An Overview of My First Year at University
I have officially finished my first year at York St John
University and I thought, for my first ever blog post, that it’d be nice to
look back on my experience as a university student...
I'm so lucky to study in a beautiful part of the world... |
As a definite home-bird, I thought it was going to be very difficult moving away from my family and at first, it really was. This is why I am so lucky that Abi got into YSJ too because I would honestly be lost without her, especially during those first few weeks when I didn’t know anybody. Having my best friend around made me feel more at ease and I know that if I ever needed her that she would be there (and vice versa). A year on, making new experiences, we’re still as close as ever because honestly where would I be without my drinking buddy and future housemate? WOOP WOOP!
First drink at the SU! |
Meeting new people isn’t exactly my forte and despite getting
to know my flat mates via Facebook before I moved in, I still felt nervous to
meet them properly for the first time. I’m not the best at small talk and just
find myself to be pretty awkward in these situations – all I can say is… thank GOD
for Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit which provided me with some sanctuary and
taking my mind off leaving home, particularly after feeling like a complete
idiot crying over my family leaving, even though Eddie was coming to see me the
weekend after! My flatmates were all very welcoming and comforting and despite
the many fallouts our flat had throughout the course of the year, with people moving
in and out for many reasons (which I am NOT going into… I hate confrontation… I
stayed in my room for the majority of it), there’s not a bunch of people I
would have rather shared my first-year university experience with!
Flat Night In! |
Even though my A-Level results weren’t as good as I wanted
them to be, my unconditional offer secured me a place at YSJ. Due to this, I wasn’t
as confident as I wanted to be when walking into my lectures and seminars for
the first few weeks. I felt as though I had to work harder than everybody else to
match to their grades. However, by meeting some amazing people (Media squad, I’m
talking about you) who were all in the same boat as me, and when the feedback
for my first assignments came back, I was over the moon when I saw I was doing pretty
well in my modules. By supporting each other, it provided me with more
confidence in my future assignments and it taught myself that, no matter how
difficult it may be, I shouldn’t compare myself with other students on the same
course because we were all anxious about making a good first impression (hence why
Alex and I sat at the back of our Media Research workshops, praying nobody spoke
to us). Also, it became evident that I am so much better at essays I can reread
and edit whenever I want, rather than doing agonising exams within a narrow time
limit in an uncomfortable school environment because I became less stressed out
knowing my course doesn’t require students to take ANY EXAMS.
Media squad out in force! |
The best part of my university experience has 100% been joining
YSJ’s Drama Society! Everyone in this society is exceptionally talented and I’m
so honoured to have been a part of an amazing family and putting on THE best performances
due to everyone’s hard work and determination; these outgoing, hilarious and
caring group of people definitely made the challenging times of university life
worth it and I’m so thankful for each and every one of them. Even though I love
them all dearly (and everyone knows that this is coming), I was fortunate
enough to meet the most AMAZING person through this society, who has become my
absolute rock at university – TESS!! Bonding over our hatred of improv games, I’ve
never met someone so much like me in my life, and I’m honestly so lucky to have
met such a gem! I’m going to be so upset when she leaves in November after her
graduation (pls take me with you).
Drama Society 2017-2018! |
I’m going to leave you with my top tips for university
students starting their first year:
- Take a board game or two to ease the conversation between you and your flatmates when you first arrive
- Your flatmates may steal your milk – so if you’re an avid cereal eater like me, buy extra milk just in case! ๐
- University is a fresh start – don’t compare yourself to others, just be yourself and you’ll have a blast
- Joining societies is the best/easiest way to make friends
- You will most likely live off pasta and toast (fun fact: I didn’t know how to cook pasta before university and now I live off it YAY)
- Enjoy first year while you can because second year is going to be a WHOOOLE lot harder
Thanks for reading!
Em x
What a great post, I am starting university in the fall and I really enjoyed reading your posr!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it! Good luck at university, I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time! x
ReplyDelete