Are You A Feminist?

I am a Feminist. I have been since I understood what it means, thanks to my sister. I am by no means an expert on Feminism, and I don't do as much as I should to promote it. But the reason why I wanted to make this blog post is because I am sick of having to correct my peers' ignorance on this topic, I shouldn't have to.
It's 2014 and some people still think that Feminism means 'man-hating'. The Oxford dictionary states feminism as “The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes”.
Equality. Feminism is all about just that. It is a movement which hopes to improve issues in which women face in the modern world, in order to make the sexes equal. Yes, there are issues with men’s rights too, and nowadays those are fought alongside women’s rights because people realise that the sexes aren't equal.

People who say “I’m fed up with feminists thinking that ‘equality’ means that they have to have better rights than men” (actual quote from someone I know) are incorrect. They are talking about people who believe in matriarchy which, as defined by oxford dictionary, is “A system of society or government ruled by a woman or women”. 

These definitions are, obviously, not the same. But we need to help the ignorant realise that Feminism doesn't mean man-hating. Feminism is important because it is helping to create equality. I need Feminism because I shouldn't have to endure cat-calling in the street when I'm wearing my school uniform. From the age of 13/14, I have endured (albeit small) moments of street harassment. I have had female teachers call me a slut because my skirt is not knee-length. I have been taught that the way I dress will determine whether I deserve to be harassed, either verbally or physically. For these reasons, I am happy to call myself a Feminist. I am happy to correct the ignorance which gets thrown around on Facebook, Twitter or the Sixth Form common room. I hope that one day I will be able to say I'm a Feminist without getting criticism.

Apologies if I have stated something incorrectly, please tell me if so!

Thanks for reading,
Kitty x

How Do I University?

Panic time! It's almost April! Things are starting to happen! Mad panic is starting to descend on schools (especially sixth form, see my previous post) but there are also lots of pretty flowers and baby animals springing up everywhere.
For me, its 'crunch time' when I'm meant to be planning my gap year, deciding on my university place, doing my coursework, revising, socialising and looking for a job... but instead I'm blogging.
But I do not want to complain about being in Year 13, I have twitter/tumblr/family/friends for that! I'm here to tell you all about the beginnings of the university process because its that time of year, and I'm a university veteran. This time last year, I was madly booking open days to attend whilst looking into the course I wanted to do and checking I was on track to get those grades. For me, it was slightly easier when it came to the Uni process because my sister had already been through it. But, unlike her, I was determined to visit a wide range of universities because, quite frankly, I had no idea where I wanted to go. I ended up visiting 9 different universities.
So, to prevent you from getting completely stuck on how to start the 'How do I university' process, I thought I'd give you some pointers:

• What course do you want to do? Unfortunately, our culture seems to insist you know what you want to do with your life right now. Luckily for me, I had known since age 11 but others don't. Take a moment to think and don't be afraid to shop around for different options- Is uni right for you? If you are completely unsure, talk to teachers, friends, parents, etc. If you're utterly stuck and see no way out, take a deep breath and think. You cannot force a career choice. 
• Where is your course offered? People always seem to miss this step. Your course isn't offered everywhere- I'm sorry to burst your bubble. You are going to have to use the UCAS website and search, which is possibly the worst website I've ever used. You will have to search for different variations of your course, and some places won't appear but don't worry! WhichUni and WhatUni are better, use them as well. 
• Begin to shortlist! Get rid of Universities that don't float your boat,  have ridiculously high grades for you, and are in the wrong country (Scotland is difficult to get into, they favour Scottish and EU students over other UK students). Do not get rid of cities you don't know/ don't like because you might be surprised.
• Book your open days. Just do it. Check the dates, ask for those days off from school/college/work and, if possible, get someone sensible to come with you (not friends that are choosing the same uni, if possible. They make decisions harder.) Once you visit, you'll get an idea of what that university is like and you can ask questions galore. Once you've done this, you'll be able to know whether you want a campus or city university, whether you want to go on tariff points or grades, whether you want to live near or far and, most importantly, who offers the best course for you.

Never forget that this is your process, nobody else's. If you really really really hate a university, don't be afraid to blacklist it, even if your parents/family/friends/teachers/guardian angel tells you otherwise. Trust your gut instinct! I visited the university my sister attends and hated it, it made me feel like I was in a bad crime drama. I also hated some very prestigious universities that my family wanted me to attend. I wasn't afraid to tell them because, in the end, I was the one who'd be there for 3 years+. 

