The price of travel?

ITV2 has recently announced a new TV show in which Tom Daley goes backpacking around the world. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love Tom and it is likely I will end up watching the TV show, but I am a bit peeved about this concept.

What bugs me about it mainly is that these celebrities already have a significant amount of money behind them from previous things they have done, yet they are being paid by TV stations, in this case ITV2, to do something that many people have to save years for.

This is something that has really ruffled my feathers recently because travelling is something that I really want to do after I graduate next year, but after a massive reality check I realised that there is pretty much no way in hell that I will be able to afford to do this until a few years after graduation. Some of you may think that I should be patient and stop complaining, but as someone who will come out of university with debt exceeding £50,000 and a degree that I probably won't be able to start a profession in for many years due to budget cuts in the Ministry of Justice, I want to get as much life experiences under my belt as possible before I have the opportunity to settle in to a full-time job. 

Travelling is something that many people tend to do on a gap year, or normally when they are a little older further on in life. However, due to the shit nature of the industry I want to work in, there is a possibility I can get a job straight from university or I could go back to working in a cafe and have a grueling few years job hunting. Travelling offers life experience and the opportunity to see the world that is otherwise almost impossible to get - and travelling is something of a bit of a passion for me, and I love nothing more than seeing new places.

Don't get me wrong, the program will probably be a good watch and I will watch it to see the places they visit. The trailer for the program shows Tom and his friend experiencing many adrenaline-fueled activities including bungee jumping, skydiving, off-roading, camel riding and many more activities that the average person would have to pay hundreds of pounds for to be able to enjoy. They also get the cultural side of travelling, with something different in each country. The ITV2 website states that it isn't all "VIP packages and hotels" and that they "rough it backpacker style" - what is wrong with that?! I would absolutely love to do that, and definitely wouldn't call it 'roughing it', it's all part of the experience and would be incredible!

The show sees them go to 6 countries over six weeks including Japan, Australia, Thailand, Morocco and New Zealand - which happen to be some of the most expensive places to visit. It costs on average approximately anything around £10,000 to travel similarly to what they have done in this program. It will take me around 5 years to save up to be able to achieve that sort of level of travelling, and I would also like to travel Europe on top of this.

What I don't understand is why ITV2, or any other television company, doesn't pay a normal bunch of friends to go travelling and experience these activities and opportunities. It would be an authentic reaction and probably pretty good viewing on television, and would provide that group with an experience they could probably only dream of. Or even allocate a budget to the group and follow them as they plan, book, and embark on their own journey, without the interference of anyone else. This would definitely be something I would watch, and could turn in to something that inspires many people to go travelling! 

I am definitely volunteering myself and my friends for this if anyone wants to take up my proposition! 

I am expecting a significant amount of backlash from this where people are saying I am ungrateful, or that I should have done a different degree, or not gone to university at all if I want to do all these things. I went to university to better myself as a person - it has significantly changed me for the better, and I went to hopefully get myself a better career in a few years time than just being stuck in waitressing all my life. Travelling is something that has always been on the agenda for me, and I didn't take a gap year because of the sheer fact I knew I wouldn't then go to university and I would regret it for the rest of my life. The opportunity to travel will probably be very small, or I won't get to do it at all, but it is my goal whether it takes me 5 months or 5 years to save for.

So this is my rant over, for any of you wishing to watch Tom Daley Goes Global it starts Thursday April 10 at 9pm on ITV2.

As always thank you for reading, don't forget to follow me on all my social media over on the right, and I will see you next time!

Inappropriate life rant part two

Hello there, buddies.

The first part of this seemingly continuing series was very popular and it seems that you guys are relating to it quite well - which I am both pleased and not pleased about as I have gone through a lot of shit and I don't like that you guys had to go through it too.

There is a lot of shit going on at the moment which means I could probably turn this rant in to a like 20 episode long thing. If you think that is a good idea then let me know - if not I think it might be time for me to invest in a diary.

