2019: A Summary

Hello!

It has been a long and interesting year -- here are a few of my highlights.

Happy New Year!

January:

My mum had an escape-room themed birthday party. The escape room venue was Nana's old house. She went into a care home a few years before she died, and since then we've been renting her house out. And using it as the venue for my mum's birthday party. The escape rooms were fun.

Another memorable thing from January was that my dad's Aunty Joan died; her funeral was on the 26th. Though technically, she was more his cousin once removed, because she was Nana's cousin.

February:

My dad was away in Africa at the start of February, doing more work; he wasn't away for long though, getting back on the 8th. There was an event at the start of half-term; my youth group met up with a youth group from Sweden, to take Communion, then go on a walk and get to know each other. It was very fun; I got on very well with my walking-partner. 

March: 

We had Finn staying at the beginning of March; I've mentioned him before, though on that occasion I referred to him staying over Easter. He did both.

Return of the spaniel-pics!

We also had the Youth Weekend Away in March; it was a lot of fun. Some of the Year 11s were unable to go, as they had a D+T practical on the Monday after. From what I heard later, the practical went well, so that was good.

Our esteemed youth leader

A nice post-Night Hike bonfire

There was also a meeting for Soul Survivor in the summer; the purpose of the meeting was to sort out fundraising for Soul Survivor because people need to buy tickets, which are too expensive for the church to pay for. 

On the 22nd, I went on an English trip to see a play called American Clock; it's a play about a formerly wealthy American family struggling to make ends meet during the Great Depression. It was a good play.

Another significant thing about March is the first of March. In my previous post, I mentioned being bullied, and how I've been keeping a mental calendar ever since. The 1st of March, 2018 was the last major incident; after school that day, I wound up on the kitchen floor, crying into Pippin's neck, and my parents took action, writing letters to the school. Funny thing about Pippin; he's terrible at emotional support, but if you conscript him (for example by crying into his neck) he won't shy away, he'll just resign himself to the situation. 

My point is, the 1st of March 2019 was the one-year anniversary of that day.  Thankfully, nothing bad happened -- though if I'm being honest, I kept expecting something to happen. Next March -- 2 months away tomorrow -- will be the two-year anniversary of that incident.

April:

Most of April was taken up by the Easter holidays; we had Tessa and Granny staying at one point, which was nice. Finn also stayed for a while; unfortunately, he arrived the day after Tessa left. 

There was also a cinema trip to see Avengers Endgame, when term started up. 

Other than that, there was the final social, not counting the Leavers' Dinner for the Year 13s. That was the social where I nearly couldn't get in! Then, at the end, when my dad came to pick me up, I nearly forgot my coat!

Head Boy (and me)

Head Girl (and me)

May:

For this month, I will steal shamelessly from last year: "to the fifth-years, this meant only one thing: their O.W.L.S. were upon them at last." Slightly less impact for me this year, but more impactful for my sister -- she had exams right from the beginning! The Year 13s also begun their exams, slightly later in the month. I begun a monumental project. As a revision aid, I started creating revision flashcards for Biology; my consolidation notes were taking too long to write and too long to read. Over the Easter Holidays, I begun creating flashcards for the year 12 Biology modules (year 12 biologists, take note). And yes, I said I started in May; it would probably be more accurate to say that I finished the year 12 section of the course in May, leaving the year 13 section. 

June:
Summer. The exams still going. My brain somewhat lagged (blame it on the mountain of flashcards I did over the holidays). Also, summer's my favourite time of the year. Not just because it's warmer, and reminiscent of Africa, but also because my sister was born in the summer.
I looked after a friend's cat (this helped raise money towards my Soul Survivor ticket); that was nice, as the cat was well-behaved. Did not trust me, so refused to stay in the same room as me for too long.
The year 11 exams finished in June, leading to 2 months of an unforgettable summer holiday! I was not privy to most of that holiday, being in year 12. I had to continue going to school, and in the final week of June I had study leave, to revise for my year 12 mocks.

July:
...And straight into the action with my mocks in the first week!. Thankfully, it was only one week of exams. I also made a millionaire shortbread to celebrate my friend's birthday. I don't usually do birthday presents for friends unless I go to their party; however, I did on this occasion for 2 reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, he's been a wonderful friend to me over the last year and a bit. Secondly, it was his 18th birthday.

I also went on a Biology field trip to Oxwich Bay, to study habitats and ecosystems. It was a lot of fun.

Equipment

Some downtime...

There was also the Keswick convention; this is a Christian convention that takes place every summer at Keswick. My parents and I went this year; my sister was away. We were in a campsite with several family friends, all with children roughly the same age as me. We all climbed a mountain on the Tuesday; I did it in trainers that were falling apart.

Near the summit

August:

The convention carried on through the first week of August, having started in the final week of July. 

During the second and third weeks, my mum and dad had a work friend, Kaley, staying for a while. 

I also got to look after some more cats for a few days! This time, two kittens, called Frodo and Sam. For added Lord of the Rings irony, my dog is called Pippin. Frodo and Sam are very sweet cats, though also quite shy. Frodo warmed to me quickly in spite of that; I looked after them several times over the summer, and by the end of the second time, he was quite happy perching on me.

I also went to a short summer school, to find out what university life would be like; I spent 3 days there, and it was fun. The lectures were enjoyable, and the food was delicious.

Another big thing in August: my sister finally returned from a Scouts trip to Madagascar, having been there for 3 weeks. 

