Journal By Shannon: June 2017

*I will only be uploading on Sundays now*

Okay so I wasn't sure what to do for today's blog post, I had some ideas and wrote a blog post but I just wasn't happy with it. Then I wanted to write about something that makes me happy, I was in the mood for a positive chat. So I decided I am going to write about how I met my girlfriend, who I've currently been with for 3 years and 2 months.

Me and Abbie (my girlfriend) had Demi Lovato fan accounts on Twitter. One day I tweeted about wanting to go blonde, Abbie tweeted me back saying I should do it and that it would suit me. We replied back to each other a couple times and then moved onto DMs, this was on 27th March 2014.

From that day on we have spoken every single day. We almost didn't talk one day, this was when we hadn't confessed we liked each other so we didn't want to seem clingy.

We spoke to each other a lot on WhatsApp from then on. I remember asking Abbie if she liked girls and she wasn't sure (I was kind of happy with that answer because it felt like she liked me back but these feelings were new). We took a while to admit that we liked each other, we would post indirects and leave little hints. I didn't want to tell Abbie I liked her because I was scared she didn't like me back. I just waited to see if she would say anything to me, I wouldn't have been able to keep it to myself much longer. It didn't take us long to admit we liked each other. If I remember right, Abbie told me on my birthday (9th April). She told me in a long paragraph and I didn't reply for about 8 minutes, sorry Abbie I know that was the longest 8 minutes ever. I told her I liked her too and was so happy she felt the same. I just remember smiling and having many many butterflies.

We met April 14th 2014. Who knew talking to a girl online could actually live a 20 minute train ride from you? I was so happy she lived so close, long distance relationships are so hard so this made me so happy.

We met at the station near Abbie's, we went to hers for 5 minutes as of course she wasn't fully ready (the girl is never on time). We then walked down to the seafront, we decided to go on Southend's pier. It's super long and actually the longest pier in the country. So, being the longest pier you'd think they'd put some effort into it and put some arcades or something at the end. Nope, no arcades, not much there to be honest. We didn't mind though because we was enjoying each others company. The photo above (left) is actually the first picture we ever took together, captioned windswept. After that we went and got some chips and sat by the seafront. We also went into the arcades and went into the awful old fashioned Photo Booth. I stayed round Abbie's that night, we got a chinese takeaway of course and watched a couple films, but mainly spent the evening chatting. Although we didn't kiss, we wanted to but both got too nervous.

Our first kiss happened the 2nd time we met, which was 2 weeks later and Abbie came to my house. We also got chinese takeaway again.. oops. My mum already knew Abbie was my girlfriend at this point so she was nervous to come round but everything was perfect. We never actually asked each other out it just kind of happened and fell into place.

Since then we've had some amazing memories together, we've been to loads of concerts, trips out, holidays! We've been to Disneyland Paris twice, Spain, Cape Verde, Center Parcs and we're planning to go New York next year. We love travelling so much, we wish we could do it more but we save as hard as we can.

Disneyland Paris | June 2015

Center Parcs | April 2016

Costa Brava, Spain | July 2016

Disneyland Paris | November 2016

Cape Verde | May 2017

Here's to many more adventures to come. PS. Happy pride month!

- Shannon x

Wednesday 14th June 2017

Chessington World Of Adventures!!! A place I have not been to since I was around 14. I was so excited to go back, I had no idea you could get the train there. I met Jamey at McDonalds in Waterloo station, and from there we got the train to Chessington South. If you're going to go make sure you pre-book your tickets online. On the website tickets are £28 if you book 5+ days ahead but if you book your tickets on the day they cost £49.

As soon as you walk into the park they have some Otters. Otters are my favourite animals and their enclosure did not look clean at all, the water was all dirty and you could see receipts floating about. It makes me sad seeing animals in small spaces like that.

The first ride we went on was the Rattlesnake rollercoaster. The queue was only 15 minutes and it was so much fun. It used to be my favourite ride, they take your photo but the photo bit wasn't working. We then went on a stroll around the park and found a giant backpack. Looks like we're all ready and packed for Europe!

