I decided that it's about time for you to get to know a bit more about me; who knows, I might learn a bit about myself while I'm at it. And what better way to do it than the 100 random facts tag? I've wanted to do this for a while and it just took me so long to think of things that I thought you might find quite interesting so my advice to anyone doing this is not to try and write them all in one go. So here we go:
1. Okay we'll start very simply. My name is Kathryn (in case you hadn't already gathered!)
2. When I was younger my grandparents used to call me Katie but they are the ONLY people that I ever tollerated shortening my name. I actually quite liked it though I wouldn't purposely get people to shorten my name now I don't think.
3. I was born in Nottingham but now live in the north-west. I lived there for around three years and was meant to go to school there and everything so it's scary to think how different things would be now if I hadn't moved. I'd have different friends, different education - it's just scary!
4. I have moved house twice (so lived in three houses). The last move was on my sister's birthday.
5. I am the oldest of three. I have a younger brother and sister
6. I have a small (okay big and probably unhealthy) obsession with salted caramel. Seriously, if you want to get something that I'd be thrilled with, a salted caramel hot chocolate, salted caramel latte, salted caramel Yankee candle, just anything with the words 'salted caramel' in it.
7. I love to bake! It's one of my favourite things to do and my speciality (surprise surprise) is Millionaires shortbread with salted caramel!
8. I love maths! And I know it's sad but I enjoy it so much...
9. ...so in the future I'd really like to do a degree in mathematics then teach mathematics in a secondary school and college but my parents don't consider teaching as a proper job.
10. If I can do something each day to help someone else, every day is a successful day
11. I used to want to be a doctor but, after lots of work experience, realised that there's WAY too much paperwork and non-patient contact time for me to enjoy it.
12. I have properly played three instruments during my life so far. I'm at grade 6 clarinet, played the bassoon for 2 years and the tenor horn in my local band but didn't take a level music...
13. ...and my music teacher thinks I'm a nutter because I love music theory.
14. But to be honest, most people think I'm a nutter. I believe it most of the time. Who wants to be normal?
15. I study A levels in biology, chemistry, maths and further maths and actually quite enjoy college now
16. I swim for around 15 hours each week and compete. It's just a hobby and a great break from schoolwork but can get quite stressful at times
17. I am also a swimming teacher, swimming coach and lifeguard. I coach at my swimming club, I'm a leisure assistant and I teach swimming lessons for children with special needs and disabilities
18. Not sure why I didn't fit this one in earlier but I'm 17, 18 quite soon and that's another really scary thought. Like I'm going to be an adult. I'll have to take responsibility for things and act grown up
19. I have a very extensive bucket list that I may share with you all at some point. And a few of the things on it have already been ticked off so I'm constantly adding new things
20. I must be the most accident-prone person you've ever met - at one point, the receptionist at my local A and E would know my name before I'd opened my mouth
21. I really like art and drawing but wouldn't want to study it. It's a hobby and I love it and if you want to see my drawings, follow @imaginekathryn on Instagram
22. I'm absolutely terrified of cl... Nope. I can't even say the word. But it's those things in circuses with creepy make up.
23. If my main career choice fails, I'd quite like to do interior design - it's just interesting
24. When I'm swimming I find myself singing in my head the whole time and when I'm on my back I'm pretty sure you can see my lips moving. I start to worry that people think I'm crazy...
25. ...but then I remember that I am. That's okay though; Lewis Carroll taught me that all of the best people are
26. And I'm a little bit obsessed with Alice in Wonderland. You'll realise that if you have a peek at my Instagram in about two weeks
27. I just love reading in general; being able to completely lose yourself in another world but come back knowing nothing has changed. Who wouldn't want to live a million lives?
28. If I could be a punctuation mark it would be a semicolon. I hear you asking why and where that one came from so I'll explain. I was in EPQ the other day and on the wall there are about 20 completely random questions and that was one of them. And why? Because it was used instead of a full stop. A sentence was supposed to end but I just gave it a chance to carry on
29. When I was younger my house was number 64 and I genuinely believed that I lived on Zoo Lane
30. I have just about learnt that it takes a lot more strength and courage to admit that you have weaknesses and need help than to cover your weaknesses up
31. I'm a bit of a grammar freak. It annoys me when people use the wrong spelling of a word and I despise abbreviations like LOL, BRB and b4. How is it so much extra effort to write it out in full?
