I've made quite a difficult decision. I think i'm going to move my blog from here to wordpress. I'm not sure whether this is going to be a long lasting change or not so for september I'm going to try out wordpress and see what I think of it as a sight; through the design and such. This will stay up and running but for the time being I want to see what wordpress is like. The link for my new blog is: https://geekingginger.wordpress.com please have a look and continue to support me.

Love you all
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The time of the year that all students dread has passed, for A-Level students at least, once more. Today I got my A-Level results and even though my place at drama school was confirmed many moons ago; I could stop being nervous.

I want to break down what i've been doing for the past two years, now that it's over and I don't mind sharing that sort of information on the internet. In 2014 I auditioned to get into a specialist performing, creative and productive arts school called Birmingham Ormiston Academy. I took part in a two day audition with fifty other potentials who had all applied to get in, there had been another two days for the other sixty or so potentials. Those two days were incredibly tough. So tough that people would break down in tears and others would walk out the room and not come back. But even though it was incredibly difficult, and exhausting, I adored every minute of it. A few weeks later I found out that I had gotten in and could take a BTEC Level Three Extended Diploma in Musical Theatre, this is the equivalent to doing three A-Levels. My parents had one condition in allowing me to go. This was that I had to do two a-levels alongside, both because that's what I would be doing if i'd stayed at my old school and so that I had something to fall back on if I decided that I didn't want to do musical theatre any more.

Little did I know how tiring that would become, but i'll go into that later.

I got my GCSEs, a few minor disappoints but nothing that would stop me from doing what I loved, and then I was onto BOA. Walking through those doors that first day was absolutely terrifying. I have social anxiety, something that I didn't truly realise until I was flung head first into a school where I knew no one. Basically, I didn't talk to anyone but teachers for about six weeks (unless I was spoken to, of course, i'm awkward not ignorant). Alongside this I did something that only five percent of people in my whole year did ... two a-levels and our pathway. Musical Theatre is the longest pathway taking up 15 hours. On top of this I had two a-levels of five hours each. The school week at Boa is 28 hours long. If you're good at maths then you will have discovered that that gave me 3 hours of frees. That's it. Some of my friends had 13 hours to do nothing (additional A-leveld were not compulsory after all) and I had 3 hours to do work for at least five different units for MT and then work (and revision) for my additionals. You can imagine that I was extremely stressed when Christmas came. But I didn't even think about dropping either of my additionals. I love both English and Geography and although there were times when all I wanted to do was cry I knew that I couldn't give up.

Alongside all of this I was constantly preparing for the ever approaching auditions and possible working career. That meant that I attended both classical and musical theatre singing lessons for at least four hours, drama and dance lessons too. Not to mention all the practicing that had to be done outside of these commitments and through all this I was teaching my own classes at my dance school. Basically I had no time at all. Yet I some how managed to get every unit of work for all three on time, sometimes even early, without having to pull a single all-nighter. I started revising for all of my exams in the summer holidays last year (we did both our ASs and A2s at the end of Year 13) and I started to do research for the upcoming year too so that I would be as prepared as possible.

I worked my little arse off; giving myself very little free time for anything but reading and writing. But I didn't care. I'm not a party person, I don't drink so I wasn't bothered that I missed out on house parties or huge gigs or anything. I'd rather spend that time memories quotes or finally figuring that difficult section out in my latest solo. I didn't mind. People told me that I needed to socialise more. But, to be honest, I didn't care. I was sorting out my future which some people I know still haven't done.

My time at BOA changed me for the better. I've made friends there that I wouldn't have dared to talk to had I been at any other school. I cut my hair into a bob so that i'd have a whole new wave of confidence. I accepted myself as I am and that has made me into a much better person that I was too years ago. The staff there, at times, were more like friends than teachers and would help me out in anyway I needed and there are some people who I now view as family because of how close we've gotten and I'm terrified to think that I won't be seeing them again all the time (maybe not ever again). These are people that I would see every day without fault and worked in such close quarters with. they really are a family for me and I'm going to miss them like crazy. Not to mention that I was able to go on two once in a life time trips which just helped me relax before the stress of exams kicked in.

For me, academic exams are never the best experience. I can do amazingly in all the mocks that are thrown my way and then i'll sit down in that hall and suddenly something just goes *click* and everything in the world that could possibly go wrong does. I worked my arse off for months on end whilst some people would pick up a book a few hours before the exam and be sorted. I spent very little time with my friends and family and I opened that envelope this morning expecting to see it all being paid off. For my BTEC it did. I got D*D*D* which is the highest grade possible (the equivalent to three A*s) and I was over the moon. Though I've known that for a while because my place at drama school was firmly confirmed about a month and a half ago tell me these grades. But then I looked at my two A-levels. Two subjects that I had poured my blood, sweat and tears into over two years and I got two Cs.

