Book Review- Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- Eliza and Her Monsters
Author- Francesca Zappia
Series- N/A
Published- 2017
Page Count- 432
Publishing House- Greenwillow Books
Genre- YA Contemporary
Rating- 4/5 stars

About the Author

Francesca Zappia is the award-winning author of Made You Up, Eliza and Her Monsters, and the serialized novel The Children of Hypnos. She is represented by Louise Fury of the Bent Agency. She graduated from the University of Indianapolis with a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics, and currently lives in Indiana. She spends her free time drawing, playing video games, and baking.

She looks mean, but she's actually a ball of floof on the inside.

You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @ChessieZappia, on Goodreads, and on Pinterest. She also sells her artwork at her Society6 shop.

Taken from Francesca's website

Plot

“A love letter to fandom, friendship, and the stories that shape us, Eliza and Her Monsters is absolutely magical.”—Marieke Nijkamp, New York Times–bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends

Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she’s worked for begins to crumble.

Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl meets Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona in this acclaimed novel about art, fandom, and finding the courage to be yourself. “A must-have.”—School Library Journal

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, Eliza is LadyConstellation, anonymous creator of a popular webcomic called Monstrous Sea. With millions of followers and fans throughout the world, Eliza’s persona is popular. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves her digital community.

Then Wallace Warland transfers to her school and Eliza begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile. But when Eliza’s secret is accidentally shared with the world, everything she’s built—her story, her relationship with Wallace, and even her sanity—begins to fall apart.

With pages from Eliza’s webcomic, as well as screenshots from Eliza’s online forums, this uniquely formatted book will appeal to fans of Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona and Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. The paperback edition includes bonus material and never-before-seen art from the author.

Taken from Goodreads

Opinions

I had been meaning to pick up Eliza and Her Monsters for some time after hearing everyone raving about it. I finally picked up as I had heard nothing but good things about it. I found it to be an engaging read that was also really quick. I think I read it in a couple of days. On the whole, I enjoyed it, but I had a few issues with it. I would recommend it to others and am interested in reading her other book, Made You Up. 

To me, it felt that it handled some of the more darker themes really well. Eliza throughout the course of the book is diagnosed with anxiety and is clearly struggling with it throughout. Wallace is a mute boy who also has some traumatic experiences in his past and clearly struggles due to them. I felt that the way Zappia handled Eliza's anxiety was an accurate portrayal and Wallace's dad's suicide was also handled with care. The book had a very dark tone, but it was still really enjoyable. With the themes of fandoms and friendship weaved throughout, it felt like a very relatable book. In places, it wasn't realistic, such as Eliza having enough money to go to college and her parents not knowing. I think the way that Zappia handled these themes was one of the most enjoyable elements of the book.

   

This might just be me, but at times Eliza was and wasn't a likeable character. I could relate to her in certain ways, but in others, I found her irritating. I understand that she had mental health problems, but she could be cruel towards her brothers and how little she knew about their lives. I also felt that she was cruel to her parents a lot of time and treated them like they were idiots. She kept them out of the loop and it blew up in her face, which wasn't surprising. I have mixed feelings about what I feel about Eliza. I think it might just be me as I haven't seen anyone else say anything on the reviews I've read.   

From the get-go, I knew that Eliza's secret would be revealed and that it would blow up in her face. It was very predictable in that way. I think the way Zappia revealed Eliza's secret was clever, but that didn't mean that it was any less shocking. I knew it was going to happen and when it did, I was like "oh, okay, what's next?". I feel like it could have been a huge moment but it fell a bit flat for me. It was also predictable that her secret was going to ruin her relationship with Wallace, but that they would inevitably make it up. As soon as you learnt he was a part of the fandom, it lost its shock value. This didn't make the novel any less enjoyable, I just feel it could have been done slightly better for the effect she was going for. 

Over the years, I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of the fixed by love mental health trope and sadly this book had this trope. It would have been so much more powerful if Eliza and Wallace's relationship was platonic and it was two friends just spending time with each other. I think it's cliched that two people would fall in love and magically no longer have any mental health problems. This was the one big issue I had with the book and if it hadn't had this trope, I would have (maybe) given it five stars, not four. 

Life As A Non-Drinker At University| CarenzaOnBooks

We all know about the heavily ingrained drinking culture at university. Whether you're based in the UK or not, drinking is a key feature of your time at university. However, it is possible to go to university and not drink. I do want to start this post by saying that I am not trying to demonize the drinking culture and that I have nothing against alcohol. I also want to say that I am not trying to tell you that you cannot drink ever. If you want to drink alcohol, then that's great, but please respect other people's decisions when they say that they don't want to. 

I used to, very rarely, drink alcohol. However, once I started university I quickly realised that I really didn't like it. The reason I decided to stop drinking was that I didn't like the taste. I have no moral objection to drinking, it's purely a personal one that I don't like the way it tastes. In my first year of university, I got drunk maybe three times. Each time I didn't feel great emotionally the day after, hangover wise I was fine. It was through these experiences that I realised drinking wasn't for me. I made the decision to stop drinking entirely over the summer. I felt that there was no point trying to force myself to drink when it wasn't something I was enjoying. 

