A new month means a new favourites list! If you have missed my previous favourites posts, you can find my January Favourites here and my February Favourites here. March has been an incredibly busy, but exciting month for me, so here are my favourites for this month!
TV Shows
Young Justice: Outsiders
I have been waiting for so long for Young Justice Season three to be released and I was so glad when it finally was released this year! I watched the first half of this season in March and I really enjoyed where the series is going. I really like the new characters that have been included, and the older characters are still as fabulous as they have ever been! The animation in this series also looks so much better than it has in the previous two seasons and it has really helped keeping Young Justice relevant. I am looking forward to the second half of this season which is set to be released in June, so I am sure you will see it making a reappearance on a future favourites list!
Books
On The Other Side by Carrie Hope Fletcher
This may be a little late to the party, but I finally read Carrie Hope Fletcher's first book! I really enjoyed this story, I thought that the concept was an original idea. Something I think that lets this book down is the names of some of the characters, like "Evie Snow" and "Vincent Winters". Not that there is anything particularly wrong with the names, I just feel like they sound like Carrie couldn't think of any other surname to give to her two main characters, and they took me out of the story sometimes by thinking "These names sound a bit silly". Nonetheless, the book is written very nicely, and it is a lovely feel good book.
Shopping
Aldi Chocolate Unicorn
This may be something really silly to include on this list, but I was really happy when I found this unicorn in Aldi whilst out shopping. It looks so cute and the chocolate itself was actually really nice (yes, Sparkle the Unicorn is no more! RIP). It was a lovely little buy this month and I felt like it needed to be included in this list.
Revolution Make-up (Various)
So I needed a new eyeliner and I walked down to my local Superdrug, and I ended coming home with ten lipsticks, a concealer, a brow-kit and a primer as well as the eyeliner that I originally needed. My Bank Account was not best pleased with these purchases but it was definitely worth it in the long run. Just to clarify, these are the products that I bought that weekend (plus the links to them online in case you wanted to buy them yourself!):
Revolution Pro Full Coverage Camouflage Concealer: C2 - Click Here
Revolution Pro Lipstick Collection: Reds - Click Here
Revolution Pro Lipstick Collection: Bare - Click Here
Revolution Ultra Brow: Fair to Medium - Click Here
Firstly, lets talk about the concealer! The coverage on this concealer is very good, it is easy to blend and stays on until I take off my make-up. It doesn't look cakey underneath my foundation either which is a plus! The only thing I would say is that you shouldn't use a lot at a time, since it is a thick consistency, so a little goes a long way!
Next are the lipstick collections that I bought. I think I was going slightly mad when I decided to buy ten lipsticks, but it happened. The lipsticks them selves are really nice. I wouldn't really say there is a shade that I dislike in the packs that I bought, all of them are really nice shades that compliment my skin tone. They are also quite long lasting. You do need to do a re-application after eating, but other than that the colour stays.
Lastly, the Brow kit. I was not someone who really cared about my eyebrows before buying this kit, but it has changed my whole perspective since buying it! It comes with two waxes and a selection of powders which look really great; they also allow you to change up your look a lot - if you want a more bold brow or a more subtle brow.
Shows
Bare: A Pop Opera
I was obliged to watch this show since I had been cast in it, and I had no idea what it was about. I think it's fair to say that Bare: A Pop Opera is now up there with my all time favourite musicals! I absolutely love the music in this show, there are some amazing songs, not to mention the harmonies in this show! (I love a good harmony! Don't Judge!) The show brings up the topics that nobody wants to talk about in a normal conversation - religion, coming out, teen pregnancy, drug use ect - and I am really surprised that it is not more popular than it already is. The way the characters are written also make them seem realistic, and they actually behave like teenagers probably would put in that situation - take away the speaking to music but it wouldn't be a musical without that part!
Blood Brothers
I went to see this show for the second time after being given tickets for Christmas, and it did not disappoint. I have always loved Blood Brothers, ever since looking at it in my GCSE classes, but seeing the musical live has made me find a new found love for it. For my school assessment, we acted out the script and cut out all of the songs; after seeing the show live this decision baffles me. The music is something that makes Blood Brothers so great, it just wouldn't be the same without it! The performances of each of the actors were amazing, some still being the same actors that were on the 2018 tour, some being new cast members, but over all it was such an emotional piece.
Music
Heathers (2018) Cast Recording
So the 2018 Heathers cast recording was released at the beginning of this month, and I am so happy that it was! This is not to say that there is anything wrong with the original cast recording, it is absolutely fantastic, but there is something so refreshing about hearing the same songs sung buy these new talented actors.
There were three new songs added to this album, You're Welcome, Never Shut Up and I Say No. I would like to address these songs individually since they are the major differences to the original soundtrack (other than the new cast).
First of all, You're Welcome. This song replaced Blue from the Off-Broadway cast recording, and I am so glad it did. As much as I love Blue, it always felt a little out of place for me and kind of took away from the rest of the album. To me, the song always sounded like it was trying to be funny for the sake of being funny. You're Welcome is s a much better fit for the album in my opinion. I have not see this in the context of the show, but seeing two different productions of Heathers the Musical with Blue being performed at my college confirmed my feelings about the song. You're Welcome is so much darker than Blue, one line in particular that stands out to me is, "Hey, you wanted to be popular", implying that when becoming one of the Heathers Veronica automatically consented for the boys to make sexual advances on her (which is obviously not the case, but it really comes across in Kurt and Ram's character and makes them seem to be much more of a threat to Veronica rather than being there for a moment of comic relief). This song fits the dark comedy tone of the musical much better and sounds brilliant on the new album.
In the original script for Heathers, there is a reprise to the song Blue, but on this album, Never Shut Up is in the place where this should be. I do not think this is necessarily a direct replacement for the Blue reprise, but since Blue had been cut, they would naturally have to replace this reprise with something else. Personally, this song is one of m favourite songs on this album. I had always felt like the original version of Heathers the Musical was missing a song for Heather Duke, Heather Chandler and Heather McNamara both had featured parts in Candy Store and then solos later on in the show, but Heather Duke never really had a moment to shine, which didn't really make much sense to me. This song really enforces that Heather Duke is now the person running the show at Westerburg High, and again like with You're Welcome, this song really fits with the tone of show and I feel like it really shows the darker side of what High School life can be like.