I have a feeling that this rant is going to be even more varied and bloody here there and everywhere than the last one, so if you get to the end and understand what on earth is coming out of my keyboard then you get a fluffy rainbow rabbit wearing a sombrero as a prize.

I have also been writing this over about a month so it really is a few chunks of things that have happened fairly recently. So bear with!

Also, I have had shitty internet for ages now which is why I haven't posted in so long - don't hate me.

First of all I would like to thank a few people for putting up with me over the last few weeks as I think I have been a horror to live with and talk to. I want to thank the lovely Vikki for allowing me to be a pain in the ass pretty much 24/7 and complain about pretty much everything to her, and for giving me advice even though she knows I probably won't listen to it. Lots of love going her way. Also to +James and Josh for being pretty much the only people in the world that I talk to these days. They stop me getting caught up in the inter-web and losing the will to live. Then on a less formal note, I want to thank You Me At Six for making awesome music that has been significantly therapeutic over the last few days when all I have wanted to do is scream at the world. Especially Josh Franceschi for having the most beautiful voice in the entire world. Not that they will ever read that, but hey ho. I feel like I am accepting an Oscar...

Ok, I am going to kick this off with the fact that I just hate people. Yup, I hate people. Ok I think I generalised that too much, but at the moment there are certain people in the world who just make me go like this "kdlaksd;lk;alsk" then scream at everything. That has literally been my mentality for the last few days. On that slightly freaky and abnormal note, lets continue.

Branching off ever so slightly from that, I don't understand why people bitch about one person to you but then go act like they are best friends with that one person. I have discovered that if people bitch about someone to you, then it is likely that they bitch about you, too. Long story short, all girls are bitches. Yes this applies to myself, but I am more of the sort of person who tells you if they have a problem rather than go and back stab you. To be honest, since writing this paragraph (about 3 weeks ago) I am now finding that whole situation far too amusing. People have really proven themselves over the last few months so I am so done with people who are just going to give me shit for every single thing I do. So, sorry, but not sorry.

Something that sort of relates to being a student, I strongly dislike it when people are not understanding and whatnot. I have recently been involved in a conversation about issues such as money and stuff where I have said my opinion on certain expensive things and have been completely shot down because of it. I then went on to discuss the fact my loan barely covers my rent and that I see none of it so I cannot afford luxuries that I used to be able to when I had a steady job. Once again I got shot down. Never have I felt so small in my entire life. I felt extremely patronised by that conversation and I will never be able to look at the select group of people in the same way. I do not take kindly to being belittled over something that I cannot help.(Don't worry, I will babble on to my normal self soon).

Do you ever feel really annoyed at someone because they use stereotypes? This is something I am finding increasingly annoying as I grow older. The main few stereotypes I dislike are tattooed people, overweight people and people with disabilities. I am a strong believe in the phrase "never judge a book by its cover". When I hear someone judge someone else because of how they look my brain is like "what the fuck?". The one I find most annoying is the whole tattoo stereotype. I have tattoos. Do I look like a stereotype? No. So why do it?! Seriously? What the fuck is wrong with the world?

As a rule, I tend to not give two shits about some things in life ‘cause I know that worrying about them is just going to get me nowhere. But when you are there for someone through everything they put you through, then they chuck it right back in your fucking face, but still expect you to be there for them afterwards is just a fucking joke. But wanna know the best bit? I am that fucking mug who will be there, too. It seems that no matter what shit I get chucked through, I will just be stupid enough to go running back. Seriously, what is wrong with me? The best bit is that they clearly know I do it, and know they can basically get away with murder. Especially the shit that has already gone down. Like seriously. I need a fucking medal or something. I just can’t seem to help myself. It is just bringing me down worse and worse every time. I need to stop it, but I just can’t. Anyone help? The worst bit is when they rub it in your face. One thing happens and they either lie to you but make it obvious that they’re lying, or they just continuously drop hint after fucking hint. For example, they say one thing, then consistently reassure you that it is true, yet a week later admit they lied. Then say they don’t know what they will do without you and that they are sorry bla bla fucking bla. Seriously, someone help me because it is just going to ruin me soon. I am literally on breaking point, here.

