What I Learnt From Taking GCSEs

Finally my exams are over and today I thought I'd write a blog post on my experience of taking GCSEs to give an insight on to what it's really like so that, if you haven't taken them yet, you have an idea on what they will be like.

First of all, I would recommend beginning to revise very early before your exams, maybe like a few months before. I found that in doing this I didn't need to stress out as much because I already had all my revision material prepared so a few days before the exam I could just whack the notes and flashcards out and go over and revisit things I had already learnt but just needed to be refreshed in my head. I began to revise my three separate sciences a few months before and I believe that this really benefitted me because I was able to not worry as much about those subjects until a few days before the actual exam.

That brings me onto exams. The majority of people get very worked up and stressed about exams before they happen but realistically, well for me, when you're actually in the hall or wherever you're taking your exam, it didn't feel like it was really happening. For me, I almost forgot that my GCSEs were even slightly important whilst I was sitting there in my chair, waiting for the tedious hour to begin.

As you're approaching your few months of exams, they may seem to be never ending, but trust me they go by so so quickly once you've started study leave. If you revise and spend a lot of your free time doing so, the exam period will fly by as you're constantly busy. So if it does seem like your exams are never ending, trust me they're not.

Whilst I was revising, I did discover that listening to the Fifa 15 soundtrack, on spotify or whilst Josh was playing the game on his xbox, is very relaxing and helped me concentrate on revision. I also discovered the band Catfish and the Bottleman from listening to the Fifa 15 soundtrack and was drawn in by their songs. So I also began to listen to their songs whilst revising as well since I didn't know the words to them. Therefore I suggest listening to relaxing music or songs you like but don't know the words to whilst revising as this worked for me.

The day our school year were let free and allowed to go on study leave was probably the best days of my year so far. It meant I could finally lay in bed and be more relaxed at home and actually do some intense revision. I know that a few people prefer being at school to get work done, but for me I find that I work best at home in the silence of my room. It also meant that on the days that I didn't have any exams I could catch up on my sleep and wake up a hour later, but not too late otherwise my sleeping pattern would become messed up.

The most important thing that I made sure I did was keeping track of when I had an exam. Not only so that I knew which exam I had to revise for and when but also so that I had travel arrangements to get there on time. It would be so annoying if you had revised hours and completely missed your exam just because you had no way of getting there.

One website that I stuck by whilst studying was BBC Bitesize because, if you're in the UK, your exam board and syllabus will more than likely be on there with everything you need to go over and revise. This meant that even if I didn't have all the information for all my syllabuses in my books, I could still revise. The website is like a free revision guide and had everything I needed for exams, especially my science ones.

Another thing I learnt was that if you learn by taking notes, you will probably get through a lot of notepads and paper. I generally got through 3 and a half A4 notepads! You'll also want a lot of pens, especially coloured ones so that you can easily tell the difference between different units etc.

I hoped you enjoyed this post and it helped you! I'm sorry that I haven't been posting as much as usual; I've been taking my GCSEs and I hope you can understand. 

Becky x

 :) 

Travel Sickness: Things not to do

In contrast with my other travel sickness post, I thought it would be a good idea to share the top few things that I don't do whilst travelling to prevent feeling sick.

1) Don't get too hot.
Being hot and stuffy is one of the worst things for me to deal with when coping with travel sickness, so make sure you keep your car well ventilated by having the aircon on or opening a window. A breeze of fresh air from the window really helps. 

2) Don't eat a big meal, especially one that contains a lot of dairy, before hand. 
This is something I definitely try to avoid each time I travel, diary things have never been the best thing for me to have when I'm feeling sick as it makes it much worse.

3) Don't look down at a device or book. 
I know that traveling can be very boring and I can't help but want to go on my phone or any type of device, but because my mind is now focused on what I'm doing on my phone as well as travelling, this tends to make me feel even more sick. Instead of doing this I listen to music, enjoy the scenery I might be passing by and listen to some relaxing music. When traveling it's possibly one of my favourite times to sit back and relax and clear my mind as I don't feel guilty for being lazy and not doing anything.

4) Don't watch the windscreen wipers if it's raining. 
This one may seem weird but I think it's like looking at a device because your mind is now having to be focused on two moving things rather than one. So instead, try closing your eyes and sleep or look out at the side window instead. 

5) Don't block the outside view; sit in the front or in the middle at the back. 
I don't know why this helps, may be it has something to do with not being able to see where you're going but whenever I can't see an outside view, I begin to suffer with travel sickness quite seriously. This is particularly annoying when you're on a coach or bus and there are no window seats left.