Finally, I Say No. This is a completely new song that was put into the musical, it hasn't replaced a previous song unlike the other two songs I have looked into. I absolutely love this song, it really gives Veronica a strong moment to stand up to JD and shows that she is finally done with him. My issue with this song is that Seventeen just a little bit before it and is pretty much the same character moment for Veronica. It's not that I think that this song should full on replace Seventeen or that this song should not have been added into the show, it's just that it feels like a bit of a repeat moment that isn't necessary and is put in to make Act 2 longer. All in all though, this is a brilliant song.
The new cast sound really good on the recording, and this is just a very good cast album that you should give a listen!
All Grown Up from Bare: A Pop Opera
Further up on this list, I talked about Bare: A Pop Opera, and one song that really stood out to me was All Grown Up, a song that comes in Act 2 of the musical. I love a good belt song in a musical, and this song is no exception. Again, like the whole musical, it talks about a taboo subject - teen pregnancy. When you usually hear about this subject, it usually blames the young mothers for being irresponsible and says that they got themselves into this situation, when in reality this is not always the case. This song seems to show the other side, and although this song may not speak for everyone going through a teen pregnancy, it certainly shows you a different perspective of the subject. I really love this song and it is definitely one I have added to my rep book!
So there you go, that was my favourites for March. I hope that you enjoyed reading this post and I will see you in the next one!
This may be a little late to the party, but I finally read Carrie Hope Fletcher's first book! I really enjoyed this story, I thought that the concept was an original idea.
Evie Snow has lived a long and relatively happy life but now she is dead, she's suddenly faced with a door that won't open. Evie realised that her three biggest secrets are holding her back from entering her own heaven and she now has to face them and share her biggest, and secret, love story with the people in her life.
This was a really lovely idea for a story, and I love the idea that people face doors when they enter the afterlife. There is a hint of magical realism portrayed in some of the phrases of the book that gave it the feeling of a fairy tale. The story was enjoyable as a sweet romance, but there was not really much more to it than that.
Evie Snow felt very much like a self insert character for Carrie Hope Fletcher, which isn't really an issue but she felt very much like a Mary Sue character. She was constantly being told how great she was by the other characters in the book. We were told a lot of things about Evie from other characters, but we on't actually see much from Evie herself. It was a story about an adult woman being told what she should do with her life by her adult mother.
Considering these characters are supposed to be 27 years old, they came across as rather childish. Not that a 27 year old cannot come across as a bit immature, but when reading the book I did feel as though I was reading about a group of children, this coupled with the was Evie is treated by her mother emphasized the fact that I believed these characters were much younger than they actually were. I do believe that this may have something to do with the fact that this is Carrie's debut novel, so I do hope that there is some improvements in the writing of the character's in her other books.
Another thing that bothered me a little with this book was the surnames of some of the characters we meet, like "Evie Snow" and "Vincent Winters". Not that there is anything particularly wrong with the names, I just feel like they sound like Carrie couldn't think of any other surname to give to her two main characters, and they took me out of the story sometimes by thinking "These names sound a bit silly". Nonetheless, the book is written very nicely, and it is a lovely feel good book.
All in all,. this was a very lovely feel good book that is a nice quick read for someone looking for something to make them feel happy, but it is not a complex novel. Not that it is trying to be a very complex story, but if that is the type of book you are looking for then I would suggest looking elsewhere for a different book.
A book that has been on my to read list for quite some time HAS FINALLY BEEN READ! This was definitely a 50% cover buy 50% book buy because the artwork on the cover of this book is beautiful!
The story is a retelling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, and when reading a synopsis before purchasing the book it was clear that this would not be the sugar coated Disney tale that most people are familiar with. Having said that, the story was much darker than I expected it would be. The store clearly sold this book as a feminist retelling, which is exactly what the story is, and is something that I have never come across before for the story of the Little Mermaid.
The Story starts out when the youngest daughter of the Sea King turns fifteen years old. We are taught how the monarchy works underneath the surface and are introduced to all of his daughters. The royal family live in a rather sinister way and it is clear that there is definitely a corrupt side to the king. The Women are basically seen as pawns that are only good to be sold to a potential suitor. They have no voices of their own and are told to smile whenever it is necessary. Gaia is just a girl with her head in the clouds who is willing to risk everything. She is searching for someone who will adore her for who she is and not because of her looks and her royal status.
This book definitely captures the dark essence of the original book. It brings into the play the question: is it truly love at first sight or is is lust at first sight? It is a tragic tale for Gaia, but it is understandable why she desires to leave home.
This is one of the best fairy tale retelling stories that I have read. The author managed to capture the devastation and gruesome tale that we are familiar with, and added a modern twist to it which made it such a unique read. The feminism arc in this story is very important and it shows that women aren't as weak as men may perceive them to be, they have their own voices and demand to be heard.
Hunted was a book that I really enjoyed reading. I really liked how it was a retelling but tried to be different to the story that we already know. Yeva used to go hunting with her father in the wood as a child, but then when she grows up, she stops since it is something that a young lady shouldn't do. When their father is forced to sell his home and move to his hunting cottage with his three children, Yeva begins hunting again. Her father goes missing and Yeva goes into the forest to see what has happened to him, which is where she encountered the Beast.
I liked how the relationship built up between Yeva and the Beast, but overall I was not a huge fan of the romance as I felt like that element of the relationship was very rushed into the story. It was great that you could see that they began to understand each other, and a sort of friendship formed between them.
It was a fun book to read, not the best but every book has its flaws and I personally really enjoyed reading this book. It was a very easy to get through and took me three days to finish. I'd say if you were looking for a more romantic book or a book with intensive world building, then this book may not be for you since as mentioned before, the romance feels very rushed, and there is little to no world building in the book.
So I will not be posting a proper blog post this week, this is due exam season coming up so I am currently prioritising my work over my blog at the moment. I knew that if I did not post this week then it would break my cycle of uploading every Monday of the year, and the blog will start looking more like it did in 2018/2017 and we do not want that. So I thought I would share some exciting news with you.