32. My biggest weakness is probably that I'm a complete perfectionist. I know that lots of people say things like that but this is a little bit different. If I do something wrong, or even something doesn't go EXACTLY as I planned, I spend so much time overthinking and wondering how I could have done it better. Maybe I'm just very self-critical
33. I worry too much. About absolutely anything and everything.
34. I am an extremely fussy eater. Some foods that I really can't stand are: seafood, fish, meat, mushrooms, peas, egg, potatoes, cake, etc
35. But I do really like some foods: raspberries, homemade smoothies, melon, pineapple, ice cream, pasta and pancakes!
36. This kind of belongs with 34 but I think it deserves it's own little section. I cannot stand rice but I've never met anyone else who is the same! If you're reading this and can't stand rice, do let me know below
37. Apparently I apologise too much. Someone told me this once and I'm starting to believe it. She did also tell me never to change it though because I'm perfect how I am but she wishes I had more confidence. It's something I'll always remember because it's so sweet. So thank you!
38. I also feel like I never thank people enough. Even the people that do wrong to you should be thanked, they made you stronger than you ever were before
39. I started this blog to kind of spread positivity and happiness; I hope in at least one way I've managed that but I guess I'll never know
40. I really like big questions that make you think. For example, 'Can you feel guilty for something you didn't do?' and 'Can you ever really know what it's like to be someone else?'
41. I'm a little bit too sarcastic but sometimes I just can't contain myself
42. Travelling is something I love and want to do more of. The freedom you feel is just amazing
43. I have been to see Wicked on the West End and thought it was absolutely phenomenal
44. I don't really believe in luck. I mean, it's nice to have something to blame when bad things happen but really, it's just a bunch of probabilities
45. I don't ever want to stop learning, at least, not before the day I die and even then I'd rather not. A very wise person said 'education is power' and they're right
46. When I was younger, the world news absolutely terrified me. I had nightmares about war and drugs so much that I used to hide behind the sofa when it was on. I may not have grown out of that habit
47. By the time I was nine, I'd read all of the Harry Potter books that had been released and by the time my 11th birthday came, I was waiting on my doormat for my Hogwarts acceptance letter. It never did come but I still check
48. I waste way too much time watching videos on YouTube but is it really a waste if I'm enjoying myself? And one day if really like to make videos myself
49. I try my hardest to be a good listener and help others out. So many people have done it for me and it's the least I can do it return. Plus, I really enjoy trying to make others feel better and sort out their problems
50. When I cry or get ill I immediately feel the need to apologise. I feel awful that people have to give up their time to look after me, even when assured it's no issue and feel like I always need to be the strong one
51. According to Myers Briggs I am an INFJ and believe it or not, that is the least common personality type. After reading the descriptions I realised that it is very accurate though some people wouldn't believe it because they only see certain sides of my personality
52. One thing I have always wanted to do is ride a horse but I guess there's plenty of time to do that
53. I have made a promise to myself that I'll never stay in a job where I'm not happy - life's too short
54. I have had my heart set on one university for as long as I've been thinking about my future so didn't bother booking any other open days. Then I remembered you have to apply for five courses
55. I haven't seen some of my closest friends for an extremely long time but that doesn't weaken our friendship. If anything it makes it stronger
56. I love writing but I'm not particularly good at it. However, my friend and I are going to work on a little book-writing project in our free time
57. My taste in music is extremely diverse; I listen to practically everything
58. I practically have no immune system; my doctor's professional opinion says so but I never take days off school, college or work. Tough cookie I am :)
59. I am allergic to quite a lot of things, the most recent discovery being Malerone which are anti-maleria tablets
60. I'm not really allowed to eat chocolate because it gives me migraines but it doesn't stop me when it comes to millionaires shortbread. I just avoid it wherever possible which is fine, until you get to Christmas and Easter
61. Volunteering in Ghana is the single event that has had the most impact on my life
62. I am actually a very shy person
63. I am a lot more flexible that people think; I can do the splits, a scorpion and I'm very close to a needle
64. If I could be any animal it would definitely be an owl. They're extremely wise and that would help me to help other people.
