Drinking Culture at University

Universities have a massive drinking culture, there is no denying that. Having now completed my first term at uni, I feel like my perspective has changed quite a bit and I felt this needs to be shared as I could not find much on this online.

I arrived at uni as very much a newbie to alcohol. I had never really drunk much at parties before and had never got drunk, primarily due to the taste and not particularly wanting to. But I had this idea that when I got to uni, absolutely everyone would be drinking a lot more than I was used to and that therefore I would have to try and fit in by doing likewise. So there I was in fresher's week, trying all sorts of concoctions that people readily suggested and served to me; ciders, beers, cocktails, vodka infused drinks, the lot. The conclusion I came to? I didn't really like alcohol.

credit

I had known this since the first time I tried it, though I still forced myself into drinking like many others do (very much in a mild form compared to others) in fresher's week. However, I never got drunk. It was only after a few weeks of university did I realise that saying I did not want that can of cider someone had just offered me was not a problem. People accepted that I did not want to drink.

This response completely changed my perspective of the drinking culture at university. I previously thought it was expected for everyone to drink, yet really, nobody minds at all if you choose not to. In fact, I know quite a few people who don't drink. I'm not quite sure why this surprised me, perhaps it's down to the media portraying university as a place for partying, a place for going out and a place for drinking (obviously alongside a place of learning), but I really did realise that nowhere online does it say that actually a fair number of people don't drink and it is completely fine and acceptable not to. The choice is yours and your friends should be accepting of that. If they don't then perhaps they are not the right people to be friends with.

I would like to mention that I have absolutely nothing against people who drink. This post is not about convincing people not to drink at university, it is simply trying to reassure those who do not want to that that is absolutely fine. I understand why people want to drink, though I also very much understand why people don't. I do, however, still regularly get asked why I don't drink, so perhaps if you choose not to, have a set of answers ready. An example of mine (which I all truly believe) are below:

• I don't like the taste of alcohol
• I don't like the idea of not being in control if I were to get drunk
• Alcohol isn't actually particularly good for your health and can be very damaging in certain circumstances
• It's cheaper not to drink

It should be noted though that "I just don't want to" is also a perfectly valid reason. If someone doesn't accept any of these as a reason then perhaps remind them that around 8,500 people die each year due to excessive drinking and that should shut them up. 

Along with the idea that everyone drank alcohol at university, I also had the idea that everybody goes out clubbing or on bar crawls at least a few times each week. Again, whilst a lot of people do do this and that is perfectly fine, it is also completely acceptable to not want to go out. I have been lucky enough to gain a group of friends who quite enjoy staying in our flat's kitchen watching a movie, ordering pizza and just chatting on a Saturday night as opposed to going out, which suits me well. We do all like going out, just not as often as others. It is not a given that you have to go out a lot at university, just like drinking, it is completely up to you how much you do it or whether you do it at all and those around you should not have anything bad to say about the choices you make. If it's anything like my experience, then people are really lovely when it comes to things like this and as long as you make friends with those kinds of people, you have nothing to worry about. 

Miss Muggs xx

Places To See Before I Die

To put it simply, the world is an amazing place. One of the most amazing things in life is exploring it, both the natural beauties created over millions of years and the man-made cultures, buildings and cities created in only the last few thousand. It seems also unthinkable to consider not exploring these wonders, but sadly a very large proportion of the population is unable to afford the essentials required for living let alone the luxuries of visiting different countries. I am extremely fortunate to be one of the under 10% of the population that has been on a plane multiple times in my life. Even I, however, don't expect to be able to travel the entire world in my lifetime. In fact, there are very few people who have even visited all of the continents at least once. That, I would say, is one of my lifetime wishes.. to visit every continent at least once. Whilst I don't yet know whether my future will allow that sort of thing, it is nice to dream. So I decided to create a little list of places/countries I'd like to visit or go back to at some point in my life.

EUROPE

Italy - Pompeii, Rome, Venice

 credit

The cities listed are pretty common tourist destinations, though they are classics that I would love to visit. Italy is a beautiful country with a lovely climate in summer. I have visited Rome and loved every moment of it, though I'd love to go back. To be honest, I'd love to see a lot more of Italy, though these are the just some starting points.

