Top 15 Moments of 2014

Hi,

As a very busy year finally draws to a close, I thought a nice way to end the year would be to do my top ten fifteen moments from 2014!

15. Good Wood Festival of Speed – He and I went to the Festival of Speed at the end of June – mainly due to His father getting free tickets for us! It was a fun day spent eating at The Real Burger Kitchen, eating an extortionate amount of sweets, showing Him what Chichester is like and all the little shops as we waited for the Good Wood bus to arrive. Neither of us are that interested in cars or motor sports. We were more interested in the ‘stalls’ (more like buildings!) that were designed to be fun, such as the slide, the weather simulator and trying out the Occulus Rift to design our ideal car. It was a great impromptu date and coupled with the hot weather, it was a nice day.

14. Braces Taken Off – Very early on in the year, I finally had my braces removed after having them on for roughly a year and a half, and boy was I glad! My braces, while I am glad I opted to have them done, were not the most comfortable things. Or attractive, for that matter. They were difficult to clean, broke on more than one occasion and it was not fun having them tightened. However, like I said I love my straight teeth and now I am actually proud of my smile, therefore meaning it has a place in the top fifteen moments! I will always remember walking into my physics class, beaming because I love my smile and some boy shouting ‘Oh my God Megan your teeth are huge’ – serves me right really.

13. Caro Emerald – In October, my Mother took me and her boyfriend with her to the Brighton Center where we saw the legend Caro Emerald live in action! It was an amazing show that led to my Mother and I physically standing up and dancing down at the bottom of the seats along with a whole other gaggle of people. She was even better live than she is on her CDs. It was a great evening spent eating expensive food, dancing ridiculously and loving the music. It’s one concert i’ll certainly remember for a long time.

11. Bar Mock Trial – In November I was dragged to what I thought would actually be a really boring day in a stuffy old court room arguing with strangers from other colleges. What actually happened however was my team losing the case we were supposed to win and winning the case we were supposed to fail at, befriending the enemy, having a selfie with a judge in my full court gear and being hit by a metal detector. It was a great day and I am glad my head of sixth form managed to convince me to take part in the event. I even made some new friends on my own team with some of the younger years!

10. Getting into College – Okay, originally I was pleased I got accepted into Worthing College. I loved the college, the atmosphere, the classes… everything seemed great. However, on the enrolment day it just didn’t seem right. I didn’t seem to be fitting in with everyone, half the teachers never turned up and I was constantly getting lost around the college. However, I still had my place at The Sir Robert Woodard Academy sixth form which I ended up going to. Looking back on it, I think I made the right choice of colleges. I have friends, I have good teachers, challenging work and a constantly evolving wacky school life thanks to various teachers and people within the school. It keeps things interesting!  I don’t think i’d enjoy college as much as I do currently if I didn’t go to SRWA. This therefore means it deserves a spot in the top 10 moments.

9. 2 years – On March 28th this year, He and I had our two year anniversary. It really didn’t (and still doesn’t) feel like it has been that long at all. Sure our presents were great (I gave him 365 reasons why I love you on separate coloured pieces of paper in a Maison jar and he used his tablet to draw me a poster with many of my favourite things on it) but the day was, as christened, our ‘Failiversary’ due to arguing. However, we made it up the day after by going into town to have lunch at Interwok, exploring the shops, messing around on the beach and then going off to go see The Lego Movie (Which was actually much better than I thought it’d be!) I think the anniversary deserves a spot in the top ten as although the actual day was ruined it was very quickly saved by an amazing day out.

8. Graduation – So in June-July I graduated high school forever. Forever. That doesn’t feel right. Like, at all. We were led to a very glittery school theatre and watched a video that summed up our journey from year 7 to year 11 with many embarrassing clips and funny stories. It was, I think, the only assembly that had nobody messing around in… ever. Many people were crying. It makes me so nostalgic to think about now. Many people were given out awards like ‘most red cards’ or most likely to be a teacher’ (He got that, was not very amused as he doesn’t want to be a teacher!) Yet, it doesn’t feel like that long ago. And looking at the year book I got that day only makes my nostalgia worse.