We then headed towards the Mystic Falls area to go on the Dragon Falls water ride. They had a ferris wheel right next to it so we decided to go on that first as there wasn't much of a queue. It only goes round once so was pretty pointless, I wouldn't queue for it. It was higher than we expected but we got a nice view. You could actually see London in the distance.

I used to be so scared of the Dragon Falls ride. I hated it so much because of the big drop. I was a lot younger then and everything was scarier, but this time I actually enjoyed it. The first time we went on it Jamey snapchatted going down it, and then forgot to save it! She ended up getting soaked. The second time we went on I wasn't holding on, I put my arms in the air for the photo, so brave me.

Got to take a cute selfie on at least on of the rides!

We then went on the Vampire ride. I'd never actually been on it before. For once I was actually so excited for a ride instead of being nervous.

Your feet dangle on this rollercoaster which was strange. I'm so used to seeing the tracks below my feet so it felt so weird. It was so much fun, I really wanted to experience it at the front. We went on it twice and was in the middle both times. We had some food in the Vampire's Burger Kitchen, but because I'm fussy I just had chips and a Diet Coke, which came to £5.50.

We looked around the zoo bit, the lions deserved a much bigger space than what they had. They had 3 cubs too. We walked through it quite quickly but was more excited to go on the Zufari.

I was mainly excited to see the giraffes. They are so cute, but you don't realise how big they are until you see them in person. We also saw a mixture of animals such as Rhinos and flamingos. Warning if you go on this zufari and sit on the edge you may get wet.

Ice cream stop was very much needed. We both got magnums which I had actually been craving for so long. We decided to take a couple more photos on our way out and then stopped to have a walk through the aquarium.

I could never go on this ride. It moves and spins and gets you soaking wet.

The aquarium was cute, it was pretty small, nothing like the one in London. They had some fish, starfish, jellyfish and stingrays.

We had such a good day at Chessington! It's a good place to go if you don't like big rides, I wouldn't go on much in places like Thorpe Park and Alton Towers but here there is quite a lot for me to go on.

If you have any blog post ideas please comment below and let me know. I have so many ideas and I am planning ahead but I always like to have more ideas.

Thank you for reading!

- Shannon x

Day 1 | Friday 9th June 2017

Our hopes haven't been set very high for this convention. We booked tickets months ago, with conventions you normally book tickets and guests get announced through the upcoming months. I'd never been to a convention before, this was my first one. Only 3 guests had been announced in January and that was all we was getting. None of the main characters were going which I was gutted about. We had Andrea Parker (Mary Drake/Jessica Dilaurentis), Ryan Merriman (Ian Thomas) and Huw Collins (Archer Dunhill/Dr Rollins). Obviously they were all lovely and it was lovely they came all the way to the UK to see us. They couldn't get any of the main cast as they couldn't afford them, but people didn't want to buy tickets unless they were confirmed so there wasn't much you could do about that one.

We booked 2 nights at the Renaissance hotel which the event was being held at. We checked in just after 3, then registered for the convention. We got a wristband, a leaflet and a sheet with all the timings on. We then couldn't decide what to do about getting a photo, it wasn't making much sense to us but then we asked and they explained it. We got a duo photo op with Andrea and Ryan for the following day. We wanted to be in a photo together because we both get shy!

We then went for some food, there wasn't much around but McDonalds was minutes away so we went there first. I think we'll be there all weekend! We went on a hunt for a Tesco, google maps lied to us! We were out for ages but least we eventually found a Tesco Express somewhere else and took some Snapchat selfies.

The Disco was at 8.30pm. They had a meet and greet lounge thing with the 3 guests at 7.45pm but we didn't go as it was £40. So the music was playing, and the lady running the event was running late, this was by an hour because of the previous event. I expected some welcome speech or something but she just arrived, turned the lights off and left. (Obviously there were disco lights) If you didn't know anyone there it was a bit awkward. We were just sat at a table with a cup of water, not fun at all.

Day 2 | Saturday 10th June 2017

We went for breakfast at 8.30am, we didn't even know this was included with our hotel room so that was a bonus as there was hot food too. The toast I had was lovely. The opening ceremony was at 9.15, that was a bit late too. Then Andrea, Ryan and Huw came on together to answer some of our questions. I get too shy to ask anything, I only had a couple questions in mind but they got asked luckily so I got my answers without asking.

