UPDATE: NEW BLOG

Hi everyone,

I’d like to start off by saying thank you to everyone who has followed, liked, commented on and responded to my blog in the past couple of months. It has meant so much to me – I’ve always wanted to start one but until the start of this year, I was too scared. FINALLY I took the plunge and it has been oh-so rewarding. So much so, that I have decided to upgrade:

Introducing…

TWENTY & CO

My new blog. Yep, I officially own my own .com. And it feels fabulous. Why TWENTY & CO? Well, as you may have noticed, The World by J doesn’t really have a “niche”. I’ve written about fashion, done reviews about books, random rants about topics in the news, and so on. So I decided, in order to make the name and my blog relevant to readers, I’m still going to write about all that stuff and more – BUT – TWENTY & CO is dedicated to all of us who are close to becoming, or are already, a “twenty-something.” In Australia, 18 is considered being an adult, but I still don’t really feel like a “real” adult. Will I ever feel like a real adult? I don’t know. But I’m looking forward to writing about a whole bunch of different topics as I begin my journey into the twenties. Over the next week I will be uploading some of my favourite/most popular posts from The World by J before I begin posting new content. First up is my career profile on Chloe Clark from Beginning Boutique. I hope those of you reading this decide to come along for the ride. If not, thank you for being so supportive and interested in my work here.

Lots of love,

J 

xxxxx

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Q&A: Student life

As you may know, I’m currently in my first year of university. Since I began sharing my blog with my followers on Tumblr, I have received quite a few questions in relation to my uni, my course and living in Melbourne. I’ve decided to post a few of my answers here for everyone to see and to help anyone who may have the same queries.

Q: If it isn’t to personal what uni do you go to and what is your course called? It sounds really interesting xxx
I attend La Trobe University and my course is called Strategic Communication 🙂

Q: I am thinking about doing a Communications/PR course after I finish school! Is it good? What subjects did you study in Year 12? Would do you have to be good at? Sorry about all the questions hahaha! Btw you have a beautiful blog xxxxxxx
I absolutely love studying communication! It’s so interesting, relevant and fun – it can lead you in so many different directions. My course allows me to learn about everything from PR through to journalism, marketing and event management. In Year 12 I studied English, English Lit, Legal Studies, Drama, Italian and Psychology. Some skills that are beneficial are being outgoing, being a skilled writer and speaker, being a great listener, being a problem-solver and being creative. I’d definitely recommend you do a Communication/PR course if you are passionate about it – just keep in mind that PR isn’t the only type of strategic communication, nor is it as glamorous as it’s made out to be.

Q: Hi, I’m a Year 12 student from Sydney. This is going to sound so odd – I stumbled across your wordpress and saw that you were attending La Trobe Melbourne, and I was wondering if you could give me advice? What have you heard about the on-campus accomodation? Menzies, Glenn and Chisholm college? Do people like it, hate it, etc? If you could please answer it would be incredibly helpful, thank you!
To be honest, I haven’t heard a whole lot about the campus accommodation and I don’t have any personal experience with it. It’s hard for me to imagine living on campus and enjoying it because I don’t have the need – I’m local and still live with my family at home.  What I do know is that each “college” seems to have a different vibe – i.e. Chisholm is very multi-cultural and houses a lot of international students. If you haven’t already you can find information and testimonials from students about the accommodation and each different college HERE. The facilities seem okay from the outside but I haven’t seen enough to make a real judgement. People who do live on campus seem to really love it and make close friends they will keep for life. I’m not sure how much it costs to stay on campus either (I’ve heard expensive – don’t know how correct that is) but if you’re planning on moving interstate for uni it’s worth trying it out, at the very least you will make some new friends and have a comfortable “home-base” in Melbourne for a while. You can always rent a place with a few roommates instead if you find that living on-campus isn’t for you.

Q: Hey, totally random question.. I’m thinking about moving to Melbourne, probs in the next year or so. What is it like living there? xxx
Melbourne is a great place to live. I keep reading that it has been voted one of the most liveable cities in the world and when I think about it, I can see why! I love living here. Melbourne genuinely just has a great atmosphere and culture. It can be a relaxing and calm place to be – or filled with excitement and things to do. There’s really something for everyone (wow – I sound like a tourism ad) and “liveable” is the perfect word to describe it. I’ve always been surrounded by a great environment with nice people, lots of facilities and opportunities. I don’t have experience living on my own in Melbourne, but I’m sure that it would be great!

I’d love to answer any other questions. You can read more about life at La Trobe and university here, or ask me a different question here.