Try really really really hard, however, not to pick a favourite. You might not get your favourite and it hurts. I set my heart on a university which I could have pretty easily got into, but sadly they changed their criteria last minute and refused to allow deferred entry. I didn't know and, to my dismay, was very quickly rejected after submitting my application. It sucked, and I regretted every setting my heart on one place.

Best of luck my lovelies! Tweet/comment/tumblr message me if you have any queries.

Thanks for reading,
Kitty x

Springtime in Sixth Form

It's this time of year, as my biology teacher said, when people either sink or swim. For very obvious reasons, this is the hardest part of the year. I look around the Sixth Form at this time of year, and I see very tired faces. Faces that crave caffeine, sleep, to not be doing a-levels anymore and probably alcohol (gin and tonic please, if you're offering). Everybody is aware of the pressures that are on them (upcoming exams, coursework, UCAS/future plans) and there seems to be a constant struggle to stay awake and keep fighting. Some people do begin to slip and lose motivation, I know I am, but you have to realize that it will be over soon and you can relax. It's not gonna be a fun next few months, but it will be worth it.
If I can do it, you sure as hell can.

That's all for now, my next blog post will be about the road to choosing universities but I thought I'd wait till all got back to me.
Keep going, and just remember that , as my dad says, worse things happen at sea!
Thanks for reading,
Kitty x

Wanderlust

It was the brightly coloured stalls of the school's careers convention when I first started to think about taking a gap year. They all told me that a gap year would be wonderful and not stressful and a great way to make money. From then I toyed with the idea of being an Au Pair, until I realised that you needed to jump through hoops of fire, NVQs in childcare and endless DBS checks, and I thought no no I'm going to university and starting proper adult life as a student nurse.
This all changed in one fleeting moment in a 50's diner in Cardiff with my best friend. We were chatting about how scary it is to think that university is just around the corner and how we both don't feel quite ready. We jokingly said how we should run away to Paris for a year and Ta-da!- the gap year idea was born! It was not, however, that simple from then on. We both jumped from one idea to another, amazed by the range of ideas that (seemed) available and a huge list of places we wanted to go. It wasn't until late December when we actually made a plan on a pizza hut napkin, over a large plate of nachos.
Our initial idea was to live with a friend in California for 6 months, spend 3 months in Australia, travel in Thailand then do something until August when we'd finally come home. This plan was going great, we were all ready to book our Round The World ticket until it came to researching how to get an American visa, and it all fell apart. Successfully getting an American visa is as common as human sacrifice, or so I've found.
So currently, me and my friend are desperately trying to re-think our plans.
To stop this from happening, I thought I'd make this blog post and give you some great gap year websites and books which I've been using.

• Lonely Planet's 'The Big Trip' book- This book is my gap year bible. It is stocked full of information on everything you can possibly imagine in a really friendly and simple format. I have already colour-coded each chapter that is useful to me. They also have a great website  which I would definitely recommend! 
• Gap Year 360- this website is fantastic, and offers a wide range of options from volunteering to paid work abroad. 
• Cool Works - If you're looking at summer/ski season jobs, then this is the place to be. 
• BUNAC- Another massive range of options, with a really well known organizer (may pacify nervous parents who seem to assume that your gap year will only involve you becoming a skint criminal)
• GapYear.com- This is a brilliant website which talks you through everything, with a massive range of articles, advice and forums with helpful people. 
• STA Travel- I've recently discovered these guys and they've been great. A friend used this and said it was great, what more do you need to be convinced?
• The Guardian have done some articles as well which may give you some ideas
• One World 365
• If you are looking for Au Pair sites, then greataupair, aupair-world and newaupair have all been good (even though I didn't go down that route)

Those are the ones I've cherry picked for you, and if I think of anymore, I'll update this list!

This process is scary, so don't be worried if you find yourself thinking 'oh my god can I actually do this? I MIGHT DIE' or 'WHY DID I CHOOSE TO DEFER'. As long as you can happily explain why you want to go both to yourself, your friends and your overbearing family who mean the best but would really rather prefer it if you didn't, then you'll be fine! 

Best of luck, and feel free to comment/tweet/message me on tumblr if you get confused or want advice or even have advice for me!

Thanks for reading,
Kitty x