Shaky Hands and Weird Dreams

So last night, something really weird happened. I woke up at about 3am (I'm not really sure what time it was but it was definitely after midnight!) and my hand was really tingly - which normally only happens if I sit of it for a long time (which I obviously wasn't doing) - and it wouldn't stop. I tried everything to stop it and then I realised it was moving by itself. My fingers were wiggling around like they were alive and it was really painful. In fact, my hand is hurting just thinking about it.

I considered getting up and Googling how to get rid of 'pins and needles' in your hand but I thought it would just go away naturally. Thankfully it did but today when I was in Psychology, we started talking about panic attacks, what they are and how you should never stop someone having a panic attack because that's the body's way of releasing unnessacary energy. So, did I have a panic attack in my sleep?

I was also having a really weird dream at the time which involved seeing my ex-boyfriend and his brother on the way to school but they looked completely different and had completely different (some would say improved) personalities.

I'm not sure if these things were connected or if my hand was just being weird on its own but it was definitely a kind of scary experience! My anxiety was also very high today and I noticed I was shaking a lot.

I thought my anxiety was getting better! Maybe not.

georgiadaisyiv.

NYC

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been in New York the past week and have been trying to get back to normal this week. Not much has happened since then so I've decided to just do a quick post on my time in NYC.

All my life I've felt as though England isn't my home. I dream of moving to America one day but for now holidays are all I can get there. I don't really know much about New York other than things like the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and 9/11 so when we arrived, there was no real plan of what to do and - being still in Winter - it was very cold and snowing there.

One of the first things we did was go up the Empire State Building which was AMAZING. One of the elevators/lifts was broken so we could either wait for 20 minutes or walk up the last 6 storeys to the 82nd floor. We choose to walk because it was something not everyone gets to do! When we get to the 82nd floor, the view was just surreal. Seeing the whole of New York before our eyes was actually very moving and looking out imagining 2 other buildings that aren't there anymore was a little mind-blowing.

Just one view of Manhattan from the 82nd floor of the Empire State Building.

After we did that, we took a boat trip around the top of Manhattan between New York and New Jersery where we saw the Statue of Liberty really close up, Ellis Island and most of the other classic monuments. We also drove (should that be floated? What is the boat equivalent to driving?) past the apartments featured in BIG and saw a boat that was made from the metal left over from the Twin Towers.

My sister has become a little obsessed with the Statue of Liberty because she found out the book on the statue has July IV (July 4th) written on it which is her birthday.

Once we spent that day doing touristy things, we decided to do something a little more chilled the next day. I think we went to Central Park which was basically just a huge pile of snow. It did look beautiful but I would have preferred it if I could actually see the grass!

We went and found the Alice in Wonderland statue first which made me feel like a little girl again and then we saw the Ugly Duckling statue which we found out was dedicated to the children who lost their parents in 9/11. I was trying to read what it said in the book but it was really cold and we had to keep moving but I think it was just an extract from the story.

The Ugly Duckling statue.

We also saw the lake that was in Stuart Little (amongst other things I'm sure) when they were playing with the electric boats but that was completely frozen and then covered in snow so there wasn't much to see! We then went around the zoo there and saw some pretty cool animals we'd never seen before - like the Red Panda - and we watched Ice Age in 4D.

I think we just went shopping for the rest of that day and we were going to go back to go ice-skating but we didn't bother. We also went on a trek to find the Rockerfeller Center to go ice-skating there but again we didn't bother. As you can tell, we're not really an action packing family!

This is us at the Rockerfeller Center just above the ice rink with all the flags in the background.

In the evening, we went and saw the Lion King on Broadway which was pretty cool and we got some travel mugs to take home which was a pretty neat souvenir!

It was raining the next day so we went to FAO Swartz (is that what it's called?) which is the toy store in lots of films apparently and then we went to the Apple Store but it was really busy and hot in there so we decided to go to Macy's and Century 21 which was actually quite a let down because we walked so far, didn't buy anything and was very dissapointed with the quality and quantity of things in the shops. My shoes had decided to let half of the water in New York into my shoes so my socks were very wet and quelching so I was very uncomfortable! We also stopped off at Victoria Secret which has become one of my favourite stores (the PINK part not the underwear bit!)

The next day, we walked all the way up to the Natural History Musuem - the one in Night at the Museum - which was pretty cool but we barely saw any of it because we were so tired and our feet hurt so much because of all the walking we did so we got a yellow cab back to the hotel.

We didn't really do anymore major things other than just shopping and going to Time Square. We went to M&M world which was an absolutely massive store full of bright colours and lots of chocolate! We didn't buy anything but it was still pretty cool to see! We also saw the NYPD building (I think that was what it was) and I brought an NYPD cap which is a dream of mine!

