Day 112

It's half-term! I've survived seven whole weeks of A-Levels! All I can say is, the holiday hasn't come soon enough. If I can call it a holiday with all the homework I've got.

The work has definitely stepped up. In GCSEs, I went to school, dozed through lessons, went home and got on with my day. Now I have to work?! That wasn't part of the deal! No, really, I'm coping... just. I have an hour or two of homework per day, which I get done during my frees mostly. I can't concentrate at home.

Problem is, my teachers appear to be employing the same tactic some did last year. I used to have one teacher who moved deadlines forward and piled on the pressure to get more work out of us. Now, I'm not saying that all of my teachers are doing that, but a couple are telling us we need to come to the classroom during holidays, before and after school in addition to the homework. That would be absolutely fine with me the week before the exam, but in the autumn? Really? I can't put that much time into all four of my subjects, it's a physical impossibility. And on top of all that, I'm only going to be sixteen once.

So how to spend my sixteenth year if not studying? Well, getting scared silly would be a start. For an early halloween celebration, me and my friends went to a scary halloween event last night. I thought at the time it was a crazy idea, because I'm the biggest wimp you'll ever meet. I'm scared of the dark, I'm scared of mirrors in the dark, I'm scared of things under my bed - and I sleep in a high sleeper. There's a sofa under my bed: ample room for a serial killer/axe murderer/creepy little girl. I knew I should have reposted that chain email. But it turns out the event wasn't that bad. I walked round the creepy cottage, through the dark mineshaft etc without too many traumas. I did freak out in a room with a man with a chainsaw, but then who wouldn't? And there was a sticky moment involving a vampire who said "blonde" instead of "blood". Luckily I'm ginger.

I can't believe I've written all this and not mentioned the thing foremost in my mind. So in an abrupt change of subject: I'm going to Paris. For two nights. Woop. My parents maintain that we're going so that I can improve my French ahead of the A Level I'm going to take in the summer. I reckon they just wanted an excuse to go to Paris. Either way, we're off the day after tomorrow. I'll get to reacquaint myself with the Eurostar and hopefully try and speak a little French. Problem is, in a tourist-centred place like Paris everybody speaks English. When I go on school trips to France and try to speak French, people notice my (apparently - I can't tell) strong English accent and reply in perfect English. It is of course very considerate of them, but it perfectly defeats the object.

So anyway. Tomorrow. Packing. And youtubing: that obsession still hasn't run its course. Am now living in a daydream fantasy land in which I am a successful youtuber. I have six million subscribers and never have to drag myself into work on a Monday morning. Dare to dream.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go count my twitter followers again. See you after Paris.