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! 😊
• 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