Hello everybody.

I'm Jessica (or Jess, Jessie, The Nightingale etc. take your pick!)

Technically I'm not a newbie, since I've been registered here for almost a year. It was only recently, however, during the February break, that I decided to start posting more regularly and became a proper part of the PK community. Following the fallout of DH I took refuge at SCQ and have been there, oooh, coming up to two years now. It'll always be my true home, but I thought I'd spread my wings a little and get to know people here too. I wish I'd registered here in the earlier days -- I browsed for YEARS, but just never registered... I don't know why. Anyway, I can make up for lost time now.

What else can I tell you about myself? I'm from England. I became a Potter fan in 1999 when I read Philosopher's Stone and almost instantly began shipping our Harmonious duo, Harry and Hermione. Ahhhh, the 'books and cleverness' speech truly got to me - - I've been hooked ever since! I joined various communities after reading the first three books, did a little debating (even in my tender years). A few of them I still visit occasionally, although for the most part I'm here and at SCQ. I have to say HP has given me a lot over the years -- I've gained some FANTASTIC memories that I will treasure eternally, met many people and just loved every minute of it. The ending of DH left me despondent to say the least, but I still do not regret becoming part of fandom and I honestly could not imagine a world without the HP universe. It's been a truly life-enriching experience. Here's to the memories.

Aside from Harry Potter and online communities I LOVE to write -- journalistically and creatively. I'm always entering competitions and writing random pieces for newspapers. I've attempted fanfiction in the past, but am a tad nervous about airing it. Although reading all the PK author's side notes where they talk about their reservations over publishing their work etc. is SO inspirational. So I may get going in the future with those stories again.

In-between my writing I'm a full-time student, studying for 5 AS levels [English Lit, History, Philosophy, Latin, and Classics] at a sixth form. I love school and I'm somewhat trepidatious about leaving for university next year. Although all new experiences I suppose! When I'm not at school, or busying myself online, I like to meet with my friends for coffee (or in my case, a hot chocolate!) go to the theatre (I adore critiquing), check out films, or just settle down with a favourite book.

I live with my Mum and Dad and LOVELY *snorts * little brother. And that's pretty much it. I'm pretty friendly, love to talk about anything and everything, and am very passionate and loyal.

Phew! I think that must be the longest introduction in PK History. I apologise *blushes* My teacher always did say I was a rambler...

Welcome, The Nightingale.

Wow, you sound like an interesting and well-rounded person! We're happy to have you with us.
I like SCQ, too, but don't get over there very much.

I think DH left every right-thinking person devastated, you know? As soon as I finished reading it and closed the cover, I swore I'd never open it again. *sigh*
Thank goodness for Portkey and fanfics, huh?

I know you'll have fun here cos we're all fantastic people! LOL!

If you ever need anything or have questions, just give me a pm, and I'll do all I can to help.

Welcome again!

scout

You know, I've always thought that lurkers were shy people. Looks like I was wrong, but I'm pleased to be mistaken about that. Good to see you delurk more. See you around.

Hi there!
I'm Becky, nice to meet you
Ah hah! Another English PK-er. Yay! Check out the UK forum (link in my sig) and say hello We're in need of some more posters there hehe.
Since you've been a member for a while you probably know your way around pretty well so I wont pop any links in here...

I'm a bit of a journalist too, not a very good one mind... and I tend to write more for the feature side of things rather than news articles but if I have to write them, I do.

Oh don't worry about uni by the way, I was exactly the same as you were when I was about to leave sixth form... especially because I stayed on at my school for my sixth form (is it the same for you?) so I hadn't moved schools for like 7 years. And it's a big ol' step to move from school to uni.
Well, I say it's a big step- it's a bigger jump from GCSE to A-level so you've done the hard part
What do you want to study at uni? I'm in my final year of an English degree. With a side order of journalism.. Well... kinda. I'm having to repeat the year, but that's my own fault really- don't panic.

Anyway, I should go and stop bombarding you with questions... hope to see you around

~Bec

Thank you for the warm welcomes, Scout, Pen and Bec.

-- Bec I was browsing the UK forum the other day, but since it’s been a long-running thread with mostly regulars I didn’t want to just barge in and post. Although I will have another poke around there, and maybe pop in occasionally. I don’t know many people from the UK in online fandom, so it would be nice to share some common understandings in there (after all, you can’t exactly refer to gaffs at the BRITS, or British music stars when talking to non-UK residents ... just as a random example!)

Ahhh you're a bit of a journalist too. That's nice to hear. I don't know of that many young people who are dipping their toes into the crazy world of journalistic writing. I do some feature writing too -- I love all areas of it really. I like doing really quirky pieces, a mixture of serious and fun. And the occasional film/theatre review, as well.


As for uni I want to do English and Classics. English has always been my favourite subject and the one thing I have a natural aptitude for. Classics is a personal interest -- but pretty varied and can lead down some interesting career paths. So I thought I'd combine the two. Part of me can't wait for the fresh experiences, and the other part of me is highly terrified. Being away from home will be a colossal change in itself.

Anyway, hope to see you all around

I'm a bit late, but welcome!!