I have been cast as Rory in Bare: A Pop Opera. This is one thing that is changing up my schedule a lot, since we have eight weeks to put this musical together and combined with exam stress I just have not managed to write anything this week. Make sure to follow this blog so you can be updated with any further news of the production!
I am super excited to be a part of this show though, it will be my first show that I have done in two years so it is really exciting (unless you count performing on Children in Need, but that was a whole other experience!)
It's a shame that I could not come up with anything to post this week, but these things do happen sometimes to the best of us!
To kick off the month of March, I have decided to make a February Favourites post. If you did not catch my favourite list from January 2019, you can click here and find out what I liked most from that month. February has been a very busy month for me, especially considering the work that I have been doing for uni, so here are my favourites from this month:
Shows
Starship
I started off the month re-watching Starship - a musical by Team Starkid. It seems as though I am going to watch a Starkid musical every month at this rate (which I am not complaining about!), since it has been such a long time since I have actually sat down and watched the Starkid Shows; since coming to uni I have found myself introducing more and more people to them. Starship has always been on of my favourites though. It was the first Starkid Musical that I was around for to wait for it to come out on YouTube, and the difference in production quality really set it apart from the potter musicals at the time. I felt very nostalgic whilst watching it, and it reminded me why am currently on the course I am on now. I love the whole concept of the musical and I love the puppet work in the show. It is fantastic! It is also up on YouTube for free, so if you do find that you have some spare time do give it a watch!
Spies are Forever
I rewatched this fantastic show when introducing it to my flatmates at university. This show is definitely in my list of favourite shows of all time! I love how you go into it expecting it to be one thing and then it turns out to be something completely different. I did not expect a musical about Spies would work, but then again people didn't think that a musical about a barber killing people and a baker making them into pies would work but there we go! That is the wonderful world of Musical Theatre! The cast in this show is absolutely fantastic, as well as the music. This is another show that you will be able to watch for free on Youtube, so you should definitely give it a watch!
Games
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
A game that I feel so much nostalgia for. It has been years since I have played Ocarina of time, so I decided that this month would be the time that I revisit this classic game. I am still yet to finish it, but I forgot how amazing this game is, especially for the time that it came out. With the updated edition being released on the 3DS, it proved that this is a completely timeless game that you can just keep going back to. I have a lot to thank this game for, with it being the second Zelda Game that I played in my lifetime, and without it I don't even know if I would be as interested in games as I am now.
The Sims 4: Vampires Game Pack
Yes, I bought another Sims 4 Expansion pack this month, please do not judge me! I have always wanted the Sims Vampire Game Pack, and managed to get round to buying it this month. I love everything that has been added to this pack, the furniture, the new world, the CAS items ect. I am yet to actually play as a Vampire in the Sims, this is due to me currently trying to do the Disney challenge (I'm in generation 4 so it might be a little while before I get to play as a Vampire) but this is a game pack that I have really enjoyed playing so far and I am really looking forward to the other surprises I may find in this Game pack.
Films
I ship it
The Harry Potter and Scott Pilgram vs the World crossover that seemingly nobody expected, but we all deserved. I Ship it is a short film about a couple who were in a band and then broke up, and the girl is entering into a battle of the bands competition against her ex and his new girlfriend. The film is beautifully shot, with great costuming and set designs. The original songs in the piece are also fantastic. I Ship it is a free film on Youtube, it also stars Mary Kate Wiles who was in Spies are Forever which is mentioned in the list above!
The King and I
I had a tutorial with my singning teacher a couple of weeks ago and she said that I should really look at the character Anna from the king and I and add some of her songs to my rep book. I had only ever seen the animated version of The King and I which was made in the 90's, so I watched the film which inspired it first. I was surprised to see that there were no monkeys or dragons or evil magician, but it is such a lovely story, and I love the songs and the music too. It is such a lovely story, and now all I want to do is dance around in a big poofy dress.
Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party
I went on a bit of a re-watch marathon this month, and re-watched Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery dinner party. I am a lover of murder mystery, and have been for as long that I remember. When I was younger, my favourite game to play was Cluedo. I love this show and its unpredictable plot, not to mention that the beautiful sets and costumes! The actors are brilliant and the script writing is on point. This is definitely something that you need to add to your to watch list.
Books
A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical by Stacy Wolf
So I was given an essay to do at university on misogyny, and that lead me to reading the entire book. I found this book fascinating to read, I was only going to make some notes on what I needed but I found what it said very interesting. It explores how different women throughout periods of musical theatre were treated at the time and looks at many different characters and shows.
Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical by Stacy Wolf
This is another book that I was originally going to skim for information to help with my essay, but I ended up reading the entire book. This book allows you to see the shows that you are familiar with and may even love through fresh eyes and explores how the role of women changed over the last few years. It is highly informative and - like the other book by Stacy Wolf on this list - explores the history of women in musical theatre.
The Surface Breaks by Lousie O'neil
A book that has been on my to read list for quite some time HAS FINALLY BEEN READ! This was definitely a 50% cover buy 50% book buy because the artwork on the cover of this book is beautiful! The story is a retelling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, and when reading a synopsis before purchasing the book it was clear that this would not be the sugar coated Disney tale that most people are familiar with. Having said that, the story was much darker than I expected it would be. The store clearly sold this book as a feminist retelling, which is exactly what the story is, and is something that I have never come across before for the story of the Little Mermaid.
The Story starts out when the youngest daughter of the Sea King turns fifteen years old. We are taught how the monarchy works underneath the surface and are introduced to all of his daughters. The royal family live in a rather sinister way and it is clear that there is definitely a corrupt side to the king. The Women are basically seen as pawns that are only good to be sold to a potential suitor. They have no voices of their own and are told to smile whenever it is necessary. Gaia is just a girl with her head in the clouds who is willing to risk everything. She is searching for someone who will adore her for who she is and not because of her looks and her royal status.
This book definitely captures the dark essence of the original book. It brings into the play the question: is it truly love at first sight or is is lust at first sight? It is a tragic tale for Gaia, but it is understandable why she desires to leave home.