7 Halloween – On Halloween, I had my first ever sleepover with a guy (We were in separate beds). It was a scary idea but the actual day went really well (minus setting microwave popcorn on fire by accident and feeling sick towards the end of the evening due to sweets). We watched all of the Alien films and several episodes of The Walking Dead and carved pumpkins. It was certainly the most interesting sleep over i’ve ever had. It was a fun day and I honestly wish I could relive it sometimes. The day after my Mother, brother, little sister and I all went and had a really fun day out at Tulley’s farm. The highlights included an actually scary haunted house and a ‘spooky hay ride’.

16th birthday – So for my 16th birthday, I decided to go into Brighton with my friends for the day. We got their by train, had lunch in KFC, waited at the beach to see if Pewdiepie would turn up as we messaged him asking to see if he would (he didn’t), gave up and goofed off in the arcade. We also explored many shops, ate far too many sweets and bought some new things. Later on in the day I went over to my Nan’s for an ‘afternoon tea’ style dinner with many family members and him around. The food was great, my favourite songs were playing, the decor was beautiful… minus the crying on my birthday it was a great day.

5 Getting a job – So I got a job! My first job! Sure, it’s only working as a monthly cinema attendant at my sixth form and it took forever to actually be paid, but a job is a job! It’s a pretty fun job too. My trial day went perfectly and my most recent day of work went even better (we did a showing of Frozen. There were so many small children). I can see myself working this for at least a few more months but I plan on it being longer.

4 Wicked – So in November I went to go see Wicked live with my Nan, Aunt and Mum! It was an amazing late birthday gift and the day went perfectly. Sure, the weather wasn’t great. But Yo! Sushi for lunch (we ate so much), exploring the local shopping centre and messing about with different outfits, perfumes and books. When we got to the theatre we were given even more sweets by my aunt. The actual show itself was beautiful – the acting was spot on, the singing was amazing and the set designs were breath-taking. It’s definitely the best musical i’ve been to thus far. This is why it was in the top 5!

3 GCSE results day – So on the 21st of August, I hopped into the car with my father and got a lift to my school – we did make a minor detour to pick Him up though! The first song that played when we turned on the radio was the chorus to Tragedy by Steps, which did mildly terrify me at the time but I now look on with a sense of amusement and an appreciation for timing of the song. With new shoes, parents and a boyfriend in tow we all marched down to the school to get our results. Some people already had their results and most people seemed to be happy, which calmed me down a bit. He and I opened our results at the same time and… I passed maths! The single subject i’ve struggled with most in my life… I passed! I was so happy. I still AM so happy. Even though maths was my lowest grade at a C, I was so happy with it. My teacher even gave me a hug. My results in total were 2 A*s, 3As, 5Bs and a C. It was a great day well spent eating icecream with Him (I got a tub of ben and jerrys for every A) This was such a big day for me, which is why it goes into the top 3!

2 Prom – So in July I went to prom. Even with the hecticness of getting my hair done a few hours before prom, having to pick up Him already ready and having to get all my makeup on and getting into my dress… it turned out perfectly. Sure, my hair wasn’t curly by the end of the evening and my makeup smudged from laughing so much. But the food was great, I danced with all of my friends, I got some photos taken of many of my favourite people and in general it was  great night. Everyone looked amazing, the venue was amazing… he looked amazing. I’m surprised his tie matched so well considering he was only told the colour of the dress, not the shade or anything.

1 NCS – The National Citizens Service. When I signed up for the programme early on in the year, I didn’t expect much from this. Maybe some okay weeks away and maybe raising 100 pounds for a charity, but nothing spectacular. But boy, I was wrong. Right from the moment I met these people and we decided to spend £150 pounds of ‘bonding’ money on a picnic and a water fight, I knew I was with the right people. The activities themselves were so fun – the giant swing, going to the cinema, getting free time in Brighton, an awfully designed disco, a game of capture the flag and raft building were just a few of the many highlights that NCS brought. I made some amazing friends that i’m still in contact with even now, we raised quite a bit of money and we really helped out a charity. I’m so glad I signed up to NCS and I got to do all of these wonderful things.

What a busy year.

Well, I hope this next year brings many more happy memories!

