A Second Year at University Round-Up!

Once again, dear reader. I greet you after a brief intermission called ‘I got too busy to keep up with my blogging duties’. For that, I apologise. As you are about to read, I got extremely busy this past academic year, maybe more busy than anticipated, and as a consequence, I had to sacrifice many things to maintain a decent level of sanity. 

But with that said, I do want to take a moment to reflect on the chaos that has been my second year at University. It has been stressful, rewarding, challenging and worth every second of hardship. 

Let me know what the last academic year was like for you! Were there any challenges you faced? Anything particularly wonderful you experienced? How do you think it went overall? 

But without further ado, lets jump into this!

September

September was a crazy, crazy month. And if I’m honest, a TOTAL blur. But here is what I remember. I spent a majority of this month working the various jobs I held at the University. I had the second half of my training for my Student Mentor job, worked a full 9-5 open day, managed Welcome Team during a gruelling Welcome Weekend, ran a stall for Sitcom Society at the Freshers Society fair, worked a few event shifts for the Student Mentors (including spending time with the therapy dogs!) and then completed the month with a trip up to Sheffield to see my friend. All whilst starting the second year of my degree and adjusting to living with housemates for the first time. 

This month taught me a lot about managing my own wellbeing, trying to keep a level head through the chaos and also being aware of when I needed a moment to myself. I worked hard this month though. I made a load of new friends and the paycheque was well worth it. Also shout-out to the University Instagram that saw my face on it way too much during that month!

October

This month started with still being with my friend in Sheffield, my family came to spend some time with me at University. I once again took on a few more shifts with the Student Mentors, read a few good books and dyed my hair again! I felt like a candy floss fairy! 

This was also the month that I began to embark on my Year Abroad journey. There were moments that I left me feeling uncertain as to if this was something I wanted to do. It looked like a lot of work and not something I thought (at least at times) I was capable of completing. But I decided to go for it anyways. I knew I would grow a lot from an experience of studying abroad, I knew it would benefit me, challenge me and give me a good understanding of the world I lived in. So the chaos of Study Abroad applications started. I’m so very grateful, now reflecting on this at the end of the preparation tunnel that I had a solid support basis around me to help me through all the personal statements, research and time I had to squeeze into my already very busy schedule. To every person that encouraged me to take on this challenge, I want to thank you dearly, from the bottom of my heart for your support. 

November 

November was filled with socialisation and comfort. I found myself at home for a little bit at the start of the month. When you spend an extended period away from home, you really begin to appreciate your home more than usual. And I definitely did. 

I also got to see Hamilton in London with my auntie, which was a really fun day and it was lovely to see it with her. We also discovered some of the bars around Victoria, which is always an adventure worth having! I met up with friends from far and wide, with a trip to the German Market they have in the city centre. Things were truly starting to feel festive! Towards the end of the month my friend came to Birmingham and we went to a concert together! We saw UPSAHL who was a musician we had seen as the support act for Fletcher the previous year. It was in a semi-small venue which made it feel more intimate than most and it was such a vibe! I was also extremely happy that we didn’t have to queue very long as the weather was not exactly on our side… 

In my Year Abroad journey I also submitted my application to the University. It was beginning to feel very real! 

This month I also started working for the BabyLab we have at the University. As weird as it sounds, it is the lab used for infant research. I worked as an assistant conducting experiments with infants and their parents, I got to attend in person tours and experiments and then I have also recently started coding the analysis of the data collected from experiments I assisted on. It has been valuable work experience and something I am very grateful I had the opportunity to part-take in. 

December

And before we knew it, it was December! As always, it was busy! I started this month by watching the University turn on the Christmas lights around campus, which was really pretty and reminded me that it is more than okay to go to things on your own. You don’t need to have a group surround you at every event. If you want to do things independently, then do it! Along this same vein, I went to a podcast event in London this month for one of my favourite science podcasts, SciGuys! For those that have been long time readers of this blog know that I have met Luke in a YouTube setting. But this was SO different to those times. It felt more mature, more grown up and also more relaxed. From what I gathered from this event, the demographic for this podcast is very much mid-20-somthings who have an enjoyment in science. Not 14 year old Amy who uses tumblr on the regular and has a fan account dedicated to her fave OTP. And I say that with the most love possible, because many moons ago that was me. But we all grew up and now hung out as adults at a secret bar in King’s Cross. I was incredibly grateful for this event as I not only did it alone, I also got the opportunity to be on the podcast! I will link it below! I would recommend watching the whole thing as it was a very interesting episode, but you may spot someone special at the end! If I hadn’t attended and my anxiety had got the best of me I would never have had that chance, it just proves that sometimes the best way to do things is on your own!

This month I also had a festive time with my housemates, met up with friends, continued working and doing the thing I had come to University for, more degree! 

Although I was home by this point I also got to see Come From Away with my mum before it closed at the end of December. I have already previously seen this show, but this time was special as it was with family. This show will ALWAYS get to me though. It was just as good this time as it was the first time I saw it. 

January 

As we move into the next calendar year January was a fairly quiet month in regards to my social and work life. The Semester doesn’t start until the end of the month and even then it is only for exams. So if we’re honest, this month I spent curled up in my room hunched over my laptop warming my numb hands on my 6th cup of tea that day trying to desperately remember everything from the previous term. My exams this month were, okay. It was cold and I struggled to maintain the amount of focus needed during the exams. This past Semester was also not very exciting to me. My modules didn’t appeal to my taste in Psychology so I found it hard to keep motivated. I passed everything, but in hindsight I wish I had found that little bit of extra energy to find my purpose and own enjoyment in the subjects I was learning. Semester 2 was overall a lot more enjoyable and easier to get my brain into. So for that I was grateful. 

At the very end of this month also saw me transversing a good majority of the UK. Traditionally in the school of Psychology at my University we get 2 weeks off after exams which both focus on careers and (I want to believe) giving us a rest from exams. So I made the journey from Birmingham to London to see one of my friends for dinner and then stayed with a school friend for us both to travel to Cambridge to see another school friend. This was a welcome break from exams and University. Experiencing Cambridge for the first time was also really fun! It always feels nice to see where my friends spend the majority of their time during term. It’s a little look into their lives that we rarely think about. 

I then made the journey from London to Sheffield to once again visit my friend up there. It was quite a social end of the month to say the least! But I had a lot of fun! 

As a side note, I also found out where I had been allocated for my Year Abroad. It is safe to say I am so excited and it was definitely a good result!

February 

The first thing I did this month was dye my hair BRIGHT pink. I think it was a look, I liked it a lot, maybe one day I shall return to this style, what do we think? And then, in chapter 2 of travelling around the UK with my tiny suitcase I went to visit yet another friend in their University town of Derby. We had a very chill and cozy weekend together where I was able to talk to her about some challenges I had been facing and get the empathy I needed. This particular friend, and I hope she won’t mind me saying, gets me on a level very few do. I think at times I take that for granted, or something I don’t particularly want to acknowledge, but I am so unbelievably grateful for the unique bond we share and the friend I have found in her. 

The travelling didn’t stop there! Oh no! Your girl was off to Colorado for a week with her family skiing! This is a holiday I always look forward to and it came at the perfect time. To let go of everything whilst skiing but to also have time for yourself, to think, to process and to be surrounded by natural beauty. I miss it. I did unfortunately have to find time whilst away to try and do a little bit of work for uni, but the majority of my time was spent on the slopes feeling so full and alive, you would not believe. 

Once I got back from the USA it was a game of catch up with University work and general life admin. Unfortunately, I don’t think I ever caught up until the exams in May, and even then, only just. 

This was also the month where I had to declare the modules I wanted to take in my final year. Which was scary to think that far forward. But I am interested to see if my choices are still the same or if they have changed when I get back from my year abroad. And speaking of, whilst away in the US I received the application from my host university, so the ball was really beginning to roll!

March

March started off with another trip to apparently my favourite West End show ‘Hamilton’ but this time with my friend Leeza! Another theatre adventure I had this month was getting to see some childhood icons of Dick and Dom perform their 20 year celebration of their TV show. I watched these guys in every show they did back in the day. So to see this live was truly an unforgettable experience!

This month I started the in person testing with the BabyLab and I really flung myself into extracurricular activities. As a member of the sitcom society committee I wanted to recreate the Brooklyn 99 Heist, which we did in the middle of March. It was fairly stressful, but I hope the people that came, found it enjoyable and that next year’s committee are able to put it on with a lot more ease. 

I also started attending Yoga regularly this Semester. I attended a taster before Chirstmas and really enjoyed it and felt like I was giving myself a little more exercise. I’m really looking forward to returning to this society once I am back at my home University. 

At the very end of the month I also got the chance to see Newsies in London! This is a show that I have loved for a few years now and have always wanted to see live. I think I also saw ‘Of Mice and Men’ this month too. Which wasn’t as engaging as Newsies but was emotional and definitely brought me back to my English days at school. I also sat next to a really nice dad and his daughter. It’s really amazing to see plays as well as musicals. it is a completely different dynamic that I have only recently begun to appreciate.

April

The majority of April was spent at home for Easter. This consisted of catching up on all the work I had neglected since the start of term and trying to get a head start on my assignments that were all due in quick succession at the start of the final summer term. 

However, once the University session started again I had a lot going on. One of the weekends in April my best friend and I went up to Manchester to see one of our favourite bands ‘Seafret’. I have been listening to their music since 2017 so this was a very special concert that I am so glad I got to go to. It was also fun to spend the little time we did have in Manchester! I also got to see my Nan for the first time in a while! 

