LIFE CATCH UP.

I was going to do an end of uni/ where I'm headed next post just after I finished uni about 2 weeks ago but so much more has happened and been decided about "the future"since then, so I am going to blurt it all out here just so I can actually organise my thoughts as well as share!

Newest addition to my sunglasses collection, obsessed with these! (From ASOS)

My Time at Uni…

So I finished uni. It's done. The best and most challenging (in a good way) 3 years of my life so far. I really loved uni and I think this is down to the outlook I had when I first started, which was to make the most of my time here and take up as many opportunities as I possibly could and have as many amazing experiences as I could! In my first year I got to grips with education again after being in full time work and by the end of my first year I realised I really enjoy academia. I went to a party with the ipaper, met and had so much fun with new friends, got involved with a society and met my boyfriend. In my second year I got a job at uni as an academic support worker and am still not quite finished doing that job now, I love it and think it is the best (and best paid!) job someone could have at uni. Second year was also the year that I think I worked the hardest, I really 'knuckled down' and didn't go out a whole lot, but it paid off because my grades were getting better and better. Third year felt like the most difficult to me for the first half, and I got so stressed at the end of the first semester that I had a full on panic attack, which is something I had never experienced before and don't care to again! Again my grades at the end of the first semester were some of my best, but I felt like if to get really good grades it meant having panic attacks then it wasn't worth it. So when it came to the last semester of final year I made myself chill out a bit, I still worked hard, especially on my dissertation, which is probably my favourite piece of work from my degree, I loved the process and working on something I loved and creating it all myself. Final year was also the year that I not only worked part time alongside my studies but also volunteered as a tutor for a struggling student at the secondary school next to our uni and became the President of the real Ale Society. I judged the beer of the year at the Oxford Beer Festival for the second year in a row, got offered the chance to write for Beer magazine and left the contact details at the festival. My final year was actually one where I met some of my favourite people during my time at uni and I love that uni gives you that opportunity to meet new friends throughout your whole time. Uni is such a strange and amazing world if you get it right, I really wanted to carry on and do a masters and maybe some day I will but for now I can't afford it and feel like I need a break from education.

Celebrating end of uni!

The Future…

I started applying for things this semester because I thought I should try! I applied for a couple of internships, one was with Cambridge University Press and one was with Oxford University Press and after applying for both I completely forgot about them because I thought I would never hear back. Almost a month later I had a rejection email from Cambridge, which if anything just reminded me that I had applied! I wasn't surprised though. Then a few days later I looked at my emails to find I had been invited for an interview at OUP, I literally couldn't (and still can't) believe it! It is a really competitive internship and I had an interview. I wen straight to the careers service at uni and told them so I could have a mock interview to help me prepare - I'd had plenty of interviews but nothing professional like this! I did my mock interview and it went well, bought a suit and looked so smart I felt like a lawyer or something! The OUP building was quite intimidating, grand pillars inside and out and lots of people rushing around but the building was amazing and has a cafe inside and everything! (little things) I was interviewed by 2 people and had to prepare a task beforehand which was to edit a book. When I came out of the interview I felt like it had gone well, but still had the feeling there would be someone better. This was a monday and they told me I'd hear back at the end of the next week. The following monday we were in shrewsbury visiting my family and had popped into town when I missed a call, we searched the number and it was OUP. I found a quiet spot and phoned them back to find out that I'd only bloody got it! You can watch my reaction in this vlog: 

So starting 30th June I will be working at OUP! I'm so excited and a bit nervous because I need to prove myself now! I genuinely think that my full time work experience plus all the stuff I talked about above that I did while at uni is what got me this job. I just hope my skills don't all fall out of my head between now and then…

Yesterday we had another bit of excitement as Charlie went for an interview and got the job on the same day! He has accepted and will be doing a marketing internship for the next year at Oxford Brookes in the Careers department. This means we both have something straight out of uni, which is amazing - especially these days when everything is so competitive and difficult. It also means we will be staying around the Oxford area for the next year, although I might try and get a job in London after my internship. 

It's amazing and I'm so happy we both have managed to get something immediately after finishing our degrees. I thought we would both end up jobless and living at our parents' houses or something but I guess our very hard work has paid off and that I'm just a bit of a pessimist like my Dad haha!

Filling out forms for OUP after getting the job!

So that is my life at the moment and we both have a few fun things coming up: we're going to the Royal Albert Hall with Charlie's family on Sunday and then next week we are going on holiday with my famalam and after that we are helping out at a literature conference at uni, which should be good fun! I've also just got tickets to go and see First Aid Kit (my favourite band) in September at the Royal Albert Hall! Today is a positive day (:

This has been a ridiculously long post that probably only I will ever read the whole of, and kind of shows that I need to do more regular posts so they can be a *bit* shorter!

What exciting news have you had lately, or do you have anything fun planned for the summer? Let me know in the comments! For more posts you can follow me on Bloglovin'!

Where Have You Been?

So yet again blogging has taken a back seat with posts being few and far between as I dedicated every waking minute to uni work, mostly dissertation these past few (read: many!) weeks. Its finished now, bound with a lovely bright green cover and handed in, not to be seen by me again for a few months! To be honest, the dissertation has been the least stressful assignment I've done for my degree and the most enjoyable. I'm really going to miss it and keep thinking about ways that I could expand it or different things I could write about the texts. Even though the final stages of the dissertation were time-consuming, I had some much needed breaks. One was my brother coming to stay with us for a weekend, which was really nice. He finally got to see the flat I'm living in now and we went out for amazing burgers at Atomic Burger (we actually went to Atomic Pizza, but you can order the burgers there too!) and then watched films, pewdiepie and drank kopperberg. It was perfect relaxation for me! The main reason he came to stay was to go to the applicant day at my uni as he has a place to start studying here in September just after I graduate! He was really impressed with the uni and course but he really likes another uni too so I'm not sure where he is going to end up just yet, but it would be odd/funny if he went to the same uni as me! 