This is one of the best fairy tale retelling stories that I have read. The author managed to capture the devastation and gruesome tale that we are familiar with, and added a modern twist to it which made it such a unique read. The feminism arc in this story is very important and it shows that women aren't as weak as men may perceive them to be, they have their own voices and demand to be heard.
Music
Freedom (from The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown)
I listened to this song whilst looking for duets to sing at university, I really liked this song for the harmonies in it. I haven't listened to it to much since I am unable to find it on spotify and we have ultimately decided that we do not want to so this song for our assessment, but it is such a lovely song and I urge you to listen to it. If you are looking for a duet between two women with some challenging harmonies it is definitely worth having a look at. It is also a rather unusual song choice so is great if you want to perform something a little different.
Casting Call for a Best Friend (from The Girls Night Out)
This is another song that I looked at when looking for duets for my singing assessment. What I loved the most about this duet was the humor in the lyrics and how relateable the song can actually be. When you walk into an audition and meet the other people auditioning you do sometimes have these little thoughts and you do try to big yourself up in your head to make you feel like you are the best person for the job. Admit it, we all have been guilty of this at some point.
Somethings are meant to be (from Little Women)
This is the song that we have decided to do for my singing assessment. I absolutely love this duet, there are some beautiful harmonies and there is a great relationship between the two characters. The song is about two sisters reflecting on life and how it is precious, but some things are set in stone. Little Women as a musical is absolutely amazing, but this song in particular is a stand out song for me.
Company (2018) Cast Recording
As mentioned in my January Favourites, I absolutely love the Company Cast recording. Then the Company 2018 Cast Recording was released and I fell in love with it all over again. I love the effort that has been put into bringing this show together, there was no lazy "okay, we will just make Bobby a girl and keep literally everything else the same". The have transposed songs where needed, switched and rewritten characters to fit into the modern world, changed lyric ect. The Company 2018 Cast Recording is definitely on my frequently listened to list. Not to mention that I feel like the gender reversed Company reflects a lot on women in society today, many people expect women to get married and settle down almost as soon as they hit their twenties (I know that a lot of family members have asked me when I'm planning to have kids, little do they know I want to adopt twelve dogs). I think it is just really effective to have Bobby as a female and to show that she has hit thirty five and she has still not settled down in a long term relationship, men are kind of allowed to have the time to be single, but as mentioned there are different expectations for women. I would love to be able to see this show one day, but unfortunately I do not think I will be able to see the current version that is running in the West End.
So there you have it, here are my favourites for the month of February. What were your favourites of this month? Let me know!
In October 2018, I turned 20, which is rather scary. I had entered the second decade of my life, and had so much that I wanted to acomplish before I turned 30. I thought for fun I would make a list of thirty things I wanted to do before I reached to big 3 0. I do not have my heart set on doing absolutely every one of these things, but it will be fun to look back in ten years time and to see what I managed to do and what things that I did that maybe weren't on the list but felt satisfying to accomplish. So here it is, 30 things I want to do before I turn 30.
1) Dye my hair a fun colour
Everyone gets to a point in their life where they think that they want to dye their hair a crazy colour, and I feel like I have been at that point of my life for the past four years. I remember saying that as soon as I left secondary school I was going to dye my hair purple. But then I was in a production of Les Miserables, and after that it was my sisters wedding, and then I was in Into the Woods, and time has just flown by and I still have not really dyed my hair an extreme colour.
In summer 2018, I did go to a salon and had a rose gold colour put onto my hair, which looked fabulous, but didn't really look unnatural. It looked more like a ginger colour had been put in my hair than a rose gold colour, but this was probably due to the dye being applied directly on top of my natural colour and my hair not being bleached before the colour was applied. Although I loved this look, I don't really count this as having my hair dyed a crazy colour.
As an aspiring actor, it is going to be very difficult for me to dye my hair a different colour and still get hired. Every time you change your appearance, you have to update resumes and head shots, along with many other things. These things all cost time and money, so I don't think that it is likely that I will manage to reach this goal in the next ten years unless I totally give up on being an actor, but honestly, I'll take the acting career over the pastel pink hair.
2) Visit atleast two other Disney Parks
I am lucky enough to say that I have visited Walt Disney World in Florida six times and I am going back again for the seventh time in summer 2019. The parks are fantastic there and I do not want to sound like I am being ungrateful or unprivileged to have been given the opportunity to go there as many times as I have, but I would like to see what else is out there, and see how different Disney Parks compare.
I have had the idea in my head that I want to have a solo weekend adventure to Disneyland Paris at some point, since it is not too far away or as expensive for me to get to as some of the other Disney Parks in the world. Plus I think it would just be fun to go on an adventure for the weekend.However, I do not know how realistic this is with the dark cloud know as Brexit currently hovering over the UK and the rest of Europe at the moment.
I would love to visit California Disneyland, since obviously that was the first Disney Park to ever be built and it would just be so good to go there and to be able to say that I have been to the original Disneyland. I'd love to see their version of Fantasmic too, since that is my all time favourite Disney Show.
3) Go to New York and 4) See a Broadway Show
These two things are probably on every theatre kids bucket list, but I would absolutely love to be able to go to New York at some point in my life, even though New York is apparently a more expensive London. In the theatre world, I feel like Broadway is where the money is at, and I would absolutely love to go and see a Broadway show in order to have a better understanding of the talent it takes to be on one of those stages and so I know how far I will need to take my training to be able to get there, even though I need to break the West End first (wow I sound like such a petty actor, I promise this is all jokey! Being on broadway/west end would be absolutely lovely and I would be lying if I said that it wasn't among my absolute dream jobs, but these two things are not in my realist goals).
5) Meet a Celebrity
It would just be fun to be able to say that I have met a celebrity. There's not really anyone in particular I would like to meet, but I think it would be very funny if we met in weird circumstances, like in the like for KFC and being like "Oh my god that is Katy Perry!" or in a launderette or something similar. The weird circumstances isn't necessarily a part of the whole meet a celebrity goal, it would be pretty cool if I just bumped into Emma Watson on a street corner and was like "oh hi", but I just think the strange circumstances would just make the story much more interesting.