Until Next time,

-Megan Stapleton

Goodwood Festival of Speed

Hey,

So yesterday, I went to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I went with Him and His Dad. We managed to get in through some tickets his father managed to get for free – and what’s better than a free day out? While the weather was all over the place, it was definitely a fun day out. 

He and I met outside Worthing train station and got a train to Chichester. We didn’t have to be in Chichester for at least an hour, so we decided to kill some time by just chatting outside the station. 

Once we were in Chichester, the first thing we did once we were outside the station was call His dad. His father was meeting us outside of the Goodwood gates, so we were just letting him know we were a bus ride away from being at Goodwood. However, his father didn’t answer his phone the first few times he tried to call, and then when it did connect, nobody spoke. He got a little agitated about it, but his father eventually picked up and said he was going to be a while. 

Since we didn’t have to be at the festival for a while, after we found where the all-day bus to the festival was, we decided to go kill time in Chichester town centre. I showed him this old fashioned sweet shop that he was completely in awe of. We walked out of the shop with bubble tea (which we agreed we didn’t really like but it was interesting to try) and some blue raspberry bonbons. With no sign of his dad being around anytime soon, we decided to go get some lunch.

The pair of us ended up outside The Real Burger Kitchen. It’s one of those places that if you don’t know it’s there, you walk straight past it. He had never been before, so he was really surprised at how big and cosy the place was, considering it was hidden. He ended up having a pulled pork hotdog, and I had a grilled chicken burger with chips. We also ordered J20 for him and Dandelion and Burdock for me (Which we ended up sharing). The meal itself was delicious, and much cheaper than we expected.

Once we finished the meal, we decided to head back to the station and board the bus to the festival. It only left once the bus was completely full, which it wasn’t by the time we got there. This meant we had to sit and wait for the bus to slowly fill up with people before we were off. I don’t think either of us particularly minded though – with no contact from his dad, we both assumed he was still driving. 

Finally, the bus left and we very quickly arrived outside the gates of the festival. However, since his father had the tickets, we couldn’t go in until he turned up. The weather was hot, we didn’t have suncream and we quickly finished our water while waiting. His father took over an hour to turn up, which only made Him get more and more stressed out. Once his father did turn up, all the stress seemed to melt out of him. He gave us the tickets to get in, and off we went

The actual festival itself was really fun. We saw lots of concept car designs, bought some overpriced water and ice-cream, rode down a slide (twice), tried on the Occulus Rift (which we both were very excited about. We got to design a car with our eyes – it was very cool), tried a weather simulator, played some games, and did lots, lots more. 

The weather eventually turned sour – luckily He thought to pack an umbrella. This signalled the end of the festival at 7pm, and we all headed back to the carpark, as His father was giving us a lift home. The car itself was very hard to find as it was in a massive field, filled with cars of similar make and colour. This led to over fourty-five minutes worth of walking which He was not happy about. Coupled with the continuous rain and my bleeding ankle, it wasn’t a fun trek back.

However, His Dad bought us mcdonalds on the way back, so we were all full and happy. All in all, it was a really fun and… different day. It was more fun than I expected it to be, and I feel extremely lucky to have been invited.

I also was invited to Brighton the day before by one of my friends. With a short supply of money between us, it was difficult to get around, but we still had fun. We explored some shops, had some food and bought some new clothes between us, so it was much more fun than staying in at home all day.

Tonight i’m going to an NCS introduction-thingy-wotsit with the person in charge of my group and in theory, the people in my group. It should be interesting… 

This whole eating-healthily thing really isn’t working out. I’m trying really hard but when people keep on buying you unhealthy food and you’re living out of the freezer, it isn’t easy. I am determined to keep trying though! It does mean i’ve put on weight though, meaning i’m unhappy with my weight again. That is really disappointing considering I was finally happy with my body.. I guess I just gotta keep trying to eat healthily where I can I guess. 

My Prom is this time next week… aaaaah that’s scary. I don’t even know how i’m doing my hair yet.. 

Until next time!

-Megan

Fourth Times’ The Charm

Hey, 

So  lot has happened lately.