I thought that in this post I would share some tips on how you can also get through university as a non-drinker. I've come up with three tips which have helped me in my life and they might help you.

Establish Clearly Why You Don't Drink

For whatever reason, you have decided not to drink, make it clear to those around you why. It could be for religious reasons, personal experience or like me, you don't like the taste. Just make it clear and most people will respect your decision. Some people will have a hard time understanding why you don't want to drink, but if you just talk to them, they will come around. My housemates are very understanding and quickly accepted that I didn't drink. It can be difficult once people around you are drunk and they forget why you don't drink, just remind them in a friendly way and they'll be alright. The key to this step is to not come across as superior or judgemental. Explain in a calm and friendly way and most people will be accepting of why you aren't drinking.

 

Be Firm When People Get Pushy

It can be very hard when people are drunk and are trying to get you to join in. Peer pressure is real, but you don't have to give into it. Like I mentioned in the previous paragraph, just stand your ground and explain to them in a non-passive aggressive way. Sometimes I find it easier to remove myself from the situation entirely to avoid feeling like I have to do something that I don't want to do. In the morning you can explain that you felt uncomfortable and that's why you left. Being honest with people will make the situation easier for all involved.

You Can Still Join In Even If You Don't Drink  

My housemates and I are partial to the evening in. They like to get drunk and I like to hang out with them. The day I'm writing this post, the previous night two of my housemates went out for the evening and I kept them company while they were doing pre-drinks. It was one of the best nights of my life because I was having fun with my friends. I can still play drinking games with non-alcoholic drinks. I can still hang out with my friends if I'm not drinking. I'm very lucky in that my friends don't mind that I don't drink and even though I won't drink, they go out of their way to make sure I feel included. A lot of my best memories are of my friends and I hanging out while they're drinking. Yes, sometimes it is a bit tiring making sure they're okay, but on the whole, I wouldn't change a thing about it.

So those are some of my tips on how I manage my life at university as a non-drinker. I'm sure that if I can do it, then you guys can do it too.

Carenza x :) 

How to Have a Inspirational Workspace| CarenzaOnBooks

Just like any student, actually doing my university work is something I tend to dread. It means hours spent huddled over a desk as you slowly lose the will to live. Something I decided to work on this year was to make sure that my workspace was somewhere I wanted to spend time at. I thought it would be helpful to new and old students alike if I shared my tips on how to have a motivational workspace.  

Use Things That Inspire You

Something I struggle with in particular is motivation so as a way to combat that, I chose to put some inspirational items on my desk. I have an art print of my favourite play propped against my desk and I find that by looking at it, I actually want to do more work. I also have two Pop Funkos from one of my favourite films on my desk. Obviously, this varies from person to person and what subject you are studying, but as a writer, I find it helps to have something by a writer that inspires you near your workspace. I also have a bookcase next to my desk filled with trinkets and books. I like being able to look at this when I need a break from looking at my laptop. A lot of my trinkets come from bookish and writer-related things, which means I am surrounded by even more inspiration.  

Add a Bit of Colour

If you are anything like me, then having a plain room will just depress you. The same goes for my workspace. It's somewhere I am going to be spending a lot of time, so I want to feel motivated to spend time there. I tried to make sure the items I put on my desk were colourful to brighten up the place. I also did this as the furniture around the desk are all dark wood colours and it can feel a bit dark and depressing. I added some plants in colourful pots, as well as brightly colour ben pots. I even have a little ceramic dish where I store my important everyday things (keys, wallet etc) and that looks colourful too. You don't have to go overboard, but a splash of colour can go a long way. 

Functional but Pretty

It's all very well having an Instagram worthy desk, but if it's too pretty then you can't use it. A way to make something motivational but functional is to have funky pen pots. I have a dinosaur mug that I bought from Asda as I loved it so much I knew I needed it in my life. I also have this small blue one that looks like book spines that I bought in Bruges. I knew I needed somewhere to store my receipts and my loose change, so a few years ago I bought these tins. Not only are they functional, but they're nice to look at. You can also add some costers to a workspace which are nice to look at but protect your desk from mug stains. It is possible to have a balance between an Instagram worthy desk and for it to be useable. 

Keep it Tidy

I have come to the realisation over the years that I cannot function in a messy or untidy environment. My desk is the same. For me, having a tidy desk motivates me to work. What I've started doing is to tidy my desk after each task. So if I know I don't need the book I've been reading, I'll put it back on my bookshelf. It's a fairly obvious tip, but if you can't actually work at your desk. I know from experience that working in my bed, while comfortable, means I end up doing less work and often leads to naps. Just take a few minutes every day to make sure your workspace is tidy and then you'll be motivated to work. 

I hope these tips help you to stay motivated during this academic year!

