Abbott Freestyle Libre: Review

Hi everyone!

Well it's fair to say I haven't blogged in quite awhile. I'll discuss why I've been slacking on my blog another time, but for now, I felt the need to write a quick post all about the new Abbott Freestyle Libre blood glucose monitor. If you're not diabetic, this blog post might not appeal to you, but if you are, I hope you can share my excitement over this new gadget.

So without further ado, I will give you a run-down of this device, sent from a magical realm to help you with your diabetes management.

Unlike me, you might have total control over your diabetes (type 1) and you might think "Chloe, I've got this, I don't need anyone's advice". If that's you, congratulations and please ignore this post. However, unfortunately, 11 years on and I'm still just as clueless as I was when I saw my first "HIGH" come up on the nurse's glucose monitor the day I got diagnosed.

I struggle with stabilising my glucose levels, or as I call them, my sugars. I've posted numerous blog posts on my diabetes management, and I think in more or less every one of them, I've talked about my inability and struggle to actually stabalise them. Leaving my house to go to work at 7 mmol/l? No can do, I'll panic about going low when driving and then I usually do go low...I tend to drop quite quickly.

So, what do I do? I over correct and glug down a glass of orange juice or crunch on a biscuit on the way out the door. Sometimes I'll have to sit and wait until my levels go up before I head out, which is a pain. What would I like to do? I'd like to be able to leave my house with my sugars at 7mmol/l and keep an eye on them while driving, or while walking down the road without having to do an invasive sugar test (which by the way, is slightly impossible when driving or walking).

What is the solution? There isn't one... or so I thought. Introducing Abbott Freestyle Libre. No, I am in no way sponsored or anything like that, so don't fear, I'm here to tell you the honest truth.

The truth? It's a dream come true. I know, I know, it's a bit lame to be so excited over a machine that tests my sugar levels. Leave me be!

This machine isn't your standard finger prick, test strip and wait 10 seconds for your results. Nope, this pocket sized device allows me to SCAN MY ARM and give me my sugar reading instantly. I kid you not.

Basically, you have a reader (touch screen, I know), a sensor and a sensor applicator. If you're a pump user, like myself, this application of this sensor is quite similar to the Medtronic Paradigm Quick-set Infuser, but far less painful. Pop the applicator on the back of your upper arm after you swipe with an alcohol wipe, and press down firmly. The needle shoots in (yes it does stay in your arm the whole time, but you'll get used to it, don't worry) and you're left with a white, two pence piece coin size sensor on the back of your arm.

Grab your reader and scan to calibrate the sensor (it takes 60 minutes for the reader to sync with the sensor). Each sensor lasts 14 days, after that, it no longer works and you need to remove it and replace with a new sensor.

The downside? It's expensive. If it's your first time purchasing it, on the Abbott website, you can buy the starter pack for £150 (or there about) but you receive tax relief on the final amount. Within the starter pack, you get the reader and two sensors (so, a month's supply).

You can then buy each sensor separately once you've used your starter pack. Each sensor separately is around £55 which is a quite a substantial amount for only two weeks supply. However, now I'm working, I'll hopefully be able to save up and use this more frequently. My glucose readings have significantly improved since using this as I'm able to check them 80 times per day if I wanted to (yes, I actually did that on my first day of using it!)

You can also sync this device up to your laptop and download the data, allowing you to see your trends and graphs on screen! Again, here I go getting excited over graphs and statistics, please don't mind me.

Anyway, that's enough for now but if you have any questions regarding this device, please feel free to drop me a comment, tweet or email and I'll get back to you!

Thank you for reading,

Chloe x

SUPER QUICK UPDATE

Hi everyone!

This is just a really super quick post just to update you on what's going on and why I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks!

I'm in my last couple of weeks of my last year of university, so as you can imagine, things are pretty hectic! My dissertation is due in this week and I have more essays due the week after so I'm really trying to put 100% into these last few weeks!

I have about 15 posts all in my drafts begging me to post them, however my OCD won't let me post them until they are perfect and checked over a million times - I don't just want to upload half-hearted posts, I like them to be thorough!

As for the Twitter chat which I posted about last month, that will be starting as soon as my work has been handed in but I'll give you all a heads up when the exact date has been decided! I'm so excited about it because of the reaction and feedback I've had from the idea, so I'm so glad people are keen for it!

Anyways, I probably won't post until I've finished but it won't be too much longer now... If I can get an hour to perfect at least one post, I'll definitely post it because I'm missing blogging so, so much!

I'll leave it at that for now but I hope you're all doing well and I hope your essays and exams (if you have them) aren't stressing you out too much! 

Speak soon, guys!

Chloe x

TWITTER CHAT FOR BLOGGERS

Hi everyone! I hope you're all well and enjoying the Easter bank holiday!

