So many people will tell you that university will be the best years of your life and to be honest, they're not far off it. I don't think I've ever woken up thinking the day was going to be the same as the one before. Second year certainly has made me realise how you can grow up in such a short amount of time and it was crazy to be packing away my stuff from halls and shipping it back home to then move back to university in September and think "oh my god, I have bills to pay". I suppose in a follow up to last years blog post I should continue with telling you what I feel second year has taught me! (so thank you if you do stick with this post!)
1) Eye opener
It's crazy how things can change within the matter of the year, how you can grow closer to people and how people will drift away from you. Friendships are something that I've always found easy to make, sometimes though its not the same when it comes to keeping them. In my secondary school years I blamed myself, but I've came to the realization that it all happens because it's just not meant to be. Saying this though, I am more than happy with the way things worked out.
For those people that may feel like friendships aren't worth it, know that they are. As tough as they can be, they are life lessons, they are the moments that will make you realise who you want to be and more than likely the kind of person you don't wish to be. You are always going to have friends who will always have your back and it is definitely better to remember that quality is far more important to quantity, so I would like to say a little thank you to the friends who have kept me sane (well encourage me to be a little bit insane, but the good kind!)
2) Finding your feet
There are many things that I didn't do as a "typical" teenager and I won't divulge into details in such a post but from my experiences I know that everyone has their moments, when these moments will be no one can decide but yourself. All I know is that I took my time to feel confident and knowing there is no rush in life was one of the most important things when finding your feet.
3) You will feel like you're going insane
I think when people told me "second year is going to be your toughest year" I was kind of hoping they were joking, but boy they weren't! I'll happily admit I can be an emotional wreck at times and I have definitely had more than my fair share of moments this year. It's saying something when you find yourself crying at a mother and son audition on Britain's Got Talent because "it's cute", safe to say I was in dire need of 12 hours sleep that night. It's also safe to say on nights like those I'd probably cry at a puppy learning to swim, but those nights never last. The stress of university should be temporary, its not gonna be there to make you life difficult all the time and it is okay to be stressed! Just don't forget that you do have a life outside of assignments and assessments, taking a breather is important (just try not to make it a 12 hour breather).
4) Organised? Nope, no chance!
I always thought I wasn't too badly organised when it came to my academic life, ask me to be ready to pre-drink at half 8 and the odds are I'll still be contouring my cheeks and putting on enough highlighter to look like a Krispy Kreme glazed donut. I'll hold my hands up to knowing I've been so unprepared, this year I have been the most unorganised person. Don't get me wrong I did know what lectures I had, but when it came to January I was so buried underneath work that I chose not to look at it, the same way a dog won't look you in the eye when they've just peed on your leg.
There was one point in our term where we had an assignment due every other week, to say that was a bit overwhelming was an understatement. However, I'm very lucky that my friends are so strict and refuse to let anyone fall behind. I pulled up my socks and thankfully all my work was completed to the deadlines and I have passed this year!
5) Work, work, work, work, work
I'm fully convinced that in first year I had cabin fever, I rarely had anything to do outside of lectures and finally in second year I got another job. A job is a job at the end of the day and whilst at uni, I have found it miles better to have a job and let my mind focus on something that wasn't university or personal worries. There's a lot of finding a balance between work for both uni and a part time job and relaxing, but there's nothing better than seeing a healthy bank balance (well as healthy as it can be as a student).
6) Home time
During my first year I rarely went home, a big reason for that was I knew I had to adjust to taking on this life away from everything I knew. The good thing is at home nothing ever changes, so many times I'd find myself saying "I wish I was at home" but I know that at home I'd probably still be lounging around and everyone stays the same and works the same old grind. I must say though this year I did come home a lot more, for the first couple of months I still struggled with the adjustment of coming home and not having everything at my front door like I did back at university. Independence at home was something I always had a battle with, it's not that my parents didn't give it me because they definitely did but going somewhere like town was a 40 minute bus journey there and another 40 minutes back, it just seemed like an even longer day. However, due to changes in circumstances I acquired a car, my first ever car! I feel like my car is my child, I'm honestly so grateful for it and how I can now take myself here, there and everywhere and the responsibility of it is something I love!
