Life as of Late #6 - A Family Wedding, Green Day & Summer Time!

Hello Everyone! 

Here is another update on what I have been up to during the summer months. I had intended to blog at least once a fortnight this summer, however this ambition has sadly not materialised as I juggle my time between many things. Not to worry though, here's some photos of where I have been and what I have been doing! 

Went to my cousin Ashleigh's wedding!

My lovely cousin Ashleigh got married to Richie at the end of June! All my aunts, uncles and cousins were in attendance so it was a brilliant day for everyone. I was very surprised and delighted when I was asked to read the First Reading during the wedding ceremony and I also distributed Holy Communion as there was a large attendance. (I did a course in college late last year). The day itself was just wonderful and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves during the day and evening! 

Green Day in Kilmainham:

As you can tell from my excited face in these photos, I simply couldn't wait to see Green Day in Kilmainham! I travelled up with my brother to the venue. The rain was intense however we were well prepared with waterproof coats and boots we didn't mind getting mucky. The support act was Rancid who really got the crowd warmed up and ready for Green Day. 

Despite the weather, the band were so energetic, with Billie running around the stage, fuelled with adrenaline and excitement. The set list was superb, with a mixture of old songs such as 'Welcome to Paradise' and new songs from their latest album 'Revolution Radio' and iconic hits such as 'American Idiot' and 'Time of Your Life.' Overall, I think they played around 25 songs or more, all of which were just utterly surreal to watch live! It was a privilege to see the band live, as I've loved their music for years now. I will definitely go see them if they ever come back to Ireland! 

Got Tickets for Ed Sheeran in May 2018:

I managed to get tickets for Ed Sheeran in the Phoenix Park for May 2018! Despite waiting for several hours, I finally succeeded and got the tickets! I was in work, ran on my break just before 9 to ensure I was on my phone for when the tickets were released. My break was soon over and I had to go back to work, and I still hadn't gotten tickets. The infamous, 'sit tight' refresh page kept popping up, leaving me in hysterics. I accepted defeat and went back to work under a cloud of sadness. 

Later my Mam collected me and told me to get back on my phone, as there were still some tickets left! I went home to go on my laptop and managed to get a pair of tickets instantly! I've loved Ed's music ever since A-Team was released but through chance and bad luck, I've never actually gotten to see him live in concert so I am waiting in anticipation for May 2018! 

Finally ventured to 'Thirsty Thursday':

Myself and the girls finally organised ourselves and our rosters to go to the infamous 'Thirsty Thursdays' in Gorey! Several of the pubs/nightclubs do cheap deals on alcohol on Thursday nights in the summer months. Maeve and Iseabail came down from Dublin to have a well deserved night out and a catch up. It was a great night as we caught up with people from school who we hadn't seen in a while. 

Made last minute plans for a night out:

Have you ever been at home on a Saturday night around 10.30, on the sofa flicking through your phone, watching television and having a case of FOMO? Until one of your work friends texts saying to head out that is! This happened recently and after a quick spur of the moment decision, I found myself tearing through my wardrobe and make up bag to make myself look decent in less than 20 minutes! 

I had to forgo the fake tan but I still managed a full face of make up which I was delighted with. Town was quiet overall but it was a good night as I bumped into friends I hadn't seen in a while as they're a year or two younger and aren't in college yet! Next week is the August Bank Holiday weekend and I'll be going to the Market House Festival to catch up with my friends so expect a blog post on that soon! 

Overall, I'm keeping a fairly low profile this summer, I sold my ticket to Indiependence so I'll be staying at home and going to the Market House Festival instead. I've also started my driving lessons so I'm keeping myself busy with those! For more updates, follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat (links on the right hand side)

I hope you're all having a lovely relaxing summer filled with plenty of fun and frolics!

Talk soon! 

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

Life As Of Late - The College Edition

September has well and truly returned, bringing back the routines of school and college. I'm preparing for my third week back in college, so I finally mustered up the time to write about what I have been doing since making the trek back to Limerick. (The photo above was taken a couple of days before I left, in Courtown Harbour on the last day of summer). 

 Visiting DCU and Glasnevin Cemetery 

I went up to DCU shortly before returning to college, as my brother (fondly referred to as The Sibling) is starting his Master's degree up there. I wish him the very best of luck in the course and hope he likes DCU! 