Carenza x :)  

How To Manage Student Finance| CarenzaOnBooks

We all know about the joys of university, but until you actually experience it, the financial side can be a bit daunting. I've been a student for a year now and I feel that I've got a handle on the financial side of things. In this post, I will be sharing five tips to make managing student finance a worry of the past.

1) Stick to a Budget

This is a fairly obvious tip, but it's surprising how many people forget it. When I started university last year, I picked an amount to spend every week. My weekly budget was £60 and that was to cover my food shopping and any other expenditures I'd have during the week. Typically I'd spend around £20 a week on food. With the remaining money, it meant I could go for the occasional meal with friends, go into the city centre and still by the books I wanted to read. If you set yourself a budget, that doesn't mean that you would have to spend that much money every week. Often, I would spend less than half of my budget a week. Having a budget means you are very aware of how much money you are spending and can keep a track if you are close to going over your budget. 

 

2) Plan Ahead

Planning is another key tip to keeping on top of your finances. For example, if you know someone's birthday is coming up, maybe keep a bit of money back to get them something. Another example is that I know I'm going to be in London in December to go to the theatre. So my plan is to keep part of my budget back to treat myself in London. As I know I'm going to be in London, I need to book train tickets, so one week I will spend some of my weekly budget on train tickets. If you have something planned, then make sure you can work around it and then you won't feel guilty about spending money.

3) Be Savvy Where You Can

Something that is worth learning is how to be money savvy. Where I live the nearest supermarkets are Sainsbury's and Asda. Asda is slightly cheaper, but a further walk for me. However, as I know I'll be saving a significant portion of money. It's all about knowing where you can save a little bit of money. Another good way to save money is to do some bulk cooking. I often cook something that I know will last two meals. Also, keep an eye on what's on offer at your local supermarket. If you can buy two bags of pasta for £1, do it because, in the long run, it will save you some money. Try looking at where you can find what you're looking for at a slightly cheaper price. 

4) Going Over Your Budget Isn't The End of The World

While sticking to a budget is a top tip, having the ability to be flexible is also another useful skill. Obviously, if you go a significant amount over budget, then maybe assess your spending patterns. But if you only go £5-£10 over your budget, then it isn't the end of the world. There would be some weeks where I would end up going over budget and what I would do was make sure I would spend less the next week. I would feel really bad if I ended up going over budget but I soon broke that idea down. I would tell myself it wasn't as bad as it looked, and that I would have to spend a bit less money next week. 

   

5) You Can Still Have Fun

It is possible to have fun and be financially smart. For example, I still want to buy the books I want to read. What I did was I made a list of all the books I wanted to read and as the year went on, I reassessed it and took some of the books I was less excited about off it. I also made sure that my weekly budget could accommodate if I was getting a book that week. I'm not saying that you should treat yourself every week, but if you build in a little bit of treat money then you will feel way less guilty about buying something nice for yourself.

I hope these tips are useful and help you manage your student finances. I found that by implementing these tips into my life I was spending way less money and felt less guilty when I treated myself.

Carenza x :)   

Making Student Accommodation Feel Like A Home| CarenzaOnBooks

One of the most valuable tips I can give someone starting university is to make your room feel like home. Before I started university, a lot of posts I read mentioned that you were more likely to drop out of university if you didn't feel at home. In this post, I will be giving you advice on how to make your university room feel like a home.

 Pictures

You can see both my picture wall and my art wall and how they've added some colour to the room

Pictures are one of the easiest ways to make a room feel homely. I already had some in frames that I took with me and then using an app called FreePrints, I printed a bunch more to stick to my pinboard. I'm actually planning on getting a few more photos printed for things that have happened in the past year. I found that having photos of people I cared about and things that had happened to me made me feel as though I was at home. It was good to have memories scattered around my room as when I was having a bad day, I could look around and be reminded of good memories. Most people I know had photos stuck to their walls as it added a nice detail.

Bring Stuff From Home

My little bookshelf is filled with books and trinkets, it makes the room feel like mine

Another really valuable tip is to bring trinkets from home. I brought some Pop Funkos with me as they made my room feel a bit more like it was mine. I also brought an art print with me to motivate me. Bringing trinkets from home not only saves you money on buying new trinkets it marks the space as yours. Everyone has unique trinkets and they can sometimes start conversations. Obviously, don't bring every single trinket you own, choose some of your favourites and remember you can always swap things around when you go home. I know for a fact that I am going to be bringing some different trinkets from last year as I don't have the same space and I want to bring some of the things I got this summer. 

Make Your Bed Cosy

For me this really brings a room alive. You can either buy new bedding or bring bedding from home. I had to buy bedding this year as I didn't have any double bedding. You can go ham on it and have lots of cushions and blankets. I am a sucker for cushions and blankets. I'm bringing the same ones as last year, plus one I bought on holiday. If your bed is cosy and inviting then you are more likely to feel at home in your room, plus let's be real, we all spend way to much time in bed anyway. 