This post is all about, as you might've guessed, a new Twitter chat for all bloggers

A few months ago, when introducing the new part of #TakeBackWhatsYours campaign, I decided it would be so much fun to start a new Twitter chat for it. It's another way for us all to connect, chat and share experiences and generally help us all feel great, empowered and motivated which is the main message of my campaign. I've hosted Twitter chats in the past & really enjoyed it, so I thought to myself, why not start one for #TakeBackWhatsYours?

Some topics which will be covered each week are as follows; 

• Self-esteem and low confidence
• Setting goals and learning how to achieve them
• Turning dreams into reality 
• Taking back your life & gaining control
• Anxiety
• Motivation
• Diabetes & other medical problems
• Health, fitness & food
• School/University/Careers
• Blogging, blog tips, SEO, traffic, engagement, events, working with brands
• Beauty/fashion/lifestyle/interior/food/travel/books/tv/films

I would love for you to also tweet me topic requests to get us going and for us to have a good few weeks of chat topics lined up so we all know what's going on and what to expect!

The hashtag will be '#TBWY' instead of #TakeBackWhatsYours (for character restrictions) and the Twitter account questions will be asked from @TBWYCampaign! 

I'm still a little bit unsure of what day to definitely hold the chat because there are quite a few that go on and I want to make sure it fits in best around the other chats! Please tweet me day and time suggestions and I'll decide for sure ASAP - I was thinking possibly a Friday/Saturday/Sunday evening around 9pm! I will update you all as soon as I have set a day for sure so keep an eye on @ChloesConcept, @TBWYCampaign and here because I'll be posting about it on all three!

I love Twitter chats but I want this one to be slightly different. For example, at the beginning of the chat, the first question I might ask could be for you all to tweet a picture of your favourite quote, or of a quote you're loving at the moment. This will be just to kick things off and get everyone feeling hopeful, motivated and inspired! 

If you'd be interested in "tuning in" for this #TBWY chat, please let me know so I know how many would be keen for this and I'll get to work straight away as I'm really excited to get this going!

Get in touch! 

Twitter: @ChloesConcept / @TBWYCampaign 

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com / TakeBackWhatsYours@gmail.com

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Chloe x

LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU'RE BUSY MAKING OTHER PLANS

Hi everyone!

I've been trying to write a post all about life ambitions and plans for awhile now but struggled to get words onto a page which made *some* sense. I hope you can kind of understand what I'm trying to explain!

At the ripe old age of 22 (next month) and after just being given my graduation date, it's hit me like a tonne of bricks that no longer will I be in full-time education; writing essays, working on projects, getting up at the crack of dawn for 9am classes (in which only a handful of us ever turned up for and I deeply regretted leaving my warm and toasty bed for) and stressing myself until I'm ill over exams.

Yes, I agree, those are the bummer times of being in education but what about the good times? Not having to worry about money, what you were going to be when you're "older" and seeing your friends. Before starting university, I made myself stay back a year to really think about what I wanted to study and I'm so happy I did. Even though most of my friends left to go on and pursue jobs and university life themselves, I stayed and changed my mind about 100 times before I wrote my personal statement and sent it off to the courses I thought I'd enjoy. 

After deciding to study Media (which contrary to popular belief, ISN'T just watching films all day long), I was so excited to leave sixth form behind and begin my journey of learning about something I had a great interest in. After applying to uni to learn about filmography and film production (I was certain I wanted to produce films and film trailers) I found myself on the path of PR, marketing and advertising. I think I fine tuned my passion for creativity and the idea of learning about advertising and branding and whatnot and realised that maybe this was all done for a reason... staying back a year, trusting my instinct and applying to study about directing films and then winding up on the route of what I truly believe I'm meant to be doing.

I know so many people (including myself) who has had their next 5-10 years mapped out, yet are all in the same position of "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans". Yes, it's good to have goals, it's good to have dreams and aspirations too because they keep us motivated, driven, inspired and happy but you must keep in mind that things are going to land on your path which you might have to deal with first which might make you have to take a detour. 

I think the message of this post is to know that when you think you've got it all sussed out, you haven't or at least it's very unlikely that you do. And that's not in a negative way whatsoever. It's a good thing. I was convinced I was going to move to California when I was sixteen (after visiting there on a school trip - see, education has it's benefits!) yet here I am, still living in my hometown with no real plans to move away in the foreseeable future. 

Los Angeles 2010 - Please don't judge how I look, I was clearly loving life!

That's not because I don't want to, it's because whilst living your life, things happen which can be good things and not so good things, nevertheless, things. These things can make you put your plans on hold or make you realise they aren't feasible or realistic just yet. Like I said, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can make you realise "oh I'm glad I didn't end up doing that because something better has happened" or "I've changed my mind completely from what I thought I wanted to do years ago, thank goodness for that" for example.