Now I know that sees aren't a bad thing. In fact they are exceptionally good. They meant that i'd passed and could flaunt them with style. But I expected so much more. Yes, I got the equivalent of A*A*A*CC which is amazing but those two Cs just looked so horrible. I went into BOA by myself and grinned my way through it. Sure there was no hiding that I was disappointed to my teachers and friends, they could all see it and I think that maybe they too had been expecting something more, but none of them could see how much it affected me. On my way in I'd been seeing Facebook posts from friends at my old school on how they had gotten A*AAA or A*ABB and stuff like that and they released on the news that thousands of people had gotten high grades. It had blown up my expectations and then this envelope told me. No. You've gotten two Cs. I'd left the house every day at 6:30 and not gotten in till 7 at night. Some nights it'd be even later if I went to classes. I revised anywhere I could and did everything that I could possibly do so that I would be prepared for what was going to happen. And all that work counted for two Cs. I had a friend who didn't even bother revising for her final two exams because she knew she was probably going to fail who's now appealing her results since she's two marks off an A. How is any of that far?

But then I read something earlier. There are so many people who may have gotten higher or lower grades than me who can't go to uni because they don't fit the criteria. My place was unconditional from the start and I've know since November of last year. Yeah I could be disappointed but it wasn't going to mould my life like it would for so many others. I'm going to my dream drama school in September and that'll hopefully go onto a career where no one will even look at my results. They won't care all they will care about is the package in front of them; me.

So, for those of you out there who are reading this. Whether that be for future results days or the GCSE results that are just around the corner. Really it doesn't matter. You can work as hard as you possibly can and whether that means you come out with an A* or a U it doesn't matter. Because your life will find a way to go the path that it is supposed to and all you have to do is keep your eyes open and let it. These envelopes don't determine your life or who you are. Don't let how you were in that exam determine the rest of your future. If you're going for a job interview then be confident and give them a reason to love you so that they ignore those results. Find something you love doing and fight for everything you've got and I know that you will be able to have the best life possible!

-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER!
Book Total of 2016 - 64
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I haven't sat down and just talked to you all for a while and I thought I would talk to you about the things going on in my life. Surprisingly, things haven't been all that hectic of late. My A-Levels are officially over and done with (though I still need to wait for my results with a week and a bit to go) meaning that I can just relax until I move to London for uni/drama school.

I'm going to do Musical Theatre at one of my dream schools and I am beyond ecstatic about everything that is going on. I've been getting my stuff from plates to bedding and it's really exciting. I'm getting to plan a whole life for myself which will hopefully fold out into an amazing career; as long as i'm prepared to work my arse off to do so.

This time last year I uploaded a post called 'Something Just Dawned On Me' and in that I talked about my stress towards the pending future and everything revolving around UCAS and me not actually wanting to grow up. Now I'm not the only person who has ever felt that way, I know. UCAS can be incredibly stressful from choosing the courses that are right for you to writing your personal statement. So I was wondering if people would mind me doing a little theme all about Uni. When I move in in September i'll talk about moving in and choosing rooms and societies and everything like that. They'll obviously be musical theatre themed in a way because that's what my degree is but other than that they'll be accessible to everyone. Is that something you'd all interested in? Feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Is anyone else going to uni or college this year and moving out? Please tell me that you're as nervous as I am!

-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER!
Book Total of 2016 - 64
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I'm rather impressed with the amount of books that I've read this month. I've been on full holiday mode, hence the lack of updates, without even leaving my house, and I think that me getting to read 14 books in that time is rather impressive really. 

Here it is, another top five wednesday but this week I'm going to talk about the top five characters that I hate even though they were not designed that way. These are not antagonists or anti heroes. Instead they are either the protagonist or a side character in a particular novel that I hated for some reason.

Cho Chang from Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling
For some reason I have always hated Cho Chang. Maybe because she got in the way of Hinny but for me she was just so horrible. She is such a gold digger. She was only interested in Cedric because he was the Hogwarts Champion and then went for Harry because he could protect her. She was made to seem weak when really I felt that she was bale to manipulate anything to go her way. She just .... I don't know how to describe it really. But I feel as though I'm the only person who dislikes her in the world since people feel sorry for her.
Not me though. I just felt that she was a needy little girl who wanted to be the centre of attention all the time. I mean she doesn't even really apologise for revealing the information about Dumbledore's Army when everyone else was able to resist it.
In my opinion, she was just a selfish little girl who would do anything to get her way ... and I mean anything!

Clary Fray from The Mortal Instruments, by Cassandra Clare
I can't explain why but I never clicked with Clary. I didn't feel sorry for her and I just felt that if she looked at the situation before making rash decisions half the things in the books wouldn't have happened. I mean, I haven't finished the series or anything because it's really not my cup of tea, but I just couldn't stand her as a protagonist at all.