65. I'm a morning person - guess the morning swimming training has some benefits
66. I really love being organised. I just take pride in getting things done on time and things being neat and tidy
67. If I say I'm going to do something, it most definitely will happen. Give it time but it will happen
68. I'm not technically vegetarian but I don't like meat so only eat it on extremely rare occasions
69. If you think I'm being quite it's probably a good time to 'Say what you mean and mean what you say' because I'll take in absolutely every word of it
70. I will always go out of my way to help someone. Even if they're a complete stranger
71. I really don't like public transport or restaurant/food outlet type places. I get extremely panicky in both situations but I'm working on it
72. I'm not a great believer in luck. I mean it can sometimes be nice to have something to blame when things go wrong but really it's just a bunch of probabilities. I believe me make our own luck!
73. I have a very extensive network of family and, in most cases, the more distantly related we are, the closer we are to each other
74. Sometimes when I'm thinking outside of the box, I realise that everyone's on the outside so think back inside the box for the new ideas
75. I think in colour. This is so hard to explain but I see colour in everything, even if it's black and white, I associate sounds with colours. I even associate smells with colour.
76. I don't want to live life with regrets so I spend a long time making decisions but so far I've usually made the right ones
77. It usually takes a while for me to open up to new people but when I do, you'll have a friend in me for life
78. I don't often have time to watch television so when I do I watch programmes on iplayer. Some of my favourites are Doctor Who, Casualty, Holby City, Waterloo Road and The Great British Bake Off (the latter two I have seen every episode of!)
79. I used to get extremely annoyed when people spell my name wrong but it doesn't bother me so much anymore. In fact, I think I prefer the spelling Katherine
80. I know enough BSL (British Sign Language) and Makaton (a kind of different form of signing and non-verbal communication) to have a decent conversation. This is because my cousin is deaf, one of my best friends is deaf and I do a lot of work with non-verbal children
81. I rarely answer the telephone because I don't like speaking to people without being face to face and can't deal with telephone conversations
82. I am a fan of all things Disney but I've never actually been to Disneyworld
83. I like changes in seasons, especially the beginning of spring when all of the wildlife seems to reappear and the beginning of autumn when you can walk along and crunch crisp, golden leaves beneath your feet
84. I've seen more variety of colour on a chessboard than there is variety of food in my diet, which, come to think about it, is probably very unhealthy
85. Sometimes I wish I could build a two-way staircase of clouds in and out of heaven; hopefully it would help a lot of people
86. I can't shut my brain down at night so have huge trouble getting to sleep
87. The song 'Fields of Gold' makes me cry. Every. Single. Time.
88. I can't think if anything that likes me more than mosquitoes. Seriously, I went away for two weeks and got 96 mosquito 'kisses'
89. I used to have a paper round and I enjoyed it at first but when I started to dislike it I quit, and started searching for a more 'proper' job
90. The sun and the moon fascinate me. They never see each other but you wouldn't see the moon if it wasn't for the sun. Weird?
91. I absolutely despised Mini Milk ice lollies when I was younger but now I'm older and no maturer I love them. In fact, they're my favourite snack
92. I ALWAYS either faint or have a panic attack when I get blood taken yet I can watch someone else have it done no problem! And I've taken blood myself from a practice machine. And I still want to donate blood
93. I consider myself to be an extremely empathetic person
94. Something that I don't think anyone knew before now: I write my own music
95. Sometimes I get bogged down too much by other people's expectations and I guess I worry too much about what other people think
96. My skin is extremely sensitive to everything; mostly skin products, the cold and I bruise like a peach
97. I sometimes struggle to visit other people's houses and really struggle eating at them
98. I used to hate running but because I wasn't able to swim for so long over the summer and haven't been allowed a few times recently, I've started again and really enjoy it!
99. I like really long quite walks where I can forget about anything I'm worrying about, relax and enjoy nature
100. Sometimes I think about the past and wish I'd done things differently but then I realise everything I've done so far has made me who I am today. And I should be proud of that; just as you should all be proud too
I hope that gave you chance to get to know me a little bit better and I'm going to ask something of you all if you don't mind. I'd like you to either leave me a comment with a random fact about you or leave a link to your 100 random facts post so I can get to know you a little bit better!
Keep smiling,
Kathryn x
