Why My Body is Tingling with Excitement and Cannot Wait to Be Free - Half-Term Beckons!

Like the nostalgic scent of the sea, my tastebuds are tingling as a sweet, irresistible flavour lands on the tip of my tongue, filling me with as much happiness as a bag of Jelly Babies could provide. Despite not having reached the finish line, I'm so near to approaching it that my body has been lit by a wild flame and cannot shrug off the sense of excitement that hangs heavily in the air. Elation is bubbling to the surface and, at any moment, could burst through the layer that separates it from the outside world, tasting freedom at long last.

I am only less than a day away from my body experiencing these thrilling sensations, yet I can already sense it in not only the air, but all that surrounds me. The workbooks that I begrudge carrying are no longer pages seething with my personal hell, or at least a date with a D-grade Devil; the early starts in the dark don't suddenly seem as black as a punk's wardrobe; and the happiness I placed in a box after sunny summer eased into chilly days is about to be returned to me, being held where it belongs.

Ah, the joys of half-term!

For weeks, fantasies consisting of visiting places that, nine times out of ten, are always affected by heavy, misery-inducing downpours of rain (as ever a non-waterproof mascara's best friend) have dragged me onto a journey to Dreamland. As I gazed out the window on the school bus the other day (and couldn't see much because of condensation caused by the rain; at least one useful thing I've picked up from Physics, I began to feel an ache - call it a craving even crazier than the urge to devour a box of Ferrero Rocciers - to try new things. And, among that list, travelling is one of them.

If if hasn't already occurred to you, parking yourself in the most uncomfortable chair in an non-air-conditioned classroom for hours upon hours five times a week robs you of much more than the time you could spend playing Minecraft on your Xbox (e.g. my block-obsessed brother). Unless I go to town at the weekend, I'm constantly trapped in a cycle which is ruled by boredom: nothing is enjoyable. As much as I love being at home and would swap my Maths classroom for my bedroom without a second thought, I'm almost bored to sleep if there is a lack of variety of locations.

From Monday morning to Friday afternoon, my entire life is practically played out in school and home. Anywhere else is otherwise regarded as a precious treat: finding the time (and patience to slip out of my uniform as speedily as Super-Woman) to pop out after school can be quite a struggle, especially when I'm sinking in a swamp loaded with assignments, homework and revision. Therefore, I'm truly not showcasing my wannabe comedienne by declaring that my life revolves around school before it begins and after it ends each week - I put my entire heart and soul into everything that involves my education!

After seven weeks, it is not in the least surprising that I need a break. Or, if I could have my own way, a fortnight stay at a five star Parisian hotel would restore my spirits within no time! If life was slightly more ideal, taking another six weeks off would replenish me perfectly and perhaps save me from another outbreak of the seasonal coughs, colds and sore throats that define school as a germ magnet (which, against my will, my immune system is drawn to).

However, I cannot afford to place my hopes into the summer holidays revisiting me almost a year in advance because it will not happen  regardless of the many times I add it to my Christmas list. From Friday, a week and a few days is all that I'll get - there is no question about how I will make the most out of every second that can be truly claimed as my own. Then I'll have to hold onto the week before Christmas to enjoy another late lie-in in Comfort Heaven (a.k.a. my bed), with thankfully another week tagged on. The ultimate goal right now is crossing the line - behind which offers me a dream that seemed such a distance away at the beginning of term - tomorrow afternoon when the final bell of the day rings throughout campus, signalling the end of the bound-to-be-awkward first term back in the school environment.

Twenty four hours in advance, I can somewhat taste the satisfaction on my lips: it's like imagining the flavour of a juicy burger which, although you might not have one anywhere near your mouth, can nonetheless be tasted. Yet, however amazing and as wild as a jungle it might be, your imagination cannot really live up to the joys of reality: once you get your hands on happiness, your emotions will be flooded like a river. I am counting the hours until the banks burst and elation spills out of my body; no longer shall it be contained in a locked box for I will open it!

And, to be honest, I haven't really given much thought to what I'll do - and perhaps feel - after I leap on the bus and open the door upon getting home. Sleeping, baking coffee cupcakes and, if weather permits, travelling to various towns and cities are the main ones on my must-do list, yet relaxing isn't particularly an activity that has to be listed. You just do it - the end. Although I've become pretty inexperienced at it, learning how to rewind will be my main priority for the next week which, as those life-changing exams become a term nearer, could potentially save me from the very depth of exam stress in months to come.

Without a doubt, I will preserve some time to enjoying my favourite activity: blogging. It really bothers me that school gets in the way of my ultimate entertainment, yet I'll be spoilt with plenty of time to spend my hours away in front of a laptop, hopefully doing something more productive than gazing at the whole of H&M's online catalogue.

Oh well, it's about time that I get on with some work (of the stuffing-your-mouth-with-spicy-Tennessee-style-sausages kind) before being completely swept up by the urge to write. One more day until my dream comes true - freedom here I come!