Change is good

**WARNING: This is a rather ramble-y post**

Hello my lovelies!

It's been a while! But now I'm back and I have lots to tell you. Keep an eye out for lots of new posts over the next few weeks telling you all about my summer and my future plans... but first let's focus on the here and now. This year has been super tough, I don't know why but I've found everything very challenging. I've had to make a lot of hard decisions and there's been many ups and downs. However, changes and choices have me in a great place and I'm feeling very positive about the year ahead. 

If you read this earlier post, you will know that I was looking for a flat for myself. This is not what I've ended up with at all! I looked at several lovely places and did eventually settle upon a flat that came with a job, but after being messed about a lot by the company I decided to drop the job and therefore lost the flat. In a last minute scramble I have managed to secure a room in my best friends shared student house. It's not ideal, and it's certainly not what I wanted, however I think things are going to be okay. The house is lovely and I know a couple of people living there already so it should all be rather pleasant. Choosing to give up the job I had been offered was so difficult for me, many of you may not know this about me but my financial situation isn't the best. I, like many students, rely solely on my student loan and whatever savings I have. I have no overdraft which means I have to be twice as careful about my spending but I've got myself in a really good position after saving loads of my summer earnings and hopefully I'll be able to get a job during my final year in Chester. 

My grades at the end of last year left me feeling a little deflated, I know I could have done a lot better. However, rather than panicking and worrying about how to pull my grade up, I've decided to take a new approach to my learning. I have three days a week where I need to be in lectures and I shall dedicate at least 3 hours of every day each week towards further reading and study. I've been training myself to be twice as organised and I plan to follow a strict routine in order to help my brain function more efficiently. A lot of my choices regarding uni this year relate to a change in attitude and organisation. I am determined to do better than ever. 

Enough of the blahhhh though, let's focus on the happy things. I have had the best summer with some wonderful people and although I still have lots of difficult decisions to make over the next few months, I have such a great support network of friends and family that I know things are going to be okay. Mentally, I'm very stable and although I'm still having some anxiety episodes, they are no where near at the same level as they were during my first few months of university. I'm really happy with my progress and I'm learning so much about myself with each new day. 

I'm so thankful for all of you. You guys are such wonderful people and you fill me with such happiness. Every time I receive a kind email or a tweet from one of you, it reminds me that I'm not alone in the world and so many of us go through the same things in life. YOU give me hope and that's the best gift anyone could ever give. 

If you are ever having a tough time, feel free to get in touch, all of my contact details are here and you can tweet me directly @tammybecks. If you'd like to share some kind words and positivity with complete strangers, let's use #loveliesspreadthelove whether it's Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. I'll be keeping an eye out for all of you! 

I love you all very much. 

Thank you for sticking with me! 

See you again soon...

T

xxx

Freshers: Making the Choice - Be Part of It

Hello my lovelies! 

I think it's about time I did another university post. I know a lot of you guys are roughly university age (18-25) and I get a lot of questions about how I knew Chester was the uni for me so this post is going to be a bit of a tips and tricks for picking your university. Also, I'm going to tell you all about a great campaign being led by St Mary's University in Twickenham which might help you out. Choosing your university can be such a difficult thing and can be incredibly daunting, many students feel like they are pushed or rushed in to choosing, but you shouldn't have to feel that way.

Image source: http://www.transitionresourceguide.ca/sites/transitionresourceguide.ca/files/img/hero/choosing-schools.jpg

I think a very important factor when you're choosing your university is knowing what it is you're getting yourself in to. Not only knowing what the course is like, but what it's like to live and study at the university as a student. It is so important that you go and visit any university that you're thinking of going to, especially if you've already applied and are choosing your offers. St Mary's campaign 'Be part of it' encourages you to think about what factors are important to you when choosing a university. Whether it's the campus, the facilities, the location, the course or the atmosphere, you need to know it all. 

For me, the course was more important than the campus, but i still wanted to be somewhere I felt at ease. I was very focused on finding a university that felt right and offered the right support for the students and I asked pretty much every student I saw and knew the same question - 'what's it really like at uni?'

This video by St Mary's students shows you some of the things current students find important and gives you a great idea of what you should be thinking about when picking where to go. It picks up on factors that some students feel are hugely important, and others that you may not have thought about. They have a series of great videos which can be found on their website that look at some things in greater detail but this highlight video is a good starting point.

Not only do the videos encourage you to think about what you want from your uni, but they also encourage you to get involved in as much as you can once you've made your choice. They are the best years of your life and you should live them to the max. I'm a huge fan of this approach to choosing your university and I encourage you to go and check out everything on the site, even if you don't want to go to St Mary's because it's all useful stuff!