Make The Most Of What You've Got

The desk was looking a bit plain so I added lots of colour to it

At the end of the day, university accommodation is designed to be cute. It's designed to be practical, so we have to work with what we've got. If your room feels really dark, add light coloured objects. I bought two sets of light coloured bedding and I noticed that my room feels way bigger than it actually is. Also, natural lighting can do wonders so keep your curtains open as much as you can. 

The longer you live in your accommodation, the more it comes to feel like home. You just have to add a couple of touches to make it feel like home at first. A big tip would be to add plants. Plants always make a room feel great. If you take anything from this blog post it's that plants and pictures are going to be your best friends when trying to get your room to feel like a home.

Book Review- Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (Contains Spoilers)| CarenzaOnBooks

Title- Radio Silence
Author- Alice Oseman
Series- N/A
Published- 2016
Page Count- 416
Publishing House- Harper Collins
Genre- YA Contemporary
Rating- 5/5 stars

About the Author

Alice Oseman was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She completed a degree in English at Durham University in 2016 and is currently a full-time writer and illustrator. Alice can usually be found staring aimlessly at computer screens, questioning the meaninglessness of existence, or doing anything and everything to avoid getting an office job.

Alice's first book, SOLITAIRE, was published when she was nineteen. Her second, RADIO SILENCE, was released in early 2016, and her third, I WAS BORN FOR THIS, in 2018.

(Taken from Alice's Website)

Plot

What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong? Frances is been a study machine with one goal. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time she's unafraid to be herself. So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. Now Frances knows that she has to confront her past. To confess why Carys disappeared... Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has. Engaging with themes of identity, diversity and the freedom to choose, Radio Silence is a tor de force by the most exciting writer of her generation.

(Taken from Goodreads)

Opinions

I want to preface this blog by saying that this year, I have only read 7 5 star books. To put this into context, I have read 65 books at the time of writing this. I used to hand out 5 stars all the time, but now I have become very reluctant to give them out. To me, a 5-star book should be truly phenomenal and blow your mind. It should be one of your favourite books of the year. I would happily say that at the time of writing this and publishing it, that Radio Silence meets these criteria. 

I had wanted to read Alice Oseman's novels for a while, especially after picking up the first two volumes in the Heartstopper series (both of which I gave 5 stars and am waiting for the final two volumes to be published next year). My wonderful best friend got me all of her current novels published for my birthday at the end of August and I have since read them all. Radio Silence quickly established itself as my favourite. 

I have a feeling this is something I have mentioned on here before, but in case you are new to my blog or have just stumbled across it, I really don't like the first-person perspective. Despite the fact that every sentence begins with "I", "my" or "me", I find it hard to connect with the character telling the story. I find it oddly off-putting for some reason. This is one of the few first-person perspectives I have actually liked. I found that, in a way, I was able to connect to the main character in the story. I found her relatable and if I had picked this up a year ago, I would have found it spookily relatable.

Frances is a study machine, academia is her life and she doesn't really have much time for anything else. Except for Universe City, a YouTube podcast that she is obsessed with. At school, she is a goody-two-shoes, head girl and has a reputation for being a study machine. But at home, she is different and is more comfortable with being herself. There were definitely elements of her story that I related to. When I was in secondary school, I was known for being very hardworking and was always expected to get the top grades. I'll cut to the chase and let you know that I very rarely got the top grades, and when people found this out, people would say to my face "but I thought you were smart". On an almost spiritual level, I related to Frances because it's hard when people only see you as a study machine or smart kid. I loved the journey that Frances went on from wanting to go to Cambridge to realising there is more to life than education. It's a similar journey to myself (though I never even thought of applying to Oxbridge because there was no way I was getting into those schools). I've reached a point in my life where I am happy with what I'm doing and grades don't mean everything to me, though it has taken me a very long time to get to this point in my life. 

The supporting cast was great too. Aled was a wonderful addition to this book and it was refreshing to see a boy-girl friendship that didn't evolve into a relationship. I wish there were more books like this. It also had a fantastic amount of LGBTQ+ representation (as do all of Alice Oseman's books). Frances was bisexual, Aled was a demisexual asexual, Daniel was gay and I believe Raine and Carys end up in a relationship. It also tackled some very heavy themes such as academic stress and mental health, as well as abusive parents. Aled and Carey's mother was abusive towards them, to the point of pushing them away forever. The abuse included forcing them to dress and look a certain way, burning their possessions, taking important things away from them, forcing Aled to close down his podcast, killing the family dog (via putting it down) and pressuring them academically. It made me uncomfortable that it was only the "kids" in this book that challenged the mother and that none of the adults did anything about it. To knowingly let someone be abused is unacceptable and I have spotted that in Alice's books parents are great at being parents (which not every parent is, but they are all suspiciously absent-minded).  

