Get To Know Me Better...

Hi there!

Somehow you've managed to make it over to my lovely blog and perhaps you've read a post or two and want to know, who the devil is this girl? Well, I'm about to tell you!

My name is Gabriella Sofia and I'm a 21-year-old English Literature graduate from the University of Birmingham in the UK. Yes, this is just the posh way of saying, 'I'm unemployed.' However, I know that I LOVE magazines and beauty (obviously!) and thoroughly enjoy the work experience placement I completed at Conde Nast Traveller Magazine last October, and have felt right at home at the Marie Claire Inspire and Mentor events I've been to this past year. And yet, I feel like one day I would like to run my own fashion or beauty business. And yet, I want to go travelling in South America. And yet, I want to do a Masters in Beauty Journalism at London College of Fashion or a Masters in Magazine Journalism at London City University. And yet, I think I'd be suited to beauty PR. And yet, I would love to be a professional blogger attending fantastic events and posting and Tweeting several times a day. And yet... I could go on for ever and ever. 

Apart from blogging, shopping and trying new products I have tons of other interests too! I really enjoy reading (everything from Harry Potter and Twilight right through to Wuthering Heights and Oliver Twist, The Time Traveller's Wife and PS I Love You to Hamlet and Dr Faustus) which is probably a good thing as I studied most of them for my degree :) I like listening to all kinds of music some of which include show-tunes, pop, rock, Latin, reggae and country. Again, a tad random as a combination of genres, but hey-ho. I sometimes go for walks or jogs but not as often as I'd like to... The sound of my feet slapping the floor goes through me. I really like singing, dancing and acting although I don't get to act hardly ever which sucks. Watching television and movies is my ideal way to wind down and there are SO MANY shows I just can't miss. Grey's Anatomy, America's Next Top Model, One Tree Hill, CSI: New York, 90210, Gossip Girl, Cold Case and seriously the list is never ending and I don't want to seem like a total TV nerd so I'll stop there. Also, if I want to relax then I take a bath and have a mug of Ovaltine (a hot malt drink for those of you that don't know), just for a little luxury!

The most important things in my life are without a doubt, my family and friends. I live with my Mom, Dad and younger sister Amelia. We are one of the closest families you could ever come across. Each night we'll sit down for dinner all together and usually stay talking at the table for a couple of hours. We have a family business so we all work together (which does sometimes drive us mad!) but we know that a family that plays together stays together, so we'll often go out for dinner, go on vacations together in the UK and abroad and even go to concerts as a family. We have the best times and I know that I wouldn't be me without them. I love my family a lot :)

I've never been the sort of girl who was part of cliquey groups in high school and Sixth Form as I found that the politics were a bit too much and to be fair, I guess I wasn't really 'cool' enough for those groups anyway! In terms of friends, I much prefer having individual people rather than big groups. Also, I don't really enjoy the sorts of friendships where you have to be in each other's pockets at all times. I haven't seen some of my closest friends in ages (one I haven't seen for nearly six months... she lives in Australia) and yet they are the sorts of friendships where I know that if I ever needed them, I could literally just pick up the phone and they'd be there for me no matter what. Here are a few of them...

Vikki

I met Victoria Measures in October 2010 at the Walt Disney World Summer Program interviews and I immediately thought I wasn't cool enough to sit at her table, haha! She just looked so well-put-together and spoke really nicely and was surrounded by other people and I was kind of nervous when I plonked myself down on a chair at the table. We didn't really talk directly to each other much that day, but we were talking as a group and I really liked her. After the interviews we added each other on Facebook and soon got talking. We both won a place in Walt Disney World and we got closer and closer in the run-up to the trip as we were both blogging about our experiences (her blog is one of my Blog Crushes and is called Victoria's Vintage) and once we got out there we ended up spending most of our days off shopping, theme-parking, eating out, shopping, blogging, cooking and shopping (we did a lot of shopping!) together. When I left the Program a week early (find out why in my How the Mouse Stole My Magic post) her and the two girls below both helped me spend my last few dollars, organize my flights and pack all of my stuff into two very over-weight suitcases. They stayed up all night with me, and cried when I left. I love Vikki to pieces and literally wouldn't be without her... Actually, I have her to thank for my uber-groovy blog background as she's a HTML genius! I reckon she'd do anything for me, and I'd definitely reciprocate the favour. 