Or we have the situation I am currently facing – not quite a situation as you will see, but I am seriously lacking words at the mo. I have recently discovered a guy who is so fucking gorgeous it is unreal. OMG I am seriously trying not to drop any hints on who this person is because that would be embarrassing, and he might read this….Oh, God. OK, yeah, hot guy. And he is lush basically. Also note that he is waaaaayyy out of my league and I am definitely punching above my weight, not that I stand a chance in hell, but hey ho. Anyways, so there I am chatting away, being completely obvious in everything I am saying (shock horror, the blunt girl being obvious – I know, I know) but I think it is safe to say I genuinely stand no chance here. Which is annoying ‘cause he seems like such a nice guy, too, which makes a nice change from some of the people I have been with. It is now completely obvious who this person is if they are reading. Awkward. I am just gonna stop on that bit now.

Weird girly shit over, I have recently discovered the fact that I hate it when people don't say thank you. I am not overly fussed on please's but if someone doesn't say thank you then I will seriously resist the urge to say something sarcastic back to them. You all know what I am like with sarcasm - I just can't help myself. But oh my God, some people are just rude.

I feel like I am blabbering on like my last rant.

Another thing I want to add is that I am getting so fucking irritated at my internet. My internet provider (who will not be named to save my own ass) is so shit. I have had no decent internet for about 3 months now. Safe to say, they will be getting an angry phone call tomorrow.

One thing I am briefly going to rant about is Google Communities. I recently got added to a community by the admin because they liked my posts on here. So naturally I post my new one to their page only to get the admin to both criticise my title and tell me to change it, then to get my name wrong. Number one, you added me to the community so you know what my posts are like, so there was no need for you to tell me to change my title. Number two, how the fuck can you get my name wrong when it is right above the post?! I just thought this was ridiculous. Apparently my title was misleading...this is after they had read my posts and liked them to the extent they want me to share them further. I just got offended more so that they got my name wrong. Is that bad? Safe to say I will not be recommending the community, nor posting any more to it. Such a rude admin.

Oh my God, another thing (I will try make this the last one, but no promises) is that my entire Facebook feed is full of soppy relationship statuses. Like all the time. I am not sure if I just hate them, or that they are making me jealous. But it is starting to bug me. 

Anyways I am going to shut up now because I feel like I am boring you.

Don't forget, if you got this far your prize is a rainbow bunny wearing a sombrero. Congrats, you are awesome.

If you liked this post then be sure to click "Join This Site" at the top left to hear more from me!

Until next time, toodle-oo!

PS. I hope you like my new home page - it took me hours!

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What's in a name?

Hello there, buddies!

I had originally planned this post for a lot later in the lifespan of my little blog, but due to the recent media shitstorm (to be frank), I think this is the right time to talk about it. 

If you do not know what I am talking about, this will be referring to Katie Hopkins little scrap with the lovely Holly Willoughby on ITV's This Morning. This was all based on the fact that Katie judges a child based on their name, and if she doesn't like the name, or thinks that it belongs to the child of a "working class" family then she forbids her children from playing and interacting with the child.

Katie branded names such as Tyler, Charmaine and Chardonnay as "working class" and that she associated them with not doing homework, always being late, and being badly behaved. She then goes on to say that she dislikes a large variety of names such as geographical names, names related to seasons, and footballer's names. This I find slightly ironic as one of her children is named India.....is this not a geographical location? After being confronted by Phillip Schofield about this, she claimed that India was not a location. Hear that, map makers? You need to take India off the map as it is no longer claimed as a location!! Another one of her children is named Poppy, which could be related to a season, no?