I was also very fortunate to be invited to the London Marathon with a a charity I worked for. We were situated right by the finish line and with my mum as my plus 1 we had a great day out and I really enjoyed being part of people’s final moments of their race. London was chaos though, and getting back home was a struggle, would not repeat that part of my day…

The rest of the month was crammed with more work and degree related learning. If I’m honest it felt like at times my degree took the back seat in my life. But the fact I still did decently well in the end of the year proves to me that I have more dedication, discipline and intelligence than I first think.

May 

And we have reached it! The last month of the academic year. By this point I was tired, burnt out, academically exhausted and still having to push through another month of meetings, lectures and exams. I think by this point I was deep into the tunnel and the only way to get through was to power on, so that is what I did. I technically completed my exams on the 1st June but for aesthetic sake we’re saying May 31st. 

As I have mentioned, most of this month was sat at a laptop screen staring at a textbook or a missed lecture. But I did also attend The Band CAMINO concert. Another band I have obsessed over in my time. I also was convinced by friends met in the queue that getting the VIP package was a sensible idea. If it was worth how much I paid for it, I won’t say, but it was fun to meet the band, hear some songs (including my favourite) acoustically and to get the opportunity to be at the very front for the concert definitely was worth it. Was it a wise idea to go the day before an exam? Probably not. But I don’t remember the sleep deprivation, I remember the memories and songs I got to sing my heart out to, so, yes, it was a good idea. 

Final Thoughts:

I ended up finishing my Second Year with a mid 2;1 classification. Which, if I’m honest I wish was a little higher, but considering everything I did this year that was not directly related to my degree, I think it is a pretty good result. 

I learnt a lot about balancing my time, setting boundaries and being honest with myself and prioritising myself. I feel like I set these goals and hopes for lesson learning but I end up learning stuff I never thought I would, which is quite funny in a way. But any lesson learnt is always a needed one. 

Next year I fly the pond to a new world filled with its own challenges and obstacles. But I feel so ready. There are butterflies of both excitement and fear, but I know the experience will change me for the best. 

This year has been a wild one. I have learnt a lot, discovered so much about myself and had the best time. I’m so excited to see what the next year has in store. I’m making memories and growing up, is there any better feeling? 

Habits I Want to Take into Year 2

Why hello! I hope you are all doing well on this fine Thursday. Continuing with this year’s back to school series I want to become just that little bit self centred and talk about the habits and routines I want to take into my next year at university! As we’ve talked about things that are good advice for the next academic year and things to bring to university I want to actually make practical use of the tips and tricks I suggest, otherwise that is incredibly hypocritical of me! So without further ado here are the 5 top things I will personally try to implement into the next academic year.

Being Smart About Smart Targets!

It seems to be a common theme with me that I overwork myself constantly. I don’t think its cool and if I’m honest the last exam season I had destroyed me. So this year, I am once again pledging to be more sensible when it comes to getting things done. Each day when I create a to-do list I want to consider how I’m feeling, how much free time I have and how many assignments I have coming up. If I’m good and start assignments earlier than I did last year I should have time to be more sensible with the amount I can take on each day. I think something useful I have learnt recently is to make a huge to do list with every small thing I can think of, keep it as a running thing, and then each day select tasks that I think are doable and will leave me feeling slightly less stressed when I head to bed.

I think this is the sort of thing that will have a lot of trail and error. It won’t be perfect and it won’t be easy but I hope once Christmas approaches, it will be a lot easier to manage all the things buzzing around my head.

Reading!

This is a slightly more specific thing I want to take into next year but `I want to try and read for an hour a day. I’ve recently really started to enjoy reading. I’ve found some great books and feel like it really does help me relax in those busy moments. As well as this, one of my goals for this whole year was to read 40 books. I have currently read 28 books. I would love to reach this goal and I think reading for an hour a day over different intervals of time would really help me make this.

While reflecting over the previous year one of the things I did was put together some times that I think I would be able to read. I have put aside 20 minutes in the morning that I am going to try and pick up a book and then 45 minutes at night before I sleep that I would like to complete that hour. Any other reading I get done in the day would be great but I’d like to have that as a minimum!

Consistency in Routine!

Over the summer one of the many things I did was to create a morning and night routine for myself that I can attempt to stick to during those busy periods. I am trying to remind myself that they will be something that will change and need to adapt throughout the year but ultimately might help me keep myself sane.

One of the main things I included on these routines was that I wanted to finish work at 8:30pm. I feel like there is a lot of time at university when all we think about is work and the hours become late and the brain becomes a mess. A way I think I can stop that from becoming too much is by calling it a night at 8:30. Unless it is an immediate deadline I want to try and fall into the mindset of a task can be left half done. It may be hard but I’m hoping with this tactic I’ll feel less guilty for working a lot during the day knowing I have a finish time. I think it might also encourage me to continue working until that time, giving me a time to work towards instead of endlessly working.

Money, Money, Money!

A classic student concern is money and how to budget. I am no different. I really need to be more careful with my money and where it all goes. With the UK being flung into a cost of living crisis I do really want to try my best to actually save money this year. Something I really want to try and do in the early months is learn how to budget. I’ve seen plenty of templates and advice in this field but I think until I actually sit down and try to sort my spending habits out I might struggle to maintain a nice lifestyle. Let me know if you have any tups or suggestions for making this a reality for me!

Revision from Day 1!

Something that I noticed about last year, especially near exam season was the lack of revision I did. I very much left it up to the last minute and never properly covered everything we had learnt. This year I really want to try and rectify that. So instead of coming out of a lecture and instantaneously forgetting about it, I really want to try and get into the habit of taking my lecture notes and copying them into my revision notebook. Not only will this consolidate my understanding of the knowledge I have just acquired but will also allow me to get ahead on my revision before exam season kicks ini.

Obviously this may not always be possible but I think it would be a nice idea where I can and will definitely take the stress off during the busy end of semester rush!

Well there we have it! The 5 top things I would like to take into my second year of university. Let me know if any of these things sound like good ideas to you or if there is something you think you would like to put into your academic life! I would love to hear your thoughts and comment below! But with that said, I hope you all have a great start to the new school year!

10 Top Tips for Year 1 at University

Continuing in my ‘Back to School’ series this week I want to share with you the things I wish I knew before my first year at university and my tips for having the best year possible. Although these tips are directed towards those of you starting your higher education journey I still think those of us in A levels, going into second year or still at high school could make use out of. So no matter your stance on education of work I think this could be a vital post for you!

Diverse Group People Working Together

Grades aren’t Everything! I think a common misconception about university is that each small piece of work will count towards your final degree classification. Our teachers drill into us that “uni is strict” about almost everything. But that’s not the case. Of course, they do like you to get assignments in on time, for you to turn up to lectures and to have a good attitude towards learning. But they aren’t breathing down your neck about every minute thing. Including grades. Although I would suggest trying your best, most courses only need you to gain that ‘pass’ mark for each of your modules to move onto the next year; and the grades you get that year, don’t count. So with that in mind, don’t stress. If you’re anything like me you’re a complete perfectionist. Every mark matters. However, as my friend put it “grades don’t count but getting into a good study routine does”. I think that’s a great way to look at first year. Focus on the outcome as a learning indicator rather than an end point. If you are able to get yourself into good academic habits and work out the best ways to work later down the line when grades do matter you’ll have sussed out how you work best to achieve those top grades. Don’t feel disheartened by low grades, they’ll only help you to improve.

A piece of advice I really wish I had stuck to last year was that taking care of yourself is essential. I burnt myself out so many times last year, including the week before exams. I piled on the pressure and worked myself into exhaustion. If I had just taken that little bit of time for myself each evening or weekend, maybe I wouldn’t have got so ill and maybe I would have been a little less stressed. It is a vicious cycle that I don’t recommend getting into. If you are struggling, take that break, you will thank yourself in the long run, trust me.

Here is a slightly more academic tip but, abstracts of articles are your best friend! Depending on your degree you will find yourself reading lots and lots of articles. It cam be hard to read through them all so a great way to get the vibe (yes, vibe), is to read the abstract! An abstract being the lil summary at the start of an article the authors give so you can understand what you are about to read. They can be very useful in identifying if you should read the whole article or if you can give that one a miss. If you’re still struggling to work out the intention of a literary article then reading the conclusions can also be a useful read!

On a smilier note, creating a table on Word or Google Docs can be very useful in organising all your readings. This means when you come to writing your essays you know exactly where everything is and don’t have to go sifting through loads of documents. It also allows you to summarise, pull apart and discuss the articles you read before writing it up in the formal way universities want you to. Here is an example of one of mine from last year if you’re still struggling to visualise what I mean.

As you can see, I create a 4 column table to indicate where the article will appear in my essay, a summary of the article, key points / results from the article and then a final column for the APA reference that I can just copy and paste into my reference list. I highlight the articles that are key readings for the essay / module to make me aware that I must include those articles and the more information I have on them the better. This is a reference table from an essay I achieved a 72 on, so hopefully it can help you in the future!

Sticking with the theme of assignments, my next tip is to start the assignments as soon as you get them. Last year I fell into the trap of leaving my work until the very last minute. This created a whole array of issues for me. I would have to block out entire days to cram the assignment in. And when we were approaching deadline season that meant I went a full week without taking a second to breath and I became overwhelmed very quickly. Don’t be me. Once you get that assignment given to you, even if you can’t start it straight away plan what you can and set yourself mini deadlines. That way you can give yourself time to reflect on your own work, take it one step at a time and give yourself time to breathe. Starting straight away can sometimes be difficult due to the nature of assignments, but having a rough plan of when you will be able to get it moving can be a real help.

Three smiling female college students after lecture.

Something I would really recommend to those starting University is trying your hardest not to miss a lecture or class. At times it can feel pointless and with everything being recorded these days it can be a very easy trap to fall into. But best believe that once you miss one lecture you’re likely to never turn up to one again. I met many people during Freshers Week that attended that first week of lectures and then I never saw them again. Of course, illness, unavoidable appointments and other events may fall in the way but generally I would say try to not miss one. Going to lectures also creates a structure for a routine for you, allows you to meet knew people and gives you so many opportunities to ask questions. As hard as those 9am’s may be, try your best to attend them!

