Why I haven't joined in with the Anti-Trump protests or the Women's March

*DISCLAIMER-This post is just my views on the matter and I am awfully sorry if any offence has been taken by this post. I am a real believer in equal rights for everyone, no matter who you are, so hopefully my opinions won't have upset anyone. Thank you*

I'm a feminist. A true feminist. I believe hugely in equal rights and I think that while we have come a long way since the Women's Suffrage Movement, I still believe we have got a long way to go. However, I didn't join in in the Women's March that was happening worldwide, and I didn't think it was a particularly strong march. I know, controversial, but hear me out.

Image taken from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Women's_March 

According to Wikipedia, 'The Women's March was a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017, to protect legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues, including women's rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, the natural environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality, freedom of religion, and workers' rights', and this is entirely my point. The Women's March should have been a Feminist March, focussing entirely on WOMEN'S rights. Of course, racial equality and LGBTQ rights and everything else on that list are extremely important issues that DO need to be addressed, but by combining every issue into one march, the strength of the arguments were weakened. When I first heard about the march in America I was proud to be living in a time where women are not afraid to fight for their rights of equality. However, the more news articles that popped up, the more tweets, the more photos on Instagram, the quicker I realised that this march was not just for women's rights. Please don't think that I am being racist or homophobic or against healthcare reform and the natural environment, but I do think that all of these issues would have been taken more seriously if they were done in separate protests, not straight after each other, of course, but over an extended period of time, I believe that several separate protests would have made a lot more impact than just one, jumbled, confused march in which everyone was there for different reasons. I think, especially in America, Trump would have been forced to at least think about all these different issues if the march was separated into several different protests, focussing on just one thing.

Moving on to the Anti-Trump protests. America, I hear ya. Your President was not elected on the popular vote and you've now got a sexist, racist, homophobic cheese puff as the leader of your country, the biggest country of the world. I hate him too, and in America, these protests should go on. If you are unhappy, you should protest against your president. However, he's only been in office for 2 weeks. On the one side, he has already informed everyone of his plans to build a wall, cut abortion funding, and made a ban on certain ethnicities entering the USA, which is horrendous, but he did say that he would do all of these things, and he is sticking to his word. I digress, as this is not the issue I really wanted to speak about. I get American's protesting. But why are people in Britain getting involved? It's nothing to do with us, and while London is a major city in the world, it is not going to make any difference. Not only that, but the London protest spread to places that Trump will have never heard of, such as Swindon, the small town in the South West of England that I used to live in. If Trump isn't listening to the protests going on in his own state or country, what is a few thousand people in the tiny South-Western town of Swindon in England actually going to achieve?

I don't know, these are just my opinions and I am truly sorry if I have offended anyone, it was not my intention to become a second Katie Hopkins, but these are my thoughts on the matter. If you agree with me, please leave a comment explaining why, and if you disagree with me, please leave a comment arguing your opinion, and hey, you might even change my mind!

Again, I am really sorry if I offended anyone because that really was not my intention and I 100% believe in equal rights for everyone, whether you're male or female, a different race, or a member of the LGBTQ community, because we are all humans and we all should have equal rights in this world! You just be you!

With love,

Chloe x

How I take notes at University

The transition between sixth form/college and university is a big one. You go from being almost spoon fed information to getting hardly any extra help unless it's asked for. You go from regular checks that you are actually doing your work (at my sixth form we did anyway) to lecturers not even chasing you if you miss a lecture or seminar, and possibly the weirdest change is that you go from hour-long lessons divided equally between teacher-led and student-based learning, to different length lectures and seminars, in both of which you are expected to do different things. For those of you at university, you probably have already mastered a note-taking technique that works for you (I'd hope), but if you will be heading to university this September, or have realised that your current university note-taking method is totally wrong for you and you need a change, this blog post will hopefully help give you some ideas of how to keep your notes organised, clear and easy to find.

First things first, I choose to take notes by hand in lectures and seminars, because I prefer having a hard copy of everything, however laptops are optional if you prefer taking notes that way. If so, though, this post probably won't help you very much. Because I already knew  I preferred taking notes by hand, before I moved to uni, my mum bought me a lot of stationary, including pens, pencils, highlighters, and most importantly, separated note books.