That's so awesome you're going to study English! I study English and History myself at university. I enjoy it a lot, but I think my programme is different to yours. NZ always seems to do their own thing.

I think everyone is nervous about starting university. It's such a big step, but, honestly, it's not that scary.

As for the fanfiction thing, honestly you should just go for it. I've found it to be very helpful for my writing and just my love for creative writing in general. It's letting people share in your joy without the stress of going through publishers and stuff. The readers are always very nice as well, so that's always a bonus.

Oh and don't worry about the long intro. I think we all like to ramble a bit

Oh no no, you're more than welcome to post! We love new members. I need someone to stop me going insane on my own

Oh me too, I love English. It's always been my favourite subject (lucky I've always been good at it then really hehe) but my focus has always been more to the language side of things.
I like literature but the language has always interested me the most.
I just find it so fascinating... learning why people speak the way that they do, how they form the words, why we developed language to a more complex level compared to other species (a lot of theorists argue that animals don't have a language as such. They communicate but the level of complexity isn't high enough to constitute a language. People tend to think that dolphins and whales have a language but it's been investigated and they don't use sub units like we do to constitute a language) what actually constitutes a language...
It's just so interesting! I'm such a massive geek when it comes to this stuff, but I really do like it. I mean I complain about my course all the time but I do love it. Psycholinguistics mostly... though I really like one module called Writing for the Theatre. I get to write plays!

Okay, I've just realised I babbled... Feel free not to read that haha.
What uni are you thinking of going to?

~Bec

--moogle, awwww, thank you. I have quite some time before I go, so I have plenty of time to prepare. It is a big step, and I am nervous, but I'm sure I'll be fine.

--Bec, me too! I’m a massive English geek. I love both Language and Literature, although I'm studying lit. at A-level. I'm a grammar-obsessive too, (I probably shouldn't have said that; I'm sure my post is littered with schoolboy errors!) I really enjoy writing stories still though -- I go to a writing group every fortnight. We learn everything, poetic techniques and devices, performance poetry, professional letter writing, novel writing, interviewing etc. I’ll shut up, before I embarrass myself with my over-enthusiasm.

As for university, I'm not exactly sure which one I'm going to. I'm hoping to go to the Cambridge, Warwick, UCL, and York opening days later in the year. My friend went to the Cambridge one last year and said they had SO much fun. They paid for all the travel and transport -- took them to the cinema even! It's worth going to the opening day for that, if nothing else.

Tee-hee

Which one are you at?

Oooooh Warwick?? I'm at Coventry Uni!! Same city
Although Warwick is waaaaaay better than Coventry... I hope other cov students dont find out I said that- I'll get killed lol.
Well Warwick and Coventry students kind of swap campus' occasionally anyway. I've lost count how many times my friend from Warwick uni has had a lecture in one of my buildings lol.

Wait. Hang on one second, CAMBRIDGE?!?!?!? Bloody hell!! You must be suuuper clever if you're considering there! I think if I so much as looked at a Cambridge prospectus someone from Cambridge would turn up and slap me because they wouldn't even humor me and pretend I could get in

Oh and don't worry about the grammatical errors- I'm a bit grammar obsessed too and my posts usually don't make any grammatical sense at all. You see, like that sentence haha.

~Bec

Haha Bec

Holy shoot! *Yes, I'm late in "welcoming" you which I'm sorry for But we've met earlier * CAMBRIDGE?! OH MY GOD! You must be brilliant m'dear! I hope you do get in! Journalism? That sounds really interesting!

And yes, here IS to the memories! HP has given so much more to be happy about and to be grateful for than anything bad, I've gotten to know some fantastic people! Don't worry I just stay here in PK, I think I have the lowest number of posts at SCQ, awesome site, I see you there tons! BUT I really am glad you've decided to join us here, I always get so excited to see members becoming really active especially after the books, it's always so much fun and keeps me entertained!

I'd *really* love to see you try your hand at writing, though I do absolutely understand your fear, trust me that amount of time it took me to get the guts to post on the forum with my stories? Ahh! And I still haven't applied which I should! *dodges Scout's nudge*

And hahahahaha, oh Bec you never fail to amuse me, well I hope for both of our sakes that you don't get killed! I think we are all scared of Uni! Because I know that I definitely am!

Do you have any other choices for uni's? Bec is probably overjoyed to have another Brit, she's like their thread's personal cheerleader

-- Hana, no worries about the late welcome as we've already met in the 'Days Of Our Lives Thread.' Thank you very much, anyway, though. I'm honestly not that brilliant academically (I can guarantee I'm NOT a genius and can in fact be rather daft when I want to be!) I'm just looking through university prospectuses at the moment and doing my research. As for Cambridge... I'd probably have a VERY slim chance of getting in, but my tutor thinks it's worth a shot. The English and Classics courses are superb at both Oxford and Cambridge, the only difference is they differentiate in structure, and you have to do four years if you go to Cambridge rather than three. So I'm definitely going to try and get to both open days in the summer so I can get a feel of both places and decide from then on. As for other university choices, you can only apply to six through UCAS (and you cannot apply to both Oxford and Cambridge; you have to choose between the two), so it'll depend. Possibly Exeter (which has one of the best Classics courses around), or King's College London. London does tempt be because of the enormity of arts and culture. I just think it would be an amazing place to spend a few years studying in. We shall see.