Louise

I met Louise the same day as I met Vikki at the Disney interviews, but when Vikki headed home after we'd all finished because she had a train to catch, Louise, I (and some others) headed to the pub and prayed to Mickey that we'd get the job! Well, Mickey came through, and that night I'd made a friend for life. We Skyped before the trip, booked ourselves onto the same flight, booked a two-bed hotel room for the night before our flights at Gatwick, went on Gabbi-Louise date night, shopped, baked and just generally enjoyed each other's company. Louise makes me howl laughing when she tells a story and she's the number-one person you want around when you're full of energy and want to head out and do something fun. I love Louise, think about her almost every day and miss being able to just call her and say, 'Hey, do you fancy heading down to the pool in an hour?' Yet she'll always be one of my closest friends despite the distance. I have plans to know her forever :)

Karyn 

This is probably the sweetest girl I know. She has the sexiest Scottish accent and I can talk to her about anything! I met her on my flight to Orlando and one of my top three favourite days of the whole trip was when I spent the day lying on a lake-beach at one of the beautiful Disney Hotels named The Wilderness Lodge with Karyn and literally no-one else on the entire rest of the beach. After that, we went and rode some of the attractions at the Magic Kingdom and caught Wishes, the notorious Disney firework spectacular. The day was better than it ever could have been, purely because I spent it girl-talking the whole time with the lovely Karyn. We text every now and then, but again, distance prevents us from seeing one another :( Yet, as with the other girls, I know I'll always have a friend in Karyn and I fully expect to be a bridesmaid at her wedding one day and hope she is prepared for the same vice-versa whenever the time comes!

Sarah

This is my best friend from Primary (or Elementary or Junior) school. She was another one that seemed too cool for me, as she was the 'new girl' and everyone kind of elbowed me out of the way to be her 'best friend'. And yet after a couple of days, she somehow drifted into my company and that's where she stayed for the next eight or nine years as we ended up going to High School together. Seriously, you know how everyone has a friend who makes you laugh your butt off until your stomach is strained and your face aches and your voice is gone? Well, she is mine. And then she only upped and moved to Australia when we were 15. I was gutted! Honestly, we haven't spoken as often as we should have done, but when we do it's like nothing has changed and I love that. The year before last she stayed with me for a couple of nights at home and I loved having my childhood bestie back! We keep in touch via Facebook and I can't wait for the next time she visits. I love this picture of her... her dress is amazing.

The Only 'Group' That I Hang Out With

Emily, Rachel, Maisie and Lottie are four girls that I can hang out with any day of the week, with or without make-up, and not feel left-out or like I'm being judged or like there is bitchiness there, which is quite rare when it comes to girls! I met them in Freshers' Year at university as Rachel and Mai were on my course and Lottie and Emily lived with them. I didn't really feel like I had anything in common with my flat-mates so I spent a lot of time with them instead and even to this day, almost every Monday I have a place to stay at Emily and Lottie's house. Rachel has moved for her year abroad in Canada so it's been hard to stay in touch, and the same goes for Maisie in Spain, but when it comes to these girls whether I sleep over every Monday or Skype them from the other side of the world once every couple of months I know that they'll always be there for me and I hope they know that I'm here for them too. They're lush!

Andrew

Last, but certainly not least, is my best-friend-who's-a-guy, Andrew. He used to hate me and I used to think he was an irritant when we first started High School. But when we turned 14 we went on a school trip to Belgium and I guess we really hit it off! There's nothing I wouldn't tell him and he really is the sort of friend who forgives me all my faults (and I do the same for him of course...) as we have definitely had our ups and downs. He drives me up the wall sometimes and I'm sure I do the same to him, but at the end of the day, he's kind of like a brother to me, so eventually even if I'm really annoyed with him, I have to put up and shut up, forgive and forget, and carry on as before. I do love him to pieces though. Andrew has seen me at my worst, through heartbreak, disappointment, super happy times (A-level results day anyone?), a two week Walt Disney holiday when everyone else was headed to Greek islands riddled with chlamydia-infested teens and one or two particularly heavy nights out when we were a bit younger and I've done the same the other way round! We ended up at the same university after I wrote it on my UCAS application form on his recommendation and I somehow feel that we'll always end up following each other around in this way, although he has given me a year off by being on his year abroad in Spain. I love Andrew.

My Travelling Pals

This summer I was lucky enough to meet a bunch of people from all over the world as we took on the USA together. We were from a range of ages and backgrounds and we're all different in our own little ways, and yet these people became my (albeit slightly dysfunctional) family while I was away. I'm so happy to have met them all, and knowing I have close friends in Germany, Austria, New Zealand, Australia, Wales, England, China and the USA makes me so happy :)

See what I mean when I say they are mostly individuals that I tend to be friends with, rather than groups? It just suits me better, I don't know why!