The reveal that Aled was the creator of Frances favourite podcast was almost a shock except from the fact as soon as she heard his voice it should have been obvious. Frances listens to this podcast religiously, yet it took her a while to work out it was Aled. It was still a cute moment and moved the story forward nicely. Although I gave this book five stars, I will say that the big reveal about Carys was a bit disappointing. When you read the blurb, you expect this epic mystery about why she disappeared off the face of the earth. I genuinely expected her to be found dead or it to be very dramatic. It was revealed that she left of her own volition due to her mothers' abuse, which is a valid reason to leave, but it felt as though it was building to something a bit bigger. She was also very easily convinced to return to her home life. I personally would have liked a bit more from this reveal.

Radio Silence was a moving story about friendship, negotiating teenage life and deciding what to do with your life. Alice Oseman is exceptionally good at making her teenage characters feel realistic and capturing what it's like to be a teenager in this day and age. I look forward to reading her next book, LOVELESS (coming out in 2020) 

My Social Media Detox|CarenzaOnBooks

This seems ironic and hypocritical of me to promote a social media detox on my blog, but I'm going to do it anyway. In August I went a social media detox. I made a conscious effort to spend less time on social media, and while I have backtracked a bit, once I am back at university, I am going to start being strict again. 

When I went on holiday to Bruges, the first thing I did before going was to turn off all my notifications to social media. Instagram. Twitter. YouTube. FaceBook. Emails. The only thing I left was Snapchat as it's the only way I talk to my best friend. I was away for six days and it was so unbelievably freeing to not be checking social media every five minutes. I can't remember the last time I did that. I didn't click on any form of social media for almost a week. I kid you not, I felt like a completely different person. I wasn't concerned about missing out or needing to know what everyone was doing.

When I got back to the UK, I implemented this "strict" routine when I was allowed to check social media. I was allowed to check it once in the morning and once in the evening. That was it. I should mention I was only allowed to do this on my phone and I didn't really follow these rules on my laptop. I stuck to this schedule for the remainder of August. I continued to feel light and unencumbered by everyone around me.

Social media has become such an ingrained part of my life. I can still remember a time when I didn't use social media. To put it into context, I was around 6 years old when most social media sites were invented. I remember when social media exploded in 2012. I remember my life before social media. It's cheesy to say, but I used to love meeting up with my friends at the park or beach and just talking to each other. I used to love spending all day with them and there was nothing to distract us. We would just go for walks and enjoy each others company. Now when I spend time with my friends, we all inevitably end up on our phones. 

I think there is something to be said for finding a balance between not using social media at all and using it all the time. My plan at the moment for when I go back to university is to only go on social media three times a day. Once in the morning, afternoon and evening. I probably will cut down on the amount of YouTube I watch. Something I did before going on my social media detox was to go through all my accounts and clear out who I was following. I tailored it down to the people I was really interested in and who's content I interacted with most. I did this predominantly on YouTube and streamlined who I was subscribed to. It was refreshing to be able to go online and see the content I cared about, rather than people's whose videos I watched every now and then.  

It's hard for someone like me to want to spend less time online when I run something like a blog. I actually (technically) run two blogs and I used to run my YouTube channel. I realised all this time on social media, along with various other life-related things, was making me miserable but since making this decision to spend less time online, I have noticed I'm a lot happier. I think having some structure to your social media usage allows you to put your life in perspective. I already read a lot of books, but I've been reading way more since I made these decisions. 

If like me, you are looking to cut down the amount of time you spend on your phone or online, then I'd highly recommend a screen time tracker. I know the iPhone comes with one. I started keeping an eye on how much time I was spending online and I was horrified. On average, I was on my phone for around 16 hours a week. This boils down to about 2-3 hours a day. I am making an effort to use my phone less, but I've been slipping recently. Something I am going to do when I am working, especially at home, is to use an app I used to use a lot called Forest. It allows you to plant a virtual tree and to keep that tree alive you have to stay on the app. You can use it to track tasks from 10 minutes to 2 hours in length. I used to use it when I was studying, but I am going to start using it more. I'm also going to start putting my phone on night mode in class and to put my phone in my bag so I'm not distracted by it. 

I was alarmed by how much my life had been consumed by social media. However, at the same time, I don't want to become one of those preachy people that scream at others "don't use phones, they're the devil's work, social media is the route of all evil". I can see that social media is both a good and bad thing. I just know that for someone like me, who likes to feel productive yet gets very easily distracted, that limiting my time online will be a good thing. I can achieve more things and then when I actually check social media, it feels like a bit of a reward or a break from my everyday life.   

Dealing with Homesickness at University| CarenzaOnBooks

It's kind of ironic of me to be posting this today as the day this goes live I'm actually moving into my second-year accommodation and am about to start my second year of university. So let's cut the chase and get to the point. Homesickness at university is real. Obviously, it is unique for everyone, but at some point, you will deal with it. I will be talking about my experiences with homesickness in first year and I might make an updated post for this time next year. 

How Homesick Did I Get?

Let's start by making this vaguely relatable and by talking about myself. I come from a very small family (I count my family as me, my parents and my grandma, also my cat too). For the past two years at that point, I had been living with just my dad as we tried to move house. I am very fortunate in that I am very close with my family. We would talk to my mum every night and we would spend every weekend together. I also spoke to my grandma once a week, so I was always in constant contact with my family.