7) Set goals and dreams
I can't say that before this year I set myself many goals, I've always had dreams and of course going to university to become a primary school teacher was top of the list. Now I've gotten my head around taking on new responsibilities and I've been able to organize my goals and aspirations, those that are personal to my professional career and those that I would like to reach just in life in general. I don't think writing a bucket list is something I'll ever get round to doing, but somewhere in my mind I'll create a collection of things I want to achieve in my life. One of my goals since I was little and would sleep with 5 different novels under my pillow was to write my own story! My life is full of moments where I find myself saying "it could only happen to me" so I thought in a comical way it would be fun to write about my little average life, I can't guarantee I'll ever finish this "book" but maybe one day it'll find its way to an unlucky audience!
8) All you need is love
Love - a thing I am pretty unlucky in, sometimes we get lost in our ideas and the things we find ourselves daydreaming about that we forget we've got a whole lifetime ahead of us for such adventures and mistakes! I do truly forget that I am only 20 years old and that some of the things I find myself crying and whining about aren't going to matter in 10 years time. 2015/16 has taught me a lot about understanding when someone is a temporary part of your life, they're there for you in that moment and everything can be clear skies and rosy cheeks, but then something shifts and your gut usually notices this first. I'm a firm believer in everything happening for a reason and to believe your heart over your head, your heart tells the truth and sometimes our head tells us things in order to protect our hearts from being broken because after all as humans we are programmed to feel every emotion going. We are designed to feel pain and suffering and it's healthy to have a cry about something but it will never do you any good to continue this suffering by holding on to something that isn't there, we all have to find a way of letting go. Letting go is a gradual process but one day you'll look back and realise you were in love with a memory, with the happiness it made you feel and you shouldn't feel at a loss but know it is an opportunity for bigger and better things to happen.
9) Find your peace
Sometimes being so busy means that when you do have some peace you almost feel guilty for it, I know the past couple of weeks without university and work I've felt like I'm abusing my time off when I decide to have a day of doing absolutely nothing. When I title this one as "finding peace" I'm not suggesting you have to go shave your hair off and train as a monk, I mean taking time to just be alone and watch a film, read a book, organise your clothes, just do something that is completely mindless! It's only when I do such things that I realise how quickly my life is going, before I can blink third year will be on its way and it will almost be time to find a job doing something I absolutely love. It's during these times where I realise how much I do love my life and everything that makes a day/week/month a new memory. For anyone who likes little keepsakes I highly recommend a "Line a Day diary", the entire year is mapped out in a small book which allows you to write a small diary entry for the next 5 years. It's such a good idea and often enough I like to read back and think about how much things have changed or stayed the same. Being at university and in an experience where there is so much going on, it's easy to forget little memories, but this diary allows you to look back and smile at the past!
I've decided now that if anyone did keep with this post then their unfortunate eyes must have had enough now! (That's my excuse for having ran out of things to say anyway!) Thank you if you have kept with this post, it's certainly taken me a long time to writing a blog post. Memory isn't one of my strongest points if I'm honest, but I can always remember enough to write a long as a piece of string post. I hope that anyone currently at university can maybe find some relation to this post and that anyone thinking about going to university thinks my experience doesn't sound that bad and they would maybe like to venture out into the big world too!
Thank you for reading! Have a lovely summer xxx
p.s. Keep with me, maybe my book will be updated on here!
