MY INSPIRATION...

...FRIDA KAHLO

Frida Kahlo is an artist from Mexico. She was born in 1907 and died in 1954. She is known for her self- portraits, Frida Kahlo said that she paints herself as she is alone so often. In her self portraits she always puts facial hair and a mono brow on herself.

Frida Kahlo inspires me because she was in a severe accident involving a bus and a car. She was in a full body cast for 3 months. She fully recovered however she would have relapses of extreme pain, which continued for the rest of her life. Considering all of this, she continued to be creative and didn't make any excuses to not paint. 

I also love reading her quotes to motivate and inspire me. Here is my favourite quote by Frida Kahlo.

• "I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes my head without any other consideration."

Who is your inspiration? I would love to know.

Amber x

HOW TO BE ORGANISED AND MOTIVATED

Lately I have been unorganised, which has resulted in me lacking motivation to revise and to clean my room etc. So if anyone else is in this position, I want to give you a few tips that helped me get organised and motivated.

1. CLEAN YOUR SPACE

I think it's important to have your room/ house/ flat clean and bright. When my room is messy, I feel overwhelmed and I can't be bothered doing anything. But when it's clean I am more likely to get stuff done! Put on some loud music and just get stuck in with cleaning and afterwards you will feel much better.

2.  DIARY/ CALENDER

I like to use both a calender and a diary. I use the diary to take with me as it is small and the calendar I keep at home. Calenders and diary's make it easy to see what your doing that week/ month and therefore you are always prepared for any events or exams or friends birthdays.

3. WALL MOTIVATION

Right in front of my desk I have a huge world map, and on it I have put pink stickers on the places I want to go. This keeps me motivated as it reminds me of the places I want to travel to, and to do so I need to work hard! You could also have quotes dotted around your home that can just remind you to keep focus and remain motivated.

4. POSITIVE PEOPLE

Surround yourself with people that are positive! I've noticed that when I hang around with negative/ lazy people their attitude starts to rub off on me, and when I hang out with positive, motivated people they inspire me and I feel empowered to do more! 

I hope these tips are useful to you! If you have any more tips on how to be organised and motivated please comment.

Amber x

REVISION TIPS FOR STUDENTS

Here a few revision tips that helped me with my exams last year and hopefully will help you with yours.

firstly I copy notes from text books in short form and using words that I can understand. the actual act of writing the words down onto paper helps me remember the information better. Also when doing this, I try and make my writing as neat as possible so that when reading over the notes later, I can read them easily.

Then I read the notes over and over again, which I know isn't the best method but it really helps me. I try and get the information stuck in my head. Also if your a psychology student, you know how the multi- store model of memory says that to get information into your long term memory from your short term memory you need elaborate rehearsal.

After doing this, I like to discuss what I've learnt with someone, usually my mum. I get her to go over my notes and say the title of a section and I'll tell her what I know from that section. This helps me to know what I know from memory and the things I couldn't remember I will just go back and read over it.

Lastly, when I feel confident that I have the knowledge I need for the exam, I do a lot of past paper
exams. You can get them from your exam board's website. They help you apply your knowledge in the way the exam requires you to.

I hope this helped some of you guys. I know most people's exams are over but all my fellow A2 student's still have our exams to come.

Amber x

LONDON TOWN

On Tuesday 12th May, I went to London! I went for an interview with a company to volunteer abroad. While I was there I also wanted to explore. This was my first time going to London completely alone and I wanted to make the most of it. 

As soon as I got off the train, I made my way to the 'Wellcome Collection' museum/ gallery. They had some very peculiar pieces of artwork.

I then went to the hostel I was staying at. I shared the room with two lovely ladies. p.s. I recommend staying in hostels as 1. They are cheap and 2. You meet the most fascinating characters ever!

After having a little rest, I then made my way to Camden Market. I have heard so much about Camden market from London bloggers and really wanted to check it out.

Amber x

YORKSHIRE SCULPTURE PARK

Yesterday my friend and I went to Yorkshire Sculpture Park for the day. The park is an open-air gallery. Some of the artists featured there include Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. The food at the cafe was also really nice. I had an egg and rocket sandwich and my friend had burger and chips.

Amber x

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS

SPEAK

The movie is about Melinda who goes through a traumatic experience during summer and chooses not to speak because of it. As the movie goes on she starts to slowly open up more about what happened during that summer. Kristen Stewart plays Melinda and gives such an amazing performance.

THE BRASS TEAPOT

This movies is about a couple that end up with a magical teapot that produces money when they feel pain. The couple are uncertain with how far they are willing to go for money. They end up doing some crazy things, and at one point are considering murder. The movie overall is actually really nice and I think it teaches you a lovely lesson on how money cannot buy you happiness

PALO ALTO

The only reason I watched this movie was because Nat Wolff was in it lol. However the movie was amazing. It is mainly about April (Emma Roberts) who is a shy and innocent girl. April is torn between 'stoner teddy' who she has a crush on, and her soccer coach who she is actually going out with. She gets used by her teacher and finds it hard to express her feelings towards Teddy.

The movie also focuses on other characters such as Emily, who is the school slut and Fred, who is worryingly reckless.

MONA LISA SMILE

I absolutely love this movie! The movie is about a free- thinking art professor (Julia Roberts) that is teaching in a conservative 1950's all girl school. She challenges them to question their traditional social roles. This doesn't always go the way she wants and can be challenging for her, but she has strong views and wouldn't change them for the world.

IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY
The movie is about Craig, a suicidal 16 year old who checks himself into a mental- health clinical. However the youth wing is closed, so he must spend his stay with the adults. The movie follows him through his struggle to get better. He finds himself drawn to Noelle, who helps him get over his crush on his best friends girlfriend.


Are there any movies that you have loved lately?

p.s. I'm currently watching 'The Art of Getting By'.

Amber x

FOGGY ALBERT DOCK

It was extremely foggy here in Liverpool last night, so I did the obvious thing and went down to the Albert dock and took photographs of the river Mersey.

The fog was so intense that looking at the river felt like looking at a huge blank piece of paper, it was so weird. 

Amber x