Last weekend I explored Arundel Castle with my Dad and younger brother. While we were not allowed to take pictures inside, my favourite part of the castle was easily the two story library! It was very wooden and beautiful. The books inside appeared to all be very dull (encyclopedia’s and whatnot) but the place certainly had charm. We then had a picnic and watched a joust between two people dressed up in clothes appropriate for the sixteenth era. They then went over the history of various weapon that were used in England. Overall, it was a very fun afternoon and i’d probably go again –  even if my ears were ringing after the amount of canons I heard go off.

I’ve been going to a lot of revision sessions. I have two Maths exams, two Film studies exams, and English exam and a History Of Surgery. The revision sessions themselves have been really helpful, and i’m glad I went. The teachers essentially went over certain parts of the course a lot of people struggled with, and we revised them. It wasn’t as bad as i’d been expecting. 

I went prom dress shopping today, and even got the dress! I won’t give away any details, other than the fact that it is red and is being personalised slightly. 

We actually attempted to go into town at eleven o’clock. We originally wanted to go to a shop in Portsmouth but found that it was too far to drive – even if they did have pretty dresses. However when we were nearly in town, the car started leaking water and overheating massively, so we had to go home. This was my third attempt at prom dress shopping so I was really disappointed. 

We went home and had some lunch while Mum called a mechanic. The price for the repair was too expensive so she just sighed and said we’ll save up for it. Meanwhile, we couldn’t go shopping. 

However, Mum’s boyfriend volunteered to drive us into town and drop us off. He’d also pick us up when we were done. After lots of thank you’s we set off. 

After we set off into town, we went to what we thought would be the most useless shop, just to get it out of the way but to still have a look. It was a bridal shop and despite the pretty bridesmaids dresses in the window, it didn’t have any prom dresses. 

We set off to our second shop of choice that was down one of the lanes. Immediately I was overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of dresses. There were dresses of all sizes, colours and types. Mum picked out a Cinderella type blue ball gown and I picked out a plain red dress to try on. Both needed a few alterations with pins to fit but once on they both felt so comfortable and pretty that I almost couldn’t bare to take either off. The blue dress definitely had the ‘wow’ factor, but the red dress, with some changes had promise.

We decided to venture into the other two shops on our list, have me try on some different ones, take pictures of me in each one and then pick over tea. 

The next shop we went into was a lot smaller but still had a lot of selection… just not really in my size. The dresses I tried of ranged from dark blue to red to pink. A lot of the dresses were very pretty but they either didn’t fit well (even with pins), the material felt uncomfortable or I just disliked the dress in general. The staff inside was very lovely and the dresses very cheap… but the dresses weren’t me. 

We decided to venture to the last shop but actually couldn’t find it. After walking around the seafront and exploring some of the lanes, we gave up and got a cup of tea and a cookie each. We looked at each of the pictures and decided on THE one. 

On our walk back to the shop, we discovered it was very busy and decided to come back in half an hour. While we waited we did some  grocery shopping. When we walked into the shop again, we tried on the red dress one more time, got the alterations needed recorded and then paid in full. Even with the cost of the dress and the alterations that need to be done, I still have enough money for shoes! I’m very excited.

I can go try it on a final time and pick it up in two-three weeks. I’n so excited!

My final exams are drawing closer… the only exams i’m truly worried about are maths as I need a C. But with a bit of luck, I should pass. Here’s hoping! 

Until next time!

-Megan

Prom dresses, underwear shops and graduating high school

Hey, 

So on Sunday I went out with some friends. It was my last opportunity before exams… and it was fun! While there was a small group of us, I tried on my first prom dress, I had my first Starbucks and was dragged into about ten different Underwear shops. Yes, you read that right. 

My friends and I got the train to Brighton. Once there, we immediately searched out food and found ourselves at Starbucks. I’m not exactly what I ordered as everything seemed to be in a foreign language, but the drink I got tasted like strawberries and the fruit I had with it was delicious. 

After that, we set off exploring different shops – I got to have a look round Waterstones and bought The One Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of a Window And Disappeared and The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden. My friends were on a mission to embarrass the boy who was with us as much as possible and dragged us into every shop from Ann Summers to Primark’s underwear section. I think they succeeded – he started standing outside of the shops after a few of them. It was funny. 