My next tip is most likely going to upset about 80% of my followers. You know that tote bag you bought for your first year at uni? Yeah, your shoulders are going to hate you by the end of the month. I would suggest bring a reliable backpack to university. As classy and cute as tote bags and handbags are, all those notebooks and your laptop are very heavy. A lot of the time I can imagine you will be spending the entire day on campus so will have a lot of stuff with you. By bringing a good bag you take some of the strain off your shoulders and back.

Something I also think is very important that I wish I knew before starting uni is that sleep is better than to overwork yourself. I often found myself hunched over my laptop until the early hours of the morning. Not getting enough sleep can have such a detrimental impact on your functioning. So even if you do stay up all night and try to finish that assignment you will feel awful the next day and perform at a reduced level. You’re better getting ahead of the game to save yourself those late nights and possible exhaustion. You are also better going to sleep earlier and waking up a few hours before you usually would to finish work than power on through the night.

My penultimate piece of advice is to spend some of your free time in researching how to further your career. You will inevitably hear about this sort of stuff consistently once you start but I thought I would add it in here too. Employers have begun looking further than just a degree when choosing candidates for jobs, so getting that experience in or earning a little extra money while studying can be so beneficial for you later down the line. This is something I am glad I did last year as I have now not only made more connections in the professional world, I’ve furthered my CV and earned a little more income. As well as this, some postgrad degrees require experience in the field of work, so looking into it NOW can save you time later, It may also help when it comes to looking for summer jobs or potential routes of work for you. There is nothing wrong with looking ahead, even if you’re not completely sure as to what you want to do. Putting aside an hour a month or so to set up a LinkedIn profile or look for internships in the summer can be a real help to you!

My last tip for you is to do with academic feedback. You may find once you start to get feedback on your essays is that the advice given can sometimes be quite contradicting. A way to go about this is to use your academic tutors for guidance. They may not be able to provide all the answers but they may be able to direct you towards one conclusive answer. You are paying quite a lot of money to be in the institute you are, you might as well use the resources given to you. I know sometimes some unis offer the opportunity for you to talk to the academics that mark you work as well. So that is always something worth researching! But don’t stress about contradicting feedback, it happens to the best of us.

A young adult woman engaged in online learning at home.

So there we go! My top ten tips for starting university. I hope that you found at least one of these tips helpful and feel as if you can work it into the next academic year. I hope you are all enjoying this back to school series and are ready for next week’s post! I wish you all well in the next year!

Until next time!

My Advice for Freshers!

About to begin university? Unsure of what to pack, what to expect, what’s important and what you should forget about? Well, my dear friend, I think I have found the blog post for you! Today I want to talk to you about my advice for those starting at university in September. From the good things, to the not so great, my tips for Freshers Week and the approaching academic year and what I wish I knew before starting, we shall cover it all! So please, leave those worries behind you as I promise by the end of this post you will feel a lot more at ease.

What to Expect During Your First Week

Chaos, that’s what you can expect. I’m joking (not really). Freshers week (or welcome week) is usually defined as the week after everyone has moved in and the week before classes start. It’s a time to get to know your flatmates, course mates and people in your cohort. It can be filled with society fairs, crazy nights out and a variety of events put on by your university. Last year at my uni we even had the appearance of some Alpacas! But overall, its an opportunity for you to discover what your university has to offer, and for you to find your way around campus. But, Freshers can also be a time of intense homesickness, unfamiliarity and nostalgia for your life back home. That, is completely normal and 100% valid. There is nothing more terrifying that traveling potentially hours to a new place, forced to live with strangers and separated from the people you love most. If anyone has said they didn’t feel at least a tiny bit blue during their welcome week they are lying. So I think the first thing I want to point out is this, as much fun as the first week of university can be, it is not guaranteed to be perfect. It can be lonely and isolating but I promise, it will get better.

My first week of university was a hard one. I missed home, hated being alone and wanted to be in a more familiar place. But just as quickly as that feeling appeared, it vanished. Once term had begun I was so engrossed in my course and the everyday craziness that I found my feet and began to walk down that first year path. My advice is try and stick it out. Get through those first few weeks and you’ll find your way too.

As previously mentioned, the first week of university is filled with so much to do, your body sometimes struggles to keep up. And as the week goes on, every student will become accustom to the freshers flu (dun, dun, dun!). Usually this illness is harmless, a simple fightback from your immune system trying to cope with the endless activity and mixing with hundreds of people. But when not taken care of, can lead to a lot worse. I would suggest listening to your body in this instance. Miss that one night out, wake up that little bit later, eat your vegetables. If your body says no, take that as the final answer. There is no point pushing yourself to burnout before you’ve even begun the academic year.

This first week is also the time you will get to meet your new flatmates (if you have them!). I would say try and spend at least one of those nights during freshers together. Find an event you all want to attend and go together! Or, meet up for lunch, cook dinner together or watch a film. It can be a great way to find out each of your flatmates’ interests as well as bonding as a group. Of course, don’t pressure anyone into anything and don’t let them pressure you either. Events that don’t involve alcohol are most likely the best option as you not only can get to unsheathe everyones true colours but also makes it more inclusive to those that don’t want to drink. Maybe, just before arriving or before the week begins look at the events your uni is offering throughout freshers and decide on the ones you are most likely to want to attend. Sometimes your school or college will have specific events as well. Some may be mandatory, some may be optional!

This is also the sort of time that you will most likely be given your timetable if you don’t already have it and a list of assignments that you may have to complete. I would advise finding a way to keep track of your classes and work that is due. It can overwhelming and it will help tremendously if you don’t have to keep all that in your head! A few suggestions include, ical/google calendar, notion and academic planners, but whatever works for you!

Spend the week however you wish. If that’s clubbing every night or only enjoying the day activities. Use the opportunity to talk to people and gauge how you feel you’ll get along. You may find many people will strike up a conversation and by the end of the day you can’t even remember their name. You may also end up collecting many, many social media accounts. And I feel like it is important to mention that you do not need to add absolutely everyone you meet on snapchat or instagram if you don’t want to. Find the few people that you really connect with and want to meet up with in a different setting later down the line and keep in contact with them. Brad from that first night out does not need to be added to snapchat just for you to wake up and have no clue who he was. It will never be a competition to make the most friends.

My Top 10 Tips for Starting University!

There are thousands of pieces of advice I could give, ranging from budgeting to keeping to a routine but I wanted to try and squeeze all those into 10 useful tips you can take with you when starting this academic year.

1. Find the study spaces that work for you! If your campus is anything like mine it will be filled to the BRIM with study spaces. Some silent, some noisy, some with a cafe and some with a great view! There will be space for everyone and I think during that first term you should take some time to work out the best spaces for you and keep a note of them. During term time it can be a little overwhelming to think about what you need to do and where you work best so keeping a list of your favourite places dependant on your mood and what you need to get done can be a real life saver and take away another barrier from you doing your work!
2. Making sure you get that 5 a day! I’ll admit, during university term time it can feel overwhelming enough, but to think about cooking can make it just too much. And a lot of people will resort to take away food and easy meals, which tend to be less healthy. Speaking from experience, when you don’t make a conscious effort to incorporate fresh veg and fruit into your diet both your mental and physical health take a down turn. So I would suggest meal prepping and planning to make sure you can achieve this. Learn a few high vitamin recipes before you leave and try to think of new ways to make your food more healthy.
3. Join societies! Wow, I couldn’t recommend this enough. There will be something for everyone, I can guarantee. Most of the people I spoke to throughout last year who said they felt lonely hadn’t joined any societies. I think one of the best ways to meet people like you is to get involved in these groups. I found during my first year that the groups I got involved in led me to meet some of my closest university friends today. It can be a great way to start something new or continue embracing your already existent hobbies.
4. Wait until you get to university to do a food shop! You will never know until you enter your accommodation how much storage space in your kitchen you will have, you may have cupboards upon cupboards of room, or, you may have one shelf to yourself. This is why I would suggest waiting until you arrive at uni to do your food shop. There is nothing worse than getting to your flat and finding out you don’t have enough shelf space for all those pot noodles or energy bars. Many parents can be eager to get you that first food shop but try and remind them that it might be easier to do once you arrive and have unpacked your room.
5. Start making revision resources from day 1. This may sound like a stupid idea. “why start revision for exams that are several months away?” Well, here’s why. Otherwise you will spend 24 hours trying to cram and entire module of work and will end up with severe burnout. If you are able to spread out the work and make resources as you go along when it comes to actual revision leading up to exams it will feel infinitely easier. It will also mean that you have to understand the content you are making these resources with and you will inevitably find the gaps in your knowledge and the areas that you are comfortable with.
6. Leave some time for self care. This applies to both freshers week and into the academic year. If you can, leave maybe an afternoon or evening once a week just for you. No work, no social pressures and no need to stress. If you can find a few things that can make you feel a little calmer or a little less stressed it can be easier to reset. Calling back to what I have already mentioned in this post, it is impossible to do everything, do what you want and don’t force anything. University is a crazy and incredible busy time and in the whirlwind of everything it can be hard to remember to take a break for your brain and body.
7. Don’t buy your Fresher wristbands until you get there! This is one that is especially important for those universities that are surrounded by night clubs and other activities. A common mistake with freshers (yes, I fell victim to this too) is buying wristbands and passes before even starting. This can be a huge loss of money for you. When you get to uni you may find that you absolutely are all about every single event you have signed up for. But sometimes you may find, all you really want to do is curl up with a good book and a cup of tea (which is totally valid!!!). Then that can lead to feeling guilty and wasting money. You may also find the events you’ve signed up for are different to the ones your friends want to go to and then you have this awkward situation to deal with. It may actually work out cheaper to just pay on the door for events such as night clubs and it also gives you a little more freedom in what you get to do. Of course, free events are a completely different story though!
8. Try not to call home too often. I know this can sound pretty counterproductive but hear me out, the more you call home, the more likely you are going to want to return, the more you want to return the more likely you will. I would say try and work out a schedule with your family as to when you will call them to catch up. Maybe every Thursday afternoon before that last lecture, or Saturday morning before you go out to the shops. Finding a time to call them will also stop those spontaneous calls that can lead to more homesickness. In a similar vein, if you can help it, try not to visit home but rather have your family come and visit you once you’re a little more settled. Of course go home for Christmas and spring break but being surrounded by nostalgia and home may make it harder to go back to university. Homesickness is real and I can promise you nearly everyone experiences it.
9. Learn how to budget! This may sound like a stupid idea but I can promise that living alone is expensive. No matter how careful you are. Even if you don’t think you need it I would suggest at least looking into a budgeting method that works for you. Its quite a simple thing you can do to prepare that may make your life so much easier down the line.
10. Leave your summer clothes at home. This is similar to the early tip about food shopping but, leave all those cute playsuits and bralets at home for now. If you are going to university in the UK then I can promise you that by October you will be wrapped up in thousands of jumpers and shirts. Maybe bring one or two cooler outfits for the days when the temperature peaks but other than that, you won’t need them! You may also not have room for them.