6) Go to Japan
There isn't really a reason behind this one, I would just like to see as much of the world as possible, and I have been to both America and Australia multiple times, so I just feel like Japan is the next country that I would like to see.
7) Grow my hair out and donate it to charity
Over many years I have suffered with body image issues and have struggled with how my hair looks. When I had it all cut off, I felt like I had finally found myself, but then it all grew out again about a year later and I was working. My life just felt like it was spiraling out of control and I cut my hair back to the length it was (very badly too) and felt like I was taking back that control. I feel like it causes me stress if my hair grows too long, and I cannot handle it being longer than a certain length.
Something that I have always wanted to do is to grow my hair out and donate it to The Little Princess Trust or a similar company, but other than when it was originally all cut off, it has not really been long enough for me to cut and donate.
I would love to try and battle this issue and allow my hair to grow longer again, and I feel like with the motivation of knowing that the next time it would be getting a proper cut it would be getting donated may help me push aside all of my issues and just allow it to grow and give it to a good cause.
I actually have intentions of beginning to allow it to grow out in autumn of this year, I feel like mental health wise I am in a much better place to allow this, and the reason why I have decided autumn and not now is because I think short hair would just be much more manageable in the Florida Weather during my holiday in summer.
8) Get a Selfie with an Alpaca
This is another one of the random ones on the list. I managed to get a selfie with a cow in the first few weeks of university, so the next animal that is on the selfie agenda is an alpaca.
9) Be in a professional production of a show
As I am currently studying musical theatre at university, I am hoping that I will be able to get something out of this. It has always been my dream to be performing on stage since I was six years old, and although things may have changed in my life, this still remains the same. I would love to be an actor on stage and would not mind what show or part I am given to achieve this since the industry is so competitive as it is so you cannot be picky with what jobs you are offered. I have been involved in many School/College productions and amature productions, but my ultimate dream is to be able to break into the professional industry of Musical Theatre.
10) Make my own Halloween costume and wear it
I have been making my own costumes and dresses for years, especially when I was younger, I had a huge interest in cosplay. I remember spending all of my money on fabric and craft foam to make a new cosplay, and my mum would tell me off for wasting my money. I have a huge passion for costume design and I would love to be able to make a costume for an occasion to wear, and what is the one night of the year where everyone has the excuse to dress up? Halloween! I would love to make an outfit to wear one day, especially since I enjoyed dressing up for Halloween 2018 so much!
11) Spend a week of my life without the internet
The amount of people who are dependent on the internet is scary. Sometimes I get the impression that if the internet went down for a day people would think that th apocalypse has hit. I wouldn't say that I am 100% reliable on the internet, but I would be lying if I said that a week without the internet didn't scare me. But before the internet exsisted we survived, so I believe that it will be refreshing and interesting to try out.
12) Manage to read 50 books in a year
I have been trying to read 25 books in a year for quite some time, and 2018 was finally the year I reached my target. This year my target is to read 30 books, but I would eventually like to be able to read 50 books in a year.
13) Work a Summer in Disney
I feel like it is everyone's dream to work in Disney at some point in their life, I would absolutely love to work there at some point if I an lucky enough. During my two years at college, I had a job as a Princess for a Company in my area and I absolutely loved it! Although I understand that there is a very intensive casting process to be a character, I would love to be able to say that I even worked in one of the shops at Disney or I walked around with the characters in the parks to make sure they were okay and to take people's photo's with them.
14) Adopt a Dog
I want to adopt a dog more than I want a relationship at this point. I have no idea what type of dog I would like to get, but we shall see what happens. If I ever get the money I want to adopt every dog that has been abandoned or put in a shelter and give them the life they deserve to have.
15) Make a start on my own business
I would love to be able to work for myself and not have to listen to anyone else, or go through the issues of having a shady manager who messes with my paycheck again. In the last few years I have thought about running my own business and what I would do, I do not have everything figured out in my head yet, but I do have a few ideas.
16) Write a Book
Having a love of books myself, I have always wanted to write my own book. I have no idea what the process is of actually writing a books and what you would need to do or even how much it would cost to get published, but this is something that has been on my bucket list for many years, and this is something I would absolutely love to accomplish in the next ten years.
17) Go on a night out and stay later than 12am
Having been over the legal age for drinking for the past two years, I am surprised to say that I have not been on a night out drinking before, unless you would count a pizza and a glass of wine at my local Weatherspoons at 7pm. I don't really feel like I have to go out, I feel like I have enough life experience without having to go out, but it is something I would like to do at least once, just so I have the experience of this.
18) Live in another country for a year
There is so much in the world that it scares me to think that I would have to stay in one place for the rest of my life. I would absolutely love to live in another country for a year just to experience other cultures and to see what life is like there. I don't really have a country in mind that I would like to live in, maybe not an english speaking country though so I will also pick up the skill of learning a new language at the same time as experiencing the culture.
19) Read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Les Miserables has been in my life since I was 13 years old, and I would absolutely love to be able to dedicate the time and effort to read the book that it was adapted from. I believe that there is so much depth and character development that may have been brushed over due to the two hour constraints of the stage play. I love reading classic stories, and so many people brush them aside because they are old. True, some of these stories are over 100 years old, but I think it is still important to appreciate older literature and to see how far we have come over time. Although I will probably finish the Lord of the Rings series before I finish reading this, which will also take a long time.
20) Go Sky diving
Because why not!
21) Play all of the Legend of Zelda Games and get as close to 100% as humanly possible
So the Legend of Zelda games have been in my life probable since I was about 7 years old when my brother got Twilight Princess. I believe I have played all of the "main" Zelda games, but I would love to be able to say that I have played every game in the series. Here are the games that I have managed to play so far:
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hour Glass
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
The Legend of Zelda: A Link between Worlds
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
I won't be including all of the spin off games in this (like Hyrule Warriors and the CDI games (this one in particular since they just seem to be so terrible that I do not want to put myself through that pain)) just since the list is already so long and I want to try and 100% the games in the main series which is going to take a while. The game that I have come closest to completing in Breath of the Wild, but even then, I have no idea where all of those Korak seeds live!