Haha, anyway, I'm pretty sure you know enough about my magical fantastical life... I might run a quiz to make sure you've been paying attention... Only joking. Maybe. NOT. No, seriously I'm only joking. I'm hilarious. I guess you had to be there... :)

Do you hang out in groups or with individuals? Have you ever been in a situation where you've become almost like family with someone you've only known for a short period of time? Are you as close to your family as I am with mine?

Love

gabriellasofia
x

      

Guest Feature: Long-Distance Fairy-Tale Relationships by Karyn O'Donnell...

With the summer creeping fast upon us, dreams of cocktails on a beach with a Mexican masseur to hand are not uncommon. What? Was that just me? Awkward... Anyway, as I was thinking about how the above would undoubtedly make my USA summer even more fun, I automatically remembered the luckiest girl I know. Karyn is one of my best friends, and she was fortunate enough during our shared summer working at Walt Disney World to meet a very handsome Mexican man called Mau (pronounced m-owh not m-ee-owh like a cat... was that just me too?). They enjoyed an envy-inducing holiday romance and are still going strong today! I know, you cynics out there are shaking your heads, gob-smacked that *SHOCK HORROR* a long-distance relationship has worked.

So, I got Karyn on-board to write a guest post for me about how to make a long-distance relationship work, because let's be honest the world is so full of skepticism these days that we rarely indulge ourselves in ideas that we could one day conduct such a fairy-tale relationship. Karyn offers a fantastic little injection of romance for HauteFuture and reminds us that nothing worth having in life comes easy, but working that bit harder means the benefits are awesome... 

***

Long-distance relationships are one of those things that everyone has an opinion on; it’s either extremely romantic and exciting, or it’s a stupid idea, will never last, and is bound to end in a messy break up. I always loved the fairytale of them, but in reality I thought there was no way to make them work.

My opinion of these kinds of relationships has dramatically changed in the past year. After spending the summer of 2011 working in Disney World in Orlando, (where I met the beautiful and talented Miss Gabriella) I returned home with a whole new outlook on life and love.  I myself am now in a long-distance relationship, with a Mexican...now there’s something I’d never thought I’d say!

***See, this is us in the bath if you don't believe we met in Florida. Our tans testify to that...***

I worked alongside him at ESPN, where we spent almost every day together for 4 weeks before anything happened. It was just one of those things where I was flirting with him, but I wasn’t sure if he was flirting back. But in my experience, when it comes to guys, if you have a hunch about something, it’s usually true. So one night, I told him to come to my apartment after our shift, to be perfectly honest, I thought he would respectfully decline and attend some crazy Mexican party with too many Four loko’s. He didn’t. That first night was the strangest, but nicest night I had ever had. Now before your mind starts to wander, there was no kissing or nakedness or even any hand-holding, but that was the night that it all began.

From then on things moved incredibly quickly! If a friend had told me that within 10 days of dating a guy she was telling him she loved him and they had already planned their long-distance relationship (approximately 7000 miles), it’s safe to say I would have my doubts and think she had gone loco!! But that was what happened, just because things progress at a quicker than normal rate, doesn’t mean to say that they are any less real. When someone has an impact on you like Mau had on me, it makes you a little crazy, but it also makes you trust and love like you never have before. When you are blown away by the smallest things, like waiting around until you finish your shift an hour after he finishes his, or tucking you in at night before you go to sleep, opening the car door for you, or making sure he walks on the side of the pavement nearest the road, all the while holding your smaller (and a lot whiter) hand and keeping you safe on the other side. When all of the little, seemingly meaningless gestures, make you smile and your heart flutter. That’s when you know that someone like him is definitely worth holding on to.

So here I am, living 7000 miles away from my boyfriend, but it is a small price to pay in order to be in the most trusting and loving relationship I have had to date. People always ask ‘Isn’t it so hard?’...Well, not really. Partly because we now both have Blackberries so we bbm all the time, and Skype almost every day, but mostly because it seems to be a general rule that if you want something badly enough, you’ll do whatever it takes to get it.  The fact is, even though I never thought that in a million years I would be able to say my boyfriend is Mexican and his first language isn’t even English, I wouldn’t have it any other way! Comparing him with all the guys I’ve dated, and all the guys I know in my own country, there is absolutely no way I would trade! Sorry, but if you want an old-fashioned, chivalric, treats-you-like-royalty kind of guy...Mexico is definitely a place to start looking. That is one country where chivalry is definitely NOT dead.