Myth Busting! What is the University truth?

A lot of what we hear about starting university can come from our siblings, friends and even family members, and sometimes, the things they tell us are an exaggeration of the truth, or not correct at all! So here are some common things that are rumoured before university and the actual truths behind them.

Is it possible to avoid Freshers Flu? Nope! Unfortunately not. I don’t think I knew anyone in my first year to not catch it. Just make sure you take your vitamins and take good care of your body and you shouldn’t have it too bad!

No one gets on with their flatmates! They’re always so messy! This, can be true. People may come from families where they didn’t have to worry about communal areas and the kitchen can accumulate a lot of stuff. I would suggest trying to be clear about expectations (leaving the kitchen how you found it, clearing away your own things once you’ve finished etc). If there are any issues there will be people around that can help. Same goes for tricky flatmates. Everyone is different and part of living in accommodation is to be accepting of other people’s beliefs and behaviours. But, sometimes that doesn’t work out and you have to find staff to get involved. If this is an issue people can usually try and move flats or find other accommodation if there’s space. But I would say don’t worry about this. It will happen or it won’t, there’s no point of getting stressed about it before you’ve even met them. You never know, they could end up being your best friends!

People will force you to drink and think you’re boring if you don’t go out with them! This unfortunately sometimes can be true but, that says more about others than you. To need to rely on alcohol to have a good time can lead to issues and it is not your responsibility to get people to like a version of you that isn’t true. For the amount of people that believe this there are equal amounts of people that don’t and will accept your lifestyle choices and embrace the you you want to be. Many universities now have sober societies that allow you to meet people that feel the same way or just don’t fancy having alcohol involved in their evenings!

You can get into big trouble if you don’t hand in work on time. This is not at all true. University is a big step up from school and the expectations are all placed on you. To the university, you are just your student ID and another individual in their institution. If you don’t want to hand in work that is fine, it will just be on your own back! The only time the uni will get involved in situations like this is if they believe they can help or you are repeatedly missing deadlines.

All you need is 40%, first year doesn’t even count! For most courses this is true, but not all the time so I would check that before you take it as fact! I would also say that if you want to transfer onto a placement or abroad course they may expect slightly higher grades so just because you only need 40 doesn’t mean it might not cause you some problems down the line. Do your best so you know how to improve and get top grades in later years!

Everyone just lives off takeaways and fast food. Unfortunately for many this is true. But can become very expensive and unhealthy very quickly. Of course, one every now and then can be a nice treat but making it a habit can not be very good for you! Which is why I suggest meal prepping each week!

No one ever turns up to lectures, they’re all recorded now anyways. This can be true. Many lectures are recorded and many don’t turn up to them. But, this doesn’t mean its a good idea. I’ve found that the moment people miss one lecture they’ll miss them all. Then essentially all you’re paying for is a bunch of recordings and a few essay marks! Going to lectures also creates your own deadlines for preset work and gives you a routine. They may be boring but even just turning up can create a huge difference to your overall grades! Missing the occasional one can be okay but don’t get into the habit of it!

Advice from My Freinds!

And to finish off this post I would like to share with you some advice I collected from my friends. Here is a myriad of things they wish they knew before starting that will hopefully make the transition a little easier for you!

Starting university can be terrifying but also one of the best experiences of your life if you let it be. Ride through the lows and live for the highs. I wish you the best for you higher education journey and I hope these tips and tricks make it feel less overwhelming and scary. Feel free to reach out to me through social media if you would like some extra advice (all linked in the contact section of this blog!). And for those that are reading this and have experienced university, do you have any advice that you feel like I’ve missed out? If so, feel free to drop it down below! You never know, I might find it useful!

That’s all for now though, I shall talk to you all again very soon! Have a great time at university!

How I’ve Grown in the Last 5 Years

I think a lot can be said for how us as humans change and grow. It is not a linear process. It is not one we are consciously aware of and it is absolutely not something we can control. It just, happens.

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot how much I’ve changed – and how quickly. Over the last 5 years I’ve had some, absolutely wild, moments and quite a lot is not what it was. That isn’t to be negative or pessimistic though. Change is often connected to negativity, which I don’t think is necessarily the case. I’ve had quite a lot of change which I would think is very very positive. But all in all, a lot has happened. And I have been reflecting on that. I wanted to share those thoughts and opinions with you today. Maybe there has been a significant change in your life recently. Or maybe something small that has just peaked your interest or come to mind.

Of course you could look at this from a lifetime perspective. Recount every period of change, be it for the worse of the better. But I think that’s a little huge of a task for me to tackle in one blog post. So I wanted to keep it to a nice neat number such as 5. As I’ve already mentioned; a lot has happened in the previous 5 years. More than enough. Change was a very important part of that. So why don’t we take a journey back to 2017?

My Journey with Self Expression

Over the last 5 years I’ve fought a lot with who I am and who I want to be. More than maybe the average person does. And this, in time will be a whole blog post in itself. I’ve gone from being convinced I’m straight, to bicurious, to bisexual, to demisexual, to asexual to queer. I’ve experienced the whole rainbow at this point, and I doubt it will stop there. Self expression and self identification are made to look so easy and uncomplicated in the media at the moment. If you don’t just know who you are it is seen as odd and a waste of time. And as we all know, time that isn’t spent feeding into society is time unwisely spent.

Sexuality, gender identity and just general self expression change. And I think that is something I am slowly learning to accept. Just because someone goes by bisexual doesn’t necessarily mean that that is now in concrete. We are all just trying to figure things out and the more time we spend worrying about others and who they really are is time wasted on ourselves (you see what I did there?). I’m more than certain the way I identify will change in some capacity over my lifetime. But I think I am coming to terms with that and understand it is okay to do so. I am also incredibly grateful for my friends that have been there through it all and have seen me for who I am and unconditionally loved me.

As I’ve previously said though, I’m planning to make a whole blog post on this topic soon so I don’t want to dive too deep. So just a message for anyone who may currently be battling with self expression and self acceptance. Just know you are valid, if the label doesn’t fit, the hair feels to unlike you or things feel uncomfy. In time you’ll come to realise what or who you are. Self expression is a journey that I don’t ever think you complete. Whatever feels right in that moment is what truly matters.

My Fight With Mental Health

Something that has been very hard to come to terms with is my mental health and how poorly I have treated it over the last 5 years. I’ve had my fair few battles to be completely honest. And it is definitely not something I have conquered just yet either.

What I have seen over the last few years though is how my outlook on my own mental wellbeing has changed. From about last year I came to terms with the understanding that I may not be as well as I initially thought I was. Which, is absolutely OK. The recognition is the hardest thing I think. Being able to look in the mirror and say “you know what, maybe I’m not okay”. That in itself can be hard for a lot of people. Including me. But to seek out help can be equally as challenging. But when the right help is given to you, it can make the whole thing worth it. That is something I’ve grown into over the last couple of years. The ease of acceptance.

Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of tough days. Days when I don’t know better, days when I doubt myself and the struggles I have gone through. But the overarching problem I have learnt to reach out for. To take the help offered and to just keep pushing until the right support is there.

I have also been able to find many ways to adapt to my mental wellbeing and where it might be at certain points. I’ve found techniques and strategies that work for me. I’ve been able to implement them and find some useful things along the way. That was a long and very exhausting thing to do though. I by no means am there yet but its a start! I’m very proud of myself for everything I’ve done thus far, and I hope if you are on a similar path that you are proud of your achievements too. Mental health is not an easy thing to keep tabs on. So don’t feel disheartened if you can’t control that stuff straight away.

But all in all, the past few years have been a huge improvement to where I was in terms of brain stuff. I can control it a little better, and WAY more aware of how it affects me and how to look after it on those not so nice days.

A New Perspective Of Myself (and others)

I think since 2017 my perspective of myself has shifted and fluctuated dramatically. I’ve gone from self hate to self love and back again. The self is a tricky thing, The way we view ourselves and our lives is so so so dense and difficult at times. One tiny thing can negatively change everything and vice versa. I often find myself wishing I was cooler or more trendy. Which, in itself is pretty negative self talk. I know I should be happier with who I am and how I choose to present myself. But then again, something I have seen talked about quite a lot is changing yourself if you are not happy with it. Which I guess, to some extent, is valid. I have recently started experimenting with hair dye and cutting my hair, to become more happy with myself. So I think some major way I’ve grown is being able to find that line between self hate and change because it benefits who you wish to be.