6) Home time
During my first year I rarely went home, a big reason for that was I knew I had to adjust to taking on this life away from everything I knew. The good thing is at home nothing ever changes, so many times I'd find myself saying "I wish I was at home" but I know that at home I'd probably still be lounging around and everyone stays the same and works the same old grind. I must say though this year I did come home a lot more, for the first couple of months I still struggled with the adjustment of coming home and not having everything at my front door like I did back at university. Independence at home was something I always had a battle with, it's not that my parents didn't give it me because they definitely did but going somewhere like town was a 40 minute bus journey there and another 40 minutes back, it just seemed like an even longer day. However, due to changes in circumstances I acquired a car, my first ever car! I feel like my car is my child, I'm honestly so grateful for it and how I can now take myself here, there and everywhere and the responsibility of it is something I love!
7) Set goals and dreams
I can't say that before this year I set myself many goals, I've always had dreams and of course going to university to become a primary school teacher was top of the list. Now I've gotten my head around taking on new responsibilities and I've been able to organize my goals and aspirations, those that are personal to my professional career and those that I would like to reach just in life in general. I don't think writing a bucket list is something I'll ever get round to doing, but somewhere in my mind I'll create a collection of things I want to achieve in my life. One of my goals since I was little and would sleep with 5 different novels under my pillow was to write my own story! My life is full of moments where I find myself saying "it could only happen to me" so I thought in a comical way it would be fun to write about my little average life, I can't guarantee I'll ever finish this "book" but maybe one day it'll find its way to an unlucky audience!
8) All you need is love
Love - a thing I am pretty unlucky in, sometimes we get lost in our ideas and the things we find ourselves daydreaming about that we forget we've got a whole lifetime ahead of us for such adventures and mistakes! I do truly forget that I am only 20 years old and that some of the things I find myself crying and whining about aren't going to matter in 10 years time. 2015/16 has taught me a lot about understanding when someone is a temporary part of your life, they're there for you in that moment and everything can be clear skies and rosy cheeks, but then something shifts and your gut usually notices this first. I'm a firm believer in everything happening for a reason and to believe your heart over your head, your heart tells the truth and sometimes our head tells us things in order to protect our hearts from being broken because after all as humans we are programmed to feel every emotion going. We are designed to feel pain and suffering and it's healthy to have a cry about something but it will never do you any good to continue this suffering by holding on to something that isn't there, we all have to find a way of letting go. Letting go is a gradual process but one day you'll look back and realise you were in love with a memory, with the happiness it made you feel and you shouldn't feel at a loss but know it is an opportunity for bigger and better things to happen.
9) Find your peace
Sometimes being so busy means that when you do have some peace you almost feel guilty for it, I know the past couple of weeks without university and work I've felt like I'm abusing my time off when I decide to have a day of doing absolutely nothing. When I title this one as "finding peace" I'm not suggesting you have to go shave your hair off and train as a monk, I mean taking time to just be alone and watch a film, read a book, organise your clothes, just do something that is completely mindless! It's only when I do such things that I realise how quickly my life is going, before I can blink third year will be on its way and it will almost be time to find a job doing something I absolutely love. It's during these times where I realise how much I do love my life and everything that makes a day/week/month a new memory. For anyone who likes little keepsakes I highly recommend a "Line a Day diary", the entire year is mapped out in a small book which allows you to write a small diary entry for the next 5 years. It's such a good idea and often enough I like to read back and think about how much things have changed or stayed the same. Being at university and in an experience where there is so much going on, it's easy to forget little memories, but this diary allows you to look back and smile at the past!
I've decided now that if anyone did keep with this post then their unfortunate eyes must have had enough now! (That's my excuse for having ran out of things to say anyway!) Thank you if you have kept with this post, it's certainly taken me a long time to writing a blog post. Memory isn't one of my strongest points if I'm honest, but I can always remember enough to write a long as a piece of string post. I hope that anyone currently at university can maybe find some relation to this post and that anyone thinking about going to university thinks my experience doesn't sound that bad and they would maybe like to venture out into the big world too!
Thank you for reading! Have a lovely summer xxx
p.s. Keep with me, maybe my book will be updated on here!