I persuaded -read, begged - my parents to bring me to Glasnevin Cemetery while we were there. It truly was a wonderful experience to view the graves of so many historical figures from Irish history such as Michael Collins, Hannah Sheehy-Skeffington and Countess Markievicz to name a few. 

Visiting the cemetery added another dimension to the stories I've heard in history classes over the years. It brought a sense that these names in the history books were real people with real lives and graves. (Slightly morbid at times but it was a unique experience) 

Got a hair-cut and a spray tan for college 

My hair was in dire need of a trim so in true back-to-school tradition I got mine cut shortly before returning to Limerick. I also got a spray tan as they were on special offer in a local pharmacy and I was looking frightfully pale after being sick over summer. I ended up looking quite brown but it gradually lessened over the following days! 

Spotted Goats Outside The Window

Goats always make a consistent appearance in these blog posts, today is no exception! After a few days being back in Limerick, I opened a window and heard bleating. I looked across the road and there were two lovely goats in the field! They've since moved on but it was cute to see and hear them for a couple of days.

Socialised/Meet With Old Friends And New 

A major highlight of college is being back with my friends, as well as making new friends! College consists of frequent nights out, a sample of which I posted above. I promise the only new friends I've made aren't the pigeon that tottered over to me in the Bus Station! 

Retained Snap Streaks

At this stage, it feels as if we just send selfies with the captain of 'retain the streak!' or 'keep the streak!'  The joys of student living! 

How are you settling back into school or college?

Let me know!  

Aveen x

The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour

Last week, The Sibling and I flew from Dublin to London for a couple of days. This was the result of a random and a sporadic idea a couple of months ago. The last time I travelled to London was around three years ago when I was sixteen in Transition Year so I felt it was time to pay a visit once more. 

On the first day, we travelled to the Warner Bros Studio Tour London which is the Making of Harry Potter. My brother and I have been fans of Harry Potter since we were children. I can recall being read 'The Philosopher's Stone' by my Mam when I was around four or five. Summers in my childhood were dominated by the latest Harry Potter book release, either reading the books myself or asking my Mam to read them, aswell as watching the latest film and listening to the audio books. 

Halloween in childhood was for dressing up as my idol, Hermione Granger. The smart, intelligent girl who many never took seriously or liked, even though she was always correct. She was also kind and caring but still managed to put those who wronged her in their place. (Hermione punching Draco Malfoy in the Prisoner of Azkaban was goals). As a child in primary school, I related a lot to Hermione, I felt out of place and at odds with my school environment despite flourishing academically. However, reading the books brought me strength, In essence, Harry Potter had a huge effect on my character and personality and helped mould me into who I am now. 

Which is why I felt it was time to pay a visit to the Studio Tour in the UK. 

A nice trip back into childhood can be a wonderful experience as I found out. The magic never really leaves you. The Sibling and I got the Harry Potter bus from the nearby station to the studio. As soon as we walked in the doors, the magic of Harry Potter burst back into our lives quicker than you could say alohomora. 

In total, we spent around 3 hours between the studio tour and the giftshop. Between us, The Sibling and I took over 300+ photos, a small selection of which are included here. To say I enjoyed the experience is an understatement. To see where the films were shot, the actual props used and find out little nuggets of information was worth everything. I felt like a child going around looking at the sets. I succumbed to fits of excitement and giggles, especially upon seeing The Knight Bus and tasting Butterbeer ice-cream! (Also seeing the Hogwarts Express as the video above illustrates) 

Have you ever been to the Harry Potter Studio Tour? What did you think of it?

Let me know, in the comments or tweet me!

Mischief Managed,

Aveen. 

The Third Birthday of The Random Life of Aveen!

Well, well, well. How time flies! 

I'm sitting in my room in Limerick typing this blog post. I'm going to the First Year Ball tonight, listening to The 1975's new album and looking out upon a sun drenched quad on campus.  

Three years ago, I started The Random Life of Aveen. I was nearly 16-and-a-half, (you can't forget that half, differentiation is vital!) I was in the middle of Transition Year, ironically struggling to transition to becoming a different person. I genuinely believe TRLOA helped influence this change in a positive manner. 

I sat down to type this post and thought of how my life is practically parallel to how it was when I was sixteen. I now understand that no person can ever be happy for every minute of their lives, but that we should give it our best effort to remain positive with regards to every aspect of our lives. When I was sixteen, I thought everyone was happy, except me. A couple of years in the real life has told me that we hide a lot of things, and more importantly, it's okay not to be 'happy' for every second of our lives. This is reality, reality is not perfect. 

