Lazy at uni?

So many of my friends and I have been talking about how LAZY we've become since moving into halls, this doesn't really apply if you're a commuter, but we often sit in bed all day because we either haven't got the money to go out and do something, or everyone's gone home for the weekend and we have absolutely nothing to do.

I admit that before I moved into my new flat I was guilty of most of these things, mainly because I didn't want to socialise with my old flat mates, so I'd sit in my room watching tv on my laptop, on social networking sites, speaking to family and friends from back home or when my other friends weren't at home I'd try and spend most of my time with them...although they did go home a lot.
I think it's hard to get motivated and go out when you're at university because it's just so easy and you've got everything on your doorstep, well we have here in Bedford.

But since moving into my new flat after Christmas I have been so much happier, because I'm a sociable person I hate being by myself as I just get bored so quickly, so now being able to sit in the communal area of the flat and just being able to talk to nice people is so much better, I don't think I would have many nice things to say about university life at all if I hadn't moved flats.

Saying that I would always want to be out and with people is a lie because uni gives you the best of both worlds, you can have a cosy night in by yourself which I'm sure everyone needs once in a while, or there's always someone about wanting to do something.

I'm definitely not as lazy now though, but tips to get out of that lazy, room hermit mode are;

1. Join the nearest gym, I was a member at a gym for a long time before starting university and I had every intention of joining the gym on campus however I never got round to it, which is silly because it was only £35 for the whole year!
2. Bag yourself a job! This has been a godsend to me for so many reasons; I'm not bored on weekends when uni's shut. I have met some wicked friends in my colleagues. I enjoy the job I do which is working at weddings and big events for a local hotel which helps. It gives me that extra cash to be able to go out on student nights and enjoy the fresher experience, and it means I can keep running my car whilst I'm at uni which I know I'm lucky to be able to do because most of my friends have either sold or sorn their cars while they are away. 
3. Invite friends or family from home to come and stay with you. 
4. Leave food shopping and other weekly errands until the weekend so you have something to do with your time if you're bored and your flat mates have gone home. 

I think this is a picture of the gym in my accommodation or if not it's very similar I was struggling to find it online.

University living is what you make it so try hard and you'll have an amazing experience. Everyone's in the same boat remember! 

Organisation skills.....

This post is going to be all about organising your time, things, work and everything else that comes into being a university student.

I thought I was quite an organised person if I'm being honest but that all seemed to go majorly downhill after being at uni. I didn't really think about organising my work and notes beforehand and focused more on making my room as homely and nice as possible..which it did haha...here's a picture!




However my notes from lectures etc looked a little something like this...yes it's an over exaggeration but they were pretty all over the place!




I've been trying to think of ways I can make sure my works not all over the place next year and I've made a pact that I'm going to keep everything in order so that I can find anything from any lecture within seconds rather than having to sift through hundreds of unorganised pieces of paper.
Its getting really annoying not being able to find anything to revise from and I've even been thinking of using my iPad next year but I can't find the right software to be able to edit slideshows on and add notes. I need to think of something before second year as I can't be having this next year as well!

Another thing I've realised I'm not a pro at is organising my time efficiently and to my best advantage... I often find myself rushed for time when writing assignments or even just getting ready to go out so I need to start giving myself extra time before completing tasks even just ten minutes to have a breather.. so that's going to be another pact of mine for second year...I feel like I'm writing new year's resolutions again which I kind of am, new year of university, new resolutions and goals.

Speak to you next week!

Megan

Guest Speaker

This week during one of my lectures we had a guest speaker come in and chat to us about his line of work which is to do with working with people with disabilities.

It was an absolutely brilliant presentation and speech, he came in and was so open about his own life choices and that really moved everyone in the room. It made me feel a whole different level of respect for him.

One of the many things university offers is the opportunity to attend different presentations, guest speakers etc even if it's not solely to do with your particular subject. It doesn't necessarily matter if it doesn't entirely match the degree your studying it's all about giving students the option to hear other people's stories and learn things that you may have never even heard about.

I enjoy hearing and learning about things I have never come across before so this is the type of thing I would enjoy and it doesn't matter if it's not of interest to you I'm just giving you as much information as I know and can think of about what being a part of the University of Bedfordshire is like. That involves benefits, negatives, all kinds of things.