Wolf from The Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer 
Slightly controversial, I know, but this has always been a feeling of mine. There has always been something about Wolf that I didn't like. I don't know why but I just don't love him like the rest of the characters. Maybe because of how we were introduced to him as a character. He just seemed too bigheaded for me and even in Stars Above at the wedding I was just sat there thinking, there's something off about you. I can't explain it, but to me Wolf has always been a character I can't stand!

Newt from The Maze Runner, by James Dashner
Shots have definitely been fired! I'm sorry but for some reason I didn't ever click with Newt. Everyone in the world seemed to love him but I just didn't like him. I always felt like there was something in the background, that he was suddenly going to be the evil one in the group. Maybe that was an original plot line or something, but when I first started to read this series I just sort of sat there and thought 'I don't like you.'
Please don't kill me!

Dorien from Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas
Now before you all scream at me, let me explain. This was my feeling before the end of Heir of Fire. Now I just feel sorry. If you've read the books you will understand. But up until that point I just didn't like his character. I felt like he was such a spoilt brat and that he had to get his way the whole time. I couldn't stand him. Hate is probably too strong a word for how I felt about him, but I just didn't like him.
Looking back I can see that it was difficult for him but that doesn't mean that I actually liked him. I certainly didn't like him with Celaena. I didn't like Celaena with Chaol either but that's another story.

In fact, I think it was these two gentlemen when they were infatuated with Celaena that made me not like them. Their relationship felt forced and that annoyed me ... so maybe that's why I didn't really like Dorien initially. Now I feel sorry for him (but he still isn't one of my favourite characters ever!)

And that's me done, what characters do you hate even though they are supposed to be completely loveable characters? Feel free to let me know!

-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER!
Book Total of 2016 - 61
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Here I am back with another Top Five Wednesday and this week I'm going to talk about the five books that I really want to get my hands on; the ones I recently added to my wishlist. I'm doing the Read Five Before You Buy challenge to help me attempt to cut down my never ending tbr pile (and to help me save money, I'm a student after all) but that doesn't mean that there aren't so many books that I want to own. Most of the books that I'm so excited about are ones that aren't due to be released for a bit. So I thought I'd share those with you in no particular order.

• The Cursed Child, by J.K. Rowling. 

This is a play that is currently performing in two parts on the West End and talks place after the events of Harry Potter. I'm guessing about twenty years after, don't quote me on that please. I've purposefully ignored everything about this just so that I know find out what it is about for myself when I get chance to read it because I can't afford to actually go and see it because ... it's expensive and i'm a student. I feel like I'm repeating myself.
This comes out at the end of the month, on Mrs Rowling's and Harry's birthday and hopefully I will be able to get my hands on it as soon as possible.

• Heartless, by Marissa Meyer. 

I believe that this is a standalone novel that is based around the backstory of the Red Queen from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Marissa Meyer is probably one of my favourite authors so I cannot wait for November to come along and I can get my hands on this beautiful piece of work!

• Gemina, by Amie Kaufman and Andrew Kristoff

My top read of last year was Illuminae which is a space opera of sorts that was written in a completely unique way, taken from email extracts and cctv recordings and I fell in love with the characters and the events. It was breathtaking. Especially since it distracted me from a lot of waiting in hospitals for different X-rays at that moment in time. Since then I've been waiting for Gemina so it is obviously going to be at the top of my waiting list. I'm just praying that I'm not overhyping it in my mind because then I might not enjoy it.

• Empire of Storms, by Sarah J. Maas

Earlier this year I all but marathoned the Throne of Glass Series. Yes, I am ashamed that i've only just started reading this series but oh my god how I've loved it. And since I finished Queen of Shadows I just needed to get my hands on the next book and it looks so pretty! Ahh! Why is the release date so far away?

• Tales of the Peculiar, by Ransom Riggs 

Another series that I was really late coming to read was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Trilogy which I finished back in February and I adored it. Even though I'm annoyed that I got the hardback of Library of Souls, the final book, because they said that the paperback wouldn't be in the UK for a couple of months. They lied it was out like the next week. But hey, enough about that. The Tales of the Peculiar is a novel, I think, that contains the different stories in The Tales of the Peculiar which are mentioned in the trilogy so I'm dying to get my hands on this beautiful book which won't be out for a few months! Now that is a really reader problem!

What about you? What book are at the top of your wishlist?

-IAMAGEEKINGGINGER!
Book Total of 2016 - 56
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My long summer has been underway for about two weeks now and that means one thing, reading. So I thought that I would share with you the top ten books that I want to get to this summer. This isn't a tbr because I can never ever stick to them but just a few books that are on my shelf that, so long as I don't get stuck in a reading slump, I want to read. Let's get started in no particular order.