Soul Survivor also happened; the final ever Soul Survivor. It was loads of fun. Something that I particularly appreciated was that when I went to seminars, I would need to sit in the T-Loop area; several times, when I went with others in my youth group, they would come and sit in or near the T-Loop with me. The final main meeting was also fun; as I said in a previous blog,  thunder and lightning (and rain) poured down -- an epic send-off.

September:
September was the start of school; the final year of my education. I went to a University of Bristol open day on the 7th; it was informative, though the university did not make it onto my shortlist.
My parents had several meetings with teachers; I didn't do as well as expected in the mocks, despite the teachers saying all year that I was doing well. As it turns out, it was exam techniques that caused the poor performance in the mocks. And lack of self-confidence, which is fair enough.
I also looked after the cats next door for a week; like Frodo and Sam, they are quite young, and there's two of them. Unlike Frodo and Sam (Frodo particularly), they were slow to trust me.

October:
 As I mentioned in a recent blog, Aunt Maria came to stay, and we got to see Christi's wedding video.
I also visited several other universities on open days, which was nice. My favourite was Reading, admittedly partly because of the friendly accommodations.
We had Granny (and Tessa) coming to stay as well, so we could attend baby Huw's birthday party together.

Two happy lurchers

The dogs stayed at home for that event, because they are large and boisterous, and there were small children there.
October half-term my family went to Croatia; highlights include the boat tour and climbing the mountain. Even though I sprained my ankle coming back down.

This is like a scene from Lord of the Rings!

Up a mountain.

November:

A big month for me! I turned 18! It's been nice to be able to drink and vote. Not that I've done too much of either so far. 

For my dad's birthday (10 days after mine) we went to stay with some friends that he and my mum knew at university; we stayed the whole weekend. It was nice to catch up.

Also in November, I sent off my university application; within a couple of weeks, all but 1 of the universities I applied to had replied. I'm still waiting on the final one (Derby).

Another major thing: I finished the flashcards for Biology; that is, the year 13 part of the course as well. One of my biology teachers had given advice toward the end of year 12 to get the content revision done as early as possible, so that we could focus on revising the application (exam technique). So that's what I decided to to; I decided to finish the flashcards before the mocks in January. Then before the Christmas holidays. Then the deadline shortened again, to the end of November; I succeeded, though. I finished the flashcards for chapter 11 of the year 13 book (the longest in the entire specification -- 30 pages!) on Thursday the 28th of November. On two hours of sleep. Because I was feeling stressed. Hardly surprising, though!

December:

The final month of this decade...

A month of trials and tribulations...Or not. In fact, it's been a pretty alright month. I was poorly at the start of the second week (the week of the election), but was still well enough to go into school.

And a week before, my youth group welcomed someone new into the group; Edward Joel Shaw, born on Thursday 5th December. He and his family are doing well; Olly had the sheer luck to go on 2 weeks' paternity leave a fortnight before the Christmas holidays started.
The Cell Christmas Social also happened; it was very fun, though it flew by very quickly.

The Christmas holidays have been good; I've enjoyed spending time with family and friends, though I've also been busy revising.

Another picture of Pippin and Tessa, because they are good dogs.

Speaking of revision, it's the Year 13 mocks after Christmas; any year 13s reading this probably don't need any reminders. But here's the thing: you are all smart, capable and intelligent. Those of you that I've known since year 7; I know you. Maybe not well, but I do know that you are intelligent, in many different ways. You are all brilliant. And to those who only joined in year 12, I maybe don't know you as well, but you're in Sixth-Form. Made it through GCSEs and year 12 mocks; that says a lot about your intelligence and ability to work hard. Good luck! 

It's been a long, interesting decade, both for me and for the world. When this decade begun, our current political situation in Britain and America was nothing but a faint whisper of days  to come. Maybe not even that. This time in 2009, when I was 8, I was still in Africa. No civil war, no uprising -- none until 2012. I've changed a lot over that time. I went through the bullying, the loneliness, the insecurity, and now I'm changing again. Maybe back to a shade of who I was before, maybe to somebody emotionally stronger, wiser, maturer. When this decade started, I was an optimist. Now, at its end, I've become a pessimist. Maybe because of the bullying, maybe not. But hopefully I can become an optimist again. At risk of jinxing myself, things have been going well lately. Not brilliantly; over the last year, I've undergone what I think of as a slow-motion mental breakdown. Sarah thinks I'm being melodramatic, but given that I've been struggling a lot with liking myself, it seems apt. I won't go into details, though.

I saw a post on the Internet a while ago; if on the first day of 2020, you were presented with a button that would undo the last decade, allow the 2010s to happen all over again, would you press it? I've been dwelling on that lately. Would I press it? For the world at large -- probably not. 10 years ago, I was an 8 year old. I'm not sure I would be able to do much, even armed with the knowledge of the future. For my personal mistakes -- it's a bit harder to say. I feel like I've made several major mistakes over the last decade, which I have said I would do anything to undo. But then again, I don't know who I'd be on the other side. And I've found friends. I've come through the bullying, the insecurity, and found amazing, wonderful friends -- some of whom were there all along, I just didn't realise. I've found them, and even though I'm going to university next year, I wouldn't give them up for anything. The future isn't set in stone, anyway. Granny has a best friend, from childhood, that she's been close with all her life. Even when they were on opposite sides of the country, by and large in an age before instant communication. In an age of instant messaging, it shouldn't be too hard to keep in touch with friends. And in any case, I've learned as a result of my friends how to be more confident, more optimistic.

New Years Resolutions:

Be more optimistic.

Value the time I have with friends and family.

Worry less.

Be kinder to myself.

I leave you with the words of the Eleventh Doctor:

"We all change, when you think about it, we're all different people, all through our lives. And that's OK, that's good, you've got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be."