6) Don't drink milky beverages.
Like eating dairy products, drinking a milky beverage seems to upset my unsettled stomach even more. Just the thought of it sloshing around inside my stomach whilst I'm on the road is very off putting, especially when I already feel unwell from traveling. 

7) Don't look down.
This always seems to cause my nausea to be worse and sometimes it also gives me a headache. Instead of doing this, I try to focus on the outside scenery.

8) Don't travel with bad smells (dogs). 
To avoid this air freshen your car before you set off and leave doors open for a while before traveling to air it out. Ever since I was little we often travelled with a dog in the car, which is probably why my motion sickness was very bad. However now that I know that bad smells made it worse, I do these techniques before travelling afar with a pet in the vehicle. 

I hoped this post helped you and be sure to lookout for more in the future! :) 

Becky x

Study/Revision Tips

For many years I've never really had to do any serious revision for exams. However, recently I've had to take my second set of Yr 11 mocks and I've began to find out a range of different study tips. Therefore I thought that it would be helpful to share these tips with you so that, maybe, I can help you with getting through endless and intense revision for important exams that you might be having to take.

The first thing that I would suggest is to set yourself a designated area appropriate for studying. To make this area beneficial for work, it's a good idea to have a comfortable place to sit, depending on what kind of revision or work you're doing you may need something hard to lean on such as a table and it's also better to work in a well lit area that is fairly cool so that you are kept awake since a warm and humid atmosphere can make you sleepy.

Another way to make yourself stay energized whilst working is to eat snacks, depending on your diet and whether you're bothered about eating healthy, you can vary your choice of snack. Above is one of my favourite finger foods to eat to keep my brain awake. It's especially good to consume vitamin c which is naturally found in fruit and vegetables so therefore it's healthy and it's also known to make you feel more awake.  

Along side eating snacks, you should also stay hydrated. Water is needed to make the body function properly so without it your brain isn't going to be working at it's best when you really need it to whilst studying. In the photo above, I've included some mint green tea which I've found is amazing at waking me up when I've fallen off the track of actively working and began to feel a bit sleepy.

It's very true that revising is very mundane and tedious which is why rewarding yourself after doing each piece of work is key. Doing this helps motivate you to finish each piece as you know that there is something to look forward once you've completed it, this way it doesn't feel as long and boring as it would if you didn't. One of my favourite ways of rewarding myself is by watching a YouTube video, text someone or scroll through Twitter or Tumblr on my phone.

To keep your blood flowing through your body and to stay awake, it's a good idea to get up once in a while to go for a walk or even a light jog. This benefits your health as well and keeping you motivated to power on through your work.

A further way to prevent studying from becoming dull, depending on if you can work whilst it's playing, you can listen to music. Personally I can't always concentrate whilst listening to upbeat and loud music, and for that reason I tend to listen to quiet and mellow music with little loud singing.

An additional thing I like to do is use brightly coloured pens and highlighters. This allows me to make different sections easily noticeable and also allows revising to be much more fun. I also like to use coloured sticky notes to pinpoint different pages in books, making them easier to find. It's also a good idea to underline key phrases or quotes.

It's always handy to have an A4 note pad of some kind. They are great for taking notes in lessons and then revising them later on or to use as a place to produce pieces of revision. The main use of my notebook is to read information and put it into my own words. I've found that this type of revision works best for me so far.

My final study tip is to keep a planner. Lucky for me, my school give us a new planner at the beginning of every year for free which I find very helpful. A planner allows you to record any work you need to get done, therefore you can check and instantly find out what you need to do each night and for when. It's also the greatest feeling in the world being able to cross out a dreaded task from your planner once you've completed it. 

I hoped you enjoyed this post and be sure to lookout for another one soon! :) 

Becky x

Travel Sickness

If you're unlucky and suffer with travel sickness, here are 3 things that personally help me on long car journeys. 

The first thing I like to take with me is a bottle of water. Whenever I feel sick, I always like to sip on some cold and refreshing water which seems to subdue the feeling of sickness.

The next item I like to have is some form of mints. The mint flavour freshens my mouth and almost clears the nausea. I've even been near the point of vomiting but just by having a mint I was able to stop myself and eliminate the queasiness.

My last car journey essential is music. Music distracts me from the fact that I'm traveling, therefore the mind isn't set on the idea that you're moving. My favourite type of music to listen to would be by The 1975, Lorde, Passenger or Ed Sheeran as I find their music easy to chill to whilst in the car. I generally cannot go on a long journey without music and so this is my most important travel essential.

I hope this post helped you in some way and be sure to linger around for more coming up in the future! :) 

Becky x