 |
| This is me living my BEST life at the church Hawaiian themed karaoke night... yep that's a thing. I hope you are feeling just as passionate about life as I was here. 📸 @hannah_rothwell |
The months of April and May have been action packed and so I come bearing much news which I shall now birth...
Birthday Bashin'
Since we last spoke my brother turned 18 and I turned 20! I can't quite believe that my (not so) little bro is an adult and that I am officially not a teen but am now in my twenties?!!? What the actual HECK.
Matt's 18th was a super fun time as we had most of the fam over for celebrations and I was back from Uni for the Easter hols just in time!
Not long after it was time for my anniversary of birth. I had a lovely birthday morning with my family and Darcy (who is basically part of the family lol)
 |
| If you can't be your weird self with your family then when can you be? |
 |
| Just hangin' out with an honorary Ledden |
It was then time to head off to London with my girl Kathers! We were hitting the capital to watch the musical Hamilton in London's West End. We booked the tickets for this show nearly two whole years ago!!! So it had been a long time coming and we were beyond excited. We had a lovely dinner and then headed to the Victoria Palace Theatre to watch the show. Because we have been hardcore fans for a couple of years we were both slightly concerned that the show wouldn't live up to our VERY high expectations however we needn't have worried. It was incredible. Absolutely mind-blowingly spectacularly incredible. We laughed and we cried and when we came out we just wanted to turn around and go and watch the whole thing again!
 |
| Two very happy beans. And shoutout to the couple in the background who are rocking the selfie game. |
Adventure Plus
My birthday was actually only a very small part of a suuuuper mad week. I was back working with the organisation Adventure Plus working as an Enabler to the same girl with whom I worked last Summer. She is completely blind and partially deaf and yet this does by no means define her. She is also funny, brave, strong willed and talented. Similar to last time, working with her was both incredibly tough and draining (and I'd even say traumatic at times) but it was also very rewarding. I even learnt how to do hair braids which was fun and she loved the feel of them in her hair!
 |
| braille and bushcraft |
Back in the saddle!
When I went to Uni I couldn't wait to dive straight in to all things Musical Theatre as it is such a huge part of who I am and I didn't think I could cope without it. However, it just hasn't happened! Mainly because I haven't had the time or energy for it due to being on such a full-on course. Therefore I was itching to get back in the saddle as soon as I got home!
I auditioned for the show 'Anything Goes' with the theatre company RicNic in between finishing the week with A+ and heading back to Brighton. It's more than fair to say that the dance part of the audition was an utter shambles but I managed to give myself a pep talk and clawed it back with the singing.... and I got the part! I am playing Hope Harcourt from 22nd-25th August!
Tickets are now on sale: here!
I was then approached a couple of weeks ago with the offer of another lead role in a different musical!!! I couldn't BE-LIEEEVE it. I went from an MT drought to landing two musicals in one hit. I will be playing Kate in Kiss Me Kate with DIY Theatre from 20th-21st July. Buy yo' tickets here!
I could not be happier and hope you'll all come and support myself and the rest of the cast/crew in these shows - it's going to be a blast.
Placement = the best and worst
After this crazy exhausting week it was time to head back down to Brighton to begin a 5 week block of placement. This turned out to be one of the best and hardest things I've ever done. I was so blessed with the school and class in which I was placed: I was welcomed with open arms and fell in love with each of the children in my class. My life began to revolve around them, their welfare, and how I could do everything in my power to nurture them and help them to progress and learn.
There were a few very low moments - mainly due to the pure exhaustion. Name another 20 year old who can accidentally fall asleep at 7pm on a Friday night...! Not only was the physical effort of the experience hard, but also the emotional side of it. Some of the situations those children were in were truly heartbreaking and it could be both incredibly frustrating and sad to witness. I can honestly say that one of the things this placement taught me was to be more grateful for the wonderful start in life that I was able to have - not everyone is so lucky.
A real highlight of placement was taking part in the Brighton Children's Parade. The theme this year was art and so each school was given a famous painting to re-create - our school was given the Michelangelo painting from the Sistene Chapel. This may be me being bias but I genuinely think ours was one of the best!
 |
| Just chillin' with Adam and getting my scalp burnt... |
 |
| Some of the teachers carried our masterpiece whilst the children wore cherub wings and we all sported our hand-decorated t-shirts which had glitter trumpets and harps on them! |
When I begun my teacher training I did not foresee that I would spend hours after school slaving over cherub wings or papier-machéing God's hands. My job after the parade was to carry God's head through Brighton and back to the school.... now that's I sentence I never thought I'd say!
Finishing placement was incredibly emotional. I had invested so much of myself into their little lives and their achievements, developments, and targets. It was so hard saying goodbye and knowing I may not see them again or find out how they get on. The staff and kids got really upset too which was hard to see but also showed me that I had made an impact on them as well as them making an impact on me.
I am blessed to have walked away from that school having learnt so much.
#DarcAndKatesTakeBrighton
Since before I moved to Brighton Darcy has been saying she would come and visit me and - just as I was about to leave - our dreams were made a reality. I miss this girl so much that it physically HURTS so it was amazing to spend 3 days wrapped up in her wonderful company. It was also super fun for me to be her personal tour guide and to do all the touristy things together which I usually wouldn't get a chance to do. We explored the Laines, the Pavillion gardens, the Pier, ate a picnic on the beach, rented bikes and cycled to the Hove beach huts and managed to avoid a seagull attack! We enjoyed a couple of meals out and went back to my flat each evening to watch some Call the Midwife because that's how these two crazy chicks roll babaaay.
 |
| Day 1 of our adventures was the same day as Prince Hazza and Megs got hitched so we rocked these paper crowns all day looonng. |
 |
| Day two resulted in us both getting HANGRY after our bike ride and shopping trip. This is a face of pure joy. |
 |
| A cheeky pit-stop on our mission to find the beach huts. |
Home sweeeeeet home!
I can not believe that I am now a third of the way through my University experience! ABSOLUTE MADNESS. I think I'll probs do a post specifically about 1st year: my reflections and any advice I have for those of you who are heading off to Uni this year.
I am loving being back home (although I am heading back to B'ton next week for a few days lol). It has been great to catch up with chums and family alike and to get back to work - I have missed my babies like maaaad!
No Media May
The final thing to update you on is that I decided to do No Media May again this year. You may remember my two posts on it last year: Quitting Social Media and Life Offline. Go and have a read if you haven't already! This year was an equal success and was extra good because two friends decided to join me! Jo and Tam joined the team and we all learnt a lot from it. Taking a break from comparing your life with others is so refreshing and becoming more present in the moment is equally good for the soul. I will definitely do this again next year and encourage you to have a go too!
You're Killing It!!!
The past couple of months have had quite a few 'I can't do this' moments. Even now that I'm home I still feel quite anxious about life in general and all my plans I have coming up. However, writing this post has reminded me of what I have achieved - several of those things are things I thought I wouldn't be able to do. My diary has the words 'You're Killing It!!!' written on the front and it is a reminder that I am doing a relatively good job at this life thing. With God's grace and faithfulness I can do bloody anything.
Here's to the summer and everything we are all about to achieve! I just want to tell you (yes, YOU) that you too are KILLING IT and that I have faith in you. Whether you're mid-exam season or just having a Netflix binge, you are fabulous and so, so loved. Keep doing you, boo.
Many thanks as always for taking the time to read this. And thank you for your patience whilst I've been on placement and offline!
If you wish to, please follow Katie's Corner by clicking the blue 'follow' button in the top left corner (if you can't see it, you need to click on 'view web version' below).
Love,
Katie xxx