Sometimes I think back to when I was 16 (even though I'm aware it wasn't THAT long ago) and wish I could go back to when I didn't have to think about things you have to think about, now being 22; money, student debt, jobs, the fact that you've apparently just about passed the "best days of your life" (although when I was in school, I definitely disagreed with people who told me I'd look back to miss them).

I never in a million years thought that I'd be writing this blog post, or own my own blog even but I'm 100% happy I am because it's allowed me to explore so many different avenues I didn't even realise was possible.

So yes, this is just a little post about staying positive even when plans don't materialise. It doesn't mean they never will and it could mean that it was done for the best and you might not see it right now, but in a year or two you'll see why...

I believe behind every cloud is a silver lining and I hope you feel a little bit more motivated or inspired or at least content that if you're feeling a bit like you're stuck in a rut, you DON'T have to because there are always options and your life plans aren't set in stone so do what you want and do whatever makes you happy because life is far too short!

I took this whilst in California. As I took it, I thought it was some sort of omen because I was convinced I was going to move there soon!

I've been loving this quote a lot lately. It kind of inspired me to continue writing this post!

If you've ever felt stuck in a rut during the time of leaving education and jumping into the big scary world, what are your words of wisdom?

As always, thank you for reading everyone and hope to see you in the next post!

Get in touch! 

Twitter: @ChloesConcept / @TBWYCampaign 

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com / TakeBackWhatsYours@gmail.com

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Chloe x

2014; THE YEAR I BLOGGED

Hi everyone!

This time last year, I was still sitting reading blogs, hoping to one day write my own for other people to read. I was so hesitant as I thought no one would bother to read it and why should they? I'd probably write in a boring manner, my photos would be a terrible quality and the whole look would be totally unprofessional.

I finally took the plunge early on in 2014 and committed to making a Blogger account. After a little while, I decided my blog name didn't have the right message so around April time, I changed it to Chloe's Concept.

I remember my first post was the Beauty Blender "dupe" and I was so proud of it because I took time with writing it, lined the products up with a backdrop behind it and took pride in how I presented what I was saying but still thinking no one would read it. I'm so, so glad I did click "Publish" on that first post because ever since, I've had so much joy, enjoyment, excitement and much, much more coming from my blogging experience.

I've never really explained why I called my blog Chloe's Concept but in case you were wondering, I named it Chloe's Concept because even though it might seem self explanatory, I wanted it to be somewhere I could write down my opinions on things; i.e., products, clothes and even come up with my own concepts, such as my #TakeBackWhatsYours campaign. 

My 2014 in the blogging world has been insane. I've managed to interview lots and lots of bloggers, people, celebrities, foundations, authors, life-coaches, published articles for online magazines and more. I could have NEVER done this without my blog. As you might be aware, I created my blog for the whole product review/fashion/interior side of things, which I absolutely love but I also wanted to use my blog for a different purpose and that purpose was to create a campaign/platform where I could provide a place for people to come when they're feeling down and low from being bullied, low self-esteem, anxiety, suffering from diabetes (and any other illnesses) and much more. I won't go into detail in this post because you can find everything you need to know here. 

2014 for me has been a huge stepping stone; making me realise what I want to do in life, who I want to be and how I'm going to achieve it. I've even gone as far as making my university dissertation all about blogging! I've gone blogging crazy!

I just want to thank every single person who has been or is involved with my campaign. Thank you for your support and belief in it and thank you for every single kind and thoughtful message you've sent my way.

Before I go, if you are a blogger (or even if you're not!!) I tag you to take part in #TakeBackWhatsYours New Year Campaign Challenge. We as bloggers have more than enough "power" to unite and make a humongous change in this world. You can find ALL of the information here and I urge you to take part and let the world know we're here to make a difference. 

To everyone, Happy New Year and I hope you have the best year ever and may your dreams come true :)

Love,

Chloe x

Get in touch! 

Twitter: @ChloesConcept

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com

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Where have I been? Update!

Hi bloggers!

This is just a little update post so please have a read!

I haven't blogged in two weeks as I've been on holiday to Florida. It's my favourite place on earth and that's why I absolutely love going on holiday there! It has everything you could possibly want; the best shopping experiences, the best weather, the best sunbathing, the best theme parks... you name it, it has it! I'll be doing lots of posts of the next few weeks which will be a series of its own, specifically dedicated to my trip, including beauty hauls (yes, I went to Sephora!), clothes hauls, interior inspirations, restaurant and hotel reviews and general information about Florida, so please look out for that!

I'm currently in the process of making all these posts happen so please stick with me whilst I get them all ready! I hope you enjoy this series as I'm really excited to share it with you all!

Hope you're all well and enjoying this last little bit of Summer!

Chloe x

Sisterhood Of The World - Blog Awards!

