Managing Back To School Anxiety

There are just a few days until a new school year begins. This is pretty much the first year in my entire 12 year school career that I haven't been completely anxious all the time for the whole week before school. And even though there isn't that anxiety there for me this year, I know that for loads of people, that anxiety is there. So I wanted to share some tips for managing it.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the worst thing for me was that I kept it bottled up until literally the day before school. You think, at the time you just need to get on with it because it always happens and you don't really know any different. But if you just talk to someone, it will help. It's very likely that your school has a support centre kind of thing. And if you just tell your mum or dad they can talk to the school about it on the first day, maybe even before, if your school has a non-pupil day before term starts. Which is exactly what I did 2 years ago when I was going into year 11.

When I was about to start back in year 11, I'd just received my Physics GCSE result which was below my target grade and I was worried that I'd get in trouble for not getting the result the teachers said I should've got. I realise now, that the grade I got was still good but when you see that target grade on a piece of paper and then your actual grade next to it, it seems like a huge deal. 

If you're worrying about forgetting something you need for school, make a list. I don't know about you but making a list in a super nice notebook is quite satisfying. And even once you've made your list if you're still in doubt ask someone else if they they can see anything you've forgotten. And I've found that I remember everything thats actually really important (pencil case, bag, folder...).

I hope that those couple of tips I shared will help a bit. If anyone wants to ask me a question about going back to school feel free to leave a comment and I will try my best to get back to you.

Thanks for reading,

Bye x

Starting A New School

I know that it's not like I'm moving half way through the year. But it is still technically moving schools. Most people from my high school split between three of four different colleges, so there's a fair amount of people who know each other moving to the same school together. But I went into my new school not knowing anyone at all. I could've gone to the same school as everyone else, but I didn't like the college. So I didn't.

I think one of the things that stops people from moving schools is the fact that they won't know anyone. But that was really not an issue for long. And to be honest, I really did make friends a lot quicker than I thought I would.

If you're unhappy at your school, don't stay put just because you think it'll be harder to move. If the place isn't right for you, find a place that is. You shouldn't have to be miserable and anxious throughout your whole school life.

Don't get me wrong, I made some great friends and I did have some great times with them. But like I've said before, being happy with your friends at break time is one thing being happy with school itself is another thing. I still keep in touch and meet up with my friends from high school, even though we don't go to the same school any more.

My advice to anyone who is unhappy at school and is thinking about moving. Just go look at a few schools. You will know pretty quickly whether that school is right for you. So just do the right thing for you. Don't be unhappy just because it feels like the easy way at the time. You'll be so much happier at a school that's right for you.

I hope this helped some of you if you're unsure about what to do.

Thanks for reading :)

Bye x

2 Years Later

It's taken me 2 years, but yesterday I spent a whole day at school. From 8:30 till 16:00. For a long time I honestly never thought I'd get to a point at which I would go to school and genuinely enjoy it completely. One thing is enjoying spending time with your friends at school. But for me there was always that anxiety at the back of my mind.

I'm starting at an all girls school, which generally means that lessons are quieter and the classes are smaller. The school goes right from reception to the end of sixth form. So there would be girls in the sixth form who might have been at the school for years already and some won't have been there for so long.

I was kind of nervous yesterday because I knew I would be the new girl. It just happened that the girl sitting next to me that got talking to me and introduced me to the rest of her friends. They were all really nice and I found out that they were pretty much doing the same subjects as me, which meant I would already know people in my lessons.

In the morning we had a study skills session, one of the things we had to do was write down 3 of our interests. It was then that I found out they were gamers just like me. Real nerds actually. I've never met any other girls who play video games, so as you can imagine I was over the moon. I already had so much in common with people I'd only met an hour ago.

In the afternoon we had a trip to the beach for the year group to get to know each other. There are only about 30 girls in my year so it was a nice group size. Even though everyone split into their little group of friends. We were able to go to the ice cream parlour to get an ice-cream, which is not anything I've ever done on an induction day before!

I had the best time yesterday. I finally felt like I was like everyone else, and that I didn't have to hide my anxiety away like I've been doing for years. It was just really nice to not feel anxious all the time.

This is a fresh start for me, I can be open about my difficulties, but leave the past behind.

This is going to be a GREAT couple of years.

Thanks for reading,

Bye x

Why Dogs Are The Best!

Up until about 6 years ago I was absolutely terrified of dogs. Right from when I was little I wouldn't even walk past a dog, not even one that was on a lead. My Dad would have to carry me, that's how bad it was. When I was 10 my family decided to get a dog to hopefully help me get past my fear.

So in November 2008 (I think) my dad took me to visit a 13 day old labrador puppy. I knew right then that she was the dog for me. She was so small that I could hold her in two hands and she hadn't even opened her eyes for the first time yet.

10 year old me and 2 week old Leia :)

I think that day was probably the first time in years that I'd even touched a dog and now I was cuddling my own puppy.

We decided to name her Leia (like Princess Leia from Star Wars).

A few weeks later we brought Leia home for the first time and although she was still a baby she was already a giant for her age. And as most puppies are, she was bit crazy and liked to play bite a lot! Which, as you can imagine, was not ideal for me. We had this thing called a pet corrector which is basically an aerosol can that just sprays air at the dog, which makes them jump a bit. It's absolutely harmless.This was very useful for me to have because if Leia was trying to bite or was being a bit silly I could just spray it and she would stop.

2-3 months old.

 As Leia grew up I became more and more confident around other dogs. And now, 6 years later I absolutely love dogs and I honestly will never live without a dog in my life! I read books about dogs, when I see a dog out somewhere I always want to go as stroke it and find out what breed it is.