Switzerland - Alps

credit

Now this is a very general area as a lot of Switzerland is taken up by the Alps and I have actually been to the Austrian alps before in winter (skiing). I'd particularly like to visit the Swiss Alps in summer because from the pictures I've seen, they are just beautiful.

Czech Republic - Prague

credit

I really don't know much about Prague other than a lot of people have been there and said it's great. I think it's one of those places I'll probably visit with friends during a summer in between my years at uni.

Greece-Santorini

credit

Having seen hundreds of photos from Santorini, I decided to add this to my list. People tend to say there isn't too much to do, but it's beautiful and still worth a visit, so here it is, on my list.

Netherlands - Amsterdam

credit

Basically everyone I know has been to Amsterdam but me. It looks amazing in the photos, such an interesting city and beautiful canals. I particularly want to go and see the Anne Frank house (doesn't everyone?) having read her diary as a child.

Iceland

credit

This is last on my Europe list because I have been there before (fairly recently) but I definitely want to go again. It's such a barren landscape with little civilisation, yet amazing natural features including waterfalls and glaciers galore! The Blue Lagoon is also a must. I don't think I appreciated Iceland as much as I should've done when I was there...plus it rained a lot.

ASIA

Thailand/Vietnam/Laos

credit

This is rather vague because to be honest, I've heard wonderful things about all the countries in this area of the world. Beautiful scenery, a very different culture to what I'm used to and loads to see, this will be a big trip if I go there, but it's one of my top places (well, areas of the world) I'd like to visit.

Maldives

credit

I'm sure you've seen pictures of the Maldives before; little cabins and huts on stilts over the stunningly clear blue water and amazing sandy beaches. What more is there to say? It's unlikely I'll ever have the money to visit such an expensive holiday destination, but I can dream.

OCEANIA

Australia - Perth, Sydney, Kakadu National Park

credit

Where do I begin? If there was one place I had to live outside the UK, it would be Australia. I've only been once, when we visited Western Australia and the Northern Territory (including Perth and Kakadu) but I fell in love with it in the first week of being there. It has such a wide variety of landscapes across the country and I'd love to see the East Coast which I didn't before. Obviously the Great Barrier Reef should probably be on my list, though I'm not particularly great with open water. I'm still hoping to see it one day though *dreams of Australia* ahhh...

New Zealand

credit

Another classic. I'd love to visit both the North and South Islands because they're so different, but it depends how much time and money I have. Again, this is somewhere I may never make it do due to lack of funds (it is also one hell of a long plane journey).

AMERICAS

USA - New York, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Monument Valley, Hawaii

credit

I could list so much more of the USA. Ideally, I'd go on a road trip round the USA, but that would be pretty expensive if I wanted to visit all 50 states..I've only ever been to California before, so I'd particularly like to see what the East Coast has to offer and I'd like to see more of inland USA as well.

Galapagos Islands

credit

This is wildlife heaven. I am interested in biology, generally more human biology, but I'd absolutely love to see the wildlife, perhaps go on a tour of the islands to see it all. I don't know too much about actual holidays there other than it's another expensive place so perhaps I need to look into it more, but I know I want it on my list.

ANTARCTICA

credit

I'm not a massive fan of the cold, but this continent is one I'd love to visit for reasons I can't really explain. I know I'd like to see the penguins (I like penguins), but I'm not entirely sure why else. It's very desolate. I guess I'd just like to say I've been there.

AFRICA

South Africa

credit

I named South Africa in particular because I know people have been there and said it's worth a visit, even just for a safari, but to be honest there are a lot of places in Africa that sound pretty cool. I guess I'm less keen on central Africa because I know there are a lot of vaccinations involved before you go, but in some ways I'd quite like to help with one of those volunteer projects that builds schools or helps communities out in various ways, that sounds like an amazing experience.

***

I'd like to note that just because a country isn't on this list doesn't mean I don't want to go there, I simply wrote this list of my favourites so far, so if you have visited or are from somewhere that you think is amazing that I haven't listed, do leave a comment :)

-What are some of your favourite places you have visited or would like to visit?-

Miss Muggs xx

Empty Days

Do you ever have those days were you feel completely empty? Sometimes it happens randomly, sometimes it happens as a result of a falling out with someone or being told bad news or some other similar situation. I have found myself recently having a few of these days, unsure what to do with myself and often ending up staring into space doing nothing.