Thank you Beck from Revior blog for nominating me in the Sisterhood Of The World Blog Awards! Beck's blog is such a great read! Beck is a beauty blogger who also has a passion for cats (just like me!) so we have a lot in common! Why don't you give her blog a read? You won't regret it! :) Thanks again, Beck!

The Rules:

– Thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site.
– Put the award logo on your blog.
– Answer the ten questions they have set you.
– Make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer.
– Nominate ten people

Here are Beck's questions for me!

1. Which celeb do you take your fashion or makeup inspiration from? I love Lauren Conrad, Lily Collins  and Rachel Bilson's fashion sense and for makeup I love Lauren Conrad (again), Selena Gomez, Camilla Belle, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Minka Kelly! There are loads more for each but those are my top!
2. Would you rather wear lipstick or eyeliner? Lipstick! If I can put on some liquid eyeliner on the top and my mascara, I could do without eyeliner!
3. Are you a skirt or trouser kinda person? I like the thought of skirts and wearing them but I'm definitely more of a trouser kind of  person!
4. Bold lips or eyes for a night out? Bold lips! I like a bronzed smokey eye all the time as a staple look which is more natural than bold so I'd definitely go with bold lips!
5. Do you have any beauty products that you use every day? My Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation and my Got2B Freeze Spray!
6. What are your top 3 makeup products? Philosophy 'The Present' Primer, Collection's Lasting Perfection concealer (couldn't recommend this more!) and my Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel!
7. Do you match your lipstick with your outfit? Nope! I always go for a pink, orange or I mix both to make a coral colour!
8. What's your favourite item of clothing? I love scarves and bags but as for actual clothing I do love my leather jackets and parka coats! 
9. Have you ever been disappointed with a makeup product? Yes! I'm usually disappointed with lipsticks I buy if they're not a matte finish! I don't really like glossy lipsticks! I'm trying to think of a specific product but I've gone blank!
10. What's the worst hairstyle you've ever tried? I've always had really long hair and when I was about 13 I got my full fringe and hair layered and feathered but the hairdresser used a razor instead. What a disaster!

My Questions:

1. What inspired you to start blogging?
2. Where do you hope to see your blog in the future?
3. What do you love most about the blogging world?
4. What are you top beauty tips?
5. Where do you get your makeup/style inspiration from?
6. Where do you love to shop the most?
7. What are you most proud of in relation to your blog?
8. Which do you favour: bags or shoes?
9. How much would you spend on a beauty product?
10. What is your top blogging tip?

I nominate:

• Funsize Beauty
• Realm of Beauty
• SarahSmilesxxx
• Dino's Beauty Diary
• Pretty and Polished
• LaLaLovesChic
• Tie-Dye-Eyes
• Aspiring Londoner
• Letters To Antoinette 
• Hannah Rambles Blog

Thank you again to Beck for nominating me!

Personal Statements: How To Guide

You might think getting started on your personal statement now is being a little premature. Is it though?

I remember writing my personal statement in the summer of 2011 so that when I started back to sixth form in September, I was more or less ready to send it off once I had my references from my teachers!

I remember sitting in my school library trying to actually start my personal statement, which I think is definitely the hardest part, much like any other task; starting is the hardest part.

I have a couple of tips on actually starting your personal statement:

• Jot down in bullet point or spider diagram form why you want to study the course you are applying for.
• Make another chart and write down why you think you're the best applicant and why they should accept you.
• Make another chart and write down some intelligent words to impress them (this will make you stand out from the rest, but make sure you know how and when to use these words!)
• Speak from the heart, if you are really passionate about the course you're applying for, make them understand your story and why you want it so badly (but don't go on and on repeating the same thing; be concise).
• Make a plan: Write down a brief summary of what you want to say in each paragraph, how it will flow etc., as this will only help you when you start writing it properly.

Like I said before, make sure you explain why you want it so badly, why they should pick you out of all the other applicants.

Another tip I have for you may sound strange but if you're struggling to start it or struggling to write it, try attempting it late at night before you go to bed. I don't know why, but I always seem to write a lot late at night! Don't forget to go over it the day after in case your tired eyes led to you making some grammatical errors!

Personal statements are overlooked sometimes and all of your focus is on your grades. Whilst getting the required grades is important, your personal statement could just about swing it for you. I know that in my case, I missed one of the required grades just by one grade, but I was still accepted and I think the reason for that was because of my personal statement.

I hope this post helps you and good luck with the whole UCAS application process! Keep onto your teachers in regards to your references! I hope you get your first choice!

If you have any questions, please ask away! My links are below:

Get in touch: 

Twitter: @ChloesConcept

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com

Tumblr Ask: http://ChloesConcept.tumblr.com/ask

Thanks for reading!

