So this is my first post in September and I can't believe how quick my Summer has gone, I had 4 months off and I will be returning to Uni next weekend. So I thought I would post this as I know that some of you might be going to Uni for the first time and I wanted to share my experience of Uni with you all. Hopefully it will help those who are going to be freshers and even those who are thinking whether they want to go to Uni at all and even if you aren't freshers and are going into your 2nd, 3rd or 4th year at Uni.
So I study law at Uni and I am going into my final year or third year and I still remember the day I turned up at Uni in September and I was petrified. Like most teenagers it was my first time away from home and I was scared and I didn't know anyone else going to that Uni and I was worried about making new friends and how my professors would be and what my flatmates would be like as well. So before I actually chose on my University I looked round probably 4 or 5 different Universities in my final year of A levels and I narrowed it down to 2 in the end and the reason I chose my University was because I had family living in the same city and it was a beautiful area and I would graduate in a Cathedral. I would definitely recommend going to visit a few Universities, even if you have your heart set on one in particular, as you may not get the results you want and you might actually find that your perfect University isn't as great as it seems.
I did struggle in the first month of going to Uni. I am an only child and I'm very close to my parents especially my Mum and I've never lived on my own and my Mum has always done everything for me. I actually have found that I am now really independent and I don't need to live with anyone. But I did move into student halls where most of the freshers lived and I didn't really get on with everyone in my flat as they preferred to party and with my particular course I couldn't stay out late every night as I had 9am lectures and seminars and also I had to do a lot of reading and studying as law is a difficult subject to complete. But I did get on with one girl Lucy, although I don't talk to her much anymore, but I still had a great time and I would go out once a month but there was one boy in my flat who spent £100 a week on alcohol and going out, which is crazy. I think a lot of people forget that they are at Uni to get a degree and anyone who is a second year or above will realise how important it is to study and get a good grade instead of just partying all the time. I'm not saying stay in every night but try and have a healthy balance between your studying and your social life.
Fresher's week was very interesting for me. I went out the night after I got to Uni and had a really good night and met loads of people. However, the two nights afterwards weren't great for me. I did drink way too much as the drinks were very cheap and I just kept buying more and more and I was so badly sick in the nightclub's toilets that my friend Lucy had to walk me home and I don't actually know how I got home as I don't remember anything. Anyone who knows me will know that I'm not interested in going out every night and I'm not a big drinker at all. So after that night I didn't really go out much unless it was someone's birthday or we were celebrating something and I would always make sure that I just had one alcoholic drink and then just soft drinks for the rest of the night. Also, I go really put off going out when my friend's drink got spiked and this can happen anywhere and people have to be so careful when you have a drink and make sure you buy your drink and you don't leave it unattended at all. So I do still go out with my friends every now and again but I actually prefer to just go out shopping with them. Also I'm the kind of girl that would rather buy clothes and make up than waste my money on alcohol, but that I my preference and everyone is different.
Someone actually asked me the other day how do you keep a relationship going at Uni when your boyfriend or girlfriend is a long distance away. It is obviously easier to be in a relationship when both of you are at the same University but I'm not saying that you can't make a long distance relationship work just as well. Although it is a lot harder to keep a long distance relationship going, and I definitely know how hard it is. I actually started dating someone last Summer and it was quite serious and we moved way too fast. We had only been talking for a week before he asked me out and to be his girlfriend and from that moment on it was great until I got back to Uni. I like in Suffolk when I'm not at University and my ex was from London and it was only an hour drive but from my Uni to London it was a three to four hour drive. I think the reason why it worked so well at the beginning was because we could see each other when we wanted and it didn't cost too much to either drive or take the train. But then when I was at University it was a lot more difficult as it cost more and also we struggled because he had a job as a personal trainer and I was at Uni studying a very time consuming subject. In the end the long distance thing ended our relationship plus a couple of other things and we did actually get back together for roughly a month before I realised that actually I wasn't in love with him or even wanted to see him ever again. I actually did take the ending of our relationship pretty bad, which I was surprised about, but I then realised that he wasn't worth my time and actually that my studying was more important. I think if you go to Uni and if your girlfriend/boyfriend stays in your home town then it will be more time consuming and it can be difficult but if your in love then it shouldn't matter at all. Although in my personal experience I don't think I will date anyone else while I'm still at Uni just because my third year is so more important to me right now and then I will think about relationships when I'm finished next May.
Finally choosing your course is one of the most stressful things about studying at Uni. Obviously some people will have thought about going to University for years and there will be some who are not sure whether Uni is for them and they just want to try it out to see if it is what they want. Don't be forced to go to Uni by your family or friends as you are the one that needs to be happy and if you don't want to go to Uni then you are going to be miserable. I have always wanted to be a law student since I was 12 years old and that is my dream job and so it was relatively easy for me. Although I did think about studying American Law for a while. But you mainly need to choose something that you will love and even though you can change courses once you've come to Uni it can be difficult and stressful. And that is why visiting the Uni a few times while your still at School is so important because they should offer taster lectures/seminars so you can see whether you like the subject and if you like the professors.
I obviously got into blogging while I was at Uni and I just love to write posts about things I love and I actually started it because one evening I was just really bored and I thought why not set one up and see how it goes. I probably won't make this into my career like some other bloggers do because I do want to be a lawyer in the future but I just love to write and take photos and just have something to take my mind off from studying and completing coursework and revising for exams. That's why it is so important to find a hobby when you go to Uni because it is stressful and sometimes you feel like your brain might actually explode. So even if it's blogging or taking up a new sport or joining a society, it is just so good to take your mind off studying even if it's for an hour a day. I struggle with anxiety quite a lot and I do study a difficult subject which requires me to read a lot of very long textbooks, so I love to just turn on my laptop and write posts for my blog.
I will write posts that follow on from this post in the future, like writing about giving tips on writing coursework, revising for exams and graduation. I hope all of you guys have an incredible time at Uni and if you don't go to Uni I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and I will have a review up tomorrow afternoon.
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