Me and my Dad outside the NYPD building with the Hard Rock Cafe behind!

One of my favourite stores we went in was American Eagle Outfitters which I wish we had in the UK!

I brought this dress (unfortunately this isn't me in the picture)

I also brought this t-shirt and the same one but in a peachy colour.

Overall, my time in New York was really really good and I will definitely be going back some time soon!

georgiadaisyiv

Just Say No

Considering it's Valentine's Day, I decided to make a 'Love and Boundaries' style post.

In the UK, the legal age of consent is 16, but just because you can doesn't mean you have to. Never should you feel pressured and pushed into doing something that doesn't feel absolutely right.

Your body is exactly that: your body.

No one - no matter how important they are to you - has the right to make choices for you and you always have the ability to say no. Even if you are unsure of the consequences and how that person will feel, you should say no if you don't want to do it.

Never be scared of the aftermath, just do what you want to do.

Sorry this has been another short post but hope you are all having a lovely Valentine's Day and just remember it's your choice.

georgiadaisyiv

Raised by Wolves

For those of you that don't know, I was born in the beautiful city of Wolverhampton. Only thing is, it's not all that beautiful. Although we do have local monuments like Wightwick Manor:

Which itself is very beautiful, we also have things that are not so beautiful. Take, for example, the riots of 2011.

The riots began in London after the shooting of Mark Duggan by police. They then quickly spread around the country losing their initial point. A rioter in Birmingham was asked why she was rioting and was quoted saying "it's for taxes, innit". No love, it's not. The riots then started in Wolverhampton. An already lacking city was quickly losing more and more businesses and, although it happened nearly 3 years ago, the aftermath is still apparent. 3 shops in every 10 in Wolverhampton are still boarded up or vacant - an unacceptable amount for a city with such a promising future.

It seems the only place any hope can be found in Wolverhampton is in it's teens. Although the small minority are still out to cause trouble, many others are wanting to make a difference. Out of the 170 pupils in my year at school, a good 150 of them dreamed of living in a city of beauty, peace and promise but in actual fact are living in a city of benefits, dirt and unemployment.

I remember at school being told the West Midlands was the country's hotspot for Sexually Transmitted Diseases and we all cheered. Now why was a class of 13 year olds cheering at that? Because we don't get anything else! Wolverhampton never gets anything and, in fact, the only prize I could name is the World's Worst City in which we got 5th place!

There are however things to encourage development in Wolverhampton. Namely, the WOSCARS - which I proudly won along with some friends when we were about 8! The WOSCARS is a Wolverhampton based OSCAR ceremony that encourages schools to make short films about their city. This is the clip that we made and I tried so hard to find the picture of the award ceremony but I couldn't!

 

Other than that, they never really seems to be all too much to excite children in my city. There's not really anything to excite anyone. Although there are much worse cities in the world, a city with so much history should have a good future but, from what I can see, it's only getting worse.

The good thing about our city however is our desire to protect it. Only people from Wolverhampton have the right to talk bad about it.

 

Sorry this took so long to get up, was having technological difficulties!

 

georgiadaisyiv

Don't Drink and Drive

Most 16 year old girls would boast about how they spent the weekend drunk with friends but not me. From a very young age I have always said I will never drink. Although I do have the compulsory champagne at Christmas, I pride myself on not drinking alcohol.

I recently found out my Grandpa John died of liver damage (caused by alcohol) when I was only 4. This has spurred me on to think responsibly as a teenager and to not let others push me to drink.

When I was about 10, my Dad brought home some kind of chocolate liquor which I was obsessed with and I would have a little cup everyday but as I got older I started to dislike it and now we don't have it any more, but with my 18th birthday next year (OMG!) I have asked my best friend to promise not to let me get drunk in the return for my promise to have a drink on her birthday - we'll see how that works out!

Don't worry though, when we turn 18, we'll be legally able to drink in the UK - which I think makes no sense. At 10 years old, I got to pick a name that will stick with me forever (my Confirmation name) which nearly ended up as Vanessa because I was crazy about High School Musical. Then at 14, we start choosing subjects to specialise in that could affect us right the way through to adult life. At 16, you get this choose again but with much harder subjects (or you could start a family!) and then at 18 you're finally able to drink. It really doesn't make any sense that we are making life-changing decisions at age 10 but are restricted in what we can drink for another 8 years!

Please drink responsibly.

georgiadaisyiv

The Future Is Here

When I look at this mat, I feel a buzz inside my belly.

It brings back so many memories of both pain and disappointment and joy and excitement. 

The words 'THE FUTURE IS HERE' send chills down my spine.

I first stepped onto this stage at 13 years old.

I'm now 16.

When I stepped off for the first time, I remember saying "Can we do it again?"