22) Learn another Language
This one kind of goes hand in hand with living in another country for a year. I would really like to learn another language since I feel like people born with English as their first language sort of have an expectation for people who speak foreign languages to speak English so they can communicate rather than learning french when they know they are going to France. I learnt French and German in secondary school, but it was all the really silly stuff like "I like going to the cinema" and "My favourite colour is blue", so wouldn't really be beneficial in a real life situation. Honestly, why is Languages taught the worst in schools? Its so bad because I would have loved to be able to master a different language at an earlier age!
23) Have a non-stop Harry Potter movie marathon
This would be excluding Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise, but I would absolutely love to have a marathon watching all eight Harry Potter movies. They will always be among my favourite movies of all time, especially since I grew up with them. Kids these days will not know how it felt to go to the cinema every year or two to find out what happens in the next Harry Potter movie, although I guess that's what the generation growing up with the books would have thought about us growing up with the movies. This marathon has been a life long goal ever since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 was released, so hopefully I will eventually be able to make this happen at some point.
24) Go to a book signing
I would love to go to a book signing one day. I have only met one of the authors whose books I had read (I hope that makes sense), but she was invited into our school to give us a talk so it does't really count (although it was really cool! If you are curious to know, it was Juno Dawson who I met, she was really awesome!) But I would like to go to a book signing and meet more authors and get the chance to discuss their books with them (or whatever you do at book signings!)
25) Get a Master's Degree
I would love to carry on in education if I can, but I'm not entirely sure of how master's degree's are funded and how I would go abouts getting on. I will also have to wait and see how I feel in my third year of university before I go into making any drastic decisions to add more student debt to my name.
26) Be on TV
This has been on my list for a while, but technically I can cross this off my list as in November 2018, I worked with the BBC for Children in Need. This featured a 3 second clip of me appearing on TV in my area, but still that is an achievement!
27) Get a decent gaming PC
Currently I am using my laptop for most of my games, and the lag is absolutely terrible. I would love to get a decent gaming PC at some point so that I will be able to run games more smoothly (hopefully). But let's be honest, the only reason why I want a decent gaming PC is so that it can handle all of the Mods I want to install for the Sims!
28) Upgrade Eye-makeup skills
Eye makeup is a special kind of art, and is one that I would love to be able to master at some point. I would say now I am okay at eye makeup, but it doesn't necessarily look the best all the time.
29) Go to a Gay Bar
Yes, I have managed to make 20 and not go out clubbing yet. I remember officially starting uni and one of the staff asking me if I enjoyed my first night out and I said to her I went to bed and 9pm, and her face was a picture. I'm not really a going out person, I enjoy nights in with a hot chocolate and a movie more, but this is something that I would like to do at least once before I turn 30, plus, where else am I supposed to find some women appreciating women?
30) Go Horse Riding
Do you know when something has always been on your agenda, but you just haven't been given the opportunity to do it? That's my relationship with horse riding. It's something that I have never done before but I have always wanted to do!
So there we have it, 30 before 30! I would love to be able to come back to this list in ten years time and tick off everything that I have done and say what I have still yet to do! What are somethings that you want to do in the next ten years? Let me know!
So I really wanted to make this as a little video just to try and mix up the content on this blog and make it more interesting, but I have been struggling to find the time and plus my room is not soundproof so the video footage will probably pick up every little bit of sound that happens outside my room (currently next to me there are rehearsals going on for a ton of musicals so I hear all the shouting, the acting and the singing and I don't think that will sound great on video. So until I figure out a quieter time to film, this type of post is going to have to do.
With that out of the way, I have always wanted to write down what my favourite things were of the month and let people know, weather it would be through a blog post like this or through video form. So, since I have gotten my organisational skills together and have actually managed to write down what I did this January, the time has finally come for me to list my favourites (even though we are almost halfway through February...oops) . I am hoping that my organisational skills last through out the year so I can have a whole "2019 Favourites" series thing going on throughout my blog. Without further ado, here are my favourites from January 2019:
Games
Life is Strange
Starting off 2019 I played through the first Life is Strange game, which is five episodes long. The game took about 10-12 hours to complete (I did not really pay a lot of attention to how long it took me to fully complete the game, however each episode lasted for 2-2.5 hours each. Life is Strange turned out to be a completely different game than I originally thought it was going to be, but I thoroughly enjoyed playing it. I loved the story line that it followed and how realistic the characters felt to the story. I do not want to go into spoiler territory here, but I do have an entire blog post about my thoughts on Life is Strange, going into detail in each episode and mentioning the different choices that I made and the outcomes I experienced. Click here to read more about what I thought about Life is Strange.
The Sims 4: Expansion Packs
January means that you are left with a lot of Christmas money from relatives who had no idea what to buy you and a lot of sales going on in shops. So I decided to take advantage of this and bought a lot of expansion packs for the Sims 4 (which I should state, I already owned the Sims 4 before then, along with the City Living and the Cats and Dogs expansion packs). Below are listed the packs that I bought:
The Sims 4: Get Famous
The Sims 4: Get Together
The Sims 4: Seasons
The Sims 4: Get to Work
The Sims 4: Outdoor Retreat
The Sims 4: Spooky Stuff
The Sims 4: Cool Kitchen Stuff
It should be stated that I bought Outdoor Retreat, Spooky Stuff and Cool Kitchen Stuff together as a bundle, since I've wanted Outdoor Retreat for quite sometime and I thought that it was much better value to purchase it as part of a bundle with the two stuff packs rather than buy it separately.
I do not regret spending this much money on these virtual beings, I really love the expansion packs and I feel like it has really enhanced my game play experience when playing the Sims.
Out of all the packs I have bought this January, I have to say that Get to Work is my personal favourite. I think it totally expands on the career options that you have and I love going to work with my Sims and actually experiencing what their day is like. It gives me more motivation to make sure they work really hard to get a promotion rather than doing their set task and then fast forwarding while they are at work hoping for the best.