I’ve also become pretty wrapped up in various situations. Especially as the teen I was, conversations could become heated and I would speak without thinking. I’m sure this is something we are all familiar with in our childhood. We can be stubborn or selfish or just unaware of the effect of our words. I was absolutely a combination of all three. I’ve learnt a lot about what is acceptable and what is very much not.

Something I always come back to is this idea of my understanding of others. And how, since the age of 14 I’ve become aware of others. I know that must sound bizarre, how at only 19 have you come to realise that other people exist? And to that, I say, is not what I mean. I’m talking about the understanding that people, can have a very different outlook on something to you. But just because it is different, does not necessarily mean it is wrong. I think as the child I was, it was very easy to believe any variation from what I believed was under no circumstances correct. Which, I’m sure everyone reading this knows, is not the case.

Over the last few years especially with the pandemic, meeting people from all different walks of life and going to university I’ve been much better at identifying when a story may have more than one plot. I’ve become more critical of the things I say, hear, read and appreciate. Of course, I am nowhere near as aware as maybe I should be, but you’ve gotta start somewhere right?

Self Confidence

On similar lines to my last point I have noticed my self confidence grow tremendously over the last 5 years. From the timid kid I was to who I now am. I’ve noticed so much change. Of course, I still have anxiety around new places and things but I’ve noticed this huge shift in the way I present myself in public. I can do things independently, I can make my own decisions about stuff and plan! I don’t think I am as scared as I used to be when it comes to being unapologetically myself and doing things because I want to do them. Thinking back to self expression; although it is a dynamic relationship between self confidence and self expression I am slowly growing in the acceptance of change and what is permanent. I am in no way there yet, but I think that is the beauty of life, the recognition of the place you are at and the understanding that you are slowly getting there, your progress is not linear or fast.

Admittedly I think a combination of performing arts and my move to university helped with that, but I still am so proud of myself for being able to grow in that respect and hold myself accountable to try new things, to not get caught up in judgement and to still be strong and direct about what I need when those situations do become too much.

I am so excited to see how much more independant and self assured I can become over my time at uni. I think it will massively help me become more commutable with interactions and situations I may face.

I’m sure there are heaps more things I could mention and dive into explaining, but I think this post is more of an indication of those things. Those broader themes that I’ve recognised a vast improvement of growth in. It is quite a personal thing to recognise growth and independence so maybe some of that is just for my journal and personal pleasure.

I hope this post was interesting to you, my reader. Is there anything you’ve noticed about yourself that has either changed or allowed you to grow as a person over the last 5 years? If so! Feel free to share! Or just use as ammunition to ponder over later.

Either way, I hope you are doing well and I shall see you again next week! 🙂

A Level Advice; An Interview with Lauren!

Hello Everyone! Now, as you are more than likely aware, I was (and still technically am) a student! I say that with a deadpan smile, believe me. But, as we enter a very busy time for all those studying alike I thought it might be nice to open up the socialising bubble to further than just myself! Today I am joined by my very wonderful friend Lauren! Lauren is currently an A level student so most likely has more entail than I do at this time. So as we metaphorically smash our brains together join us as we attempt to lay out all our wisdom and secrets about securing those sweet, sweet A*’s!

L: Lauren

N: Natalia

N: Hey Lauren! It is lovely to finally have you on my blog! Would you like to start by telling us a little about yourself?

L: My name is Lauren, i’m currently 17 and I know Natalia through twitter she was a friend that I found on the internet and i’m very grateful to have found her as she’s a wonderful friend to have. some fun facts about me are that I own three pet chickens, one of my favourite hobbies is hand embroidery and once my embroidery was displayed in an art gallery which i’m very proud of! and most of my spotify wrapped each year consists of mostly taylor swift.

N: Aww! You’re very sweet Lauren! I am so very glad we became friends too! I love my short northern friend! I think it might be a good idea for us to outline what subjects we did/are taking! Would you like to start, Lauren?

L: The A level subjects I chose to take are English language, psychology and sociology!

N: A very admirable mix! And for those that don’t know I took psychology, history, drama and level 3 mathematics! I guess my first question is what do you think your time in A levels has taught you the most?

L: I think what my two years of A levels taught me the most is that you are more capable than you think you are. it’s difficult and it’s tiring and everything happens very quickly because you only have 2 years and there will be trial and error and things won’t be perfect all of the time but that’s normal and it doesn’t mean you can’t be successful in the end.

N: Very well put! I wholeheartedly agree! I think for me, the main thing I learnt is that Giving yourself time away from the textbooks is SO important. A levels were two of the hardest years in my academic career and think I burnt myself out way too many times. Pace yourself because you WILL burn out and it’s not fun when you still have assignments to complete and exams to take. On a similar note; what do you think the toughest part of the last two years have been for you?

L: I think the toughest challenge for me throughout a levels was needing to adapt to so many changes. I have gone from online lessons completely to a mixture of both onsite and online, I have had a countless number of different teachers and teaching styles and considering that with a levels you don’t have time to waste it made it quite stressful. also I felt quite comfortable in the other school I was at and with the people I knew there so adjusting to a new environment and new friends and people has been difficult but i’ve managed to deal with it and adjust in the end!

N: Yes! I think us here on this blog know how difficult it can be to change settings in a very drastic way. I’ve spoken about that numerous times. I think I would have to agree. For those that change school for A levels it can be really overwhelming. Juggling both academic and a completely new social world, you’re bound to lose your footing! But from someone who made it through! It is possible! Thinking about challenges, we all have that ONE subject at A level that is very difficult to tackle! Which subject is that for you? And how would you tackle it?

L: The hardest subject to revise for me personally is sociology. The content is easy to understand but there is a lot of content you need to remember and it’s heavily essay based and so needing to remember so much content can be overwhelming at times. I think i’ve tackled that struggle by condensing my revision notes down to the key information I definitely need as much as I can and focusing on revising information I don’t know very well rather than things i’m super confident with.

N: That’s a great idea! If you are able to condense this overwhelming amount of knowledge into slightly smaller sized chunks it can help both with the stress and ability to remember stuff! A lot of stuff in your notes will never come up in the exam. Better to just bin that stuff and focus on what is essential you know! I think I am very similar with the essay based/heavy content subjects! History was defiantly my hardest subject. SO. MUCH. CONTENT. I was very much like Lauren and split my revision into sizeable chunks and only spent time on the things I could a) actually remember and b) could actively use in an essay! Now thinking about that balancing technique all A level students have to master. How have you been able to balance having both a social life and making sure you have time to study?

L: The way I balanced my social life and work is by giving myself a set time in the day where my only task is to call a friend or watch something with my family or do something I enjoy and also having a set time in the day where I am work focused. knowing that once I have spent a certain amount of time doing work I can then do something for my own enjoyment is quite motivating for me. Also just reminding and reassuring yourself that you are a human being and a levels are important but you’re not going to do as well as you hope to do if you aren’t also focusing on what you enjoy and finding a balance, it’s okay to take a break when needed and it doesn’t lead to you not being successful.

N: Ah yes, that’s a great idea! I really like that! For me it was all about scheduling and knowing when I had time to call a friend or go into town for lunch. Making sure you have something you enjoy in a busy work day but also a bit of work in a social day. It’s like pix and mix! We’ve already discussed how we both took content demanding subjects. How would you say you organise things with that task?

L: I find that lists of what I need to get done and colour coding them based on the priority and how urgent they are to complete as soon as I can is a helpful way for me to stay organised and not fall behind. also making sure I have everything I need for lessons the night before helps me not forget things as often and be prepared in lessons and exams.

N: Very good advice! I’m a big fan of traffic lighting lists! It can also be a great way to see where you are with your understanding of content too! Speaking of revision, what have you found to be the best way to revise?

L: The best way for me to revise is by practicing exam questions, because not only am I practicing the content needed for the questions but i’m also practicing the best way to answer the questions and structure them and manage time in exams. I also find mind maps and revision cards helpful to condense information down to key points. sometimes I find it difficult to condense notes and distinguish between what information is really important to remember and what is not as important and so watching summary videos of topics and making notes through that is useful too.

N: Great ideas there! I did a few in my A level days! Exam questions / essay plans are your best friends with A levels. Once you have a grasp on the content it is vital you understand how you are being assessed. There’s no point of knowing the content if you don’t know what the examiners are looking for! How did you work out this was the best way for you to revise?

L: I worked out the best way to revise for me through trial and error really, just trying different methods of revision for each exam I had and if I did well in exams it would indicate which methods were the most helpful for me. even if you think a revision technique won’t work for you it’s worth trying it and it may be more useful than you think.

N: A great mindset to have! Yes I agree! Use exams and checkpoint tests as an indication of if that revision technique is working for you! You mention trial and error, is there anything you wish you had done differently over the two years in A levels?

L: The only thing I wish I had done differently over the past two years is that I wish I didn’t put so much pressure on myself in my practice exams, I think it’s really difficult to not let the pressure get to you. but I also think I could have done a lot better in those exams if I just did them feeling more confident in my ability and reminded myself that their main purpose is to practice and identify weak spots in your knowledge and so if you don’t do that well it’s okay it just shows you what you need to focus on improving next time.

N: I understand completely! The British education system is brutal and if you put too much pressure on yourself you will destroy yourself very slowly. I wish I hadn’t put so much pressure on myself too. It was a tough to years but it wasn’t helped with all that negative self talk I gave myself. On the same line as pressure, if you get a grade back that you’re not happy with? How do you stay motivated?

L: If I get bad grades back i’d probably motivate myself by reminding myself that until the final exams this is simply practice and making mistakes at this stage is okay, your one grade on one exam does not define your intelligence and overall ability and knowledge and getting a lower grade than you want is an opportunity to reflect on what didn’t go well and how you can improve from that and do better next time, and it’s not too late to improve.