Then there’s the more realistic aspect of the relationship. If we’re lucky, we’ll only be with each other twelve or thirteen weeks out the year. Paying £700-£800 a year for a flight half way across the world whilst you’re still a student and therefore not making any real money is not easy. It’s now March and I’m still trying to scrape together the last few hundred pounds for a flight in June. I haven’t been able to do a lot with my money besides pay my phone bill and perhaps new make-up if I desperately need it. All the money I earned before Christmas was spent over the 5 weeks that Mau was here on going for dinner and visiting castles etc., basically it was spent on being a tourist, which I may add is NOT cheap! Besides the fact that I’m basically leading an anti-social life and being super tight  with money, what keeps me going is the fact that I will be spending my summer in Mexico, being an annoying tourist and probably getting sunburn and heatstroke. I think we can all agree that Scotland does not boast the weather of an exotic paradise like Cancun or Acapulco!

 

But this is the easy part, when we are both still students enjoying an excessive three month holiday at summer and at least six weeks at Christmas. We have the time to escape for a few months twice a year. But Mau will be graduating in the summer, so by Christmas 2012 he will be a GROWN-UP with a PROPER job, a prospect which fills almost every University student with dread. Employers don’t take too kindly to letting their employees gallivant off to Scotland for the winter. At most, two weeks in December/January, then at a push, 4 weeks in the summer (as I will still be studying) is all we’ll have. Don’t get me wrong, up until about a month ago, the thought of this brought me close to tears. My first thoughts were that there was no way it would ever work past the summer. Spending at most 7 weeks a year together was not the basis of a strong relationship, and it was bound to fall apart sooner or later, but in order to be in a relationship where you live in different time zones, you have to be serious, and I definitely see myself marrying Mau. So to me, the ‘long-distance relationship’ we have is only temporary. All going well, in 2-3 years we may actually be living on the same continent. We have a plan, but I think you need to have one if you’re in my kind of situation. Perhaps some of you may be thinking that we’re a little crazy to already be thinking of which country we’re going to live in once we’re married and if our children will be bi-lingual, but a relationship like ours wouldn’t survive more than a year without a plan.

After that rather negative, harshly realistic side to our relationship, let me tell you why living 7000 miles apart is better than living 7 miles apart. For starters, if Mau was always here and I could see him whenever I wanted to, I wouldn’t appreciate him as much as I do. The time we do get to spend together, we literally can’t keep our hands off each other; I seem to recall Mau following me from my living room to my kitchen for no other reason than just to be near me. You could argue that when we are together, it gets a bit too intense, but I would disagree. I’d rather call it time extremely well spent! It’s better to realise what you do have whilst you still have it! I get to spend my summer in Mexico for the fraction of the price anyone else would pay, and, fingers crossed, learn a new language! Everything is that little bit more special, like receiving flowers on Valentine’s Day; a pretty standard thing to do, but when they are sent from Mexico, it’s all the more thoughtful! Just to be able to hold his hand is priceless! I wouldn’t change him, or our situation for the world!

So if you are reading this and have a similar situation, if he or she is worth it, tough it out. I honestly can’t think of anything more incredible than finally reaching your wedding day after years of living on opposite sides of the world.

 

And to all you who are jetting off this summer on holidays with friends, travelling, or going abroad to work like I did, keep in mind that HE/SHE HAS TO BE WORTH IT! If they don’t blow you away, leave them behind!

***

I hope you can see now why I wanted Karyn to write me a guest post! I already knew how romantic her and Mau's love-story is and I just love hearing it, but I had no idea how amazing her writing was. I might even have to rope her into HauteFuture more often... So what have we learned from this post? Always choose Mexicans :D Karyn doesn't currently have a blog of her own. However, you can communicate with her via the comments section of this blog and she's agreed that if you have any questions or need any advice regarding long-distance relationships she's happy to help. Also, if you believe (like I) that Karyn should start her own blog, make sure you mention it in your comment!

I hope you're enjoying my guest posts so far. If you're at all interested in being a guest on my blog please read this post  about what we're looking for here at HauteFuture then send me an email at hautefuture@gmail.com I'm essentially welcoming anyone who wants a chance, so get involved. 

ps. Although we are all fresh young things, whenever Karyn and Mau feel ready to settle down I'm more than happy to attend a wedding in Mexico. Just saying. Oh, and Mau, you'd better have brothers!