Seasons was a huge surprise to me since many people said to me that Seasons was the weakest out of the six main expansion packs. I love how each of the seasons look and how it makes gardening for your sims a little more challenging than it was in the main game. The calendar feature is really cool too, as I can actually see when my Sims are going to age up and I can plan events in advance. The only let down would be that Weddings still start as soon as you pick the venue for the event, which it would be nice to be able to plan in advance like you can with birthday parties, but other than that I love this expansion pack. I enjoy the holidays themselves in the seasons expansion packs. Winterfest and New Years Eve are my personal favourites of the holidays that are already put in the game, but you are also able to put in your own custom holiday. Since I bought the Spooky Stuff pack and wanted to see all the stuff that came with that, I put a Halloween holiday in Autumn and the amount of options you were given were great!
I can do a full review on each of the Sims 4 expansion packs if that is of interest to anyone, but these are just my thoughts and the particular favourites I had.
Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Obviously there was the huge hype over Super Smash Bros at the end of 2018 with it coming out in December. I finally was given the chance to play it during January before I moved back to Uni and I really enjoyed what I have played of it so far.
I personally do not own a copy (poor student issues) but I did play the multiplayer mode with my brother which I really enjoyed. There is such a huge character selection that I had no idea who to play as, I still haven't managed to play as everyone yet. I'd say so far my favourite has to be Shiek, but Shiek has been my general go-to character to play as since she was first introduced as a character to play as in the first place. One of the new characters I loved playing as was Chrom from the Fire Emblem series, but I think I have a slight bias since I won the last match of a game once as Chrom.
I haven't played any Smash outside of the multiplayer mode, so I cannot really comment on the other features yet, but I am looking forward to playing around with it when I get my own copy of the game.
Villainous
This game really took me by surprise. It was something my brother got for Christmas, and I do have to admit that in my first game I was very intimidated by it. I only managed to play two games before I moved back to uni, but I loved what I did manage to play of it.
The basic concept of the game is that you play as a Disney Villain and there is an objective you have to reach in order to win the game. There can be up to six players, with options of Jafar, Maleficent, Ursula, Captain Hook, the Queen of Hearts and Prince John. There is a catch that the other players can pick heroes that can make your goal a lot harder to reach, but makes the game much more interesting.
Although the game sounds very complicated, and I really enjoyed the games I have played so far. The first time I played I was Maleficent, and I think her goal was to finish a turn with four curses on each of her spaces. I almost managed to win this game, but then when the other players realised how close I was to winning, they put all sorts in my way, and I ended up not winning.
The second time I played this game I played as Captain Hook, and the goal was to defeat Peter Pan at the Jolly Roger. I enjoyed this game significantly more since I won, but I did enjoy the challenge of playing as Captain Hook.
I love that everyone in the game is aiming for something different, I cannot remember each of the characters goals, but I think Prince John had to finish a turn with 30 coins, Jafar had to get the magic lamp and defeat the genie and Ursula needed to get the trident and defeat King Trident. The game can get very confusing if you are not paying attention, so you need to look closely at each of the players to see what they are doing and you have to try and guess their next move.
Additionally, I love where the game could go from what it is now. Apparently there have been talks of making additional game packs with other Disney Villains, adding to the ones already available. The possibilities are endless, they could have Scar from the Lion King, the Horned King from the Black Cauldron, even Mother Gothel from Tangled. This game is very enjoyable and I feel like it has great replay value to have a go at each character and to try an succeed in reaching their goals.
Books
Hunted by Meagan Spooner
So I read two books in January, the other book I liked but wasn't something that I would say makes my favourites list, however I did really enjoy reading Hunted. I really liked how it was a retelling but tried to be different to the story that we already know. Yeva used to go hunting with her father in the wood as a child, but then when she grows up, she stops since it is something that a young lady shouldn't do. When their father is forced to sell his home and move to his hunting cottage with his three children, Yeva begins hunting again. Her father goes missing and Yeva goes into the forest to see what has happened to him, which is where she encountered the Beast.
I liked how the relationship built up between Yeva and the Beast, but overall I was not a huge fan of the romance as I felt like that element of the relationship was very rushed into the story. It was great that you could see that they began to understand each other, and a sort of friendship formed between them.
It was a fun book to read, not the best but every book has its flaws and I personally really enjoyed reading this book. It was a very easy to get through and took me three days to finish. I'd say if you were looking for a more romantic book or a book with intensive world building, then this book may not be for you since as mentioned before, the romance feels very rushed, and there is little to no world building in the book.
Movies
Mary Poppins Returns
I went to go and see Mary Poppins Returns, and I absolutely loved it! It made me feel very nostalgic for the original movie! I know quite a few people came out of the film thinking that the entire movie was completely pointless, especially because of the cartoon section in the middle of the movie (which if you say this about Mary Poppins Returns, you should say the same about the original movie since it followed a similar structure).
I've always loved Mary Poppins as a character, and I really looked up to the Julie Andrews version as a child. And don't get me wrong, Julie Andrews is absolutely fabulous as Mary Poppins, but Emily Blunt was absolutely fabulous in the role! Her vocals really suited the role, I was a little fearful since watching the Into the Woods movie, although her acting in that movie was very good, I was not a huge fan of the vocal performance. I absolutely loved Mary's wardrobe in this movie too! She looked fantastic! I initially thought that it would be a little weird watching Mary Poppins and not having Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Obviously the other characters had aged up so it was probably going to be believable that they were the same characters from the original movie, and with Bert being written out of the movie completely. But I feel like it was a very seamless transition with the new incarnation of Mary Poppins, with her new and still youthful appearance given a nod to with a "never ask a lady her age" joke.
I was very surprised to see the Dick Van Dyke appearance, I avoided any trailers so I have no idea if this was announced previously, but it was a lovely callback to the first movie and I cannot believe that he can still dance around at his age! It would have been lovely to see Julie Andrews have a similar cameo in the movie, but when reading up on interviews I completely understand her reasoning behind not appearing in the movie and respect her for it. It was lovely to see Angela Lansbury appear in the movie.
Mary Poppins Returns is a lovely family movie, which is appropriate for all to watch. I felt like it took a much more serious tone than the original movie, but it is still the same story that we all know and love.