Lots of love,

J

xxxx

Life According to Sam

So often we spend our time complaining about things. The things we don’t have, the things we don’t want to do, or the things that are hard. Below is a video of Sam Berns talking at TEDx MidAtlantic. In January of this year, Sam passed away from progeria, a rare “rapid ageing” disease. However, his life was not filled with suffering. It’s rare to see such honest positivity – Sam doesn’t deny that he has bad days, but instead chooses to focus on the good ones and keep moving forward. Remember Sam the next time you choose to manifest negativity instead of living your life to the happiest and fullest. I know I will!

Rest in peace, Sam.

xxxxxx

Recommended: 73 Questions

If you love celebrity interviews but get bored by the oh-so-typical question and answer process, these videos are for you. Created by VOGUE, these interviews are held in various locations (e.g. SJP’s house) and involve 73 random questions asked in an “unreasonably short amount of time.” The interview has a very relaxed and fun vibe which sets it apart from the rest, and probably has the most interesting “technique” I have ever seen (must be the inner journalism student in me). It feels like a very brief but action-packed conversation, and I love it! Check out a few of my favourites below.

P.S. I almost don’t want to acknowledge that Daniel Radcliffe is a real person because I consider him as being Harry Potter. Literally. Surely I can’t be the only one? Any other crazy HP fans out there?

Blake Lively

Sarah Jessica Parker

Daniel Radcliffe

Enjoy!

xxxxxxxx

Rest in peace, Robin Williams

“Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien – but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most”

 Rest in peace, Robin Williams

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS:
For a full list of mental health hotlines, click here.
For suicide and crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 
If you are in an emergency or immediate risk to yourself or others, contact 000

University Survival Guide

Are you starting university next year, or a current student looking for guidance? Head over to First Year La Trobe for some tips, tricks and anecdotes from students currently studying at La Trobe University – including me! To read my posts on First Year La Trobe, click here.

Although the blog is targeted towards first years, the advice given by my fellow students is applicable to all stages of your university education, and to life-after-highschool in general! Hello, welcome to the real world! First Year La Trobe is a perfect read for anyone who is worried about making the transition next year, wondering what university is like or interested in studying at La Trobe.

Blogging 101: Unique selling proposition

If there’s one thing I get bored of, it’s scrolling down my feed and seeing the same beauty product reviews again and again. I’ve come to notice that beauty blogs are probably the most common of all categories, and therefore to be successful, one must be different from the others. The only in-depth beauty review I have done so far can be found here, and although I may be biased, I do not feel as though it was run-of-the-mill.

Style vs. Comfort

I love clothes. I love style. I love spending hours scrolling through pages and pages of products online and adding my favourites to the shopping cart (even if I’m not going to go through with the purchase). However, I’ve noticed lately that I am becoming more and more enamoured with being comfy, rather than giving in to being stylish 24/7.

Online Store of the Week: The Iconic

If you live in Australia and love online shopping, chances are that you have heard of or purchased from The Iconic. The Iconic is similar to ASOS, based on the sheer amount of products listed on its site, but has an aura of sophistication which I think ASOS lacks. Not only can you find great deals (the Final Winter Clearance Sale is on now) but also more expensive items from the likes of White Suede, Sass and Bide and Calvin Klein.

I bought my Year 12 formal from The Iconic (“To Be Free” by Keepsake the Label) and I was far from disappointed. I bought it nine months before the event, so I would have had more than enough time to return it if I didn’t like it or it didn’t fit. Luckily, it was perfect and I fell in love with it the moment I tried it on. It looked even better in real life than it did in the photos – with online shopping it’s usually the other way around!

DISCUSS: Is drug addiction a disease?

To judge another person’s decision is easy if you have never been in their place. A few days ago I read an article in the Herald Sun about the death of Peaches Geldof, written by Tom Elliot, who firmly believes that Geldof’s ongoing addiction to heroin was a choice.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I believe the first encounter with anything is a choice (if the person is informed and in control). If at this very moment someone appeared and offered me drugs, I would say no – because I know the ill-effects and dangers of taking them. If I said yes, it would be a conscious decision which I would be prepared to take the blame for. Unfortunately, it’s not always as easy as simply saying yes or no. In his article, Elliot says drug addiction “is not a disease from which personal responsibility can be conveniently removed” and I agree. If a person takes a drug for the first time, whilst aware of the risks, they should be blamed. It is a stupid decision to make. However, drug addiction is not the black and white issue Elliot believes it be, no matter how much I wish this were the case.