Chloe x

Diabetes Type 1: My story & Insulin Pump experience

So I've been wanting to write this post for a long time now. As you may know, I run a campaign/platform on this blog is for bullying, self-esteem, anxiety and other issues of a similar nature and the feedback I've had has been amazing and I really appreciate everyone's kind words.

I thought I'd add an extra item onto my campaign/platform and that is to also provide support to anyone with the medical condition that is diabetes. This will also be a part of it's own series on my blog, so I'll regularly be posting advice, recipes, tips and general little posts all about diabetes! I've had diabetes for nearly 10 years and I never really knew many people with it whilst I grew up. I was diagnosed at the age of 11 so I was old enough to just about understand it but too young in a way to know the impact it would have on my life. This is not a sob story or a post looking for sympathy in any way, shape or form, it's purely to provide support for people, like myself growing up with diabetes and help them with any problems they may have or even if they just want to talk about it!

Like I said, I was diagnosed at the age of 11 and I remember I had a really bad knee so my mum took me to the doctors. I'd recently lost a lot of weight, was drinking 24/7 and had serious dark circles under my eyes. We didn't really think anything of it and put it down to stress as I had started comprehensive school only a few months prior and I hated it so much I didn't want to go. Luckily enough, after the doctor checked out my knee, my mum told her of my symptoms and she replied "Oh, we better get you checked out with the nurse, you could have diabetes". We were so unsure of what diabetes actually meant, we kind of thought I'd be in and out of the doctors surgery in no time at all. Unfortunately, when I was checked by the nurse, she told me to pack a bag and head down to hospital straight away to be admitted. I felt totally confused and disorientated. So we headed down to the hospital and that's where I stayed for more or less a week. After being seen by every doctor, nurse and medical staff under the sun, I was finally discharged and sent home. I really didn't have much of a clue what to do except I knew I had to give myself numerous injections everyday. I had great support from my mum and dad and the rest of my family, my friends were great about it too.

One thing I remember hating about having this condition was having to do injections in public, eat in class and also do glucose tests in class. I felt uncomfortable whenever I had to eat biscuits during lessons and the teacher would ask me to put them away because they didn't know, but luckily someone in my class would always say "she's diabetic, she has to eat!" but I was still embarrassed and hated the attention it brought!

I never really felt like having diabetes stopped me from doing anything I wanted to do. I still went out with friends, I still went on holiday, I still got good grades, I still got a part-time job, I still passed my driving test, I still went on school trips which I'll get onto later.

Even though you might feel like having diabetes is hindering your life and lifestyle, try and turn it into a positive. You're probably eating healthier than you ever were before, it could be a whole lot worse and you get to eat sugary goods when you're glucose levels are low. See, win-win right?


As I got a bit older, I had to increase the amount of injections I was giving myself. My glucose levels were constantly high 20s and this started to have an impact on my life. It made me feel ill constantly and I knew I had to find another solution. That's where my insulin pump comes in. One of the diabetic nurses informed me of a pump that was coming out soon and they were doing trials with small groups of people to see how we got on with them. I had to learn all about how the pump worked (which was draining) and I had to learn how to carbohydrate count. You might have heard of this before, you might have not. I'm still trying to get to grips with it myself! If you'd like me to do a post on carbohydrate counting, please let me know and I'll get that done for you! :)

In October 2008 I finally properly transitioned from injections to an insulin pump. It started off a bit rocky, having trouble inserting the pump and getting it to deliver the right amount of insulin but I soon got the hang of it. Below I'll go into more detail about how the pump works! The pump has given me so much more freedom than I could ever imagine having. Instead of injecting 4+ times a day, I'm now injecting once every 2-3 days. Crazy right? This pump allows me to go out and eat without having to pull out my injection pen, it allows me to eat more of what I want to eat, it allows me to have the odd treat every now and again, it allows me to feel more normal rather than being reminded of diabetes each time I went to do something, as I'd usually have to take my diabetes into account for whatever I was about to do. I even went  to L.A and San Francisco with my sixth form which is something I never imagined I'd be able to do because of my constant injections and lack of flexibility but the pump gave me that flexibility so I was able to go. I'm not saying if you're on injections that you can't go away on your own without your parents, but I felt more comfortable knowing they were with me if I was on injections, but with my pump I felt confident enough to take complete care of myself... mind you, it didn't stop my parents from worrying!


So I'll introduce you to my insulin pump now and show you how it works and the equipment that goes with it! Sorry if it's a bit confusing, I'll try to make it brief but if you have any questions about it, I'll leave my contact links at the bottom so you can email or tweet me with your questions! :)

My Insulin Pump!

This is called an Infusion Set. The blue part of it is the part that is inserted into my stomach (not the top part of the blue, the underneath!) and that has a needle on it when you take the blue cap off.

This is called a Reservoir and this is inserted into the vile of insulin which you'll see below, in order for the insulin to enter the little bottle which says Medtronic on it with the measurements.