Then Andrea stayed on stage and answered some questions by herself. She told us some backstage gossip, such as Ashley (Hannah Marin) being drunk on set for one of her and Tyler's (Caleb) last scenes. She got emotional talking about the final scene and that she stayed on set for many hours just to be there for the end. She also said Aria in season 7 was shady as shit which made me laugh. She was so lovely and down to earth, I love her personality!

Huw was next, he told us some funny stories about him and Sasha's (Alison) scenes and how she actually hit him in the face in one scene. For the windshield scene he had to stay there for a few hours, but lucky for him he had the company of the 4 girls.

Ryan was last to answer questions from us all. As he was only in the first season we started running out of questions. He got some really random questions from which characters he would take on a dessert island and his ideal dinner party guests.

Straight after the talks was the duo photo ops. We went in and there was a big queue, we assumed it was the one we were meant to join. I then heard a lady say "there's no one here for Ryan so should I just tell him not to come down yet?" I told her he was in our photo op, we were the only ones that had him in our duo. I honestly felt so bad for him. I guess people wanted someone from a more recent season in their duo. So we ended up going first. We was going to do a funny photo but that ended up changing, I quite like our photo though. Andrea said she felt like she was standing next to Lucy (Aria) because I was so small, which made my day I love lucy.

Straight after the photo op we went and got another for tomorrow for Andrea, she was lovely. We went back to the hotel room for a bit, and filmed some videos for youtube, we filmed guess the Disney song which was so much fun. Autographs started at 4.15, this was included in our package. We got our Ryan autograph first, then Andrea and then Huw. After that we went to McDonalds then chilled in the hotel room again.

The disco was much better this night. The staff came along and the music was much better. They played old school stuff like High school musical and the cha cha slide. We joined in of course! We left around 11 and I think Ryan ended up going around 11.30 but we were so tired and didn't know if any of them would show up.

Day 3 | Sunday 11th June 2017

Today was a more chilled out day, it was the last day of the convention so we didn't have as much to do as we did yesterday. We had breakfast, checked out of the hotel and then had our Andrea photo op between 10.45 and 11.15. We were so stuck on an idea for a pose, a lot of people were doing the "shh" pose as it sums up the show. Andrea walked in and she was wearing an Emison t-shirt, I couldn't believe it. When we walked up to her we told her we were stuck on a pose idea, she said a couple then I said "how's about we point at your shirt?" so we did that! When we left she said to me "that pose was a great shout".

We were sat outside after our photo, Ryan walked past and gave us a nod, then Andrea walked past and went "I'm so glad you girls are here" and then Huw came past and had a look at our photo with Andrea telling us she never told him she was wearing that t-shirt. I'd say we had a great weekend with the guests, if it wasn't for them being so lovely I think the weekend would have been awful.

I wouldn't go to a Rogue Events convention again unless more guests were announced first, obviously you can't expect all main guests to go but you do hope for at least one. They did try their best, but just so many things weren't organised well. So many bits on the schedule were late, even the last day they were running late and we was going to stay until 6pm but changed our mind and left around midday.

They did give us all a photo of the 3 guests and got them all to sign it as an extra gift which was lovely. I had a lovely time meeting the guests and hope I get to meet more of the cast soon!

- Shannon x

Not going to lie, I've been so excited to do this post. This is gonna be a long one with many pictures. I have been a fan of Demi Lovato ever since I was 13, just turning 14. I am now 22, so that's a good 8 years. Obviously I have grown up a lot in that time. I've been through stages of being obsessed with Demi to her annoying me but me still loving her. I found Demi's music when my "step sister" had a couple of her songs on her phone, I loved them and asked her what they were called and who they were by. It was La La Land and Get Back. I downloaded her album and ever since I have been obsessed.

It's mad to think how a singer can change your life so much, they don't even know you personally but you feel like you know them and they help you through so much. I used to listen to Demi's music constantly, at home, at school, in the evenings. I didn't watch Camp Rock when it came out as I wasn't into Disney that much but once I found Demi that changed completely. Then my Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus love began. I dreamed of seeing Demi live, she opened for the Jonas Brothers in June, 2009. I was doing a work shadowing thing for school so I couldn't go, and I cried that night, I was heartbroken. The Jonas Brothers came back the same year in November, but Demi didn't open for them and I was gutted, but JB were incredible. Remember the fan war between "Jonatics" and "Beliebers" on who JB stood for.