I should start this by saying that I was very excited to go to university and to move out of home. This wasn't because I didn't want to live with my family anymore, but because I had always wanted to go to university and I was now finally going. I was at a stage where I was ready to move out and become very independent. 

Right up until the night before I went to university, this excitement was with me the whole time. Then it was the night before I had to leave and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn't sleep that night. I was so excited to go, but I was also scared to leave my family behind. I spent the entire car journey there being nervous and feeling sick. We unpacked all my stuff, my parents drove me to the shops to buy some food and then it was time for them to go. As I hadn't lived with my mum for two years, we felt as though we had already said our goodbyes. With my dad, it was a lot more painful as it meant we would both be living by ourselves. I didn't cry, but it was very emotional.

The first week was a mix of emotions. I was in this new city with new people and I didn't have any of my home comforts. I wasn't so homesick that I wanted to leave and go home, but I felt very lonely that first week. As I had left a few things at home, my dad came to see me and brought me the last few things I needed. I had been at university for two weeks and it was so nice seeing him. But when it came to him having to leave, I actually wanted to cry a bit because it was real to me that we didn't live together. 

On the whole, I was fine with the whole homesickness thing. I spoke to my family regularly and we worked out what weekends we could see each other. I went home a total of three times in the whole academic year and they came to me four times. It actually worked out really well. I think being in regular contact with them meant it felt like I could still talk to them, which is a stupid way to think, but I needed that reassurance and to be able to hear about things from home.      

How to Deal with Homesickness?

I've kind of covered it a bit in the earlier section of this post, but there are a few things you can do to make it a bit more bearable:

• Have regular phone calls/ times you talk with your family
• Arrange times to see them
• Bring photos and things from home

I found that having regular calls with my family meant it was a bit easier to deal with. I would phone my parents on Saturday's and then I'd phone my grandma on Sunday's. I actually wrote letters back and forth with my grandma as we're old fashioned. Most weeks I'd speak to at least one of my parents during the week about something random. I would text them every now and then, but they also respected that I needed some time by myself which was great. At Christmas time, we skyped each other every day so we could open our advent calendars together which was a really nice way to see them. Most times our skype conversations would last anywhere from 15 minutes to well over an hour.

We also arranged when we were going to see each other in person. When I wanted to come home, we would plan something so I had a reason to come home. So I went to see them for birthday's and special occasions. They would also come to see me so we could have a day in the city or do something in my neck of the woods. 

This is a commonly recommended tip, but bringing stuff from home can make it feel like you are at home. I brought some framed photos from home and I also got a bunch printed from the summer. Having these meant I could wake up and see the faces of my loved ones, which I know is cheesy but it was nice to see their faces. 

I hope this post helps someone and just remember that feeling homesick is a perfectly natural thing. You can manage your university experience while all of this is happening and this feeling won't last forever. As you spend more time at university, you will get better at dealing with it. 

Carenza x :)   

Bruges 2019| CarenzaOnBooks

For the first time in years, I went on a proper holiday and left the country. I had been desperate to go away, so my family and I decided to go to Bruges. This was a very last-minute decision, but it ended up being one of the best holidays of my life. 

Day One

The first day was mostly filled with travelling. It took us most of the day to get to Bruges, but this was actually quite fun so I didn't mind. We caught the Eurostar from London to Brussels, then a train from Brussels to Bruges. It was lovely as soon as we arrived. We dumped our bags at our apartment and went into the city. We did some exploring and also picked up some things for tea. It was a quiet day for us, but we were tired from travelling and we wanted to get up early so we could go do more the next day. 

The famous Market Square featuring the Bellfort 

A bookshop I visited but didn't buy anything from

Day Two

Day two was filled with what I would call the tourist bucket list. We did the majority of the tourist tick-list on this day. First port of call was to go up the Bellfort. As tiring as it was going up all those stairs it was worth it for the view alone. We were actually very lucky as while we were up there, the bells started ringing and it was nice just to be able to listen to them while appreciating the view. We then went and did another tourist tick-list and went on a canal boat tour. I had wanted to do one of these before we came and was very happy to tick it off my list. We did some more exploring of the main tourist attractions, including the Minnewater aka the Lake of Love before stopping for a quick snack at a cafe. Belgium is famous for its waffles and when in Belgium, you have to have one. They were amazing. I could have died happy at that moment in time. After our pit stop, we continued walking and walked around the outside of the city. We saw some of the gatehouses and finally ended the first part of our day by going up inside a windmill. We then went back to our apartment, had tea before heading out to this nightclub type place run by Bruges only vampire. It's called the Lucifernum, it's like a museum and a bar all rolled into one. It was another bit of good fun and we walked home at night time, meaning we got to see the city all lit up. 