This is the vile of insulin I use.

This is called the Quick-Serter and this is used as the "trigger" to insert the Infusion Set (see image 1).

This is the Infusion Set inserted into the Quick-Serter.

...And here is my pump! So small, it's easily hid and tucked away in my pocket or clipped onto my jeans!

I hope this is helpful! As previously mentioned, this is the beginning of a brand new series on my blog and part of my campaign/platform!

If you'd like to take part in this blog series, please let me know! I'm always looking for bloggers to take part in my campaign/platform so if you're diabetic and you'd like to help out, I'll leave my links below! If you're not diabetic but you'd still like to help out, my campaign/platform also includes issues such as bullying, self-esteem, anxiety and issues along those lines! Here's a direct link to a post that explains everything so if you think that's for you, get in touch!

If you'd just like to talk or would like any advice, please do not hesitate to contact me on any of the links I leave below as that's what I'm here for!

Get in touch: 

Twitter: @ChloesConcept

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com

Tumblr Ask: http://ChloesConcept.tumblr.com/ask

Getting Into University.

So you've just left sixth form/college and you're awaiting your A Level results which will determine what uni you get into! I've done a bit of research (as the dates change each year) and this year, as you'll likely know, the results day for the UK is the 14th August and the 5th of August if you live in Scotland.

It's a scary time, I was in your position this time 2 years ago and it only feels like yesterday! I stayed on an extra year in sixth form because I kept changing my mind on the course I wanted to do, even though I knew it was going to be media related! At the time, I wasn't happy that I was staying on an extra year when some of my friends were off to uni but I was so glad I did because I had time to thoroughly think about what I wanted to do rather than what I thought I should do!

After the long process of writing your personal statement, (which I'll be writing a post about in the next few days for those who are about to apply for next year!) getting your references and finally applying for the courses of your choice, you've got the long, terrifying wait which you're convinced your future depends on... I thought that too.

I worked so, so hard my final year of sixth form, resitting exams I had already done okay on just to get better marks to improve my chances, putting in what felt like millions of hours on coursework and assignments and taking an extra course to bump my qualifications up! I literally felt like whatever happened, I did my best and I could do no more... but that doesn't stop you from worrying.

Throughout school, I never got the best grades even though I worked super hard for everything...the results just never came. They were okay, just not what I wanted for working so hard!

Believe me, if you're bordering on getting the grade you need, don't worry. Universities take into consideration how stressful exams and coursework can be and how much stress each person is under. I was so worried that I wouldn't get the grades I needed but thankfully I did, all bar one grade which I missed by a fraction, but they make allowances. I can't stress this enough: if your personal statements and references are good enough and you miss the required grade by a bit, there's a really high chance you'll still get in! Take my word for it. I remember people used to tell me this when I was waiting to find out and I kept saying "but they said I NEED to get these grades or else I won't be accepted!"

Try not to panic as much as you are... I know it's easy for me to say, but I was in your position this time two years ago and I can even remember how I felt and what was going through my mind when I was finding out my results...

Try to enjoy your last bit of freedom because as soon as your off to uni, the hard work begins but if you've chosen a course you genuinely think you'll love like I do, I'm sure you'll actually enjoy doing the work for it! I know it sounds crazy to actually enjoy doing essays and assignments but trust me!

I hope this relaxes your mind a little bit! Good luck for your results and I'd love to know how you get on!

Remember, the most important thing is your health and strength and anything after that is a bonus :) 

Thanks for reading everyone! 

Chloe x

Look forward to starting back school in September!

End of term...

For schools across the UK, the summer holidays is fast approaching or may have already started for some!

This may be a blessing to those who hate school so desperately due to being a victim of bullying, feeling left out or maybe have no friends.

Today's post is all about using your summer holiday wisely so that when September rolls around again, you're not dreading starting back! I know you're probably thinking “I am dreading September” but that's okay. Hopefully by the end of this post, your feelings will have changed!

First of all you need to know why you hate school so much;

• Are you being bullied?
• Do you have any friends?
• Are you being left out?
• Are you struggling with school work?

Maybe there's a different reason, but as long as you know it, you can change your feelings towards it.

When I first started secondary school, I absolutely hated it but after about a year and a half/two years, my opinion changed. I did struggle with school work at first, I did struggle with friends and I would struggle to find anyone who didn't struggle with these things. You're not alone!

Are you being bullied?

First of all, if you're a victim of bullying please visit here where you'll find information on the campaign/platform I run dedicated to bullying, self-esteem, anxiety and body confidence.

I understand what you're going through and I know you are probably thinking “everyone says that!” but I genuinely do. I am only 21 so I'm not a teacher or politician who is trying to cut down on bullying. You know as well as I do how mean people can be and unfortunately it's extremely difficult to stamp out bullying altogether.

