Keep calm and carry on.

Now I don't want to offend the Scottish Qualifications Authority in any way. However, It would have been nice not to have too sit through hours of torture yesterday, courtesy of them. The maths exam was hard - as expected. Although, due to the difficulty of the exam I found myself fantasising about banging my confused head off the table until I could leave.

This did not happen, but from talking to others who were subjected to the horrifying experience also, I have gathered that the exam was not only hard for me, or for my fellow fourth years. It was also hard for the actual Maths Teachers to get their heads around some of the questions. Now, I'm sorry but how is a mere child of 15 or 16 supposed to be able to achieve a reasonable grade in a paper that was completely foreign, even to our teachers? In the immortal words of every mature adult I have spoken to since the experience "There is nothing I can do about it now..." Yes, that makes me feel so much better.

Just to add insult to injury I would like to point out how disorganised our particular invigilator was. Room 74 seemed to have a distinct shortage of answer papers and therefore, a distinct shortage of anyone actually allowed to do the exam. Ten minutes after the official start of the exam, the 'Chief' invigilator came running up the stairs and produced two question papers. This was not what we were looking for. Another five minutes after that, he came bounding back into the room (I say bounding but it was more of a brisk walk) with  exactly what we needed to begin our exam. I proceeded to clap, as I was grateful for this man's kind and helpful actions. Apparently he didn't want me to clap. I stopped clapping. We were able to start the exam 15 minutes after everyone else, and all was at peace. That is, until the wind picked up speed and began to blow in through the window, driving the huge set of blinds crazy and encouraging the classroom door to randomly open and close on a regular basis. It was very distracting and my left hand started to turn a strange shade of purple which was also highly worrying. In aid of the problem, the tiny little invigilator closed the windows and all was at peace once again. Apart from the raging battle between numbers and sanity that was occurring in the brains of many, that is.

So, its over to the examiners now. I just hope to god, they get through at least half of my paper without becoming teary eyed and depressed at the state of the youth of today -  well, their maths skills.

The way we get by...

I'm having a dilemma. What do you wear if you have no idea what everyone else is wearing to a party. I often wonder what teenagers did in the olden days, when there were no phones and no Facebook. They must have just thrown on one of the few dresses that their mothers could afford and hope for the best. Mind you, with the variety of clothing available in Victorian times I wouldn't be surprised if they all ended up wearing exactly the same thing anyway. In a way they were much better off back then, they didn't have to worry about decisions like whether to wear heels or flats on a night out...they just didn't have nights out! I suppose it sounds silly to say that maybe it  would be better if it was still like that today. Pfffft! Who am I kidding? I need clothes and shoes and bags to function! They don't have to be expensive - my most used bag at the moment was from a charity shop and was only £2.50 - you just have to make sure that you have something that goes well with it and most of all make sure that you love whatever the item is. Still though, wouldn't it be soooo much easier just to wear a black bin bag for the rest of your life? That would save me from constantly having to pick up clothes from my bedroom floor and also having to rearrange my stash/pile. But hey, The Victorians didn't have Topshop now did they? Ha, who's laughing now?

Anyway, back to the matter in hand. Jeans or skirt, brogues or converse...tshirt or blouse?!!! Oh, somebody shoot me now.

this and bits and pieces of that...

Here are some pictures from my laptop that I love! Some old, some new and some absolutely hilarious. Forget 1000, these pictures are worth 5000 words! Not posted in ages! I feel guilty about that, but for some reason I just haven't had anything to write about. Despite this being my first post in forever, its not going to be too long or meaningful...Its prelim time at school and revising is pretty much at the top of everyone's list, but I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who has ever been there for me, ever, ever. Those who are gone will be remembered forever, I'll make sure of it! Those of you who are still here, you better believe I wont be forgetting you any time soon! I love you all,

Rachel xxx

Okay, so I'm just back from the couple of days I spent in Paris with my Mum and I must say that I have been enlightened to the ways of style and Fashion! Paris style, is so laid back and comfortable, that I almost felt overdressed in my simple jeans and t-shirt combination. I have never seen so many well dressed people in one place (except from at certain award ceremonies and in magazines), Paris has got to be my favourite place in the world to date. Now, the three pictures above were all taken on different days...however I was only able to take one jacket so there isn't much variety between them. I had to wrap up pretty warm against the harsh October weather and I took my two favourite pairs of shoes in the world with me, which just so happened to both be very comfortable! I really enjoyed seeing all the different cultures and people there, but I'm back in sunny Scotland (not) now despite how hard it was to tear myself away from the gorgeous Paris setting...aaaaaah, life goes on.

Rachel xxx

Leopard Coat - Topshop
Work Boots - River Island
Red Brogues - Office
Jeans - Topshop
Beatles T-shirt - a gift from my Mum
Floral Scarf - Accesorize

Layering is a big trend for Autumn/Winter, and its a good thing considering the typical British weather recently. Cosy jumpers and woolly tights will definitely be getting dusted off and worn soon enough, but I've added  a new kind of layering to my wardrobe. Necklaces have been getting layered and paired for a while now, but why not try beads and chains? Or even chains and charms and beads? This photo is of my two favourite pieces of jewellery at the moment and as chance would have it they don't look to shabby when worn an the same time!

Rachel xxx

Chain Necklace - Topshop
Marble Beads - Vintage

I actually love these brogues! I got them for my birthday after a long round of pleading and hinting to my Mum, and I must say it was worth it. They go with everything and  will add colour to a boring outfit...I particularly like them with my faded jeans, a t shirt and a pretty necklace or two!

Rachel xxx

"I don't give a damn about my bad reputation!"

Teenagers have a reputation for being, messy, forgetful, careless and full of attitude.

This stereotype annoys me immensely...I mean, none of us are all of those things! We may be messy or careless but I think that character traits are of the beholders choosing - meaning if I want to be messy I will be, but if I don't want to be messy ill tidy up (however, this is not likely).

The same thing goes when adults talk about "youngsters nowadays", apparently we waste our weekends drinking, sleeping and watching Hollyoaks on a Sunday morning - well maybe some of us do that...but we aren't all identical clones who copy each other's every move! Our lives all take different paths at birth and there is nothing we can do about it. All teachers and 'superior' adults seem to believe that if a teenager who was a complete stranger jumped off of a bridge then the rest of the teenage population would follow suit! I'll have you all know that this is not the case.

To be completely honest teenagers try as hard as humanly possible to be unique and different to their peers, we may be categorized into the same column but what's there in black and white, could not be further from the truth...