Summer sun

Those living in the UK will be well aware that for the past few weeks the weather has been awful - rain every day, and when it hasn't been raining it's been super gloomy and overall just plain miserable!

Finally though, we seem to have been blessed with some sunshine!

I don't know about you but I love summer - when it's hot that is!

What's better than chilling outside in your bikini/shorts & vest, soaking up the rays and listening to music/reading a book/whatever tickles your fancy?

I have no idea how long this will last, hopefully a while though, so I'm making the most of it whilst I can. My day today will be spent in my garden revising for my driving theory test and sunbathing, which will hopefully mean that I can have a real tan rather than my current fake one!

Remember though, too much sun can be damaging to you! Keep topping up with suncream throughout the day and make sure to drink lots (water, pimms, whatever really, just as long as you don't go thirsty!) and if you feel yourself getting too hot or burning then go inside for a while!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the sunny weather & I'd love to hear what you're all doing during the summer.

High street vs high end

This is a pretty popular topic for my friends and I, what do you prefer, high street clothes or high end clothes?

Now, by high end I don't mean designers such as Alexander McQueen, Versace, etc. (I mean come on, who wouldn't kill for a pair of Louboutins?!) but brands that are just like the high street but with high prices, for example Jack Wills.

I was discussing this with a couple of friends this afternoon and we all had the same opinion, we each prefer the high street! Our reasons:

a) the clothes you find on the high street tend to vary largely, whilst still following trends

b) the price is generally pretty affordable

c) we just generally prefer the clothes on offer in high street shops

One very valid point that a friend made was 'Why would you spend £19 on a vest top at Jack Wills when you can get 5 for almost the same price in New Look?' I agree completely with this.

Realistically what is it that makes these clothes cost so much? I highly doubt that the fabric used is so amazing that it costs that much in material for it to be made - in fact I have a couple of tees from Hollister and the fabric is pretty shabby if you ask me - the main reason you are paying so much is the brand name!

If you're happy to pay large amounts to have a little bird or other sort of animal in the corner of your top, then go ahead, it's your money! I am in no way saying that I don't think people shouldn't buy these clothes, just that I don't believe that they are worth the price.

I remember last summer I went to Bath with my family and I popped into the Jack Wills outlet that is there and I found a gorgeous floral blazer and thinking that with it being the outlet and all it would be a reasonable price. Boy was I wrong?! The label was marked with something crazy like £60. Yes, it was a nice blazer, but not worth that price!

I don't mind shopping in the higher end of the high street (if that makes any sense whatsoever?) such as Topshop, in fact I love Topshop! I will, however, always check in places such as New Look to see if I can get a better deal as honestly, being 17 years old and living off the small wage I earn from my part time job (I know I don't have to pay living costs such as rent, etc. but still, I struggle to manage with the amount that I do earn) sometimes even Topshop prices are a bit too steep for me.

By all means give yourself a treat once in a while but I think that it's worth questioning whether you are buying these things because you really love them or because you want the 'popularity' that's associated with branded goods.

What are your opinions on branded clothes? Would you spend large amounts for the brand name or would you rather grab a bargain on the high street?

What I plan to do with my life...

Anyone who's in/has been to sixth form/college will know exactly what I'm on about when I say that from now on things get stressful.

I'm super duper close to finishing my first year of sixth form, meaning that I only have about nine months of actual learning left, scary or what?! However, this also means that teachers go UCAS crazy at us! UCAS seems to be a word (if you can call it a word) that sends shivers down students spines and causes them a crazy amount of stress - this word may well be the most important thing in your life at 17, applying to Universities and deciding what you want to do with the next 50+ years of your life!

All of my friends are getting stressed out writing personal statements, looking around Universities and deciding which courses they want to do, which with over 50k courses on offer is a pretty daunting task! On the other hand I'm feeling pretty mellow about it all. I am definitely taking a gap year, although not in the sense that most people think of when the term gap year is said, i.e. travelling the world, volunteering in underdeveloped countries, etc. I am going to use my gap year to explore what opportunities there are out there for me. I'm not even sure if I will apply to University afterwards.

I want to become a Journalist.

After having conversations with my tutor and careers adviser we've decided that if I do decide not to go to Uni then I should try the following:

a) plenty of work experience - in progress

b) keep a blog - check

c) perhaps do some sort of apprenticeship in something in the business field for an extra qualification

So yeah, apart from the career I'm not 100% certain what I'm going to do over the next few years.

I'm don't really know what it is about Uni that doesn't appeal to me, just at the moment it doesn't seem as though it is for me, I'd rather get out there, earning money and living my life.

Is anyone else going through the Uni/post school plans at the moment or have you recently? What did you do and how did you decide to do it?