Gypsy
I came across the musical Gypsy a few years ago when I was still in school, but had no idea what it was about. In the 2018 Christmas season, I bought this for my mum and we watched it together. I may be biased, since I love anything written by Stephen Sondheim, but I really enjoyed watching this movie. It was the version staring Imelda Staunton, and was a filmed and edited version of a live performance, so I felt hesitant categorising it under the movie category, but I think I will leave it since we did watch it on DVD so that counts right?
The story is basically about a mother and two daughters. The daughters were an act and the mother wanted to them to be stars. Eventually when they grow up, the star of the act runs away to get married, and the other daughter becomes a strip tease artist.
It was not the story that I was expecing before I watched the movie, but the music and the songs are brilliant and help move the story along. I think it especially works since they transition between performing shows and then naturalism, and the music changes between the situations, weather on stage or "onstage".
I feel like this is a great musical for Sondheim fans if you have somehow missed it, but also for anyone who is looking for a female focused show. The show has so many women in the spotlight and they are all great characters that are not your usual 2 dimensional princesses that you may come across on stage.
Shows
The Guy who didn't like Musicals
So I watched this on Christmas eve 2018 when it originally came out, but I also watched it multiple times since then and managed to convince my flat mates to watch it, so it felt wrong to not include this show on my January Favourites list. This show is unlike anything I have ever seen.
I feel like a huge flaw with it is the fact that the main character does not have a song of his own, but at the same time this is a huge reason why I love this show. There isn't another show that I am aware of where the main character does not have at least one solo. It feels very Alice in Wonderland esque since there are a lot of characters that we are introduced to that go away after one or two scenes, and we stay with the same main character through out.
As a Team Starkid fan, I can say that this has easily become one of my favourite Starkid musicals and may be one of my favourite musicals ever. The music is amazing and is integrated into the script really well, and the acting and singing from the actors in the show is outstanding.
I don't really want to go into too much here, but the whole musical is available on YouTube for free if you want to watch it.
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror show is currently on a tour around the UK, and I went to see it at the Manchester Opera House with my friend for his 20th Birthday, and the whole experience was not anything like I was expecting.
I knew that people dressed up to go to see the show, but I had no idea that people shouted during the performance. I was really thrown at first because I was not sure if it was supposed to happen or if it was just a really drunk person shouting at the actors on stage, therefore I was not sure if I was supposed to laugh or be really angry with them. As it got further through the performance, I realised that this was just a thing that happened during Rocky Horror.
The actors were fantastic, I had no idea how they were ale to keep a straight face with some of the things that the audience were shouting at the stage. I loved the choreography in this show too, even though there were such iconic songs in this show, the choreography was unlike anything that I have ever seen before.
This was one of my favourite how experiences, the show itself was very good, but there was also just a general feel good atmosphere in the theatre, which is a feeling I have never really experienced before in a live theatre performance.
Music
The Guy who didn't like Musicals
This links back to the section above. I really enjoyed the music in The Guy who didn't like Musicals, and bought the soundtrack. There isn't really much I can say here that I didn't really say in the section above, but all I can say is that this is a really high quality cast recording and sounds absolutely fantastic, whether you are playing this through your phone, headphones, laptop or speaker. Plus buying the album is supporting Team Starkid so they have money to put towards putting on their next production.
Six: The Musical
I recently discovered this musical when listening to recommended music on Spotify, and I fell in love with it instantly. I think that musicals based on our history is a brilliant idea - especially seeing the huge success of Hamilton - and it really gets young people interested in the stories of the past.
How many of us have sat through history class with the whole "Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced Beheaded, Survived" thing going on. I know that during history I didn't really think that these women had much of a personality, I just thought they all got married to the King to become Queen, and were all pretty much okay with it when the King divorced them or wanted to move on. I always felt odd assuming this, but this type of thinking is what my early history classes encouraged.
This musical - although not the most historically accurate (but then again what musical is? Look at Anastasia, that entire story is pretty much fictional) I think that the fact that this show depicts Henry VIII's wives with personalities and allows them to explain their own stories rather than the musical explaining it from Henry's point of view is very refreshing and important, especially for women of that time.
I also love how every Queen's song is clearly written in the style of a female singer, just adding to the reasons why I love this soundtrack. The album is available on Spotify or available on Youtube to listen to. It is truly incredible.
Company
Just to make this clear, this is not the Company 2018 cast recording (although a post about that may be appearing in the not so distant future...stay tuned!!) Before going back to University, I was advised to listen and watch a version of Company by Stephen Sondheim as we would be looking at some of his works in the next term at University (particularly the opening number).
I did listen to the Company soundtrack before January 2019, but I was very confused with what was going on and was not a huge fan of the album. However, after doing some research and understanding that it was a concept musical and what it was about, the songs grew on me and I eventually ended up enjoying listening to it.
Particular favourites on the soundtrack for me was Another Hundred People and the famous song Being Alive, but I do also enjoy the other songs on the album. I do wish that this was something that I had watched first to understand what was going on before listening to the soundtrack, but I do love the songs in this musical now, and that is the important thing!
The Greatest Showman: Re-imagined
The Greatest Showman had some lovely songs in it anyway, but I love this new version of the soundtrack. The songs feel fresh and new and I love the way that this new album sounds! Its definitely one that I have listened to a lot while writing blog posts!
She used to be mine (from the musical Waitress)
I have not watched or listened to the entire soundtrack of Waitress, but I was recommended to add this song to my rep book by one of my friends since she thought that it would really suit my voice, which lead me to listening to this song. And I fell in love.
This song is such an emotional song to sing and to listen to. I don't know much about the context since I want to see Waitress before I know the details about the story, but I beliee that in this song its about an abused woman in her 30's who is pregnant, and this song sounds as though it comes at a point where this character is at her lowest point and is singing about how things used to be.
I may be completely wrong, but this it how I interpret the song as someone who has never seen or heard any of the other songs from Waitress. The song is absolutely beautiful and has easily become one of my favourite songs that I have added to my rep book.
So there you have it, here are my favourites for January 2019. I hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as I enjoyed writing about these things and experiencing them during the month. Did you have any favourites in January? Let me know!