These photos are from the first time I met Demi. I met her in 2012 when she was on Daybreak. Unfortunately when she came to sign things the paps were in the way, of course! I could barely see her, I was on my tip toes trying to see her, I held out a white canvas for her to sign, I am surprised she even saw it but she reached up for it and signed it. I cried about 5 minutes after I saw her because it suddenly hit me, I saw my idol in person!!! She then had a signing at HMV which we all camped for, I'd never done anything like this before but I wanted to meet her so bad, I'd even made a scrapbook for her. Now I think back she probably didn't even look at it but she probably gets so much stuff.

Oh my, the poster on every inch of the wall phase. The top one isn't as bad thankfully, that was when I limited myself as I'd grown up a bit. But the picture underneath was when I took all my posters from every wall down, I had a mixture of celebrity posters. I then decided to have a "Demi wall" I would call it. Posters on every inch of the wall, and all her albums on the shelf. I even screenshotted when Demi tweeted or retweeted me and put them on the wall. I must admit that was such an amazing feeling being noticed by your idol. I remember the first time she tweeted me as if it was yesterday. She sprained her ankle playing basketball, so I said I was surprised she wasn't wearing heels and she must've found it funny!

Merchandise.. I have so much more than this but there is already going to be enough photos in this post. I got my first Demi t-shirt for my 16th birthday, a Houston Rodeo one, I didn't go of course but I loved it. I collected Demi wristbands and wore them all the time. I somehow managed to have all her albums signed, obviously not all in person but I felt so lucky and treasured them.

The first time I ever got a photo with Demi! (middle) This week was one I'll never forget, I saw Demi live for the first time. Demi: Live In London, she only sung 5 songs, and then sung them again. They were being recorded and you can find them on youtube. I cried like a baby during Skyscraper, I never thought I'd get to see her live, you know if you're a Demi fan how she says she'll come tour Europe "soon" and she still hasn't done her own tour here. I've seen Selena Gomez 3 times on her own tour (almost 4 but she had to cancel as she was poorly) but Demi hasn't done her own tour yet.

My 2nd photo with Demi, a selfie! I love this photo so much. This was in November 2014, she was lovely taking photos with everyone.

This was Demi's own show, FINALLY. It still wasn't a Europe tour but it was something! How I managed to get tickets I will never know. They went on sale 9th April 2014, I remember as that was my birthday. I went to the toilet 2 minutes before they went on sale, risky I know. My best friend Taigan was constantly refreshing though, she starts shouting at me and I shout back telling her I'm trying to have a wee. I get back and she's screaming saying she got tickets, I was in shock, we basically start screaming and hug each other. Even my mum joined in she was so happy!

The last time I saw Demi was when she opened for Enrique. All us Demi fans left after she performed because we only went to see her. She's amazing live, if you ever get the chance to go see her then make sure you take it.

I used to draw my favourite celebrities all the time. Thought I'd show you a couple.

Did any of you guys used to collect magazines with Demi on, just because Demi was on them? If she was ever front cover of a magazine I would have to buy it. I even got a hairdressing magazine once because she was on it! I'm not as bad now, I'll still buy magazines if she's on them such as Cosmopolitan, but if she hasn't posted about it then I tend not to.

Well I basically just told you all about my fangirl days. I made a twitter account about 7 years ago and I am so thankful that I did. Because of that account I have met so many new friends that I am still friends with to this day. I have met my best friends Hannah and Jamey through twitter. Me and Hannah have been to New York together, me and Jamey are travelling Europe together, how amazing is that? All because of twitter! I also figured out who I am through twitter, I have met my beautiful girlfriend Abbie through twitter. We met in person in 2014 and have been together ever since. I have never loved someone so much and if I hadn't joined twitter, we wouldn't have found each other. It's nice to leave this post in such a happy way, I'm even smiling writing this. Thank you all for reading, comment if you were a fangirl too, and who of?

I'll leave you guys with one of my amazing edits, I used to be such a pro 😉

- Shannon x

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