The Botanical.

I'll start at the beginning. A little under a year ago, I applied to work at a pub. It seemed like a nice pub, did really cheap drinks on a Wednesday and was a two minute walk away from my student house. Why not? I thought. So I sent my CV in and got asked for an interview. The only problem being that the interview would be in two hours, I had no printer and no copies of CV to hand. So I did what I thought of first, hand wrote it. Months later, I was told this was the reason I got the job. He must have really liked my handwriting. Shout out to Miss Norton, my old English teacher for that one. Anyway, I was asked for a trial on a busy student night and after working in a very busy and huge capacity nightclub, this tiny pub was a breeze. So the job was mine.

What happened over the next 11 months is something I will never forget. I have always self admitted that I have been part of a particular social group, whether that being in a school, college or even uni. My friends are my friends, close to my heart. They are from various areas and if they were shoved together in a room, I'm not quite sure what exactly they'd say to one another. However, almost immediately I found myself part of this wonderful diverse group of people. Many students, but not all. I felt welcomed without having to prove myself first and honestly, it felt fantastic.  Each person has their own individuality, we all had our definitions, yet together, somehow we worked. And so it went on for almost a year, people came and went but they always seemed to reappear demanding a cocktail when you were at your busiest, the buggers. I will be the first to admit that working behind a bar can be the most mind numbing, stressful and horrendous job you can ever encounter and I should know, I've worked in four of them. Each one different, but each one horribly similar in the level of grumpiness you slowly acquire. Your bitterness becomes most dominant when those awkward customers rattle your bones and you almost throw a drink at them. Of course you never do. You smile and do exactly as they say, which as all people in customer services know can be worse than throwing the darn drink. But despite all of this, this work team never let me get to that stage. I was calmed down and made to laugh until I was no longer bothered by a rude customer. Honestly, the entire place humbled me. Then, after a summer away and a new boss to befriend, the bank holidays started and life went back to normal. Till we got the news our bubble was going to burst in one month's time. I was being made redundant. My beautiful little job with my beautiful little pub friends would be gone forever. Life at The Botanical slowed down.

That last week was surreal. Slowly furniture started moving to different pubs in the area, signs were being erased, quizzes stopped, barrels ran dry. The whole place seemed lifeless. Then the last night happened. It was a Saturday and I was doing the day shift, slowly counting down on a tiny chalkboard my final remaining hours at the job I loved. When I finished I shoved my till key at my boss and ran out, crying as I left the back door. I slowly stopped being a girl, made myself up and headed out to celebrate the last ever night. And boy did we. All I remember is drinking Sambuca, which is in my opinion the liquid of the devil, repeatedly until I couldn't really stand still. The last song that Max the DJ played was an absolute classic, Take That - Never Forget. I turned around to sing and saw each member of staff slowly being lifted on top of the bar. I am not ashamed to say I joined them. I sang my absolute heart out cheering to all the customers, singing and waving my arms around as the choir grew louder. I am also not ashamed to say I was crying when the lights came up. Honestly, I don't think I will ever forget that moment. That night as I crawled in at 4am, I cried again. I honestly think if I wasn't forced out, I would have never left that building.

Now every day I walk past, the shell of a building that once was the greatest job I ever had. Honestly, my heart breaks a little each time. We could have rocked it. But instead it is simply remains. Yet no matter how bad of an opinion some people may have about it, I will always fight its case because to me, that pub taught me a lot and gave me some wonderful friendships. And as for them, well let's just say we claimed the champion title by finally taking part in our own relocated pub quiz. Nobody beats us, the Botan Clan.

Social Network.

Before I begin, I will warn you. This is a rant, and a blooming big one at that. One thing that has really annoyed me recently is the judgemental nature and slander that people make out on social networking sites. Now this is a very small minority, who feel the need to wash their dirty laundry in public, arguing with friends and sometimes even partners on Twitter and Facebook for the whole world to see. Others take a more sneaky approach, doing something I like to call an indirect attack. "The awkward moment that girl you hate tweets you. Byeeee." This is even pettier, because it then brings in more rumour mills and gossip. Is this about you? Isn't it? Oh my god, how could she say that?! Blah blah blah. Okay so people are opinionated, some express it to those around them such as friends or family, whilst others take to a more viral feeding of the rumour mill. But surely that is what the internet is all about?! The mind boggles. But believe it or not, this isn't what bothers me most. As an unwritten rule, social networks exist on those who are involved in it. Twitter wouldn't be what it is without the daily celebrity rantings nor would Facebook be checked nearly as much if that girl you went to school with hadn't just had twins. People generally accept that by becoming part of the hysteria, you are allowing the negativity to follow after. People become keyboard warriors to express opinions they do not have the courage/ability to say to another. Whether that is because they are in different countries or in different rooms, people will always hate another over the internet.

What I hate the most is those people who tweet innocently. Letting everyone know how nice that cupcake was from Starbucks, showing their love for a film they've just watched. Making jokes with their friends. Then along comes the gangsters and one harmless comment made turns into an all out battle of the online bullies. People get involved and the whole thing becomes out of control. People are blamed, judged and outcast purely because they said something which the minority took as inappropriate. My advice to those people is this: you are doing exactly what you say you hate. Attacking someone over a social networking site over their rants is EXACTLY the same as that offensive rant. Something which may have been harmless has now been looped into a debauchery of ridiculous anger. It doesn't need to happen. I'm not saying no one would write their opinions, because if that were true, the world would be incredibly boring. Don't get me wrong, I proudly express my opinions, especially on my Twitter. The internet in modern day Britain is one of the few ways you can show your true individuality and express yourself without fear of judgement. And at the age I'm at now, it certainly isn't something I would like to encounter. But viewing others go through the same, I can't help but feel this tiny one tweet bubble has been blown up so far, it's almost become irreversible in terms of damage. Blocking occurs, Facebook friends become real life enemies and some poor chap who made one comment about his disdain of life has now been left with a virtual criminal record. Those ridiculous threats that One Direction fans send out to haters is a prime example. Instead of threatening others simply because they don't share you views, why not accept that everyone has individual thoughts and feelings. What one may think is heaven, another may find hellish. You can also do the easiest thing and ignore it. That follow button is there to allow you to only see what you want to see and if someone keeps nagging about the same boring thing, then simply click that button again and they will disappear forever. Another beauty of the internet. Not everyone who writes a status is out to get you, so don't jump on the first argument you see. It's not worth it.

If you can't stand the heat, keep off the social network.