Summer Dreams #3

9th July- 20th July: The week I legally became an adult 

I think it shows that my summer holiday mission of being adventerous has been a success this week as I’m a whole 4 days behind on Home and Away and I do not miss an episode lightly my friends. The reason for this is because it has been MY BIRTHDAY and I have reached the great big landmark of 18 meaning that in the UK I am legally an adult allowing me to vote, a rise in the minimum wage to £5.03 and more importantly being able to drink alcoholic beverages and enter into pubs- fickle I know! Its been a week of complete highs so we’re gonna have a hopefully short chat about the beautiful people I love, who spoilt me rotten and made it a week to remember. 

First of all on the 9th July I passed my driving test (first time round, might I add) which was a massive accomplishment for me as well as huge weight of my shoulders. It set the tone for the rest of the week and meant I could celebrate with zero worries as driving had been a huge challenge for me; if you want to read more about my struggles here's my whole blogpost about it: http://theamygill.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/the-hardship-of-learning-to-drive.html

This meant that all focus could be put into celebrations! All my life I have loved occasions of any form and birthdays, especially mine, are at the pinnacle of that. So for my eighteenth my family and friends went all out, god bless their souls, to ensure that it I couldn’t have had a better birthday week- because lets be honest a day is simply not long enough to celebrate me entering the world. 

Every year for my birthday we throw a huge family BBQ and this year was no different. However, for this ‘landmark’ birthday my parents threw in a couple of surprises such as, decorations, balloons, fireworks, confetti cannons and a collage of my all my birthdays. This combined with games that have become traditions in my family such as water balloons, great food and phenomenal presents meant it exceeded all my expectations.

Originally on my actual birthday all my pals, old and new, were meant to come round my house just for a chilled day of chatter and laughter. My old school friends had other ideas and I was whisked away (that is a lie I had to wait at the train station for an hour due to cancelled trains) for a day trip to Cambridge. We had a picnic full of champagne and cake as well as present opening in one of their beautiful parks before the highlight of the day was revealed; punting! This has been on my summer to-do-list for about 3 years but it has been a challenge to find a time when everyone has the money and availability to all go out on the water. My friends, the observant kids that they are, realised my desire to get involved in this local tourist attraction and saw a prime birthday present for the girl who apparently 'has everything’. I’m going to do a whole blog post soon about the hilarity of punting and to show you all the excessive pictures of the views; I’ll post the link in the comments when its published so take a little look if you’re interested my loves. 

If you were wondering, yes, I did wear a tiara all day leading to every single acquaintance judging my sanity but, lets be honest when else can you get away with wearing a crown in broad daylight.  

The day did not end there though! My friends had a few more surprises up their sleeves with us heading of to the local Weatherspoons (Its cheap and cheerful) to meet all my sixth form friends. The fact that my two friendship groups had been serectly planning behind my back and had put so much effort into my birthday, combined with them jumping out in front of me and scaring the living daylights out me led me to shed a little overwhelmed tear. It saw the end to the perfect day, a ‘sophisticated’ and chilled birthday which was full of laughter, love and surprises. Still to this moment I am shocked that my friends managed to pull every single surprise off without me having a clue, normally every year I guess my presents without hesitation but this year I had no clue about anything- congrats girls. 

Now before you think I am the most boring 18 year old ever by not properly going out when I can actually legally drink don’t panic! We waited for Thursday night aka Student Night to hit the town properly. There was laughter, singing, dancing, drinking and free champagne OLAY! Everyone found the right balance of being merry and having a good time; meaning a rather hilarious night. 

Now I realise that this blog post perhaps has not given you guys actual suggestions for summer activities, especially if you’re under 18- I sympathise, I really do- but I hope it has perhaps given you a little incentive to go out and grab opportunities. Don’t wait for a massive occasion such as a birthday to plan a group outing, go and do it now! Half the fun is making a plan and seeing it emerge successfully; even if it does take you a couple of months to save the money up to do what you want. Get with your friends and research local attractions or discounted tickets, with that in itself being a fun day in but, also probably opening yours eyes to everything in your local area. Although this week has been filled with lavish days out, the highlight has defiantly been those people who I was blessed to spend the days with; which is the message I seem to be realising this summer!

What have you been up to so far? and do you have any more suggestions of fun things to do this holiday? Lets get creative!

Peace Out My Lovelies xxx

Track of the Week: 18- 5 Seconds of Summer 

'Summer Dreams' Series so far: 
http://theamygill.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/summer-dreams.html
http://theamygill.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/summer-dreams-1.html
http://theamygill.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/summer-dreams-2.html