I was unsure of who I was when I was sixteen. I had a rough idea of who I wanted to be. I wanted to try change the world - to make it a better place. I'm taking initial and tentative steps towards that goal. I'm studying to become a primary school teacher, something I could only dream about three years ago. 

I started this blog while on a 'low' which I tried to disguise by focusing on the positives in my life. The meaning behind my blog has changed more now to posting my thoughts, musings and updates of my life but we must always remember where we came from. I'm still eternally grateful that people read my blog. Last weekend I hit 70,000 page views, something I could only ever dream of three years ago. 

I realised I don't post as often as I used to - or as much as I would prefer. I check my stats when I can. I realised that my page views have stayed at quite a high level despite my inactivity. It's heart warming to see that you lovely readers haven't left and there's new readers reading my older posts, in particular posts regarding the Leaving Cert or the Gaeltacht. I may have moved on from the LC to third level, yet I find it lovely that there's still people reading those posts, hopefully gaining some support or guidance. 

Aveen x

2015; A Reflection and Review of Sorts

2015 was quite simply, an adventure filled, adrenaline fuelled year. I cannot recall being on such a positive upward spiral in one year. I suppose after having so many negative, depressing years, I was bound to have a year I could actually call my own.

 In my mind this year is split in two parts. The first being the Leaving Cert and the second, After the Leaving Cert. This year was utterly surreal and probably the most fulfilling year I've experienced, developing as an adult with responsibilities, becoming braver and more willing to speak up and be counted for.

 As I went through my photo albums for photographs to insert, I was pleasantly surprised at how many photographs I had at my disposal to use. In my mind I felt that I did nothing except study, sit exams and work. It seems I actually did do some socialising! Here's my 2015.

January: 

The year started with the hilarious meme of 'New Year New Ewe' sent by Grace, which still makes me giggle. I succumbed to buying a selfie stick - which is presently in Limerick, oops. I visited my future college, Mary Immaculate College in January on their Open Day. As I walked around the campus, covered in frost and ice, a shiver went up my spine, I could sense that I needed to be here. If only I knew that in December 2015 I would be running around the campus doing exams and completing assignments!

I was studying, which explains the books and flashcards. I have issues with my writing hand so I had to start wearing the muscle support as seen below as my left hand was in agony. Thankfully it sorted itself out but I wore the support in the exams in June. I also questioned if animals did the Leaving Cert and wanted to become a cat.

February: 

Mid term in February consisted mainly of the first ever blogger meetup Grace and I attended! We met up with Jane, Chloe, Sarah, Aoife and Celine in Dundrum. We had all been talking online for a lengthy amount of time before we actually all met up face-to-face. It's a strange experience meeting friends from the internet, you feel as if you know everything about them, even though you don't know what their voices sound like. 

Grace and I also filmed an AwkwardSprinkles video (I think?) We went to get hot chocolate and have a gossip session and took tonnes of selfies. My friend Maeve turned 18 and the squad was out in force to celebrate. 

March: 

Grace and I went to Dublin Zoo with Spleodar, where I fangirled over goats, took photos of green lizards and we ate amazing pizza. Grace turned 16 and had a party to celebrate. I also took a horrid selfie from the St. Patrick's Day Parade on the main stage, oops. I was deep in the throes of sraithpictiúr and needed any excuse to try make myself laugh. I still think An Criú Craiceáilte are the epitome of squad goals. 

April: 

My favourite Easter tree was in my room. Grace and I met up to film. I just realised that we filmed possibly a couple of times during the year but never uploaded the footage. My friends Maeve and Caítlín both turned eighteen so a couple of nights out were had, photo below (a couple of the girls were accidentally cropped out as the photo was too large to fit properly, sorry!) The Vote Yes to the marriage referendum bus arrived in the car park of my old secondary school one afternoon and handed out lots of Yes/ Tá badges. 

May: 

I voted for the first time in May. I also finished secondary school. We all got hoodies, mine said 'Queen of Peasants' in reference to a long-running joke that year. We had our awards ceremony, took photos with all our friends (some of whom got cropped out of this photo, I am so sorry!) I wrote a number of articles for the yearbook, in particular this piece which I forgot I even submitted! It was a strange sensation to leave a place where I had been to school for six years. We had our grad mass and the year group went out to celebrate afterwards. (Photo in the first collage) 

June: 

The days passed quickly as the exams loomed. Cue mental breakdowns, anxiety and relief repeated for each individual exam, oh yes, the Leaving Cert! It feels so long ago thankfully. June was dominated by sets of booklets and pink paper. I was disgusted as Bono appeared on English Paper One in a comprehension. I watched Game of Thrones a lot between exams (I made the mistake of watching the last episode the night before my business exam and cried for a half hour then resumed revision) I liked the quote in the middle a lot, I knew these exams were the key to unlocking everything I wanted to study in third level. 