Guest Feature: Casual sex – How to Define It... By Rob Hillier

***I recently put out a post on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/HauteFuture/149057205180776 asking aspiring writers to get in touch as each month I would like to publish two guest features... quite a few people go in touch which I really appreciate. The first guest feature I will publish is by a good friend Rob Hillier. Having spent the summer abroad he discussed with people from other cultures the idea of 'Casual Sex' and the debates he had provided him with food for thought... here are his musings on the topic! Thanks Rob :)***

Casual sex – How to Define It... by Rob Hillier

More and more often I hear casual sex mentioned by many different people, most importantly by both genders and sexualities. But what is casual sex, what makes it casual? And just why is it such a taboo subject in this day and age where society tends to be more accepting in general?

Having spent the whole summer working in Germany I’ve had the opportunity to meet people from different cultures and from this I’ve managed to argue the advantages of casual sex over and over to those who seem to frown upon it. Yet now it’s come to writing about it, I suddenly have a mixed opinion.

As a guy I think we have it easy and I'm sure most guys at any university would agree. A city with clubs and bars on most streets, drink prices sinking lower, and girls-a-plenty sounds like the perfect concoction... But is it such a good thing? For guys it’s simple, no emotional attachment or bad reputation (and a few lad points on offer afterwards as a reward!)

Girls seem to have the bad deal here, the only reputation a girl can get from regular casual sex is bad and when it comes to the medical side it’s suddenly a bit more problematic for girls too – at least I don’t think any girl has gotten me pregnant before (to my knowledge!) Then there’s the continuous debate about protection; just who is responsible for that these days? Personally I think the guy should always be prepared but in the heat of things and with the alcohol-fuelled brain (or penis) doing the thinking, it’s not always the best solution to trust the guy.

Like I said I’ve spent a lot of time hearing from other people about the negatives to casual sex. My colleagues liked to inform me of the diseases at risk – of course I know about this and to be honest, in England I don’t think people are that concerned. This then brought them onto the topic once more of reputation. See this is where I started to really understand the problem with casual sex, okay, yes there are medical risks to it when it’s not “performed safely” but I think the underlying problem and negative stigma towards casual sex all stems down to the concern about the reputation you can get if you were to sleep around.

Ultimately then, the problem with casual sex is not so much the act itself but instead the aftermath of it all; what other people will think and what sort of reputation you will earn for it.

To sum up, I think casual sex is a good thing in moderation, with ‘moderation’ being the key word there. It’s clearly something which happens in society and evidently it doesn’t always have to be negative – but safely and in moderation I believe casual sex can be healthy and somewhat beneficial, but what do I know... I’m just a guy at university with clubs and bars on most streets, drink prices sinking lower, and of course girls-a-plenty. J

By Rob Hillier

***Thanks again Rob, this was insightful! If anyone else is interested in writing a guest feature for my blog please get in touch as soon as possible :) Look out for the next guest feature on the 26th of September, I can hardly wait! Take care lovelies

gabriellasofia***

Age Gaps In Relationships...

Such a touchy subject, can a relationship work when the people are of different ages. Unlike the days gone by where a young lady would usually marry a man old enough to be her father (who probably was one of her fathers best friends in fact) we have become more and more image-conscious. 'How ridiculous would I look with a toy-boy?' or 'Am I a cradle-snatcher if I get with her?' are likely to be thoughts we experience regularly if we're single, as we are often looking for somebody to fit with us like a puzzle piece, into society's mold of what is socially acceptable.

Imagine for example, the sneaking around that Monica and Richard did on Friends... And the bitchy comments that middle-aged women were making towards them, almost as if they were doing something terribly wrong by falling in love with one another.

But why? It's been said, time and time again, that we can't help who we love. Who is to say that when I'm fifty I won't meet a thirty-year-old and find them as attractive as I would have done when I too was thirty? And if that is the case and I did like him, then what would be so wrong with me pursuing it? We are both consenting adults and might fall in love, and yet, society would call me a sad old lady, dipping into the younger pool out of desperation. Having said that most of us don't have to look far to find example relationships with age gaps as most parents, grandparents, uncles and aunties aren't the same ages.

It's not the actual gap that I find problematic in Age-Gap Relationships, but rather the time in life when the gap occurs. For example, it's not outrageous for a 23-year-old to date a 20-year-old, and yet if they were dating when he was 16 and she was 13 it would be a big deal.