View from the Bellfort 

View from the Bellfort

Canal Boat Tour

Lake of Love

The best waffle I have ever eaten

One of the windmills in Bruges

View from the windmill

Inside the Lucifernum

Bruges by night

Day Three

We started day three with one of the walks from our book about walks (I'd recommend buying one of these books as you get to go around different parts of the city). We saw some of Bruges theatres amongst other things. This day was filled with visiting lots of Bruges churches. We went to a lot this day. The churches we visited included the Cathedral, the Basilica of the Holy Blood and Our Lady of the Pottery. We also went into one of Bruges bookshops and I got Harry Potter in Dutch/Flemish. I also saw a really cool cat by the Jan van Eyck square. This day was a lot less packed compared to the other day as we were exhausted from the previous day and the weather wasn't great, so we had a chilled day. 

One of Bruges theatres, sadly under reconstruction  

The cool cat I saw by the Jan van Eyck Square

The Basilica of the Holy Blood

A Harry Potter display in Brugse Boekhandel

Our Lady of the Pottery

The Cathedral 

Day Four

As the previous day had been filled with churches, this day was filled with museums. You could get a pass to a list of museums that was valid for three days and as we knew we were going to go to lots, we went and got it. The first museum we went to was called the Groening Museum, this had lots of paintings from Flemish artists. We then went to the Gruuthuse Museum, which had been a medieval mansion before becoming a museum. Finally, we went to Sint Jan's hospital and museum. This had a large collection of medieval doctors items and Memling paintings. We ended our day by visiting the fish market stalls before heading back to our apartment. 

The Groening Museum 

A dog outside the museum 

The Gruuthuse Museum 

The Sint-Jans Hospital and Museum 

The Fish Market

Day Five

This was our last full day in Bruges, so it was a day filled with all the things we hadn't done and wanted to do. First stop was Astrid Park, which was used in the film In Bruges. We had great fun pretending to act out the scene from the park while nobody was around. We then went to somewhere I had wanted to go which was Books and Brunch, a bookshop cafe place. We didn't actually eat anything, but it had a really nice ambience. After that, we bobbed into a couple of churches before heading to the Frites Museum. It was good fun learning about the history of potatoes and chips, we then had to have lunch there. We did another church and museum before heading back to our apartment to pack. We decided to eat out this night as it was our last night in Bruges. We went to a restaurant that our host recommended to us. The food was delicious, we then waddled back to bed. 

A cat I saw on route to Astrid Park

Astrid Park

Books and Brunch

A church we visited

Another church we visited

Lunch at the Frites Museum

Tea

The restaurant we ate tea in

Day Six

Our final day in Bruges. We had accidentally booked to be travelling back on a national holiday in Bruges, so we headed for the train station and spent several hours in said train station before boarding the train home.

The view from our apartment 

  

  

Fleabag the Play Review| CarenzaOnBooks

Photo taken from Google

Title- Fleabag
Writer- Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Theatre- Wyndham's Theatre, London
Running Dates- last show on September 14th, broadcast live through NT Live on September 12th, encores expected 
Running Time- 65 mins with no interval
Cast- Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Genre- dark comedy
Rating- 5/5 stars

Plot

See the hilarious, award-winning, one-woman show that inspired the BBC’s hit TV series Fleabag, broadcast live to cinemas from London’s West End. 

Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) and directed by Vicky Jones, Fleabag is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. 

Fleabag may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered and self-obsessed, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.

Playing to sold-out audiences in New York and London, don’t miss your chance to see this ‘legitimately hilarious show’ (New Yorker), broadcast live to a cinema near you.

Taken from National Theatre Website 

Opinions

I was already a huge fan of the TV show and was extremely lucky that the run of this show overlapped with my birthday, meaning I got tickets to see it the day after my birthday. I was very excited to go and see it. It did not disappoint.

Being in the same room as Phoebe Waller-Bridge, a woman who inspires me so much that I wrote one of my university assessed pieces about her, was a privilege. Getting to see her perform took my breath away. I will start this by saying that the play is very different from the show. As it was originally written for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it has an abnormally short running time for a West End show. It gets going right away and you are immediately thrown into Fleabag's world. She is just as funny and unapologetically herself in the play as she is in the show.

The only downside of having seen the show first was that a lot of the jokes were the same and therefore didn't have quite the same effect on me as they did on people who hadn't seen the show. Also, the fourth wall element is very different in person. It still works wonderfully, you just don't get these cheeky glances from Fleabag that we do in the show. 

Waller-Bridge is a superb writer and keeps your attention for the whole time. The big revelations of the show shock you, to the point where one of them had the whole audience gasp. I've been in very few shows where they manage to achieve that. She keeps you on your toes the whole time, not quite sure which way the story's going to turn. 

I loved the minimalist setting and the use of voices through speakers. I think that a more elaborate set and production would have taken away the Fringe vibe that you get from the show. Waller-Bridge hardly leaves her chair, and if she does it's just for a few seconds at a time. 

I am so glad that I got to see this show and if you have a chance to go see it I would highly recommend. It is a very funny, dark comedy with lots of adult themes performed to perfection.      

