Strike a Pose

Love them or loath them as of 2013 the word 'selfie' has officially been added to the Oxford Dictionary. An increasing phase which grew popular alongside the widespread use of Instagram, it has also sparked numerous new facial poses such as: The Duck Face. In a world where we constantly update our facebook friends, instagram and twitter followers - and even blog readers, seeing pictures of my friend's faces on the internet has become incredibly normal.

Politicians absolutely love a fad - and it was quickly picked up by their publicity officers. Before we knew it Obama was taking selfies at Nelson Mandela's funeral, and Nick Clegg took one with some teenagers to prove how 'hip' he is.

I am a big fan of the selfie, and really there are very few occasions that I would deem inappropriate to take one - but a funeral, let alone the funeral of Nelson Mandela - really wasn't a wise choice of location to prove how 'in' with popular culture you are. Again, with Nick Clegg... The act of taking a selfie, in front of a photographer, really does defeat the object. 

As the most re-tweeted picture of all time proves, it is incredibly hard to fit a lot of people into one photo when you're taking it at such an angle. If Bradley Cooper struggles to get everyone in shot, I can't imagine Nick Clegg doing that much better. It's a shame, those kids would have probably liked a 'serious' photo with him, and yet in years to come they'll be showing their grandchildren the selfie shot - and pointing out half their forehead from where they squeezed into the photo. 

And the latest selfie craze, which I believe has rather unfairly received a bizarre amount of criticism. The #daretobare campaign for Cancer Awareness. Aimed at women, the idea is that they upload a make-up free photo to a social media sight, donate £3 to charity and then nominate some friends to do the same. In under 24 hours over 1 million pounds were raised - and it certainly raised awareness. With all media fads and facebook crazes, there is always someone who believes there is a flaw. Women who have taken part in the #daretobare campaign have been accused of being 'vain' and 'like-whores'. And the most shocking thing of all? These comments are predominantly coming from other women. Even if someone did have vanity in mind whilst uploading a make-up free photo, they have also donated £3 to charity whilst doing so. What really irritates me is that people didn't really start moaning about the nek-nominate craze until it was a week or so into it, and then people only really began to get fed up with it when people started dying. That says a lot about our society. People are quicker to point flaws in a cancer awareness campaign than they are about a futile craze of downing a pint of conspicuous liquid. 

Text 'BEAT' to 70007 and hopefully we can look towards a future where cancer isn't such a threat. 

The Final Count Down

One of the most glorious things about my course is: no exams in the first year! I don't even have lectures in the final term. So with those things in mind it is probably safe to say I technically finish my first year of university on March 27th - scary stuff! With the lack of forthcoming work in mind, and inspired by my flatmate's sister this blog has been born. As a desperate attempt to put together a writing portfolio and get some free stuff; holidays, handbags, food.. Fingers crossed!

With four weeks until my first year of university is over it's time for some serious nostalgia. There are nights I don't remember and nights I wish I couldn't remember. Days of bellyaching laughter, and fortunately way more happy tears than sad tears. 

Thrown into an all-female flat I was worried that by week 3 we'd be throwing tampons at each other and having wild bitching frenzies – something which is yet to happen. Instead there is always a communal tub of 'Ben and Jerrys' and we've got more nail varnish in our living area than you can shake a stick at. We've been tried and tested with the great fire of 2013, but survived it with good humour intact. Flatmates are a bit like family: love them or loath them, you're stuck with them. And I am so glad to be stuck with mine; a backbone to lean on. In our little messy kitchen it is totally acceptable to cry into dominos and/or talk about whether or not your vaj is normal. 

I've learnt a lot this year: you're meant to leave the oven door open whilst you grill something, if you don't wash up you will grow mould and conjunctivitis cannot be cured with teabags. I'm a little 'too nice', downing a bottle of wine isn't a good idea, my body shape can only be described as 'false widow' like, and taking your tights off in the middle of Arena because you're too hot will cause weird looks. Unfortunately, no amount of jaeger bombs will make you dance like Beyoncé – but you can try! You are also unlikely to find the love of your life in TPs at 2am, but again – you can try! If you have a one night stand, you will see that person absolutely everywhere. It is scientifically proven that the chances of this double when you haven't showered that morning.

All of these life lessons along with the knowledge on how to make a banging chilli will serve me wisely for the rest of my adult life. However, I don't look forward to testing out these new found life skills. Life beyond the photos of flinging a mortar board into the air for a facebook looks very, very scary. For now I am very happy to live in my little Exeter bubble. ​

Flatmates do Miley 

SO happy to receive free stuff - hint hint!