The ones that we bought were Pukka Pad. Because I do a combined honours degree, I bought 1 notepad for each subject that I study. These notepads are great because not only do they have a pouch to store extra pieces of paper before every new section, they have labels which you can write the title of each section in the sections tab. I use these to separate my different modules. 

As well as labelling each section, I like to begin my notes with the date, the week of the school year, the module name, and whether the notes are from a lecture or seminar.

Lectures and seminars are different types of lesson. A lecture is teacher-led, and my lecture notes are a combination of what is on the powerpoint screen and what the lecturer is saying. Some people like to print the lecture slides off before each lecture and annotate them, however a lot of my lecture slides don't get put up until after the lecture, and printing off each powerpoint would cost a lot of money that, as a student, I don't have. 

Seminars, however, are more student based and the tutor will give you a series of different tasks to do, often relating to the seminar prep that they set in advance. In my Core English module, for example, my tutor sets us around 10-15 questions to do each week. What I like to do, however this is personal preference only, is to write the questions and answers in a different colour, and when we discuss the answers in class, anything I didn't write down, I would annotate around in a third colour. This is a really useful way to distinguish between the question, my ideas, and the ideas of my peers.

When I am planning essays, especially in English, I make a simple plan outlining the different paragraphs I want to write and quotes I want to put in, separating out the plan by colour-coding each paragraph.

After making this brief plan, I like to create a more in-depth plan on plain A4 printer paper and staple it into the notebook alongside my other plan. As I am quite a visual learner, I like to draw pictures alongside my plan, to make the whole document prettier to look at.

The final thing that I am going to write about is note-taking from books. I am a book annotating kind of gal. I know loads of people hate annotating in their books as it 'ruins it' but after taking English Literature for so many years, the thought of vandalising a book with my own ideas and knowledge really doesn't bother me anymore. I like to write a brief summary of the chapter/act at the beginning, before highlighting important/interesting parts of text, and writing my thoughts about why they are important/interesting/what literary techniques they use etc. etc. 

However, when the book isn't mine, e.g a text book or library book, I like to mark the page with sticky page holders, before taking notes on a sticky note and placing it on that page. If the book has to go back before I will be done with the information, I write the author, title, publishing information and page number on each sticky note so that I can know where I quoted/paraphrased from and so not get punished for plagiarism. 

I also keep all my hand outs from lectures and seminars in ring-binders, one for each subject, with dividers inside to separate each module. (I am not going to photograph those though because boring.)

This post has been a little less exciting and more serious/advice-like than my previous posts, so feel free to let me know in the comments whether you like or dislike this type of blog post.

With love,

Chloe x

My Current Beauty Favourites

I've never done a beauty blog post before so this is all very new and exciting, but one of my 17 goals for 2017 was to branch out and expand my blog to both beauty and fashion, as well as lifestyle, so here goes. These are my current beauty favourites, some of them new and some of them I've been loving for, like, ever. I hope you enjoy!

one) My trusty Mac Studio Fix Fluid in NW15.

This foundation is honestly my favourite foundation that I have tried in a very long time. It is super smooth, really long wearing, such high coverage and SPF 15. While I can't tell you that it's perfect (it's not going to hide every single pimple or blemish on your skin) it is pretty close, and better than everything else I've tried so far. It is a little pricey, but that's Mac for you. This retails at £22 without a pump, but honestly, GET A PUMP! It saves you so much hassle of having to try and shake or scrape the foundation out the bottle. The pumps are £4.50, but very much worth it!

two) My tried and tested Rimmel London 'Professional Eyebrow Pencil' in 004 Black Brown.

I have always been a lover of brow pencils rather than waxes or powders because I feel that it is so much easier to get an ideal shape, while still making your brows look natural. This pencil does just that, it's waxy consistency means that it glides on quickly and smoothly, and t's easy to fill in the sparse parts of your brows with small hair like strokes. The brush on the lid means that it is easy to buff out and make your brows look more natural. It retails anywhere between about £2.50 and £4, depending on where you go, but it is a wonderful brow product.

three)The Bourjois Paris 16h Liner Pinceau Liquid Eyeliner in Ultra Black

This is a new buy, I bought it from Superdrug on Friday and fell in love with it straight away. The brush is small and SO SOFT, which means my everyday eye look, the cat-eye flick, looks precise and perfect after just one attempt. Also, it really is ultra black, and doesn't fade. I can't tell you that their promise of 16 hours is right because I haven't had it on for 16 hours, but I wouldn't be surprised! Again, the price varies depending on where you go, but it is always under £10, which I think is a bargain for such a wonderful product.