My friend saw the shop she got her prom dress at and decided we should go have a look around. While the dresses inside were very pretty, they were all far too long for me.  However my friend found a beautiful red dress and forced me to try it on. It was awkward to get into by myself, so both the girls with me had to help me do up the back. However once it was on… I liked it. The only issue I had with the dress was that it was too tight, too long and didn’t have straps. Everything else – the material, the colour and the pattern… was perfect! Now I know what to look for. 

We stopped off at some different shops but eventually got tired and decided to head home. 

The journey home was pretty uneventful. We did get lost a few times though! Once on the train, we all settled down for the twenty minute journey. I was sat with one of my new books and my friends pretty much all fell asleep. While it was a fun day, it was definitely tiring. 

In other news, this time next week I will have had my first GCSE exam.. how scary. It’s only biology but jeez i’m scared. I don’t want my exams. I’m so stressed about all of this and can’t wait for it to be over! On the bright side.. or not, depending on how you look at it… I graduate high school officially in two days! I’ll still have to come in for lessons but it marks the end of my ‘official’ time at school. I wont have any more new lessons and it’s all solely revision. It’s a little draining, really. 

Aaaaah

I don’t want this. Somebody stop the earth, I want to get off.

Until next time!

-Megan

Exams are looming

Hey,

So my first exam is arriving very quickly – it’s less than two weeks away. At least it’s an easy exam (biology) to ease me into it. I’m actually really nervous about my exams, and have been getting so stressed about it. All this revision is killing me! At least they’ll be over by my birthday…

So last weekend I went out with some friends into Worthing. It started with a small group of us – but we met up with others as the day progressed. 

Even though the weather was forecasted to be horribly moody and rainy, it wasn’t actually. It was even close to warm. 

We got the train into town and headed straight for KFC. We spent the rest of the day exploring different shops, being silly and taking pictures…  even if they are really, really blurry. It was really fun – even when He started complaining about the ‘girly’ shops. He did apologise later on. The day seemed to end waaay too quickly, and my friend Rhiannon insisted on getting on the train with me, and walking me home. Probably a good call on her part, as i’d have most likely gotten lost. Ah well. We’re heading out into town this weekend just before exams start to have a bit of fun before we really do have to buckle down. I’ll probably revise for two hours afterwards, anyway. 

This time next week, I will have graduated from high school. That is quite frankly, terrifying. Where did the time go?! How am I nearly out of high school?! It seems unfair, almost. Oh well. 

I get my prom dress soon! It’s official – i’m getting it during the half term sort of in between exams. Bad timing really but i’ll make up for it with revision. 

Until next time!

-Megan

 

National Citizen Service

Hey,

So we have broken up for the Easter holidays. We have two weeks off that should be spent eating chocolate, watching movies and having fun. What am I doing, you ask? I am spending most of my holidays at school, at revision sessions. Each session lasts 2 hours, and there are three a day, plus an hour for lunch. I’ve been there monday-wednesday this week, and next week I am there Tuesday-Thursday. How fun. 

Actually, the sessions themselves aren’t that bad. The teachers often bring sweets, they try to make it fun too with little activities and it’s not a bad way to see friends pretty much every day. However, we have to sign in an out for every single session individually and some of the people that turn up to the revision sessions just to mess around and not to actually revise… are not people I’d like to see during my supposed week off. 

I did have a weekend off last week where I went to go see my cousins in Derby, Ethan and Dylan. It was nice to see the family. We didn’t really do anything so it was boring in that aspect. However I like my family – even if they were using gamer terms I didn’t really understand for most of the weekend. Tomorrow I might be going camping too with my father and brother. Most of it will spent revising though, which isn’t that fun. 

People tell me i’m revising too much – an hour a day during the week and two hours during the weekend, with the exception of revision sessions where I am pretty much revising for six hours. However my exams are NEXT MONTH. My first one I believe is on the 14th of May – i’m just over a month away from that. Honestly, i’m terrified for my exams. I feel so under prepared. On the way up to Derby I revised in the car for just over an hour, and an hour on the way back. I then got home and watched a few revision videos. It’s not like I don’t go outside and meet up with friends, or go on other websites that aren’t revision related. However, I often have revision videos in the background. 

