The countdown begins...

When I say 'countdown' I am referring to the countdown to my 19th Birthday. Now I know I shouldn't be complaining, as anyone older than 19 will tell me how young it is, but I can't help but suddenly feel terribly old.

18 was the big one....the business, the one where you had the party, had the fuss made over you, ate too much cake, probably got a bit tipsy...you had the perks of being able to use ID to go to places you'd never been before (unless you had fake ID, but let's not talk about that!) - hello clubs, bars, 18 certificates at the cinema (I'm afraid I was one those who would be ID-ed no matter what. No sneaky 18 viewings for me. Actually I got ID-ed for a 15 when I was 17 and with my parents. My parents. Would I really be going to watch 'I Give It A Year' with my parents if I was 14? Do I look 14? Ok, don't answer that!).

So, all in all, 18 was a definite milestone. Anyhow, I now have 3 days until I'm 19. And I'm not remotely excited. So I decided to put together, (yes reader you guessed it) A LIST (taadaaaa!) of what I wanted to do this year at 19, starting from 12.32pm 09/05/2014 until 12.32 09/05/2015. (12.32 being the time I was born.)

 1. Go interrailing around Europe

 2. Get an internship

 3. Obtain a 2.1 for my first year at university

 4. Start doing more things to do with drama - open days, auditions, networking etc!

 5. Become better read - cue Game of Thrones, but also On The Road (Jack Kerouac); another of Fitzgerald's; reread Harry Potter 7 - a friend recently did this and said she got so much more from the whole series at 23 than at 13); George Orwell's 1984 (I feel an inadequate English student not having read it); Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake; Lord of the Rings ..and probably many other titles will come to me, but those are currently my top few...I think there's a good mix of respectably literary titles and general popular culture - if I do say so myself!

 6. See more theatre - hello the Globe and cheap tickets for 18-26s; Noel Coward Theatre, The Old Vic etc...!

 7. Be more spontaneous - I'm at that point in my life where very soon I'll have to become responsible and have to be a proper adult. It's true - life at uni isn't like the real world at all. I live in a bubble, provided by money from the government to live and do what I want (so it doesn't feel like proper money, it's like being a Sim or something - yes it'll all catch up with me when I'm 30, but, well, for now, I'm not yet 19, so not to worry about my older self's trials and tribulations yet!).As my dad says, responsibility creeps up on you, it's like you don't see it coming and then suddenly it's here with bills and mortgages and jobs, money worries etc. - I need to capture my relative irresponsibility while I still can.

 8. And lastly, for now - I just want to be happy. Because what's the point of it all if you're not enjoying it? Yes, you have to take the bad with the good, yes there will be things that are unappealing and have to be done, but ultimately it all comes down to your happiness (I think, anyway).

 18 was my best age yet. But I'll top it this year. Afterall, age is just a number; who cares how old you really are. I'll just try to do what's good and right and much else really matters.

 I think, anyway.

 I'm still working on my life mantra..come back in a few years and I might have it down, reader.
 Ax