, Torn and Ascend if I have time. (If they cause emotional distress like most other books I read maybe warn me in advance, I cry at nearly every book so maybe it's just me) 

A shoutout to my annoying brother (who Grace, Tolly and Mia probably now know from the chat last night) for switching off the Wi-Fi when I was writing this blog post, cheers peasant!

ps. all photos below are mine and you can freely use them, but please notify/inform me :) 

Stay Strong, Happy and Fearless!

Aveen xx

If all goes to plan, I will be recording a YouTube video this afternoon! Watch this space! x

Photos Of The Coastline 

 

Beach near where I live .. (what's left of it..)

What A Treacherous Thing To Believe That A Person Is More Than A Person..

Hey Everyone!

Sorry for not posting last week. In a nutshell, I had a tonne of homework/study and honestly didn't have a minute to myself to write a blog post. It really did irritate me that I couldn't post anything, but the reality is that my schoolwork has to take priority over everything for the next couple of years so I can achieve what I want with my life.

My life has been quite quiet lately which may make my blog posts seem 'dull' but everything is still going by as quickly as other weeks. It feels as though I haven't been on my blog in weeks and I'm not sure how I like that. I was considering a brief break/hiatus while I figured out what I was writing on my blog, however I don't think it's quite necessary any more.

The title of this blog post is a quote from one of my favourite authors, John Green. If you didn't know, I have a John Green book shrine and several of his quotes plastered all over my bedroom walls. I really relate to many of his quotes, and in particular this quote. It is a dangerous thing to believe that a person is more than a person. You're liable to get hurt and to excuse their actions much more than if they were simply a ''person''

But on a more positive note, I'll tell you about my week (and maybe an extract of a draft blog post I'd been planning) I'm not sure if I said it already, but I'd like to say a huge thank you for helping me reach 12,000 page views on my blog recently, every thousand is a huge milestone and I appreciate it immensely.

So my last two weeks have been filled with school work, procrastinating, studying, flinging maths books across my room (possible slight exaggeration but it's how I felt) & learning how to write an essay about the environment in Irish. I've been learning my seanfhocal (Irish sayings) so thoroughly that I've begun to start using them in actual conversation, much to the confusion of my family and friends.

I also received a letter from the Gaeltacht I'm going to in the summer (more details later) about a meeting I've to attend in early February (it's compulsory when it's your first time to the Gaeltacht) and I have to learn Amhran na bhFiann (which I know most of already from primary school wahey) so I'll be singing the national anthem for the next few weeks, which may be awkward.

So while I'm on the topic of the Gaeltacht, I suppose I should explain what it is and why I'm going there. The Gaeltacht(s) are multiple areas all over Ireland where only Irish is spoken. In the summer, you can stay on courses in Gaeltacht areas (mainly in Galway) for up to three weeks and speak the language and improve your vocabulary. I'm going in early June of this year for three weeks. So yes, there are vacancies for guest posts during that time too. (I'll be mentioning further details of this closer to the time) I'm hoping staying in the Gaeltacht will improve my Irish. I'm studying Honours Irish in my Leaving Cert and I need a good grade if I want to become a primary school teacher. So I'm determined to make the most of the three weeks I'll be over there!

 

This honestly terrified me, well, because I'm seventeen and planning for someday. 

Source : Google Images

Not ANOTHER page of Irish sayings to learn! (My life for the past few weeks)

Playlist for this blog post: 

One Republic ~ Counting Stars

Bastille ~ Of The Night

One Republic ~ Stop And Stare

The Script ~ Before The Worst

Maroon 5 ~ She Will Be Loved

Damien Rice~ The Blowers Daughter

That's about it from me for this week! I'm glad to be back blogging! 

Stay Strong, Happy and Fearless!

Aveen xx