N: I really feel that. Throughout A levels I was fixed on the idea that the grade I got on a test was final. When in reality my grades fluctuated so much over the two years. Until you’re stood there on results day, it doesn’t matter what you get. It is simply an indication of where you are. We both know the last couple of years have been tough. How do you think COVID has affected your A level experience?

L: I think COVID has definitely made my a level experience very chaotic and uncertain, the whole time everyone has been very unsure about what will happen next and what exams will be like, what format lessons will be taught in and has definitely made it harder to enjoy the experience and feel like i’m getting the best out of it, but I feel like considering the circumstances i’ve dealt with it as best as I can.

N: You absolutely have! Just watching from the sidelines it has been so empowering to watch you fly through such a difficult two years! A very proud friend over here! It was defiantly tough for my year group too with teacher assessed exams! But we did it! I am glad it is over now though…When you tackle revision, do you have a set routine for it?

L: My revision day routine would be at least an hour or more focused on one certain subject to revise for and revise one topic for 30 minutes, have a 5-10min break and then revise another topic in that subject for another 30min etc. and do that for each of your subjects. and also after about 3 hours have at least a 30min-1hour break so you don’t get too burnt out and tired and can keep the motivation lasting longer. this won’t work for everyone and you can adapt the times to what would suit you but that’s what I have found helpful!

N: Yes I agree! That’s a good way to do it! We’ve spoken a lot on this blog before about various revision techniques. I personally find that quite hard to keep up with so 10-20 minute sprints work best for me! But as you say! Each to their own! So Lauren, what are your plans for after sixth form?

L: My plans for after a levels are to have a gap year where I can gain work experience and save some money for uni, and just have a break from education where I can find who I am outside of education and hopefully have a bit more time to meet friends and possibly travel if I can and just gain experiences that would be harder to do when in full time education. and then after my gap year I plan to go to university and study psychology.

N: A girl after my own heart! Psychology 4 Life!!!! I hope your gap year gives you some time to relax and explore the world! Do you have any final tips for those taking GCSEs/A levels this summer?

L: My final advice for A level students is to revise consistently throughout the year, it makes it much easier to revise when it’s closer to your exams because you’ll already have a lot of revision resources available to revise from and it makes it less overwhelming. keep up to date with notes and work as much as you can because once you’re behind it’s hard to catch up. also constantly practice questions and timings for them so you feel more confident in exam situations and finally make sure you rest and find time to do something outside of your a level work, it’s important but don’t let it consume you because you’ll have much more motivation if you balance college and life more equally, and ask for help when needed! there is no need to feel embarrassed for needing support or help understanding things.

N: Very well put! Well thank you so much for joining us today Lauren! I wish you the best of luck in your A level exams! I know you’ll smash them! Is there anything you’d like to promote?

L: No I don’t have anything to promote!

N: Ah well! That about ends it for today! I hope you all enjoyed reading about our A level experiences! Any questions feel free to leave them below! And I look forward to seeing you all next time!!!

5 Ways to Read More

Hello everyone! Recently I’ve found that I constantly have my head in a book. Reading (fiction) is a huge pastime for me and it brings me a huge amount of joy and relaxation. Of course with the academic year in full swing it can be difficult to find time for the small pleasures and if you’re like me, you’ll be spending your whole day staring at words. The last thing you want to do is read more!

But three is such as special thing about reading for pleasure. You learn about worlds you never knew existed, get wrapped up in an entirely different story and get a chance to log off from the real world. I’ve found reading both a great use of my time and an ideal end of day activity. Today I wanted to detail how you may be able to read more, implement it into your daily routine and overall, fall in love with books! If you’re a reader for life or a complete newbie I hope you can get something out of this post!

1. Start a Reading Routine

I think a key way of reading more, is by setting aside the time each day to do so! If that be five, ten or twenty minutes. It can hugely impact your ability to read. Times that I think a lot of people choose to read is either first thing in the morning or just before they shut their eyes at night. And sometimes both in the morning and at night!

Personally, I find mornings quite difficult so the thought of picking up a book to read makes me just want to sleep more. But I have recently started to pick up my current read after turning my phone off and getting comfy in bed. I believe for me it is a wonderful way to end the day and gives me a good place to start dreaming! It also allows you to not be staring at a screen just before you turn off for the day, thus, making falling asleep that little bit easier.

A great way I have found to both implement reading into my routine and allow myself the time to wind down at night is with the nifty new iPhone feature of ‘sleep focus’. For those that don’t own an iPhone I am more than positive you will be able to find another way to have the same routine! And for those that are unaware of this exciting add-on; in simple terms, it gives you a structured bedtime and wake up time. This feature allows you to create a structured routine that helps your body get into the schedule of waking up and falling asleep at the same time everyday. But it also gives you a 45 minute ‘wind-down’ period 45 minutes before your scheduled sleep time. In my opinion, this is great. It gives you a set 45 minutes you should be away from your screen before you sleep and thus, 45 minutes to pick up a book and get reading!

Of course, this is going to be different for every person and for some people that may be way too long of a time to read. But when you’re trying to find that time to read creating a schedule around a already existing routine can be a great start. Firstly work out how long you want to spend reading, then find that time in your already working routine to slot in that time!

2. Set a Reading Goal

Setting a reading goal can be a challenge in itself. But I think the diversity and richness of a goal can lead to a great deal of success. Your goal could be the amount of pages you want to read a night, how many chapters you want to read a month or, how many books you want to read each year.

There are thousands and thousands of videos on social media of people detailing their goals for the next academic and calendar year in regards to reading. And even whole websites dedicated to people sharing what they’re reading and what their goals are. A great introduction into the world of reading goals is the app ‘story graph’. A bit like the famous ‘Good Reads’ this app allows users to share their book and page goal for each year and their favourite reads throughout that challenge. I myself am an avid user of story-graph and document every time I read! It can also give you great satisfaction when you add the pages read each day and see the progress bar become more full. Another funky feature of this app is that it shows you your reading stats in terms of the genres you like, the length of the books you read and what is your most read ‘mood’.

A little bit of cheeky promo but if you wish to follow me on story graph you can do so!

Username: liajfoster

Either way, if you like to use an app or not it is worth taking a few minutes to work out what is a realistic but challenging goal for you to reach, and by when. Make it unique to you and your life. If you know you’re going to be super busy over the next few months maybe lower those expectations! But of course add in some element of challenge otherwise that takes the fun out of it!

3. Only Read what you Want to Read

I think there is a big misconception in the reading community that once you start a book you have to see it through to the end regardless of if you are enjoying it or not. That is absolutely not the case. Reading is meant to be a pleasurable activity and if that activity involves reading books that you’re dreading picking up then what’s the point? Of course don’t be disheartened by a couple of dense chapters at the start of a book. Every piece of fiction and non-fiction deserve a chance. But if you’re really not enjoying something, it is more than okay to put it down and try again.

Its important to create a list of books to read that are both diverse but also exciting (which I shall go on to talk about later) but if there is a specific genre you enjoy and can’t get enough of don’t be afraid to keep picking up those sort of books. The point of reading is to increase our perspective and find comfort or joy in the activity. If none of those boxes are being ticked move on!

4. Accountable is the Best Companion

A huge thing I think people struggle with when it comes to reading is feeling like there is either no one to share their reader thoughts with or not seeing the point of sticking to a challenge. If no one is going to know what is the point? I have defiantly had those feelings over the last decade I have been a reader.

But a great way of getting round that is to include other readers into your little bubble! Something like story-graph can be a great start to that. Sharing your reads to a community of fellow book lovers can instantly improve your motivation. But there are various other ways you can change that feeling of aloneness!

One way I have found that is both fun and exciting to help with accountability is to to a joint read with someone! Find a book that you both want to read and read it alongside each other! Either physically in person or just at a similar pace and time! I’ve found the best books to do this with are things like murder mysteries or thrillers. This gives you a talking point amongst friends and allows you to give your opinions on what is going to happen! It can be a great bonding activity and also allow you to keep each other accountable! Just make sure you don’t binge read the book like I did and completely miss the point of the read along!

Another great way to keep you and others accountable is to do a read-a-thon! This is a concept I am only new to discovering but one I deeply enjoy! For those unaware, the concept of a read-a-thon is to read for 24 hours nonstop! It can be a bit of a challenge and not one I’ve stuck to but it can be a good way to get a lot of reading in in one sitting! I recently took on one with my best friend and we both enjoyed it a lot! So if you have a spare couple of days I would suggest getting a group of friends together and taking on this challenge! It can be a great way to reach that reading goal!

Some other ways I have found to help with accountability is by joining a book club (either online or in person!). This gives you a very specific reading goal and deadline to read it by, which for those that struggle with setting goals this may be a good start to that journey. Other ways could be to make a social media account dedicated to the books you are reading, following book tubers or TikTok creators that talk about books or even buying (or making) a reading journal to keep track of all the books you are reading!

5. Create a Diverse and Exciting TBR

As wonderful as it can be to read the same author and same genre. The comfort in that can be a little boring. Therefore, when you are trying to read more I would highly suggest taking on new and exciting authors and genres! Something that my best friend Erin does is by switching up what she’s reading by reading a fiction YA novel then a classic or more dense book. It gives her the opportunity to diversify her reading but also get excited about the different styles of writing she is exposing herself to! Personally I enjoy a lot of varying genres and authors so just pick books that look interesting and that tends to be a wide range of styles but for some people that obviously isn’t the case so they may need some way of creating a diverse reading list.