A twenty-year-old friend of mine recently met a guy who is perfect for her in every way. Apart from of course the fact that he's only just turned seventeen. So what is she supposed to do? Is it really the end of the world that there is a three-and-a-half year age difference between them? I don't think so, but what I do think is that the age gap needs to be forgotten whilst the maturity levels are considered more. Everyone is different, right? He could be more mature and ready to settle down than she is for all she knows!

The fact of that matter is that - for the most part - men mature slower than women. That is to say that a twenty-five year-old man is more likely to be prepared for the same level of commitment wanted by a twenty year-old lady, in comparison to her equal age counter-parts, so what concerned my friend initially was that she is looking for someone to be her Forever. In the meantime, she can't help but think that a seventeen-year-old should be running around having sex with loose women, going on 'Lad's Weekends' and breaking hearts, and she doesn't have time to let her's be one of them. But isn't that just a stereotype for his age group? And if so, is he really worth losing over a silly stereotype which may not even apply to him? So then what is her other option? Well, I've told her to give him a chance, get to know him, forget about his age. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out and she can put it all down to experience. What's the worst that can happen?

Plus, just because a guy is older it doesn't make him any more mature... I know many a twenty-five-year-old 'man' who loves nothing more than to while away his time on a X-Box 360, or some other, equally unfathomable-to-most-women games console.

Don't get me wrong, my girlish tendencies towards romance are not clouding my judgement enough for me to blindly assume that love can transcend any age difference (for example, pedophilia is NOT RIGHT not matter how 'in love' the pervert claims to be). Not to mention that I can't imagine it will be easy for the two of them, because if Friends was anything to go by, people of different ages in love matches often find difficulties in the fact that they simply want different things out of the relationship; Monica wanted babies, Richard wanted someone to settle down with in his 'old age'. However, this does not apply to all Age Gap Relationships, so again I guess you really don't know unless you try!

When there's such a lack of lovely guys in the world, it just seems such a shame to rule those younger (or older) out of the running for The One. What do you think? Am I mad for basically stating that I would gladly (albeit intrepidly) date anyone from age 16 to 30 (I say 16 because they are of 'consenting' age and I reckon I could fancy someone of 16, 30 because I've never found anyone over that age attractive at all... so far...)? Or do you understand where I'm coming from? What are your experiences with Age Gap Relationships? Yea, or nay? I'd love to hear from you, so please chuck me a comment or two when you get a chance :)

Love you all... no matter how old you are ;)

gabriellasofia

Letter From the Editor: Welcome!

*My Moral For The Month...*

Dear Readers,

Finally having arrived back from what was shockingly quite a testing summer working in Walt Disney World, I am now as eager as ever to maintain my blog. My summer was incredible, really, it was.

My days off were some of the best in my life so far, and yet, Working for the Mouse taught me that when I do eventually choose my official career path, I can't just slog through five days a week just because my two days off are good fun. It has to be something which I'm passionate and excited about, something that gets me up and out of bed at the crack of dawn with a smile from ear to ear. While I was going about some menial task like using my 'Disney Point' (a two-finger point as it's apparently more polite) to direct the thousandth guest over to the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular which was clearly sign-posted for all to see, or explaining to a guest that, "Yes, the three o'clock parade is in fact at three o'clock" I remembered the words of Liz Earle and many a wise person before her... 'If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life.' I wondered to myself if I had ever worked such a job and immediately my work experience at Conde Nast Traveller leapt to mind.

My next few days were spent pining over how much I adored completing even the dullest tasks when working at the magazine; organizing the travel library, handing out the post or scouring the newspapers for the latest in travel news. I started to imagine where I want next for my work experience, or where I wanted to go to study my masters in magazine journalism and how I can work towards that. Of course, the first thing I thought of was by working on my blog. A platform which I can use daily to get my written word out there is invaluable to me and almost as soon as I thought it, I actually wished to myself that I was home, blogging on an almost daily basis.

So that's what I did. I came home. I came home early and terminated my Disney International College Program, changed my flight and three days later I was back on English soil.

With a new academic year comes a new look for my blog. I want this to be almost like an online magazine, a 'blogazine' if you will. Almost daily I will post various stories from fashion pieces, to beauty tutorial videos to relationship features and all that's in between. I have even posted my schedule for the month of September, just like a 'Contents' page so you know what is coming...