It's days like this where I sometimes find a walk in a quiet place or sneaking away to a private place (if it has a good view that's even better) can help immensely. In fact, in this state I find it difficult to do things that make me happy because I'm not particularly unhappy. It's more of a feeling of nothingness, like a complete absence of any feeling.

I was recently lucky enough to go on a trip to California and for a short part of the trip we stayed at a place in the hills above L.A. The view over LA is one of my favourites views I've ever seen, particularly in the mornings and after it's got dark in the evenings. In the morning the mist covers everything but the skyscrapers in the city centre, which seem to tower out of what almost looks like a cloud. It looked like something out of a fictional story or movie and was breathtaking. At night, the city is alive with lights and the sky above seems to be thriving with airplanes and stars.

LA in the morning - a slightly less misty morning

LA at night - the camera really doesn't catch it's beauty

One morning I got up early to skype someone back in the UK but it turned out the wifi didn't work that day, so I decided to go on a walk around the property and stare out at the view for ages. That was one of my favourite moments. Being able to just sit, think, but at the same time not really thinking about anything in particular. It was really relaxing and brings you back to yourself if you're feeling the empty feeling I previously described.

I guess this post didn't really have much point to it, I didn't really go anywhere with it, I just wanted to share a recent experience that has helped me to cure my empty feeling that I sometimes get. If you can find a quiet spot, wherever you are in the world, that looks out over something or even just somewhere where you can look up at the stars at night, make use of that spot. Obviously make sure you're alone in this spot, it doesn't have the same effect otherwise. Looking out over life is a great way to get back to yourself again.

Anyway, I hope you didn't find this too random or pointless and thank you for listening to me ramble (as I always seem to do in my blog posts) once again.

Miss Muggs xx

Unsettled

Unsettled - the only word that can be used to describe my feelings at the moment. I supposed it's the realisation of how big this year is for me and many of my friends. The end of school, the start of uni, everything changes and all very suddenly. Throw in some added disappointments in the form of a rejection or two and, I'm not going to lie, it throws your mind into a whirlwind of confusion that can, at times, spiral out of control.

own photograph

This academic year in particular has been tougher than most due to a combination of stress, work, uni applications and entry tests. It's lead to a whole load of ups and downs, with seemingly more downs than ups. I have noticed myself feeling less happy than I've done in previous years as a result of all this and have set myself a mini new year's resolution of caring for myself more. I mean this both mentally, in terms of making sure I stay positive, looking after myself so I don't get into such lows and using meditation or whatever necessary to calm myself down when I feel stressed, anxious or unsettled, and physically, making sure I eat enough and hopefully regaining some of the fitness I once had in preparation for a walking holiday this summer.

I think part of the problem is I've spent a lot of time focusing on work and pressuring myself into getting the very best results, when in fact sometimes this puts me under so much stress I crumble. I'm hoping that now the longest term, uni applications and coursework are all out of the way I'll have more time to focus on staying healthy (not in the healthy food way, but mentally and physically healthy).

from tumblr

I know this is rather a short and rambley post and after a year, perhaps a little disappointing in terms of content, but I felt like blogging. I've decided once and for all that I'm not going to have any schedule for this blog nor am I going to post regularly. This will simply be a blog for my thoughts whenever I feel like sharing them.

I want to say, as a final point, to anyone out there who's been feeling down or stressed or anxious or anything similar, that things will get better eventually. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel and you will reach it sometime soon. That might be next week, next month or next year, but it will happen. Look to the positives of the future, but don't forget about the present because as I've said before on this blog, ignoring the present sometimes means you miss out on making the most of moments which might turn out to be some of your most precious memories. Also, looking to the future the whole time leaves you with a constant sense of hoping but never achieving, it really does leave you feeling happier if you look at the good things happening here and now. If you're still struggling to see the brighter side of life at the moment, perhaps check out my post How to be Happy. But trust me, things will get better :)

Songs I feel are relevant to this post:
Low - Lauren Aquilina
Home - Gabrielle Aplin

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year!

Miss Muggs xx