Something else I think is important to mention is making sure you are reading from authors who have varying characteristics and features. The way a writer writes can influence your opinions and perspectives a lot more than is first acknowledged. Making sure you are reading from authors of different ethnicities and sexualities is imperative. If you look at your bookshelf and a huge percentage of authors are white cis-het males I would suggest looking into books that are by a more diverse and less represented group of people. This can also be a great way to expose yourself to a wider range of outlooks on life. And you never know, you might discover something wonderful.

I hope you found these tips useful and are able to add them into your daily routine! If that be just setting side 10 minutes to read each morning or creating an extensive to be read list! Even just one more word than you are currently reading is a HUGE achievement!

Let me know if you have any more tips and tricks for increasing the amount you read! I am always interested to hear the different ways people are able to improve their reading habits! But that’s it for now, until next time!

What Does Growth Really Mean?

Growth is defined by Oxford Dictionary as “the process of increasing in amount, value or importance”, which in my humble opinion, is a pretty unreliable definition, or at least, in the understanding of human growth.

If we’re being total transparent, no definition that I came across in my quick google search fit the process of growth in ourselves. Albeit all of them were factual (except for those that included the word ‘growing’, or some variation of it in their definition, what is up with that, huh?), none defined what I wanted them to. So, that is todays mission, what is the definition of personal growth?

We could define it as the process of expanding ones outlook, developing our internal mechanisms and reaching new levels of intuition. But I’m not sure how much I agree with that. Today’s modern perspective on growth is one that spans our lifetime, one that can only be achieved after many years of experience and unfathomable circumstances. This conception of growth can be both damaging and detrimental to those of adolescence age and into early adulthood. To suggest that the only way we can grow as humans is through masses of change and years of wisdom is, well, just not true.

I’m under the impression that the vast majority of people don’t experience a huge amount of change in their outlook in the space of a couple days, weeks or even years. If this is the definition we are going by at least. But, people can change; become different people and have their mind blown in a couple minutes flat. So can growth be only considered to be a long process? Well spoiler, no it absolutely cannot.

Growth is also suggested to be a positive thing. However, some growth, is neutral. It is only after a while that it can be recognised or acknowledged to have helped us. People place so much weight on “growing” and “becoming a better person”. That we forget to acknowledge the growth thet comes in short, unnoticeable chunks. Some of examples of this being, reading an article and audibly saying “huh, interesting” and moving on with your day, feeling in a very ‘screw it’ mood and ordering a coffee you wouldn’t usually or just deciding to take a different path on your way to work than you usually would. All small, and unnoticeable but can still build to create a big picture, or in this case, improvement in our being.

Of course, the huge changes in our lives lead us to becoming a better and more admirable person. Although the misconception is, that every bad or unlikely situation leads us to greatness. I think that is far from reality. Not every unpleasant situation leads us to a better life, it just simply, leads us. So to those of you reading this. I hope you understand that not every event in your existence is meant for improvement. Sometimes these things just happen; and as much as we wish they would show us a part of ourselves we never knew was there, that will never be the case.

I want to detail one of my own situations where I think ‘growth’ has meant something entirely different to the big change I thought it would. Moving to university was something I believed would solve a lot of the things flying through my head. I knew it would be a fresh start, but overestimated that freshness quite a bit. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve learnt a lot during this short time I have already been a student, but my expectations insinuated I would go through a huge growth period, which, shockingly, was disproven. But the change I did notice occurred (and still is occurring) in small, frequent bursts. The combination of things I have learnt/overcome have led to a huge improvement and a lot of personal growth.

I have always found it hard to enter new places. If that be a new classroom, setting or group of people. I gather a lot of anxiety from being considered the ‘newbie’. But, over the last few months, I would be lying if I said that fear has not got a little less extreme. THAT is self growth. The accumulation of small unnoticeable things that led to a huge improvement. Even things as simple as reminding myself of how nice the sun is on my face, to take a walk if I’m not planning to leave my flat on a certain day, to eat good food and to let myself breathe every once in a while. Those small changes from what I used to take as normal are what I consider growth. Things change, and so do our mindsets. Even if that change isn’t inherently ‘good’ I can promise you some time down the line it will be turned on its head. To learn is to fall, to create change is to create mistakes and so on. Therefore, I think the neutral and even negative change can be just as important and fundamental to our growth as positive.

There are tiny things we can do everyday that allow us to grow, change our minds and develop into the human beings that are considered to be ‘wise’ and to have ‘grown’. The big life events impact us, of course. But the smaller inconsequential things remind us over time why we are learning and growing every day of our lives. There is nothing that gets left in the dark. Each experience and happening alter our lives, create a better place for us to exist in. And even if they don’t, sometimes the learning comes in the understanding that not every event will make us better people. Sometimes it comes in the knowledge that tomorrow we will try again and there will be thousands more opportunities to become the people we so desperately dream of becoming.

So what is the answer? What defines human growth? Well, in my humble and young opinion it is the combination of big and small happenings that over time allow us to alter our inner workings to achieve the life we always dreamed of. That, is what growth should mean.

How to Have the Best Meet & Greet

Hello everyone! Today I bring you (like every week) a very different post. Something, I hope you have never come across before. Your ultimate guide to give you the BEST experience at your next meet and greet! If that be with your favourite band, idol, someone you’ve only just stumbled along or your lifetime dream that you’ve spent the last 6 years dreaming about meeting *cough*.

I’ve been to my fair share of meet and greets over the years! With my most recent one being with the band Bears in Trees! And over the years I have been able to collate a set of rules, advice and preparation techniques that allow me to have the experience of my life and keep that moment in time tucked away in my mind as something I truly felt present for.

Me meeting Bears in Trees!

For those that have been living under a rock or are unaware of what meet and greets are let me take a quick detour to explain. A Meet and Greet (or commonly referred to online as a m&g, is a chance to meet someone ‘famous’. Sometimes there are dedicated events to these experiences I.e VidCon, Social in the City, Playlist Live.. Sometimes they can be a paid opportunity presented to you at concerts or events certain influencers have, or even, in very rare circumstances can occur in public or preplanned settings. They can take many forms and with each setting comes a new set of guidelines I would suggest following.

Me meeting Carrie Hope Fletcher at Summer in the City 2018!

With all that being said, it is an opportunity of a lifetime and one, that might not come your way again. A common concern I come across when talking to friends about our meet and greet experiences is feeling like you’re not present in the moment or not feeling like you make the most of the time. Which, from a psychological stand point (yes, now I do a psychology degree, you shall be seeing a lot more of this on this blog, sorry not sorry) this is a very short burst of time where your brain is very overwhelmed with emotions and is trying to process many things. You may be tired or even delirious depending on the time of day and the events that led up to that moment. Especially if you have a emotional attachment to the person you are about to say hi to. It is very unlikely you will go into these experiences feeling calm, I can promise you that. You will most likely go into this situation very unsure of how to handle it. Even more so if you haven’t experienced one before. So after that very long introduction, here are the dos and don’t of meet and greets!

Me meeting Heddy Clark in 2017!

1. Respect is the Best!

I feel like this might go without saying for some people but it is a very serious one that I see crop up on social media time and time again. Although I can imagine the experience being an exciting one on both parts if neither party (or only one party) feels comfortable and at ease then it can make one of these experiences turn sour very quickly. I think a key message to take away from this segment is that if you were on the other side of the meet and greet, would you feel comfortable with your actions? And even if you would be, do you think they would be? Act like a normal human being with common sense and you’ll be fine.

Me and Evan Edinger in 2017! Look at baby me!

Unfortunately, these sort of experiences can turn people. And we’re not talking about Jacob turning into a cute wolf type either. I’ve both witnessed and seen many celebrities talk about bad meet and greet experience even after they publicly state what they are and not comfortable with. So, here is my advice to avoid you ending up a) having a very uncomfortable meet and greet and b) ending up on that celebs bad meet and greet list and inevitably being spoken about on interviews and Q&A sessions.

As I have already stated, act like a normal human being! Apparently to some people that is unheard of in these situations so I do have to mention it. Act like you’re meeting a friend. Don’t jump on them, don’t hug them without it being obvious they are comfortable with it and don’t ask uncomfy questions. If this is a personality you’ve been lucky enough to meet before then you’ll most likely have a better understanding of what they’re comfortable with and what they’re not. But if this is your first time meeting them make sure you do your research and work out what they state are absolute no’s when meeting them. It may be obvious but it may not be, and if you’re not sure they would probably appreciate you asking before hand! For a quick example of the things I’m talking about I know some creators don’t like being hugged unless there is verbal communication beforehand indicating if that’s okay. It can be that simple as asking when you approach them “Is it okay if I hug you?” and respecting their wishes if they decline.

Me and Daniel J Layton in 2019′

2. Preplan what you wish to say!

Although this may seem like an obvious one it is a piece of advice I am very glad I learnt. Going back to the idea that these situations are very overwhelming for people a lot of the time I forget what I wish to say to these influencers when I meet them. You become so shocked that they are stood there in front of you that you loose all sense of communication and will most likely keep repeating phrases such as “oh My God, I can’t believe its actually you!”, my personal favourite, apparently. In the past I have done this in very simple and slightly more complicated ways. Sometimes it can be as simple as jotting down a few key points you want to mention, a question you want to ask or it can be as detailed as a speech with flashcards. I’ve done both and depending on how much you want to say depends on the method I think you use

I think it is important to be aware that Meet and Greets are very short. Unless specified you normally get maximum of 5 minutes with a creator. That can increase the anxiety and overwhelming feelings. Knowing you only have limited time with someone and wanting to mention everything, it can be overwhelming. So writing down, or at least having an idea of what you want to blurt out to them in record speed can be a lifesaver and may also take away some of the nerves. You’ll come across as put together and cool rather than chaotic and overwhelmed.