I was going to go prom dress shopping with my Mother this Easter holidays. I originally wanted to go last month but Mum said to hold fire until next month as most dresses weren’t even in shops. I figured this was fair enough and waited..and waited… and waited! Now it’s the actual holidays, I have to wait until the end of the month to know if I can go. If I do go it’ll practically be the day before my exams, which will probably stress me out more than anything. I know I sound somewhat spoiled.. but I was really looking forward to prom dress shopping. All the other girls who are going in my year have one and I don’t. I’m not just saying that either, pretty much everyone I know has their dress. I guess I just feel a bit let down is all. 

I signed up for something called NCS – National Citizen Service. It’s a bit similar to the University Summer School at Sussex University as it’s a week without parents and I get to experience life without them to pick up after me – however this time it’s longer than a week. There are three sessions – for the first one it’s five days where I am staying on a campus and get to do team building things and in general doing fun things, such as zip lining. The second one is a few days after, the team I got to know on the team building days and I get together again to come up with a project to help give back to the community. After that, we have 30 hours to implement it. At the end of it we get a signed certificate from David Cameron. It sounded like a lot of fun. It’s in August, and I honestly cannot wait.

I also ‘officially’ got accepted into the Academy on a conditional acceptance (I get the required grades, blah blah blah) I’m super happy! I knew I had been accepted as they told me in the interview. But there is a difference between told it in person, and getting it formally written down and pretty much guaranteeing me a place. 

He and I are doing really well – nothing bad has happened between us and we seen happy as ever. 

 

This year is certainly looking more and more interesting. Prom, Year books, A day in London for my 16th birthday, actually turning 16, NCS, GCSE results and college. 

 Until next time!

-Megan

Lots has happened!

Hey,

I have been told I need maths intervention. I’m so awful at maths I need extra help. Oh well, i’m not too fussed about the help. I’ll go and try to work hard. It’s the only lesson i’m not doing well in. So, I know what I have to revise. He has offered to help though, which is good. I’m slightly sceptical as to how much work we’d actually both end up doing. By past experiences, we’d revise for half an hour and then just mess around. Who knows though, right?

So recently a lot of things have happened. On the 18th I went round His house all day. We spent the day relaxing together, watching movies and tickling each other. It was a fun day. It was my second time round his his house ever and he actually tidied up more this time than he did the first time I went round!

I’ve decided on the type of prom dress I want! I want it to be a long, red dress with straps. However as i’m short, I have to try them on before I can buy them. So i’ve gotta save up to go out into town with mum. I’ll probably start saving up the most after His birthday as most of my money is going towards that at the moment. I had a really good idea as to what to get him, but apparently his friend is giving him the game to him for free. Now I have to come up with three new decent presents and order them by mid February. Aaaah. 

I got my exam time table last week! For my REAL LIFE GCSEs! I’ve already done two GCSEs but they were easy – I didn’t have to go through SIXTEEN exams for them though! So nervous about it all though. It’s scary. This effects my future! My earliest exam is in May – so not even that far away. My final exam is the 25th of June. I also got my Mock exam results – I got A*-C in everything except Maths, where I got an E. 

On the 19th, i went into Brighton for a girl’s day out with five other girls. We got the train there and were in town until four pm.

On the train, one of my friends pressed the button to shut the train door just as a man walked through it. He got trapped but quickly got through. My friend was so embarrassed she was a laughing pile on the floor. 

We eventually got off the train and after a slight trek, found a KFC to have our lunch in. After this we explored all the weird and wonderful shops Brighton has to offer such as Cyber Candy, Snoopers Paradise and New Feel it. We didn’t buy stuff at a lot of the shops but they were fun to poke around in. I definitely would go again! After a slight detour to Waterstones where I bought To Kill a Mockingbird, we went to the pier and chilled out there. We ended up unintentionally splitting up into two groups. One group with the most money went to the arcade  and the other split off to get icecream.  

After trying to find each other, we regrouped and walked back to the train station to catch the train back. However one of my friends had been feeling ill all day and had thrown up in public. After a quick tidy up, we were on our way. 

The train ride back was fairly uneventful, besides some smoking 13 year olds freaking out when my friend started blowing bubbles. That was… interesting.

Until next time!

-Megan