The first post of 2018 – and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write! Here’s a lil life update for all of you… If we were having coffee, I would tell you that my exams start in five weeks’ time. And that terrifies me. It was only this morning that it really hit […]
twenty-seventeen in review + lessons learned
Right. Here it is: the post you’ve all been waiting for. It’s currently 2:25am on the final day of 2017, and I am ready to be brutally honest with every single one of you who’s taking the time to read this post right now – thank you, by the way, it really does mean a lot. […]
If We Were Having Coffee… | Vol. 32
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I’m back in Oxford and it’s the start of 3rd week already. Where is the time going?! I’m absolutely loving being back and my room this year is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l so I’m trying to make the most of it. There will be a room tour up on YouTube […]
Starting University after a Gap Year
Over the course of many conversations with sixth form students, I realised that one of the things deterring them from taking a Gap Year was starting university a year late. For a lot of the people I spoke to, many were adamant that they were going to start the year with peers of their own […]
If We Were Having Coffee… + GIVEAWAY! | Vol. 31
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I’ve just come back from a week-long trip to Uzbekistan with Kalpak Travel. I am absolutely amazed by this country and I can’t wait to share all of my posts with you. Hopefully you followed the adventures over on Instagram so you’ve seen a taster 😉 […]
If We Were Having Coffee… | Vol. 30
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I’ve just got back from China. As much as I couldn’t wait to escape Hangzhou’s humidity, I’m actually pretty sad to be back home. It ended too quickly and I want to be back already. China was absolutely amazing and I couldn’t have had a better […]
If We Were Having Coffee… | Vol. 29
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that I’m currently in China. Over the past two weeks, I toured some sights and met with friends in Beijing; I travelled to Inner Mongolia for four days; and I’ve just started my Study China programme here in Hangzhou. If we were having coffee, I would tell you […]
If We Were Having Coffee… | Vol. 28
If we were having coffee, I would tell you that *hopefully* I’m back on it with producing content for A Piece of Viola. I’ve got a schedule of blog posts I want to write. I’m trying to get on top of things before I go away with no internet access. I’m back to posting twice a week […]
One Year Ago: Reflections | Gap Year Travel
On Wednesday, I woke up and opened the Facebook app on my phone. I was presented with a screen which said ‘One Year Ago’ and the following picture from my Gap Year: View this post on Instagram A post shared by V I O L A (@violahelen_) Wednesday marked exactly 365 days since I landed […]
New College Boat Party | Uni Diaries
A couple of weeks ago, New College had its annual Boat Party on the River Thames. This year’s theme was Casino, with the dress code being, ‘Black with a hint of red‘. This was the first black-tie event of term in my calendar and we were all looking forward to dressing up and escaping leaving Oxford for […]