3. It is about more than just the meet and greet!

This is a slightly obscure one, but a point I don’t see talked about very often. Although you may be there to meet a certain creator it doesn’t mean they’re the only one you’re here to see. I’ve found that the queue for a m&g can be just as fun and entertaining as the actual event itself. You meet people who have very similar interests to you (of course you would! You’re there to meet the same person! You’re bound to have stuff in common with them!). You talk to people and it can be a great way to decrease those last minute nerves before its the big moment. I’ve met some wonderful people while waiting in a meet and greet queue, people that I still talk to to this day. Meet and Greet queues can also be pretty long and boring at times. Sometimes you could be waiting mere minutes, but sometimes it cam be 3 or more hours. When I met dodie (DoddleOddle) my best friend and I were waiting for around 4 hours to meet them. We got chatting to people in the queue and made some friends. It may also be a good shout to bring some things to keep you entertained while in said queue. I’ve known people to take ukuleles, card games and speakers to keep them occupied during the time.

Friends I met in a queue for a concert!

More friends I met in a M&G queue!

4. Come prepared for the long haul!

Along that same vein, I would make sure you come prepared and understand you may be waiting for a considerable amount of time before meeting your creator. Sometimes, like at concerts its not a very long wait and so this doesn’t apply to that. Or when you bump into them on the street. Here we’re talking about the events dedicated to this sort of thing. The queues that span a mile long and you could be waiting half a day to meet someone.

Some essentials to remember alongside the main list of things!

• Portable (charged) charger
• Water! Please please please keep your body watered, especially if its warm
• Snacks! I would suggest avoiding things like bananas which can be bruised easily, especially if tis at the bottom of your bag, it won’t be very tasty once its been knocked about a bit
• something to sit on/keep you warm! Most events that have meet and greets as interregnal parts will more than likely be inside, however, you shall most likely be sat on the floor for most of it. You don’t want a bruised butt from all the hard concrete. And you may get cold too!
• Potential things to keep you occupied! A book, headphones, ukulele, speaker! I think things like cared games are a good idea as they can help bond you with other people if you ask them to join and are also not too big to bring with you!

There will of course be a lot more things to remember but I will add an extensive list of items at the end of this post!

Me meeting Dean Dobbs at SiTC 2019!

5. Storage and accessibility!

Again, a point you may have not thought about! But it can happen to the best of us. A first point being, make sure you have enough storage on your camera on your phone! If you’re planning to take pictures with a different device then make sure that has enough film/space as well! Some events have people dedicated to taking photos for you or sometimes you’ll ask a friend to take them for you. Either way, you never know how many photos you take and the worst fear is your camera running out of storage and not being able to take photos! This can be something to do in the queue but I would suggest doing it before hand just incase you get preoccupied talking to people!

Me meeting Dodie in 2017!

The second thing I wish to mention is as you get closer to the front of the queue I would suggest getting out and putting the things you’ll need, such as letters at the top of your bag! If you are able to put your bag down before you meet the personality then put letters and pens in pockets or hold them so they can easily be pulled out when you get to the front! Time is limited in these situations and the last thing you want is to be fumbling in your bag for that letter! Just as a practical thing I would suggest bringing a bag that is easily openable so once you exit the meet and greet you can put everything in there ASAP! You don’t want to be holding up the queue! I would also suggest wearing clothes such as jeans that have a lot of pockets for you to put items in! I’m quite a fan of the waistband and tucking letters into that but its personal preference!

6. Get there in good timing!

This can massively vary depending on who you are planning to meet. Sometimes I would recommend an hour or so beforehand, sometimes I would suggest queuing as long as you can. It really depends on how close to the front you want to be and how much time you are willing to be waiting in a line. It can vary from moment to moment and event to event but I would take into account how many people you know will be at the meet and greet and how long you are willing to queue for that person when deciding!

A Polaroid photo of me and Becky!

7. Boundaries!

This very neatly ties into the first point I made about respect but this applies more so to when you spontaneously meet someone. These instances can occur at any point in time and you absolutely have to remember these are people just like you who are going about their own lives. If they look like they’re in a rush and not able to talk for long (or at all), don’t take it out on them and demand to be present with them, again, this will just end you up in their bad books. Some creators don’t like to be stopped in public, some love it, it really depends on who it is and where they’re heading! When on the way to a concert Erin and I bumped into Orla Gartland! What a moment! That woman is a legend! However, it was very clear that she was preoccupied and wouldn’t be able to stop. So we said hi and that we couldn’t wait to see her later and went on with our day! It can suck to meet someone and not get proof of that interaction but sadly it happens sometimes. And to be honest, I think those opportunities are the special ones as they are more fleeting than the preplanned ones!

A LIST OF THE THINGS TO REMEMBER FOR A MEET AND GREET!

• Pens! I tend to go for sharpies as they can mark anything and are quite thick. But it depends on what you want signing!
• On that note, something to sign! At most m&g’s you’ll have the opportunity to get something signed! In the past I have opted for flashcards for creators to write messages on. I know a lot of people take pride flags to get signed, you could get their merchandise for them to sign, a notebook, a sticker! Anything really! It’s up to you! Just make sure the pen is compatible with the material you want signed!
• Polaroid. This is optional! Don’t think you have to buy a Polaroid just for a meet and greet (unless you want to, in that case, go for it!) These can be really cute photos to put in your phone case or to hang up in your room! You could even get the celebrity to sign it for you to make it extra special!
• Any gifts you want to bring them! This is a very optional one and some creators don’t like accepting gifts as its not guaranteed they can hold on to them. But some people love it and it can be a really thoughtful way for them to remember you! Here’s some examples; I gave Bears in Trees some bracelets I made that corresponded with the album they released! I have had friends give creators artwork of them, of something that reminds them of the celebrity or just a cute drawing! I know people who have given creators sweets and chocolate! This can be a good idea as it is something they will definitely consume!
• A letter! Even if creators don’t like accepting gifts they most always are up for accepting a letter that you have written! I know creators (such as Luke Cutforth) who keep all the letters the receive and are known to reread them occasionally. Personalities always read their letters, or at least most claim to, So if you have something you want to say to the person you are meeting but don’t think you’ll be able to / have time to in the moment you can always put it in the letter! I would also (if you wish to!) include your instagram/twitter handle! This means the creator may a) recognise you from online interactions and b) be able to find you and recognise you in the future! It doesn’t guarantee they’ll reach out to you but it can be a nice idea!

The cards I had people writes messages for me on!!

There will of course be other things I have forgotten! This may be a 2 part blog post! But I hope it becomes useful as a starting guide to Meet and Greets! I hope it allows you to have the best experience possible, if it be your first one or just a few helpful tips to expand your time!

Me meeting Luke Cutforth at Social in the City 2019!

If you’ve attended a meet and greet before let me know in the comments below if there is anything I’ve missed out that you think is a top tip to meet and greets! Or, if you have an event coming up soon tell me all about it! But until next time!

Me and Lucy Moon in 2018!

A letter to future me:

Dear future me,

How are you feeling? What’s the weather like? Are you happy? There are so many questions to ask.

I’ve thought about what I would say to you for a long time. Writing and then re-writing the question, pondering over the right wording and staring at sentences that have no conclusion. It is impossible to know where you shall be reading this, what state the world will be in and if you shall be happy. As much as I wish the future was predictable, it is not. And thus is the purpose of this letter.

As of now, you sit in a room you never thought you would make it to. You sit in the University you spent sixth form dreaming of and are taking everything in your stride. So to imagine where the endless possibilities could lead me to is ethereal. Whatever your happy future may look like, I hope it is colourful and you can look around where you are placed at this moment and be grateful for the energy and actions that got you there. If that be London, Chicago, New York, Berlin or Brisbane.

Right now, it feels like life is full of obstacles you are unsure if you can overcome. Does it get easier? Did you find an escape? And if so, how? Give your younger self either a cup of reassurance or the blueprint to the sun.

I guess education has been the forefront of your life for the first 21 years of your life. Is it still at the forefront of your life? A Masters? Doctorate? What doors did you open? As of current, you have your mind set on a year studying aboard. Did that end up happening? If so, where did you end up? Right now the USA or Canada is at the top of your list. I think you’re getting the grades. You’re working hard and seem to be on the right track. So I believe that that shall become a very likely possibility. I hope though, whichever path you decided to head down, which ever corner took your fancy and whatever career you believe you are most suited to; it brings you joy and happiness and a life you feel passionately about. If that not be the case, then maybe that’s where you need to be right now, but if not. then why? I believe that you know what you need in life and that things are going the way they’ve been intended to. Please keep working hard, I see you.

I hope your goals are still in plain sight and you haven’t lost track of who you are. You’ve become more independent, grown personally and developed more and more skills through the last few years. If you’ve begun to lose sight of who you are I hope this letter can serve as a reminder of that. Remind you that even in times our end goals are not obvious, they can still be found and met.

Please know that if you still feel like no one has found you yet, they will at some point and it is very possible. Sometimes we feel lonely to be more comfortable with our own thoughts. We track through life alone because it is a path deemed only walkable by us. You know I am a strong believer that things happen for a reason and if you struggle to find that reason doesn’t mean it does not exist out there somewhere. So please, if the going is tough and things don’t seem that clear. Keep going and finding yourself in every direction you turn. Things slowly begin to make sense and are uncovered.

As much as I wish this letter could be longer, I know that questions should be left unanswered for the future to taste that much more hopeful. Just keep three things in mind as you walk away from this time and into a new one. 1) Know how very proud of you I am. You have climbed mountains and crossed bridges you never thought you could. But you are there, still shining bright. 2) Know that right now, I can see things turning out for the better. If I believe that an hour from now is a very different thing. But as I sit here, closing the words of this letter, know I know you will go so far, and just keep reaching further. 3) Never, give, up.

And that, is where I leave you.

All My Love,

Past You

XXX