****I know it may seem to you that this post is pushing St Mary's University however, remember that I go to the University of Chester and looked at a series of universities when applying. I'm going through a similar process of choice for my post-grad studies now so this is truly all about the idea of their campaign rather than encouraging you to choose them.****

I found that applicant days and open days really helped me to make my choice. Universities will often have student ambassadors dotted about campus or students showing their accommodation and they are usually happy to honestly answer any questions that you might have. Don't be afraid to speak to students at these days, they will not be afraid to say what they truly think and will be able to give you a much more honest view of the university than any of the staff.

If you're currently in the process of choosing your university, all your key dates and information is on UCAS and I really do encourage you to check out every little detail on there as I found it to be such an incredible help when I applied. Also, if you have any worries about your application just give them a call (Undergraduate applications +44 330 3330 230) or even tweet them (@UCAS_online) they're super helpful. You can also call or email any of the universities you're thinking of with your questions and there should be someone who can help you.

St Mary's can be found at:

St Mary's Website - http://www.stmarys.ac.uk/bepartofit

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yourstmarys

Twitter - https://twitter.com/YourStMarys

I really do encourage you to make the most of the time you have at university and make sure that where you pick is where you really want to be. if you ever have questions, I'm always open to answer, all of my social media links are in the sidebar or you can find them here. 

I love you all!

T

xxx

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, all views are that of myself and not of the brands, affiliates or companies with which this is associated.

Beatons Chester - Totally TasTEA

Hello my Lovelies! 

With blogging comes many wonderful opportunities to attend events, store opening and parties. I was recently invited to the brand new Beatons Tearooms in Chester (they've only just opened!) to a Bloggers High Tea and I thought this would be a lovely opportunity to share their deliciousness with you all. 

The location of the tearooms is simply stunning as it is right next to the bell tower with a view of the cathedral. It really is a beautiful spot, particularly in the sunshine, and I was so lucky that it was a beautifully sunny day when I went. I found it to be in a potentially brilliant spot as the bell ringers, tourists and daily shoppers will be able to find it with absolute ease. 

First impressions upon walking in to the tearooms had me smiling with delight. The decor is simply fabulous and consists of all my favourite colours; bright pink, white and black. My favourite part of the decor is quite possibly the chandeliers, which I have been told were put up by the staff themselves. They're simply stunning. Steve and his team have really done a great job. Another super adorable element to Beatons is that they're not just tearooms but also a bookshop, selling books written by local authors. There were really adorable areas of comfortable chairs around small tables where I could picture myself drinking tea and reading one of the house copies of a book.

Speaking of books, the whole reason I ended up at this event is due to being contacted by the wonderful Liz Jones, house poet. She and her beau treated us to readings of poetry from her very own book which contains poems all about tea. She also wrote the house poem for the Chester tearooms which is pictured below.

The menu is full of tasty treats however the most important part of the menu is quite possibly the huge selection of teas. From Red to Black, Herbal to White, even Oolong! There are so many to choose from however I had a taste of the specially created Dong Ding Oolong Tea which is a specialty for the Chester tearooms. I must admit, I'm always rather dubious about trying new teas however this one is especially delicious and I would highly recommend giving it a taste if you visit.

The high tea came with a huge selection of sandwiches and cakes, we were truly pampered! I must say, the sandwiches did not have my favourite fillings however I gave them a try and they were rather delicious. The choice of fillings included; cucumber, smoked salmon & cream cheese, ham & tomato relish and prawn mayonnaise. Surprisingly, my favourite option was the prawn mayonnaise and I'm really not a fan of prawns. I think it helped that the sandwiches were bite-sized so they did not overwhelm my taste-buds. 

The scones were absolutely delightful! I always love scones when they're freshly baked and, fortunately for Beatons customers, everything is made freshly in store. The scones we received were still warm and super fluffy, a quality I always desire when it comes down to scones. I usually prefer my scones with butter however they were not served with it, fortunately they were light enough not to need any. My favourite part of the high tea though, was definitely the cakes. The signature carrot cake is well worth a try and I don't think I've ever tasted such a sweet Victoria sponge. That said, my favourite cake was certainly the chocolate cake, super chocolaty and incredibly tasty I was very close to asking for a slice to myself!

If you are ever in Chester I would definitely recommend that you pop in and try the menu for yourself, you certainly will not be disappointed. If you like it just as much as I do, there's also the option for a loyalty card so that you may earn stamps.

Let me know if you get the chance to visit and do share you experiences. You can find Beatons on Twitter here or at their website and all of my own links are listed here. A huge thank you to Liz for the invitation to Beatons, I'll be back again soon!

Love you all!

T
xxx