So it’s almost here. Only a couple of days until I start my Masters in Corporate and Financial law and I’ve got to admit, I am getting very nervous. Upon finishing my last law exam just this summer I was almost certain that I was done with education. But after careful consideration and tons of research it dawned on me that I do in fact wish to pursue further studies. Something about wanting to better myself, as well as proving some people wrong have both been major factors in making this important decision.

Naturally with the start of my course, comes the exciting aspect of starting afresh and really buckling down for the year. I’m determined to keep my head down and do the best I can. From looking at my course outline, it is very clear that it will be a very intense year ahead. However, with the right mind set and determination I believe that I can absolutely crush it!

Let’s all be honest here for a moment though. We all know what makes going back to school that much more exciting… NEW STATIONERY!!!

It’s almost a little tradition of mine to go stationary shopping before I start my course, ensuring that I’ve got everything that I need for the upcoming year. From new highlighters to notebooks, I particularly get drawn to very girly and chic stationary. I do have to admit that, I’m quite particular about what I like. There are a few places where I would normally go to first before hitting the good old WHSmith. One of those places where to acquire stationary from is Paperchase. They have such nice things and it always seems to be a challenge going in there and not buying even a little something.

But as of this summer there is a new contender in town – kikki.K, a brand that came all the way from Sweden, have opened up a pop-up store in Bentall Centre in Kingston! I’ve previously seen the brand online and loved all of their lovely stuff but never took the plunge to actually order anything. Now that they have an actual store, I was absolutely chuffed to be able to check out their merchandise in person. As a result I went a little overboard and probably got a little too much. I felt a little guilty initially but in the end justified all of my purchases. That is what a stationary addict does! It certainly didn’t help, that their latest range was rose gold which is a colour I’m totally obsessed with at the moment.

As well getting some new stationary bits I am very keen to start using my Happiness Planner again which I purchased at the end of 2015. Over the summer holidays I haven’t had a lot going on, so I neglected filling it in. But now that I’m starting school again I feel like that is the incentive I needed to make me use it again. It is such a pretty and useful planner, definitely a great addition for a busy student. What is great about it, is that it makes you want to take a few minutes at the end of each day, reflect back on it and think about your goals for the upcoming day. The only downfall for me about about this planner, is how chunky it is. I would have wanted to be able to take it with me everywhere but because of the size and how many pages it has, it is not possible. However, after recently attending the first ever Happiness Planner in London, I did find out that there will be, in fact, a smaller in size Happiness Planner which I believe can already be pre-ordered for the calendar year 2017.

However, as much as it is exciting, getting new shiny stationery and other bits, there is so much more to starting up university again. There is that excitement of meeting new people and making new friendships. What excites me the most, is the prospect of meeting someone new who is in exactly the same boat, trying to start afresh, just like me. They might be from a totally different background, country, continent even! But in the end we’re all there, starting a very similar journey. I am really looking forward to starting my course and I’m hoping to be the best I can be for the year to come. Getting my new gold pens at the ready!!!