Look, I Didn't Want To Be A Half-blood. Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan

january journalling prompts

New Year's Resolutions

Where do you want to be by the end of this year? How would you be different then to who you are now?

What is one word you would use to describe this year, and why?

Things to do more of.

Things to do less of.

Letter to your past self.

Letter to your future self.

What does self-love look like to you?

Three places you would like to visit.

Last, Now, Next - books to read.

Ideal Morning Routine

What is your favourite thing about weekends right now?

If you were a type of weather, what kind of weather would you be?

What were you doing at 10am today?

Write a letter to your childhood best friend?

Write about the last time you were disappointed in yourself.

If you could run away, where would you go? Who would you go with?

Your current favourite song.

Your biggest annoyance right now.

What is your earliest memory?

If you had to get a tattoo right now, what would you get?

Write a letter to your crush.

Favourite movie or TV show right now.

Dream job aesthetic.

How late did you stay up last night? Why?

What was your favourite moment of today?

If you were a scent, what scent would you be?

What is your biggest fear? How would you overcome it?

Five things that make you smile.

What is your ideal day?

January rewind.

dear lizzy mcalpine

On October 25th, 2024, I went to the Lizzy McAlpine concert at the Eventim Apollo (London) and let me tell you, it was genuinely one of the best concert experiences I've ever had. From the moment the lights dimmed and Lizzy took the stage, I felt enveloped in the warm and cosy atmosphere that set the tone for the entire evening.

Lizzy's performance style is refreshingly intimate: I kinda felt like I was third (or tenth) wheeling as Lizzy and her band jammed out together on stage. The set was so minimalistic - which I loved. Lizzy spent the majority of the concert seated in the middle of the stage with her guitar in hand. It felt like she was inviting us into her world, and to be honest, I kinda never wanted to leave.

Occasionally, she would switch to the piano on one side of the stage for 1-2 songs and those moments were particularly magical. You could see the connection between her and her instruments; it was clear she was flexing (not in a bad way) her Berklee education in the way she intertwined the music with the lyrics she was singing.

'Older' has some of my favourite songs ever on it because I feel like I just relate to the complexities of growing older and coming to terms with the end of a relationship. Lizzy's voice, both powerful and delicate, carried the weight of her lyrics beautifully. I found myself completely absorbed in the performance, holding onto her every word, feeling every emotion she conveyed. It was a captivating blend of vulnerability and strength that made the night unforgettable.

In a world where concerts often feel like a spectacle, Lizzy McAlpine's show reminded me of the beauty of simplicity and sincerity. I left the venue not just entertained but profoundly moved by the chance to see her live, I highly recommend you take it.

Love,

Nia <3

umm i'm giving up on vlogmas!!

sorry guys!!

i just think that the content feels rushed and i'm not really a good enough editor anymore to produce the content that i want to that quickly. also, i want to have some time to relax and revise for my exams in january which are a lot earlier than i thought.

i'm going to try and bring back regular uploads in january so i will see you then.

love you.

guess what i just found out!! i can access the economist through my university WHICH MEANS I DON’T HAVE TO PAY!!!

i am about to become insufferable. :)

a beginner's guide to classic literature

So years and years ago, I wrote a speech (it was for my GCSE spoken language) about how we should re-evaluate how we teach classic literature in school. (If you couldn't tell, I didn't enjoy English when I was at school :P)

Anyway. Having aged about 4 years since then, I can say that I have gained a bit more of an appreciation of classic literature (even though I still stand by my speech). So I thought I'd give a little bit of a list of easy-to-read classics:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott To be so real, I read Little Women when I was 14, AND I LOVED IT! Despite it being set during the Civil War, it still feels progressive today: it's a story about women's independence and the importance of following your dreams. (Also, I love the movie made by Greta Gerwig!)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley I love this book - mainly because I love Mary Shelley. The morally ambiguous characters, the amazing plot, and the fact that it's so short and sweet make it one of my favourites. Also, the fact that it's the origin of modern science fiction? Incredible.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen It's like one of the most classic of classic love stories. I, personally, am not a big romance lover, but for those who are, it's a must-read.

Emma by Jane Austen In my mind, while Pride and Prejudice is more iconic, Emma is an easier and funnier read. Emma is my favourite Jane Austen protagonist and both major adaptations of Emma ('Clueless' and 'Emma' starring Anya Taylor Joy).

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald I LOVE THIS STORY. It's a captivating story of love, loss, and the decadent but destructive 'Roaring Twenties'. I have no words. Please read it.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte An unlikely love story. I was introduced to this story through a play at the National Theatre and the play was so incredible that I decided to read the book.

Animal Farm by George Orwell On the surface, this book is just a story about farm animals revolting against a farmer and taking over the farmyard. But given that Orwell is a god at writing satirical commentaries of the world around him (he also wrote 1984), Animal Farm is a brilliant satire about corruption and a warning about the danger of totalitarianism.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Again, a pretty short book (it's a novella not a full-length novel) which makes it a pretty easy read. It's a story that most people know the plot to and the language is pretty accessible as well.

Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll I've loved the story of 'Alice in Wonderland' since I was a little kid, so I really liked reading the original story. It's a pretty simple book - standing at around 100 pages and originally written for children, it's an imaginative and playful world that makes me feel like a child again :)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Another novella, A Christmas Carol is one of the most well-known festive stories and I make a point to read it every Christmas. At its core, it's a redemption story that transcends time and culture and it shows that everyone can change.

I hope you enjoy reading them, and let me know what your favourite classic is!!

kiss me in between the strokes of your paintbrush. kiss me in between the pages of the book you love so much.

'artiste', nini (07-06-2021)

back-to-school thoughts

When I was a kid, the end of the summer holidays always brought around a wave of excitement. As much as I loved the six weeks we got off, going back to school was a whole new level of excitement. Going back to school meant a new start (I think my brain still functions on a September-to-September calendar), seeing friends I hadn't seen in all summer, and the opportunity to reinvent myself.

I would spend hours upon hours watching 'DIY stationery tutorials' and 'What's in my Bag' videos to try and recreate my image in the days leading up to the beginning of the year. I'd collect all my newest pens and pencils (which I would inevitably lose before the Christmas holidays) and pack my bag and anxiously wait for 8am the next morning so I could run off to school.

I couldn't wait to see which teachers I'd have, who was in my classes, and how I'd stack up against the milestones of getting older.

Now - as an adult in university who pretty much hated her last few years of school - the last few weeks of summer are rife with stress. The simplicity of childhood excitement has been replaced with a complicated cocktail of deadlines, money stress, and the pressure to constantly perform.

Yeah, university can be fun. I love my friends, I love my freedom, and I love the satisfaction of achieving my dreams. But the joy of learning that I felt when I was younger often feels crushed beneath an avalanche of essays, group projects, and the constant mental math of wondering where this takes me.

I sometimes think about the younger version of me - who read academic journals for fun - and wonder if I'll ever recapture the carefree excitement of a new academic year.

Maybe it’s not about recreating that feeling but reimagining it. It’s not about colourful pencil cases or new backpacks anymore (although, I love me a nice, new notebook or some cute pens). It’s about finding small joys in the chaos - coffee with friends, a doughnut during exam season - and reminding myself that growth, no matter how daunting, is worth it.

So here’s to all of us still navigating education, whether you are at school or university. I hope that this year is the best it could possibly be, no matter what your best looks like.

a lil ode to being 18

today is my 18th birthday!! and once again, i’m in my feels about getting older. so here’s a lil thing i wrote to put some words to the thoughts in my brain.

growing up is weird.

one moment, you're a baby rolling around on blankets and laughing at the silly faces your parents are making at you, the next, you're a teenager, cramming for your a levels that are less than a week away. one minute, you're endlessly babbling about everything and nothing all at once, the next, you're struggling to find the words to say in front of an interviewer who probably determines the next steps of your life.

in some ways, i miss being a little kid - when life got tough, you could just play pretend, santa still existed, and your biggest problem was whether the 'i' came before or after the 'e' in believe, because, trust me, i always struggled with that one.

growing up is weird, because when i was little, i couldn't wait to be grown up - i couldn't wait to be 10, then 13, then 16, then 18. and now that i'm here? well, it just feels like more of the same.

i still feel just as naive as i was 6 months ago. except now, i can drive alone and vote. but at the same time, i feel light years away from the little kid who liked to talk to no one on the phone and sung hindi songs in the strongest british accent you've ever heard. i kinda want to go back.

i want to go back to sitting in my friend's mum's old toyota yaris while she drove us both to orchestra, and playing pretend in the house my neighbours used to live in with the park across the road. playing mums and dads under the table at my best friend's house - the table that he still has because somethings never change, i guess.

i want to go back to when the best thing in the world was pineapple upside down cake with custard, and when the most exciting part of the day was reading time. i want to go back to the bench we used to have our lunch on in school, even if i'm not friends with half the people who sat with me anymore, or back to music class, where all anyone did was chat. i want to go back to agreeing to wake up at 6am at sleepovers and when the only songs i wrote were about how much i missed my friends when they went away for the summer.

growing up is weird because i've been waiting for this day since i was old enough to know what growing up meant. and yet it still feels sudden, like it's been sprung on me without warning. it's like one minute you're one person and the next you're someone completely different, with no chance of ever going back.

growing up is weird, and it's wonderful, and i think i'm ready to keep going.

my first song on youtube!!

it’s just a demo but i was a bit in my feels about growing up :) enjoy the song! love, n xx p.s. thank you to my dad for filming this clip in 2007

i'm doing vlogmas!!

every day in december, i'll be uploading a new video so i hope you enjoy!!

click here if you wanna check out the channel!