four) The Illamasqua Mascara in Raven

I am not going to say too much about this product because I am planning on ding an entire blog post dedicated to it in the next few weeks (I really love it!) I had never heard of this brand before I opened the gift on Christmas Day, but it was recommended to my mum and I can see why. SUCH LONG LASH EFFECT. I will say no more, check out the future blog post for the rest!

five) My Mac Lipstick in Stone

If you follow whatchloewrites on Instagram you will see that I have already posted how much I love this product (and the next one coming up on this list.) I am not a lipstick gal. I feel like I look like a toddler who found her mum's makeup bag. But not in this. The colour is sultry and dark but not gothic, and it gives so much moisture to dry cracked lips. It's honestly made me want to try so many more Mac lipsticks and hopefully not look like a toddler! This retails at £15.50, which honestly, I don't think is too bad!

six) My Mac Lip Pencil in Plum

I'm not going to lie, I did not buy this out of my own will. I was told to buy it by a lovely Mac MUA in their store in Joules in Bath. However, it does not mean I regret this buy. You can wear it on its own and it is a gorgeous plum, purpley-red colour, or I have been wearing it under Stone to give an extra dimension and colour to the grey/brown lipstick. This little beauty retails at £13, so again, a little pricey, but that's Mac.

seven) My Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

This is another Christmas present and I am delighted to finally get it after receiving the Naked 3 Palette a few years ago. It's safe to say I love this palette. I have a thing for browns and golds on my eyes and this palette has all of that and more. Its mixture of glitter and matte shades gives me life and they are so easy to apply and blend!I love them to add a little pop to my everyday makeup or to have a heavier eye look for a night out! This retails a around £38.50, so pretty pricey but not too bad when you think about how many shades you actually get. I can't wait to get the original Naked palette now!

These are all my current beauty favourites. I hope you enjoyed reading them! Please comment below if you share my love for any of these products, or if you have any cheaper alternatives!

With Love,

Chloe

x

Seventeen Goals for Twenty Seventeen

So we are firmly rooted in the first moth of 2017 now, I can't believe 2016 is finally over. I had a good 2016, despite the seemingly endless amount of celebrity deaths and political mistakes-Sam and I went on 3 amazing holidays together and celebrated our 1 year anniversary, I passed my A Level exams and got into university, I started university and I celebrated my 19th birthday right at the very end of it all (NYE). Despite having a pretty good year last year, I want to set myself a list of 17 goals for 2017 in order to make this year as good as, and maybe even better than, last year. So here we go:

one) Get a job- Sam and I are discussing more holiday possibilities for summer 2017 and in order to afford these I need to get a part time job to do alongside my studies and blogging.

two) Pass my first year of university with a good grade- I'm hoping for at least a 2:1 but let's see.

three) Lose weight and get fit- This is on my list of goals every year but this year, with the help of my university flat mate Ellie and her forceful ways of making me run once a week, I am determined to lose weight and get toned.

four) Drink more water- I don't drink enough, especially enough water. Again Ellie will probably help me with this one.

five) Finally drive on the motorway- I passed my driving test in September 2015 and am still yet to drive on the motorway.

six) Get better at this whole blogging thing- I was rubbish at posting regularly despite it being a real passion of mine, and expand my blog to beauty and fashion as well as 'lifestyle' and ramblings.

seven) Stop procrastinating (as much)- I think everyone could do with this.

eight) Read more for fun- if I ever get the time alongside all my reading for university, I don't read enough for fun anymore.

nine) Write more- Blog posts, stories, diary entries, letters.. whatever it is, I am determined to get out my creative flow.

ten) Save money- When I live in a house next year rather than in university accommodation i will have bills bills bills, and I can't rely on my parents forever.

eleven) Appreciate what I have more- I am very lucky to have the people and things around me that I have and I shouldn't take that for granted.

twelve) Smile more- Sam always tells me that I don't smile enough. Also I don't want to get wrinkles.

thirteen) Celebrate my 2 year anniversary with Sam- This one will be easy, but it's still a goal of mine.

fourteen) Spend more quality time with my sister- She's growing up now, she'll be 11 this year and hopefully she will start liking me more.

fifteen) Sleep more- Or at least try to.

sixteen) Drink less fizzy drinks, especially coke- I drink far too much coke which is bad for my teeth and my health.

seventeen) Be happy- Take every day as it comes and just roll with it.