Does she not think that forbidding her children from playing with others is restricting them? I think it might come back to bite her on the ass one day when her children lack specific social skills and become snobs like their mother. Then again this may be something that she wants. Her children are not going to get the opportunity to interact with people of their own age, but of different backgrounds, which may affect them later in life when they enter the working world.

I strongly dislike judgmental people (you shall see this soon when I write another rant surrounding this) and for someone to judge a child of all people really ruffles my feathers. Has she never heard of never judging a book by its cover? I am a strong believer of this, and I cannot stand it when I hear so many people, including my mother, judging a person by small things such as their appearance. There is no way that she can know the background of these children. Besides, they didn't choose their names did they? The fact that she won't even give this child, chosen by her own children, a chance really pisses me off. 

She also then said she dislikes names of children meaning 'beautiful' to which Holly informed her that her own daughter is called "Belle". Katie then essentially backtracked her statement by saying that any child of Holly's would be beautiful. She completely went against what she just said....this also shows she judges people by how they look. Is she an idiot? She isn't exactly model-looking is she? She even admits this herself in the interview! 

Katie claims that children with intelligent names are likely to be more intelligent and have better future prospects. Since when does a name make a child more intelligent? I am sorry, I didn't realise that a name injected wisdom in to a person's brain. In a previous interview, Katie has said that she thinks people with the name Tyronne are more likely to become criminals. Well, frankly I find this quite racist. I know a lovely guy named Tyronne who is NOT a criminal, nor will he ever be. Furthermore, Katie says that she looks for children with good prospects for the future. After a bit of research, I have discovered that her children are quite young. Now I don't know about you, but I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life until about two years ago (I am approaching 20 years old now), so how can a say 10 year old have good future prospects?! This I just find absurd. 

I take my hat off to Anna-May Mangan who was opposing Katie in the debate. She really stood her ground, and I have to say I agree with her. She labelled Katie as an "insufferable snob" and claimed that her argument was "snort worthy". Anna-May then went on to say that judging a child by their name is old fashioned and unkind. This lead Katie to retaliate with something that clearly offended Holly as the women began to have a debate among themselves leading Phillip to have to tell them all to be quiet. 

I literally cannot comprehend why Katie would hold her children back so much! A child should be free to both make their own mistakes in life and also to befriend who they so wish. If you don't make mistakes, how can you be expected to learn, and to become a better person? I shall have you know, I befriended someone with what Katie would call an "acceptable name" who turned out to be everything she has named as someone who would have a lower class name. So what do you say to that, Katie? A name does not define a person whatsoever, and anyone can be a hateful, snobby and spiteful bitch. 

I do not think Katie is in any place to judge someone based on their class after having been on several reality TV shows....and being caught having sex in a field with a married man, do you? She is clearly a classy lady, Mrs Snobby-Pants. 

Branching off from this slightly to something which has royally pissed me off. Katie has claimed that people with tattoos will never be high achievers. I am a proudly tattooed person, and I am currently studying at university doing Bsc (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies. Now then, Katie, would you say that I am not achieving high? My tattoos have never held me back from anything at all, and have in fact had the opposing effect with employers actually welcoming this as it shows diversity and individuality. I think you might find that many people in a much higher status than Katie are tattooed also. I have often wondered to myself if Katie has seen the image of a tattooed doctor? (Below). 

Looking at the first picture you would have no idea that this guy had tattoos, yet I guarantee if anyone saw him looking like he does in the second picture that they would brand him as a "thug". This man is a high status surgeon I believe. Katie, would you class him as an underachiever? I wouldn't - this guy saves lives on a daily basis. I would say that is an amazing achievement, would you not?


I am going to end this here for now, it may be continued at a later date. 

I have to say, before these things I actually had a small amount of respect for Katie as I admire the fact that she is proud to speak her mind. However, this respect has completely diminished as I have realised how judgmental and narrow-minded she is.

Toodle-oo, peeps!

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