The only thing WE can change is how we let it affect us and how we deal with it. The problem here is with the bully, not you. The bully doesn't have anything personally against you, their just so bored with their own lives and like to feel powerful for the 5 minutes their bullying you. Trust me, in a little while (and I mean a little while, it will stop soon) the bully will get fed up of you and move onto someone else. I'll tell you when the bully likes to keep bullying you...when you LET the bully have an impact on your life. There's never a correct way to deal with bullying as each bully is different, so I will not tell you to confront the bully and I will not tell you to hide away either but what I will tell you is to tell someone. Even if it's me. If you've read the link I put above here, you'll understand that the whole reason I started this campaign/platform was to provide a different sort of support that I haven't seen anywhere else. I'm not a parent or a teacher or anyone in authority so to you, I am a friend.

On this blog, I will be writing lots of helpful posts (there's quite a few up already) on how to deal with bullying and I've posted a lot of interviews with bloggers who are people JUST like you, same age, same experiences, everything! They've spoken about their experiences and how they dealt with it, so I hope that's helpful to you! Please check the link above and I hope you feel better knowing you have support and a friendly face to talk to if you want to tell me about your problems, experiences, want advice or just want to rant! A problem shared is a problem halved!

Feeling left out?

Okay, moving on. Now we have “feeling left out”. So, you have a couple of friends or even a large group of friends and it feels as lonely as it would if you had none? Don't worry, we've all been there! I can't give you some trick that will instantly make you feel included but be assured that it's not your problem. You're not doing anything wrong. So what if they're all going over each other's house that day and didn't invite you? The likelihood in this situation is that you probably don't have a lot in common with these people anyway so why would you want to spend time with them outside of school? The best thing you can do is just count yourself lucky that you don't have to hang around with people who don't give much thought for your feelings. Yes, stay friends with them if you feel like it's better than not being friends with them, but just be wise and be cautious!

A little tip I do have for you though is:

Find something you love to do, whether it be swimming or reading or for me it's blogging and I also love trying new makeup, hairstyles, clothes etc. As long as you love doing whatever it is you've chosen, stick to it and be really, really good at it or at least be the best you can be. While everyone else is off over someone else's house or whatever, you're bettering yourself and that's something they can't take away from you. Who knows, maybe your hobby may turn into your career when you finally leave school and you'll be glad you weren't upset over feeling left out!

Again, if you want to talk about anything, the link above gives you all the details and I'll also be adding all of my contact links at the bottom of this post!

Dreaded school work...

You think of school as a prison where teachers are making you learn about things you know you'll never need in later life, and probably some of what you learn you won't! But that's the beauty of it, it's better to have general knowledge of all little things, than loads of knowledge on one main thing. You might know for certain what you want to do when you leave school (I know you're probably not thinking along those lines right now) and that's fine but if you're anything like me who changed their idea of a career about 100 times, it's best to keep your options open! If you're struggling with whatever you're learning about, ASK for help when you go back in September. Make it your new challenge to understand something you can't get to grips with. For me, I never could quite understand Simultaneous Equations in Maths. I went through months of getting answers wrong and tests wrong and I finally decided enough was enough and I finally asked for help. I had to stay in one lunch time for my teacher to explain it to me, but it was something I was glad to give up to have that feeling of accomplishment when I went home that day. Make a list of all the little things you've struggled with in your school work this year and imagine that feeling of accomplishment when you tick them off after you've learnt and understood them!

I hope this blog post helps you and remember, I am here to help! Please feel free to contact me on the links I will post below about anything you want to talk about, even if it's just for a chat!

Twitter: @ChloesConcept

Tumblr Ask: chloesconcept.tumblr.com/ask

Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com

Enjoy your summer and take care!

Chloe x

Get Over Your Insecurities, Learn To Love Them & Feel Confident!

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend and the weather is as it should be for this time of year (...in the UK anyway!)


Today's post is all about self-esteem and ways you can boost yours and learn to love the things you dislike about yourself!

You probably dislike at least one thing about yourself, whether its your looks; maybe your eye shape, nose, tummy...you get the picture, or maybe it's personality wise; maybe you're stubborn or short tempered. We all have something we're not satisfied with and I'm here to tell you that that is okay.

Imagine seeing yourself as pretty much perfect, you wouldn't change anything about yourself; looks or personality wise. I don't know why, but to me I'd still be unsatisfied as I'd always be looking for something to dislike or want to change!

I want you to think of those things you don't like about yourself and turn them into a positive...here's my examples:

Personality: 

Let's say you have OCD like I have. I moan about it as it always makes me late when I have to check everything at least 4-16 times (I know, weird but those are my favourite numbers and it's got worse through the years!) but at least once it's done, you don't leave the house thinking "Did I switch my hair dryer off?" or "Did I lock my front door?" Always try to turn whatever you don't like about yourself, into a positive!