That's it then, my 17 goals for 2017. Hopefully I will return to this post at the end of the year and see how well I've done with all of these. Good luck me, and good luck to all of you who have made New Years Resolutions or goals for this year, I'm sure we will kick ass!

With Love

Chloe x

The first term of University: A whirlwind of flu, essays, cooking far too much and panicking about losing my room key

And so it begins...again.

Wow, I've come to the conclusion that I just shouldn't blog anymore because I am so shit at posting, however it is now the New Year, welcome 2017, so I shall try and start posting again. My New Year's resolution was to post weekly, but lets see how that goes. 

Last September I started university, which is a new, cool, exciting piece of information to share, so here goes. I've been at Uni for a whole term now, wow,and I go back in just under a week. I won't tell you EVERY detail of my first term as we'd be here for years, but I will (try to) share the most interesting parts of my uni experience so far, to (hopefully) make you giggle at how relatable/strange my new life is.

First thing's first, the boring stuff: what I actually study. I attend Bath Spa University and read English Literature and History. In each subject I do 1 core module and 1 optional module. I could go on to explain the different modules what I study in them but I don't want to bore you to death so I'll give that a miss (unless you are looking to study English literature or History or Combined English Literature and History at Bath Spa, in such a case leave a comment and I will discuss them with you in more detail), but, I doubt it.

Now onto the more relatable and hopefully more interesting part of my university life: my flat mates. I live on campus in a house of 10, all of which I am lucky enough to get on well with, however over the past term I have become especially close to 3 of them, Ellie, Dan and Lewis (soz to the rest of you if you're reading this, I still love you x). We have had some cracking times as a flat, and some stressful ones, from the time Ellie got so drunk that we missed the last bus and then she refused to get in a taxi and spent an hour (from 03:00-04:00) sitting on the floor in Bath city center, to our flat Christmas Day, when we cooked an entire Christmas dinner without adult supervision (I guess we are the adult supervision now!) and got suitably drunk whilst doing so, to finally getting a house of 6 to live in next year! 

Fresher's week. If there is any university advice that I can give you, it is that fresher's flu is real and to definitely take 10982092 packets of cold and flu remedies because you will need them. All of them. Other than the ever-continuing flu, my fresher's week was relatively tame. I am lucky enough (or unlucky enough, depending on how you look at it) to not be living in a house full of drunks and druggies, and to be living with people who, in my opinion, drink an acceptable amount of alcohol on a semi-regular basis. I think in fresher's week we went to 1 flat party on the first night, on which I spilt my whole double vodka and coke in some random guy's bedroom, who doesn't live in our flat (sorry James), however he did turn out to be a bit of a creep (not so sorry James), and had to change my jeans for fear of embarrassment. Other than that, we went out twice I think, once to a zoo themed night and once just out, neither of which I can remember much of, both due to my poor memory, and due to the possibly too high alcohol consumption. My flat have continued to be tame in the going out department, hardly leaving the campus, although I'm sure that will change next term. 

Now onto the hard bit. Leaving home was harder than I thought. A lot harder. Moving in day seems forever ago now, but I will never forget how much my mum cried, how my sister didn't want to leave, and how my I saw my boyfriend, Sam, cry for the very first time. Leaving my family was difficult. Leaving Sam was worse, despite only moving an hour away from home. Sam and I settled on a fortnightly agreement, either he would come up or I would go home every 2 weeks for the weekend, but that didn't really work out. I think in the entire first term, Sam and I went 1 fortnight without seeing each other, the rest of the term I saw him every weekend, oops.  

I have made some amazing friends at university and some wonderful memories that I will never forget. I have had a few emotional breakdowns over essay stress, having to cook and clean and wash up for myself (I still can't make suitable portion sizes) and living away from Sam, and despite the worry of leaving home again next week, I am really excited to return, and besides, me and Ellie have decided to start running every week in order to get fit and stay fit this year, so I have to go back, or I'll get fat. What a whirlwind of a first term, but watch out 2nd term, I'm coming for you.

With love,
Chloe x