I agree with you on HP, the positives most certainly outweighed the negatives. I see you around SCQ occasionally, and trust me, many people have fewer posts than you. There are people on there with 0! Did you ever get in to the limited-access forums? I know you said you were going to work on getting enough posts. I think you have over thirty-five, which is the amount you need for the restricted-access areas. As for me, yes, I am around there *ahem* rather a lot. I practically live there!

As for fan fiction, I'm about halfway through a one-shot. I might post it on the forums and then apply for authorship if I get enough feedback.

--Bec HAHAHAHAHAH! Hey, Coventry is good too! We certainly don't want you to be killed by fellow students either, so you best keep zipped for your own safety dear. Oh, and as I said to Hana, you’re certainly NOT talking to a genius. I try hard at school and hopefully it’ll pay off. I have been stressed lately though *wanders off into ‘Days Of Our Lives’ thread * Anyway, it all pretty much depends whether I get my predicated grades in the summer or not. Trust me, I’m regretting the day I took on 5 AS-levels, soooo much work and so little time to do it in. It doesn’t help that all my subjects are essay-based either. Luckily, I’m allowed to drop a subject when I move onto A2-levels next year. The only problem is I’m not sure which subject I should drop… they all seem important. Oh well, *ponders* I still have some time to think about it.

And I must go in the British thread again; it’s a tad lonely in there at the moment. I do love to celebrate all things British, that’s the patriotic side of me

Aaaah yes, I did 5 AS-levels too... That was fun times
I dropped ICT to go onto A2 though, I figured I wasn't really learning anything I really needed to know to go further in my education and stuff so I dropped that one...
I ended up with Biology, English Language, English Literature and General Studies for my A2's (General Studies was compulsary *grumble*) I also have an AS in ICT and Citizenship (Citizenship was a massive waste of time... again, compulsary)

The one thing that kind of annoyed me with the whole compulsary General Studies thing is not all uni's accept General Studies for the UCAS points- Coventry did (luckily) but a lot of uni's that my friends went to just didn't recognise it as an Alevel. So I always wondered why they made us take it.
I never learnt anything anway! I used to spend my General Studies classes arguing with my teacher because she didn't like my point of view in the debates we had in class. That was fun lol.

Which AS levels are you doing? I think I remember you mentioning something before but my memory is going in my old age...

Yes, do pop into the Brit thread- we're getting a tad lonely there aren't we?

~Bec

Yes Bec, you're oh so old, would you like a walking stick dear *snort* Or it's just your stressing that caused you to forget it

Jess, haha well glad for that, we met ... um another way ... three times now Actually yes I do have access to the restricted forums. It looks great BTW, I'm assuming you're an admin/high mod? because like you said, gosh you practically live there, but I'm glad you have space in your heart for PK Oxford? I was living in London for about 1 and a half years and I got a chance to visit Oxford, oh my, it's absolutely gorgeous! Didn't see Cambridge, however. It would be hard for me to choose between them, both are brilliant! Oh I want to read that one-shot right now *flails* All the colleges you mentioned are fantastic! Well, I think you should apply anyway, you might get in! I know what you mean though, I work my butt off in some things and people call me smart and I have to screamingly patiently explain that I'm not smart at all, and really I have gotten the crappiest grades on earth

Bec – Yes, five AS-levels is NOT fun. There is so much work and so little time to do it in. June seems to be creeping nearer and nearer as well; is the ether not listening to me? I want time to go slowly! I’m doing English literature, Latin, History, Philosophy and Classics at AS level. So five rather heavy, essay-based subjects. I am up to my eyes in assignments and coursework at the moment. Although I recently finished my History coursework, but I still have English Literature and Latin coursework to do though! ARGH! Time! Thankfully, I didn’t have to do General studies/Citizenship at my school. How annoying that it’s compulsory at some schools though! My teacher tried to persuade me to take it, but I was determined and refused. As you said, it makes no sense because a lot of universities refuse to acknowledge it through UCAS. *grumbles* I have friends at other schools who were in similar situations.

As for your old age, ahhh, I can sympathise. I call it stressed-out-of-your-mind syndrome. It brings on premature dementia.

Hana – ah, glad you finally got access to the restricted forums. Yes, I am an admin on there. I used to be a moderator; I’ve worked my way up the ranks over the years HAHA! I spend an awful lot of time there, although of course I always have time for other online fan forums too, and PK is certainly a top website! Oh, you lived in London? Do you still live in the UK? We rent in London, as my Dad works down there quite often. In fact, we’re going down again in a few weeks to see the play, ‘The Woman in Black,’ I’ve seen it locally before, but am dying to see the West End version too! Ahhh, and Hana, I wouldn’t worry about that – you’ve always seemed exceptionally smart to me, so much so that I always thought you were older than you are! Your grades seem pretty stellar too, hun. I’ve had the occasional duff grade in an assignment, but everyone does that. As long as you always try your best, then that’s all that counts (cliché, I know.)