But enough of that, hopefully you'll all get used to the new look and can see just how much work I'm going to be putting into this blog from now on, so please tell your friends, get involved, rate, comment, like, follow and subscribe if you can; it would be a great help! :)

The moral of this 'Letter From the Editor' is that life is too short to waste it doing something you don't want to do. Don't get trapped by the financial stability, or the pride of the people around you, or even the ease of the tasks required of you. If you do then you run the risk of spending five sevenths of your life being painfully unhappy and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Don't be afraid to be a quitter if it's really not what you want, and don't be afraid to shoot for something you think is totally out of your comfort zone. Follow your dreams, reach for the stars. You'll thank me one day :P

Love

gabriellasofia

*What's in this month?*

2nd September - Video - Beauty - Tutorial: Sweat-Proof Make-Up

3rd September - Blog - Fashion - My Autumn Musts

4th September - Blog - Health - The Importance of a Balanced Diet and Frequent Exercise

5th September - Blog - Feature - Age Gaps in Relationships

6th September - Video - Beauty - Tutorial: The New Season Look

9th September - Blog - Beauty - Review: Lip Stain Comparison

10th September - Blog - Health - The Number-One Stress Related Syndrome in Young Adults

11th September - Video - Hair - Tutorial: The Re-Birth of the Hair Braid

12th September - Blog - Guest Feature

13th September - Blog - Beauty - Review: Clarins Eclat du Jour Range

16th September - Video - Fashion - A Mid-Month Haul!

17th September - Blog - Feature - Are You A Feminist?

18th September - Blog - Feature - Why Good Customer Service is More Vital Than Ever

19th September - Video - Beauty - Tutorial: A New Spin on the Smoky Eye

20th September - Blog - Beauty - Beauty Without Breaking the Bank

23rd September - Blog - Feature - How the Mouse Stole My Magic...

24th September -

Video - Nails - Tutorial: Disco Ain't Dead

25th September - Blog - Fashion - Who's That Girl?

26th September - Blog - Guest Feature

27th September - Blog - Fashion - How I'm Wearing the New Season's Trends...

30th September - Video - September Faves

Hope you enjoy this month's blog as much as I enjoyed writing it! What are you most excited for?

God bless

gabriellasofia

Why my cell phone is turning me into a crazy monster...

Ok, ok I apologise for not blogging for a little while, but it is coming up to exam time, so I think I may be excused. However, I am now in a remote caravan in Wales with my grandparents for the weekend, so even though I haven’t been able to post these blogs, I have been writing A LOT, so if you see an absolute bomb of blogs going up over the next couple of days then that is why!

Anyways, let’s go ahead and get stuck in!

What am I blogging about today? Well, I figured I’d have YET ANOTHER rant about technology and how much of a hindrance it is to modern day romance. I know I sound like a broken record, I know. But seriously! Facebook, Twitter, and even text messaging are currently turning me into a nervous wreck.

The other day when I asked my friend, ‘Why can’t things be like in the Good Old Days, with Dorian Gray?’ I didn’t mean, ‘Why don’t we all sign our souls over to a painting so our own flesh doesn’t decay...’ as she thought I meant. What I mean was that I envy so much a time when you wouldn’t hear from a guy for three days, but you knew it was only because he had gone on a trip, or his messenger had died of the plague. Those were the days.

Now, we have immediate communication with our love interests which I guess initially seemed like a great idea (one which I do not necessarily dispute as without the likes of Skype, cell phones and SMS we would never have discovered the pleasures of an array of technologically-centred sexual activity... sexting anyone?) But on the flip side, we also have to deal with questions such as, ‘Did he realise I was joking?’, ‘Why hasn’t he called?’ and ‘Who the hell is that skank in his Facebook profile picture with him???’ Not to mention the whole... ‘How long ago was my last text??? Did something give him the impression that I had finished the conversation? Or do I not have service, so it might not have sent? *Checks sent box* No, it’s sent... Maybe he’s out and he’s left his phone at home... I’m sure he’ll text back soon. There’s probably a problem with my phone. *Turns phone off then back on again* Nope, that made no difference. I’ll turn it off overnight, then when I turn it back on in the morning, then he’s will have texted me while it was off... He still hasn’t texted me??? Ok, well, maybe he figured I had gone to bed and he didn’t want to wake me... When shall I text him??? Leave it until later; I don’t want to seem too keen...’ And so it goes on.

Perhaps it is just me, but I’m sure it’s not. Texting turns me into a paranoid obsessive psychopath. There. I said it.

And yet, what is the other option? Not texting... waiting in the drawing room for a telegram to arrive? Mmm, I could. A tad too archaic though, no? Plus, finding a modern man who knows how to operate a telegram machine might prove a big problem, especially if I want him to be some kind of ‘normal’.