Something I always try to do, even if I'm busy writing essays, is go for a long walk on the weekend. It is a nice way to take a break from doing work and being cooped up in my flat or the library. These pictures were taken on a walk through the university parks, I'm not sure what it might actually be called though! We don't go here usually as it is a bit further from where we live now, but we used to go for walks here last year when Charlie lived right next to them. Very peaceful and pretty on a summery day! Going for a long walk always helps my brain to get going if I'm lacking motivation or creativity.

So now there are only a couple of weeks left of uni, which is completely crazy and terrifying. I still have no idea what I want to do after uni. I wanted to do a masters, but I just can't afford it. I have no idea how people fund the fees and living costs. It feels so unfair that I want to do a masters but don't have rich parents to pay for it, which is how I'm guessing most people fund it. I might try and save up money and do it next year, but it annoys me having to put it off for a year because I'll be 25 by then and  might have lost my confidence after a year out of it all. Even though I get pretty good grades, I still don't feel confident that my work is 'good enough' most of the time! I had an email from my academic advisor yesterday urging me to reconsider because I'd be perfect for a masters, it was lovely to read but depressing at the same time! I'm just going to throw myself into my last couple of essays and enjoy the last bit of uni and see where life takes me... probably to the next series of The Vampire Diaries because I'm addicted!

Sunday Walks.

On Sundays we like to go for pretty walks by the river and I thought this time I would take my camera along and capture some of the floods! Its a really picturesque walk along the river, it runs from Iffley village all the way to town and there are always lots of people walking with their dogs and families or cycling along this path. These were taken last weekend as today I am heading to the Bodleian to get some more work done. It's already getting so busy at uni and even though at the moment it feels like there is no light at the end of this essay-filled tunnel, I know it will go by in a flash and I'll be graduating before I know it. Still got no idea what I'll be doing after graduation seeing as I am no longer applying for masters courses because they are just too expensive. On one hand I like the idea of everything being open but on the other hand it is scary not knowing what is going to happen in a few months!

I did have a couple of other photos for this post but blogger kept changing them when I uploaded them, which was trés annoying!

Byron Burger.

For menu, info, prices etc check out their website: Byron

So the other day we went to Byron for a burger treat after some toil in the library. I had been wanting to go and try it out for some time, plus lately for some reason I've been craving burgers a lot (we'd actually also been to Atomic Burger a few nights before! Ssshh). 

One of the reasons I wanted to try it out was to sample their Craft Beers. As the president of my uni's real ale society I felt it was my duty... 

I went for what I think is a popular one at Byron (my research includes lots of instagram photos), the Brew Dog Dead Pony Club, which is a fruity pale ale and not too dissimilar to what we picked as Ale of the Year at the Oxford Beer Festival back in October. Charlie picked a stout, which would have been my choice also if picking for my own penchant and I obviously had a taste and thought it was ridiculously tasty. So the ale sampling was a success!

On to the burgers. Charlie went for the Byron, which looked incredible with double burger, bacon and cheese dripping off it *drools*. I went for the slightly more modest cheeseburger which was also delish. For sides we opted for skin-on chips and mac 'n' cheese to share. It was a really filling meal, so I didn't bother with dessert (plus I'm generally not bothered about dessert) but Charlie went for the cheesecake, and I did have a cheeky bite and it was incredible! 

So there you go, awesome burgers, puds AND good beer. What more can you ask for, really? Now, click below to see the burger foodporn goodness....

Cold, Bright Oxford.

faux fur - Asos (old), retro coat - Topshop (old), houndstooth pencil skirt - ?, boots - Asos.

Library. Snapped these on my way home from the library. I did some work in the Vere Harmsworth this morning as I felt like a change from the Bodleian where I usually go. I'm trying to get as much of my dissertation done as I can before the semester starts up again as it is going to be crazy busy being my last semester. I can't believe I'm almost ready to graduate! Still no idea what I am going to end up doing, but I'll get there. 

We finally had some sun in Oxford today as you can see by my squinting and frowning! It is still bloody cold though, hence the faux fur!

SUNDAY LUNCH

INTRO

Most recent picture of me - I've just had my long hair chopped off!

So I am yet again starting a new blog and will try my best to keep at it! I still use Tumblr a bit, which is the same name as this blog (Copper Boom) and I basically reblog pretty things over there. This blog is hopefully going to be talking about things I like/don't like/want/wear/am doing etc.. a bit of everything really, from beauty product talk to wish lists and even book reviews!

A bit about me... My name is Nikki, I live in Oxford and am studying Literature and Philosophy, in September I will be starting my 3rd and final year eek! I love my course and uni and have no solid idea about what I will do afterwards but I have a few ideas about what I would like to try and do.

So welcome, and hopefully this won't be as short lived as the rest of my blogging attempts! I have been thinking about making YouTube videos to accompany, because it might make me less lazy when it comes to documenting things. I find I love reading other peoples' blogs and watching videos but always end up too busy to keep up with posting myself! There is something so nice about being able to look far back through blog posts and videos about your life and have it all documented, ready to re-live! So here's hoping I can keep up with this, at least posting once a week...

...And here is me, very excited about finally being able to manage my hair again!