I survived fresher flu, late nights and assignment deadlines.
It's crazy to think that a year ago I would've been revising ready for my upcoming Alevel exams and getting excited about leaving for Plymouth University at the end of the summer.
Despite living in a halls flat with a 'suspicious' smell and a bombsite of a kitchen there have been way more ups than downs. First year has been such an amazing experience and I have made some of the best friends along the way.
So as a point of reflection and a record of my memories I thought I would dedicate this weeks post to talking about my experience this last academic year.
Moving out from home and all my friends being scattered all across the country was admittedly very daunting and before I left I kept going through waves of fear and excitement. But in hindsight all that worry was for nothing, moving in was swift and easy and I met my 3 closet friends within the first few days and I fell in love with my course from day one. My worries were all for nothing.
Accommodation & decoration:
I actually really enjoyed moving in for the purposes of decorating a new space, I have such fun making my bedroom cosy and cute. And because of the move i needed new bedsheets ,posters, plants, and prints. Funnily enough since getting back from uni I've redesigned my room back home a bit and moved furniture round and swapped around some posters and prints - next is having a wardrobe clear out. Anyway back to the point, here are some photos of my uni room:
I did love this little room but I'm probably not going to miss it... being on the ground floor near the entrance of the building meant if I left my windows open it would smell of cigarettes and I could often hear many students returning after a late night out. Thankfully I'm on the back of my student house next year! I have to say I am glad to be out of uni halls and away from the fear of what will be found in the kitchen every morning after that time we found a trolley and another time a traffic cone.
Self reminder for second year: fairy lights, cutsie pillows, and personal prints and pictures are a must! (it made my room feel like home and really helped prevent homesickness)
Societies and socials:
This year I joined the university netball and dodgeball club. Both have been great and are definitely clubs I want to pursue on with next year.
The clubs meet at least twice weekly and hold regular socials of which many have a dress up theme making it even more fun. From memory I have been a dog, an Irishman, a cow, an astronaut for socials so that's not including students event nights in Plymouth when I've been a lion, a pumpkin and probably more. Here are some more photos from dress up nights:
Next year I think I will also join scouts and the outdoor society
My Course:
I suppose the most important thing about university though is the thing you actually choose to go and study. In my case I picked English Literature because I enjoy it and I wanted to take studies of it to a higher degree of education. I picked to study it at Plymouth mostly because it is 100% coursework which works so much better for me as someone who HATES exams. I've read what feels like so many books this year, to name a few; Homer's Odyssey, Shakespeare's Tempest, Richardson's Pamela. I've enjoyed every module and written a lot of words! according to one of the uni lectures in assessments/assignments we've written around 25,000 words.
Plymouth:
As many of my previous posts show, the city is a beautiful place. I love how it's not too far from Dartmoor either. Here are some obligatory Plym appreciation photos
Friends:
As much as I love my course and the location it would not have been the same without my brilliant friends and I'm already so excited to see them either over summer or when I get back in September.
First year has been great and I'm already excited to begin second year in September.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed a little insight into my uni experiences. If you want to hear more from me, subscribe with your email to keep updated.