July: 

I relaxed and recuperated for a lot of July. Grace and I went to another blogger meetup in Dundrum, meeting Sarah, Jane, Cliona, Karolina and her friend Sarah! My friend Caítlín sent me a photograph of the Blogger t-shirt which most of us ended up buying! Starbucks spelt my name right, a worthy cause of celebration. I did a number of shopping hauls too, a strange choice for me.

August: 

Ah, the Leaving Cert results were released on the 12th. I might have had several existential crises in the run up to their release. ie crying, watching Netflix for hours on end and eating copious amounts of ice cream with nerves. I don't really recommend experiencing inner turmoil, it's not very pleasant. It all worked out in the end, I got more points than I needed for primary teaching, which was surreal. I accepted my CAO offer at 6.04 as the offers started at 6 am. The squad was out in force once again, having cupcakes and pink lemonade. A week later was our Debs. It was fantastic to see everyone dressed so wonderfully and in such high spirits. It was hard choosing which photos to put in the collage. Grace sent me a supportive photo of my favourite things, sheep and flower crowns. The Sibling also graduated from University too.

September: 

I started college in Limerick, which was a huge change from how life had been beforehand. My little 3 year old cousin gave me this lovely card, which is still on my bookshelf in Limerick. The first few weeks are an absolute blur, I made lots of new friends, joined various clubs and societies and went on nights out. I turned nineteen which still freaks me out. 

October: 

Katie Taylor visited Mary I in October, between lectures a couple of us went to see her. I hung up a Halloween decoration in my room, just to liven things up a little. The grounds around Mary I are beautiful, with gorgeous autumnal leaves surrounding the pitches. The Foundation Building looks stunning at night too. A couple of the girls and I went exploring and found an amazing ice-cream place which was wonderful. I went to see Ed Sheeran's 'Jumpers for Goalposts' as well as other films. A number of us ordered an obscene amount of pizza one night, as seen below. Only in college!

November: 

I participated in my first ever colour run! The Mary I Art Society held a colour run on campus which was utterly fantastic. We went to see Spectre and Brooklyn in the cinema in Limerick and to see The Unlucky Cabin Boy in the Lime Tree, all of which were excellent. Sam and I went to see Nathan Carter. It was my second time seeing him live and meeting him, he's so lovely! I met up with my friend Maeve for our first catchup since my birthday in September. The Lime Tree put up a #WakingTheFeminists sign too which I definitely support. The Parents and I went Christmas shopping and had amazing hot chocolate in Butler's. 

December: 

My brother turned 22 so I made a terrible meme of Taylor Swift's song, referencing, 'I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22'' along with a photo of him in a pram in the snowy garden, oh well. Cliona, Kate and I went to the Jerry Fish Electric Sideshow which was amazing. The Strypes performed too and were just surreal. I got the setlist from the stage (thanks again Kate) We saw The Strypes before the gig but didn't get any photos, maybe next time! I got my hair cut a lot shorter which warranted a selfie. In Limerick city I got a 'goats in trees' calendar which basically summarised the meaning of my existence. So for my room in Limerick I have a goats calendar and for home I have a Sherlock calendar for 2016, delighted. I went out Stephen's night and bumped into lots of old friends which was great. I accidentally created an optical illusion by photographing a mini Coca Cola bottle in front of our Christmas themed tea pot. I also got a Sherlock colouring book among my Christmas presents, it's just so fun! Among other things, I got Adele's new album, an Orla Kiely notebook and a Hogwarts notebook which all coordinated so I couldn't resist a photo.

I also did shopping in the Christmas sales, I'll have a haul up soon as it hasn't arrived in the post yet. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed 2015 but I know that the past few days for many of my old classmates has been a terrible and upsetting time. The 252 heart beats and people in our school year that were united by the exams and Leaving Cert became 251 this week. As we approach the New Year, I hope everyone finds the comfort and strength they need. 

2015 is swiftly approaching it's end. I wish you all a happy, prosperous, safe and healthy New Year.

Stay strong and fearless

Aveen x