Things I Wish I Had Known Before Going to University| CarenzaOnBooks

September is here and that can only mean one thing- universities are about to start. As someone who started university this time last year, there are many things I wish I had known before starting. I've made a little list of ten things I wish I had known before I went to university. 

Laundry Will Be the Bain of Your Existence 

This is something me and my new flatmates bonded over early on in the term. The laundry room will become a place you hate and something you dread doing. If you are lucky enough not to have to use Circuit Laundry to have clean clothes, then this is something you will (hopefully) not have to experience. At my university, we had the displeasure of having to use this dreadful app. It would have been manageable if it had just been using a rubbish app that was making laundry an unbearable task. It was also the terrible washing machines that made laundry something I dreaded. It might just have been me, but whenever I washed my clothes, they never felt clean. As doing a laundry run would cost you the best part of £2 per wash, I would wait until I absolutely had to do some laundry before washing everything. My tip to you would be when your mum or dad offers you the chance to wash some clothes at home, take it up!

   

You Will Find Your People

If you are anything like me, then the main concern about starting university is "will I have friends?". This was one of the only things I dreaded before starting university. The best places to find people with similar interests are on your course and through societies. You might also get lucky and find you have loads in common with the people you are living with. I bonded very quickly with the people I am friends with because we did the same course and had similar interests within the course. I also know that joining societies is a great place to meet people with similar interests.   

Getting Along With the People You Live With Makes A Huge Difference

It's not always going to be the case, but if you can get along with the people you live with, then everything suddenly becomes a lot more bearable. I got incredibly lucky and am even living with four of the people I lived with this academic year. I'm not saying that you have to be best friends with them, but if you can manage a friendly relationship with them, then life will be easier for you all. 

It Is Possible to Be A Non-Drinker at University

Most of us will know about the heavily ingrained drinking culture at university, but it is possible to survive as a non-drinker. This is something I am planning on making a more in-depth post about in the future. Personally, going out and getting drunk isn't my cup of tea, and I have managed to survive a whole academic year like this. Be honest with people about not being interested and most people will understand and respect your decision. 

Having a Home Away From Home

Moving away from home can feel daunting, but if you put a bit of effort into your living space, it can be the difference from surviving university or feeling homesick and dropping out. Again this is something I am planning on making a whole separate post about. A few quick tips would be to print some photos to have some kind of memory wall. Most universities provide students with a pinboard and pretty much everyone I knew filled there's with photos. Another quick tip would be to pick a few favourites knick-knacks from home to make your room feel like a home. I brought a few Pop Funkos with me and it made sure that when I walked into my room, I felt like I was at home. 

   

Not Everyday is Going to Be a Good Day

Like any other stage in life, university isn't going to be all sunshine and rainbows. We all know that university is supposed to be the "best years of our life", but the truth is, that in the moment, it isn't. Bad days are inevitable. It could be linked to something in your personal life, something academic or you are simply having a bad day. It took me the entirety of my first term at uni to realise that not every day was going to be wonderful. Looking back, my first year of university was great, but at certain moments it was downright awful and that is completely fine.   

Independence is Real

Unlike school or college, it is up to you to do everything. Frankly, your lecturers won't care if you haven't done the set work as it isn't them you're letting down, it's yourself. It is up to you to keep on top of your work. That doesn't mean you have to be drowning in academia all the time, but you are paying to be there so it is worthwhile to do the reading. Even if it is a lot and there is nothing more you'd rather do. 

You Can Have a Life at University 

Before going to university, I expected to be drowning in work by the end of my first week. Obviously, this does vary from course to course, but on the whole, there is time to have fun. I'm lucky in that my course has fairly low contact hours, but I spend a good chunk outside of those hours working. I also spent a good chunk of time having fun with my friends. It's finding a good balance between the two and making sure that the scales don't tip towards one more than the other.  

Time Flys When You're Having Fun

It still amazes me how quickly each term goes by. Most universities in the UK operate on a two-term schedule, with each term lasting twelve weeks. Even though twelve weeks is three months, it goes by so quickly. If you're worried about feeling homesick, then I'm sure you'll be relieved to know that the terms fly by and you'll be home for Christmas before you know it. The best thing about this is you'll have around four to five weeks off to go home. 

   

Grades Don't Define You

This is something I wish I had known even when I was in school. I am a very ambitious person and I always like to think I'll get the top grades. Spoiler alert- I often don't. That isn't to say I don't get good grades, but I'd beat myself up if I got a grade that was lower than what I was hoping. The first thing to know about university is that they mark things very differently. It's marked through a percentage scheme and it is notoriously hard to get the highest mark. On my course, a First (the highest you can get on any degree) means that your work is essentially publishable. It is rare that first years get these kinds of marks. I was down when I got my first few marks back as they weren't what I was hoping for. I wish someone had grabbed me at this point and told me that a 2:1 is a good grade. 

I hope these little tips will help you get through your first year of university and if you're like me and have completed your first year, then share your "things I had wished I had known" list in the comments as I'm sure my experience is very different from everyone else as it was unique to me.  

Carenza x