That's the buzz it gives me.

The flashing lights, the roaring crowd, the pressure, all whisked away by stepping one foot on the mat.

This is where I belong.

The first time I set foot on this mat was in 2011 when I was a Level 1 Junior on a team of just 8 girls. Now I'm preparing to go there as a Level 2 Senior with a team of 20! It excites me to think in just 5 months I will be running round-off back handsprings across an international stage in front of hundreds (if not thousands) of fellow cheerleaders, ex-teammates and parents!

Sorry this was only a small post, was just feeling really excited at the time!

georgiadaisyiv

Accent Tag

Most people do the accent tag on YouTube but I'm going to do it on here.

To start with, you read out a list of words and compare how you say it to your friend (hopefully they have a different accent):

Aunt = "arr-nt"

Roof = "r-uu-f"

Route = "root"

Wash = "wosh'

Oil = "oi-ul"

Theatre = "th-ear-ter"

Iron = "eye-un"

Salmon = "sa-mon"

Caramel = "ca-ra-mel"

Fire = "fie-ya"

Water = "war-ta"

Sure = "shore"

Data = "day-ta"

Ruin = "roo-in"

Crayon = "cray-yon"

New Orleans = "new or-leans"

Pecan = "pea-con"

Both = "bow-th"

Again = "ah-gen"

Probably = "prob-ab-lee"

Spitting Image = "spit-ting im-ige"

Alabama = "al-a-bam-a"

Lawyer = "loy-er"

Coupon = "coo-pon"

Mayonnaise = "may-on-aise"

Syrup = "si-rup"

Pajamas/Pyjamas = "pa-jar-mas"

Caught = "court"

Naturally = "nat-tra-lee"

Aluminium = "ah-loo-min-ee-um"

Envelope = "en-vel-ope"

The second is answering some questions:

1. What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?

We don't have this in the UK but it's called tee-peeing
2. What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?

Never heard of anything that does this!
3. What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?

Fizzy drink, pop or fizzy pop
4. What do you call gym shoes?

Trainers
5. What do you say to address a group of people?

Erm ... Hi ???
6. What do you call the kind of spider (or spider-like creature) that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?

Daddy Long Legs

7. What do you call your grandparents?

Grandma & Grandpa and Nanny & Grandpa
8. What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?

A trolley
9. What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?

Again got no clue!
10. What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Remote, remote controller or TV remote

georgiadaisyiv

Gap Year

At the moment, I am in my first year of sixth form but I'm starting to think about the future and my life after college. I have a series of universities lined up if I want to go there but I'm also considering a gap year.

When I was at school, me and some friends were looking at what we could do when we were older and stumbled across something called Camp America. I got a little too into it and started requesting brochures but when they were delivered I freaked and started to ignore their emails. But now I am considering it again.

Thinking about flying to America to work on a camp with American children really excites me because I think about the (kind of) camps I've been on - like Alton Castle and Towers in Wales - and how fun that was and how close you get to the staff. I've been weighing up the pros and cons but I'm still not too sure!

Pros

1: great experience

2: chance to meet new friends

3: clear your head before univerisity

4: see more of the world than you otherwise would

5: have the chance to start a new life

6: make a difference

7: have something great to put on your CV

8: make yourself happy

9: take a break from education

Cons

1: possible wasted year

2: may not be what you expected

3: too expensive

4: demotivating so you don't want to go to univerisity

5: home will feel awful compared to it

6: home sickness

7: more work, less play

8: unemployment afterwards

I've also found something that looks pretty cool called USA Summer Camp Exchange where you spend a couple months at a camp in the North-East of America teaching children about sports before going on a road trip with the staff. It looks great and the cost isn't too high but you have to be at least 19 by June 1st of that year - which I won't be - so I'd either have to take 2 years off which is a little too risky, or wait until the summer before possibly going to uni meaning I'd have to find something else to do.

The other thing I've heard that's wrong with taking gap year is being behind when you finally do attend university, because you'll be a year behind your college friends or a year older than those in your class. Although at uni this isn't as much of a problem, it will still be very different to school and college!

Instead of working on a camp, you can go on programs especially for students where you typically have to find your own placement which would be slightly harder but more realistic than an organised camp. When I went to Disney World in 2011, there was a girl there helping people onto rides who was from Manchester and was on her gap year so that's always a possibility but definitively more work than play!

I know the first year of sixth form (or lower sixth as some people call it) is a little early to be thinking about gap years but I want to make sure I'm ready and organised before I just throw myself at the world!

That's all I have to say on gap years for now but there is something else I've decided to do: I'm finally going to broadcast my blog on Twitter so my friends and family can read it. I feel like it's time to be honest with people and to face up to any questions people have.

georgiadaisyiv