So I guess it’s up to me to control my habit of checking my phone every five minutes. Or sacrifice a potential relationship with a handsome soldier... Perhaps I’ve said too much. Although having said that, my mom always said, ‘If a guy wants to talk to you, he’ll cross oceans to get in touch as quickly as possible.’ Well, some would say that she’s been spoiled by my dad, who literally did cross an ocean to propose to her after just a few months of dating (22 years later, they are still happily married, for your information) but I can’t help but think that her theory supports the somewhat cynical cliché so relevant today, maybe He’s Just Not That Into You.

Well, we’ll have to see. And as usual, I will keep you posted!

If you can relate to this post, make me feel a little better... tell me your experience. After all, a problem shared is a problem halved and all that.

Until next time

gabriellasofia

Can Blind Dating Actually Work?

This blog came into my mind this morning when I woke up after a very interesting dream I had. I dreamt that a friend had set me up with a guy who I know to be a friend of hers. We met in the pub where I work and... well... the dream date was a success.

I'll admit I was a little shocked when I woke up. Obviously, I enjoy flirting with handsome guys, teasing them. Who doesn't? And yet, I was not aware that I might be ready to start dating again.

My ex and I broke up in September after nearly three years together. This was a big deal, you know. From age 16 to 19 a lot changes, people grow and alter, and sometimes they become very different people than they originally were. That's what happened with us.

I knew as soon as we broke up that I didn't want to be in a relationship for a while if I could help it. At then end of the day, I'm young, have a bunch of great friends who seem to be under the impression that I'm fun to be around, and according to my A-Levels, I'm relatively intelligent too. How about taking a bit of a Man Break and learning who I can be by myself?

So that's what I've been doing since September. Enjoying myself! And I've been loving it like you wouldn't believe. I mean, these are the days of my life... when apart from now will I be able to stay out until 4am with friends? When will I be able to dance 'provocatively' with a hot guy until I decide that I've had enough then leave him alone wondering where he went wrong? When will I be able to spend my money on crazy, frivolous items of no importance just because I feel like I want that new pair of killer heels, or three months in Orlando? Never, that's when. I've never been and may never be again as independent as I am right now, so I've really gone to town making the most of it, and I couldn't be happier.

Perhaps the biggest thing I've learnt is that I'm a lot stronger than I ever gave myself credit for; not being able to call your unconditional support-system boyfriend whenever the slightest mishap occurs has helped me to really put things into perspective, noticing what is and isn't worth shedding tears over and learning how to fix my own problems without wasting time whining about them.

So why am I considering dating again? I seem happy enough, right? Well, as a sociable person I constantly want to be meeting new people, debating, talking, flirting and having fun. And why not? What could I possibly lose from meeting some nice guys, having a few drinks and sharing some good conversation? Nothing, that's what I think.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm still no longer searching for 'The One' (if such a fellow exists that is!) But how will I know when I meet 'The One' if I haven't had 'The Loser', 'The Keeno' and 'The Preener' first? Of course I wont be going on dates with the aforementioned guys deliberately knowing that they will turn out that way, but the point I'm trying to make is (and pardon the cliche) that I wont get my prince unless I kiss a few frogs first.

Where do I plan on finding these 'frogs' then? Well, in order to escape the froggiest of the 'frogs', I am considering getting my friends to set me up... almost like an experiment or something. Each week I could ask a friend to organize me a date with their favorite 'Why-doesn't-he-have-a-girlfriend' guy acquaintances. At least this way I have some chance of avoiding 'The Nudest', 'The Porn King' and 'The Woman-Beater'. Plus, perhaps I will come across a nice enough guy during this non-exclusive dating experiment who might make me rethink this whole Boyfriend Ban... I kind of hope not, but that's all part of the fun of dating I guess, seeing what's on offer and learning what best suits you. You don't buy a dress unless you've tried it on for size first, after all!

So, SOS to all of my nearest and dearest. If you know a nice, tall, dark, handsome, intelligent, funny guy who you don't want and fancies sharing time with a groovy little blogger, hit me up! It can't hurt your own love karma to get yours truly back on that dating horse. In the meantime, I'm starting to put myself out there with guys I see around. Asking someone to join me for a drink might be a little nerve-wracking at first, but I reckon you should do something that scares you each day, so from now on I'm going for it...

Wish me luck and let me know your dating stories! I can't wait to hear them :-)

gabriellasofia