I love Leia to death! She is the most lovely, caring and sweet dog in the whole world even if she is a complete giant beast of a dog! People think she is a boy because of how huge she is!

I am not too big for this chair!

 When I'm having a bad day Leia is always there to give me hug or sneeze in my face. When I'm stressed or anxious I just need to sit with her and I feel calm again. Spending time with my dog always makes me very happy!

6 years and 3 days after I first met Leia!

For me, spending time just sitting with my dog definitely helps a great deal with my anxiety and stress levels. I don't ever need to say anything to her and she never says anything to me but Leia always seems to know when she's needed. I can just sit with her, quietly and I don't have to talk about what's got me down, or anxious, or stressed.

 I'd like to know whether any of you who have a dog feel the same way about spending time with your dog as I do. I'm pretty sure that it isn't just my dog that is amazing!

For anyone out there who is scared of dogs, I can totally sympathise. And I would 100% recommend getting a dog from a puppy if you want to overcome your fear. Not only did I get over my fear but I got a best friend in the process.

Thanks for reading,

Bye x

Keeping Calm: Art Therapy

For ages I was looking for something that I could do to help me when I'm feeling stressed and anxious. I just happened to be looking on Twitter and saw a link to the Art Therapy Colouring Books. So I ordered one of the books and got myself a nice range of colouring pencils.

This is the book!

And honestly, it's amazing. The books are designed for "grown ups". There are so many different designs, that are really detailed so each page is something you can spend time and concentrate on. So far I've only completed one page completely and it took me a couple of days to do it.

I went for an ombre look for my lion.

I think that because I'm concentrating on the page it makes me feel less stressed. It's the sort of thing that you can do whenever you feel like it, and you can pick and chose when you do it. There is also a section of the book for doodling.

Here is the link to the specific book that I have:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Therapy-Colouring-Book-Grown-Ups/dp/1782433007/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_z

There are also a few other books from the same author that have slightly different colouring pages.

I ordered my book from Amazon for £9.09.

I know that there is also a quite big selection of art therapy books available in store at Waterstones.

These books are great and there is something for everyone and I highly recommend getting an Art Therapy Colouring Book. I love mine so much!


Thank you for reading!

Bye x

Food Tech Fiascos

Ok, I can't be the only one who hated Food Tech can I? I know that there are probably lots of very nice Food Tech teachers. However, my Food Tech teacher was an awful witch that inspired fear into every single student in the whole entire school!

When there was a practical lesson she would walk round while we'd all been ordered to be silent and she's stop behind you and just look over your shoulder. In my head I would be praying that I wasn't doing anything even slightly wrong. If anyone did ANYTHING wrong she would shout; loudly. Honestly, to this day I have never heard anyone shout like that woman could. You could hear her voice from half way down the hallway, while in another lesson.

I would also pray that I'd got all the right ingredients for that lesson. Even missing one tiny little thing, like salt or a herb seemed like the end of the world and would result in death by humiliation! There was also the time pressure. You have to get in the classroom, prep your work station, prep the ingredients, put everything together, cook it, wash up, clean the work station and put all the equipment back in the right place. All in under an hour. That rarely happened. If I had Food Tech before break time I would probably miss pretty much the whole break because I hadn't finished.

Luckily, I found a solution to this very stressful situation.

1. Having the exact amount of what you need, pre-weighed at home the night before.

2. Chop the ingredients at home before the lesson ( I did it the night before).

3. Read through the recipe a few times, or do a practice run of cooking it so you're familiar with the recipe.

This way when you're doing everything super quickly, your teacher will just think you're really good and you'll end up getting finished much quicker than you would otherwise.

Now, here's the funny bit. At the end of year 9, my school held a celebration evening for year 9s. There were awards for each subject for whichever student had stood out for their skill at that subject. Ironically, I won the Food Tech one! It was my most hated subject right from the first lesson in year 7. And I'm pretty certain that I won the award because of my little tricks that made me look a lot better at it than I actually was!

If Food Tech is a subject that you hate, try using my tips and let me know whether they helped.

Thanks for reading, 

Bye x

Everyone Has The Right To Go

I'm sure that I wasn't the only one who was often told during a lesson that I wasn't allowed to go to the toilet. Teachers would say "you should have gone at break time". Even though break time was 2 hours ago, for some reason that was a valid reason. Every time a teacher said that to me I felt like saying "I didn't need to go a break time, I need to go now". I never saw how a 2 minute toilet break would be such a huge issue.

I would actually be going to the toilet between every lesson, just in case because I knew that there was about a 90% chance that I wouldn't be allowed to go during a lesson.

Even when the toilets were literally about 5 steps away from the classroom, it was still not allowed for anyone to go. Come on teachers, what do you want us to do? Wet ourselves in your lesson? I'm sure you'd love that.

Also, on hot days there is always a notification at the start of the day to make sure you drink plenty of water. Why tell us to drink lots of water; then when we inevitably need to go to the toilet, tell us we can't go?  I would often go all day without drinking anything at school, just so I wouldn't have to go to the toilet.

The teachers think people just go to the toilet to hang around and skip lessons. There are people that skip lessons, but they obviously don't go to the toilets to do that. When one of the sets of toilets were renovated the school decided to put no wall on the front, and no mirrors so that people wouldn't hang around between or during lessons. Who's stupid idea was that? No one is going to want to use toilets that mean EVERYONE in the hallway can hear everything. No one wants to hear other people going to the toilet.

You've got to go when you've got to go right? So why aren't we allowed to? We also deserve some privacy.

Thanks for reading, please let me know your thoughts on this in the comments section below.

Bye x