Appearance:

Okay so let's say you have small eyes and you hate them because you think they look disproportional to the size of your face. Look through some photos of maybe celebrities and look at their eyes and I bet until you look closely you wouldn't have realised they had small eyes until you purposely went looking for them. That's the same for you, people probably don't even realise the size of your eyes as they don't specifically just focus on them and so what? You may not like them, but someone else may think they make you look unique and suit you!

Here's something you can do everyday to start loving the things you once disliked about yourself:

• Look in the mirror at the thing/s you dislike about yourself. Are you going to let these little things define who you are? Are you any less of a person just because you dislike your small eyes or your thin lips? 
• Think about this and feel lucky to look the way you do and feel lucky that you are in better health than some people, don't take things for granted!
• Look hard at what you don't like and think "is it really that bad?"
• Remind yourself that no one else looks exactly like you, so you are unique!
• Think about when you walk past someone and think "they have lovely hair" but to that person, they might be feeling very self-conscious about their hair.
• Pick one thing you like about yourself everyday, whether it be your appearance or it could even be something in your personality or maybe an act of kindness you did that day...Keep the positive vibe going!

I hope this little post helps you to build your confidence back up and feel amazing about yourself because you deserve to feel great!

If you would like to share your tips to feeling confident, let me know in the comments!

You can also get in touch with me on any of these links:

Twitter: @ChloesConcept
Email: ChloesConcept@gmail.com
Tumblr Ask: http://ChloesConcept.tumblr.com/ask

Thank you for reading!

Chloe x

Wonder Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!

Today's post is sort of linking in with my Motivated Monday post! This post is going to be looking at how to empower yourself into realising that you can achieve ANY dream you have. 

There is often so much pessimism and doubt surrounding reaching your goal and not enough enthusiasm and optimism to empower you to realise your capabilities and abilities! Hopefully by the end of this post, you'll go away feeling more empowered, inspired, motivated and most of all excited about what your future can hold if you let yourself dream!

Before we start, it is always great to dream and imagine what could be but don't lose sight of what you have right now and be grateful for it! Happiness and health is much more important in life so just remember that :)

Okay, first of all I want you to think of something you want to do in life but you don't think you'll be able to actually do it. It can be anything at all. Write it down on a piece of paper, phone, computer, anything! 

Now think about how much you want that specific dream to come true. Really think! Think about how good you'll feel when you've got that dream job, when you've visited the last place on your "places to travel" list... the possibilities are endless!

Now comes the time where you've got to put a little bit of thought into this process... Get that list you jotted down your dream on and underneath it write: "How am I going to achieve this?" Think hard. Are you already on the path that's going to lead you to your dreams? This might make it slightly easier for you to imagine your end result as you may already know roughly how to get there! If you feel like you are so far from reaching your dreams as you aren't on that path yet, don't fret! You've got bags of time! Such a great way to start making connections which will help you get to where you want to go is by emailing people. I've made amazing connections so far by emailing people which has really helped me! 


Note: Try creating a little spider diagram, I find those extremely helpful to get all of your ideas down!

A few people have tweeted me telling me about their dreams:

Andrew from Beauty & The Boy told me that his dream is to "work as a hair and makeup artist full time, progress in blogging and work more with brands as an ambassador". Andrew knows exactly what he wants in life and by the looks of his blog, I'm sure he is well on the way of reaching his dreams!

Rukhsar from Love Make-up. Love Fashion told me that she "would love to be able to travel the world! I have a long list of places that I want to visit and I'm always adding to it :)". I think making lists are great as it's something that you can look back at to remind you of your dreams and helps you stay motivated!

Kristina from Creepers and Cupcakes says that she "just wants to be healthy and happy" and then continues by saying "Materialistically - I want a huge walk-in closet haha"! Like I previously mentioned, the most important thing in life is happiness and health so don't lose sight of that in your process of making your dreams come true!


I think whatever you dream, you can achieve. Don't think "it's pointless me dreaming of what I really want to do because it will never happen" because that attitude will get you nowhere in life, so please keep going and keep positive!

Another little motivational boost includes some facts that are definitely food for thought! Here they are:

• Steven Spielberg, one of the most famous film directors, was rejected by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts multiple times!

• J.K. Rowling was a single mom living off welfare when she began writing the first "Harry Potter" novel!

• While developing his vacuum, Sir James Dyson went through 5,126 failed prototypes and his savings over 15 years...But the 5,127th prototype worked. Dyson is now worth an estimated $4.5 billion, according to Forbes.

Let me know what your biggest dreams are by tweeting me @ChloesConcept or leaving your comments below!

If you haven't already, please check out my campaign on my blog for bullying victims and anxiety, self-esteem, depression & confidence issues! You can see it here!

Thank you for reading!

Chloe x