10 things all students will relate to

This year is my first year studying Media, TV and Film at Edge Hill university and boy has it been terrifying. Not so much the course but everything that comes with being a student.. moving out, having roomates, student loans, OVERDRAFTS and everything else!

Me thinking I'm hilarious, I often text my mum things about being student that I know will make her laugh, so I decided to gather them all together and make a little post for all you fellow students or anyone who just wants to have a laugh at just how glamorous the student life is.

1.  Spending your student loan within the first week and then regretting it a few weeks later when you can see your ribs..

Who's idea was it to give an 18 year old all that money? I mean I'm not complaining but lets face it, not many people my age will actually budget their money. Most of it will be blown within the first few weeks, especially after freshers week. Having your student loan after a month maximum is a shock to any student, to the point where if you still had some left people would say "what the hell?! you still have your student loan left?? How did you do that?!".

2. Sitting in the bank thinking an overdraft is the scariest thing in the world but then abusing it the second your loan is gone.

I remember sitting in the bank having my account changed to a student account and then being told about overdrafts and thinking "Hell no, I'm definitely not touching that, overdrafts equals debt and debt equals beiNG AN ADULT SO NO THANKS" but at this very moment in time my current balance is -£480... so yeah, things change.

3. Missing a lecture and feeling incredibly guilty or actually going to a lecture and wishing you'd stayed in bed all day.

This is a daily struggle for me. Possibly the hardest decision of the day, but whatever decision I make I end up feeling bad about.. although it's better to feel bad wrapped in quilt watching suits on netflix all day..

4. Missing the taste of meat and/or solid foods.

I cant tell you the amount of times I've been looking for food in our flat shouting "I miss chicken, I need meat!!".. its bloody tragic. When I first moved out, my mum bought me several jars of sauce but no meat. I have no idea why she did this but she did and they now sit in my cupboard mocking me because every single one of them cannot be made into a meal without meat.

5. A night out or three days of eating???

Being so low on money that its either a night out or afford food. Get your eyebrows done or food? New shoes or food? Buy everyone a shot or have dinner tomorrow night? Double vodka and red bull or afford to get the train to uni? The decisions of life hey folks.

6. Having the local kebab house staff know you by name.

This is sort of a lie, when I first moved into the flat I went to the kebab house at the top of our road and the owner finished everything he said with "gorgeous" in a very strong Greek accent. And I mean after everything he said. I took my flatmate and she found it equally as funny. However, we went in a very hungover state and some lads in there must have been thinking "they are not fuckin gorgeous mate" but hey its nice to be nice. Turns out this is a known thing in Liverpool and people actually go to see "The Gorgeous Man".

7. Resisting the urge to steal your flatmates food.

My flat mates mum often buys food for her so her cupboards are always full, so fighting the urge to be "that" person sometimes becomes very hard. Lets face it, her cupboard is closer than Tesco and I'm hungry.

8. Only having liquid substances in the fridge.

Before we got another flat mate all that was in our fridge was alcohol, water and pure orange juice. It was only till we got a thirty year old nurse who actually cooks that our fridge had ever seen food.

9. Realising you never really needed bread and milk, you only used it because your parents bought them.

I think I've bought milk once whilst being at uni. I've realised that I don't use it enough to buy it so I can do without. Although when I go home I will be drinking pints of milk and eating bread like there's no tomorrow... but I still don't need it.

10. Having to sell a kidney just to buy fucking cheese.

Who knew cheese was so expensive? Cheese has now become a luxury in my life. I've gone from having it in every meal to having it in one a month. Didn't realise being an adult meant spending more on cheese than on a pair of fucking shoes.

Cassie x

Insecurities, Low self esteem and Body positivity

"If you talked to your friends the way you spoke to your body, you'd have no friends left"

Every girl has self esteem issues. Whether it be one thing they hate about themselves or 100. I've had self esteem issues since I can remember. And this isn't an unusual feeling, its quite common. People tend to care too much about what people think of them (I am extremely guilty of this) and any nice comment that comes their way is knocked back:

"Oh she's just saying that because she doesn't want to upset me"

"Why wont they just say what they are really thinking?"

"I may look okay today but she looks beautiful everyday"

"She's saying that because she has to"

"That's bullshit and she knows it"

The closer the person is to you the more people ignore the compliment. I used to do this a lot. In my eyes I wasn't being negative I was being realistic. I was just facing up to facts and it never really bothered me. However, my views have recently changed. For the past three years I have been watching "My mad fat diary" - a Programme on E4 about a girl called Rea, she in the past had mental health issues and is now back at school and has gained new friends. I think that most girls can relate to at least one character in the show. For myself , I relate to Rea, never the pretty one.

In one episodes Rea had a conversation with her councilor about herself. He told her to tell her younger self the things she tells herself today. She reacted badly and said she couldn't. You cant tell a child she's fat or ugly or needs make-up. Her councilor then told her that if she couldn't tell her younger self things like that then she shouldn't tell her self things like that now. 

So i ended up trying out this technique and kind of changed it slightly. I imagined my two nieces and thought of the things I say to them:

"You will never need to wear make-up because you're beautiful without it"

"If somebody doesn't like you for who you are then they aren't worth it"

"Always be yourself because you're fab how you are"

"You don't have to wear make up and have your hair nice and be in love to be a princess"

"It doesn't matter what people think of you its what you think of yourself that counts"

And then I said these things to myself and I just thought that this is what my auntie or my mum must have said to me. And I didn't listen and I hope to god that my nieces do. So I take it in and somehow it makes me feel a bit better, I like myself a bit more. I don't know whether I'm getting my point across or not but what I mean is find ways that make you like yourself that little bit more. You would never tell your younger self or somebody you love the things you say about yourself so why do you need to do it? Love yourself. How can you expect others to love you if you don't love yourself? This often said but never taken in. All very cliche, cringey things to say but doesn't mean they aren't true.

I realise this all sounds very cheesy and its easier said than done but I promise you, the happier you are with yourself... the happier you are in your everyday life. I strongly recommend watching "My mad fat diary", it really has changed my view on body positivity. And anyone who knows me personally, knows that I am the most negative person ever, so this is a massive change.

Its okay to dislike something about your body but it is also okay to love something about your body.

I'll leave you with this slam poem by a youtuber called Savannah Brown called "What guys look for in girls"

Hope this has helped anyone in any way what so ever. So please comment and let me know whether this has helped you, what advice you have for other girls with self esteem issues and also if you enjoyed this post. Please share this post to your friends so more people can love who they are and feel body positive.

Cassie x