One thing I would like to clear up if any of you think like this, is that when you go to university it's not at all in any way, shape or form like being at school. It's a whole different ball game, it's a gigantic step in a persons life. Everyone grows up in different ways and whether you decide to wait and go travelling or go straight into university after school, it's your choice but university will still allow you to mature the same way other university students do. It's like you're almost teaching yourself sometimes, lecturers don't call your parents if you miss one lecture, however if it becomes an excessive amount they will consider your place on the course. You don't have to write down everything your lecturers says and it does not have to be word for word, its however you learn best.

It's so hard to explain how different university is compared to school but I hope my blog is able to give those who aren't at university a good insight into what it's like to an extent.
Basically, you're going to have to grow up when you start university, you're going to have to motivate yourself and then you will achieve but until you realise you've got to put hard work in, it's not going to be an easy ride.

This saying is so so fitting to university.

A little more about the course..

Education Studies is a great all round teaching course and for people like me, who know they want to go into teaching but don't know whether they want to teach young children or older children, it opens up brilliant opportunities to figure out and decide what career it is you want to go into.
Personally, I always thought I wanted to teach young children, of the reception/year one age, however, after being on Education Studies for the past seven months I have changed my mind and now want to go into year 6 or year 7 teaching as I feel this would be more suited to me.

Some people will be wondering if we get to go on placements, and then answer is YES, but not in your first year. Which I was quite disappointed about but I am excited to go into my second year this September knowing I get the chance to go into settings and get a real feel for what it is exactly that I want to do.

Education Studies in your first year is a broad range of subjects, with early years, understanding education, social constructions of childhood and inclusion through professional practice as your four subjects. However, these are not carried on throughout the three years of the course, for your second year you get to choose two of your own subjects and you have two core subjects, so as you can see this is where you begin to shape your own career in teaching and education.

I am so happy I chose to do education studies as I was still so unsure of what I wanted to do as a career, I didn't even know if teaching was the way to go but I've always loved teaching and thought "why not!".

Can't decide on a course?

For those of you wondering what the course actually entails, I am going to describe as best as I can the main points:
1. Understanding Education and Schooling is a subject that covers a wide range of education as a whole. The first assignment I did was to make a timeline about someone who went to school between a certain period of time, which was so interesting and allowed me to learn more about education in that particular period of time.
2. Social Constructions of Childhood covers mainly the history of education. This is also a very interesting subject as it teaches us about where education comes from and how it has evolved over time.

These first two subjects are the only two subjects we have exams for in our first year.

3. The Young Child in Education is a as it sounds really, it is only focused on early years education which is not exactly suited to me but allowed me to make a decision about where I wanted to focus my teaching career in.
4. Inclusion Through Professional Practice is the most difficult to get your head around at first. It looks at all different educational policies and also focuses on disability studies at points. I really enjoy this subject as a whole and the assessments are really suited to me. We had to do a poster presentation and an annotated bibliography to accompany this, and I have just handed in my critical essay for this module(which is not as suited to me as the presentation).

Good luck in whatever you decide!

So there's a quick insight into Education Studies as a whole. I know from experience, that looking at all for the education and teaching courses is a bit daunting and can confuse people(it did me!). I hope this blog post gives you a good idea into the course and helps you to make a decision about your university career!

April Fools!

April Fools Day is not my favorite day of the year, no one like to be pranked!

I am officially assignment FREE! Today I finished and handed in my final two assignments of the year and I am so relieved because I have been working on them all month! I am not technically work free as I do have two exams coming up in May(I'm not sure on the dates of them yet though)!
I enjoy revision for exams more than I do writing essays though I have to say, I get so bored writing essays, especially when it's nice outside like it has been today!
Oh well, summer starts here for me!
It seems crazy that I have almost finished my first year at university(minus exams), I actually move out of my halls of residence tomorrow and as much as I've enjoyed my time living here, I honestly cannot wait to be back home and eating home cooked meals!!

So.. yeah I have about four and a half months off from uni for the summer, as exciting as that sounds I do have to work to afford to pay for everything I have planned over the summer..so it's not just going to be lazy days all the time.
I guess this is the last post I will write sitting at my desk in my little room and honestly, I'm quite glad. I don't want to put anyone off staying in halls when they come to university because obviously that's the done thing(unless you commute). However, it's definitely not for me. I am so glad I have done it and experienced it for the first year but as I may or may not have already told you, I am commuting to uni next year. I am one hundred percent a home girl and I only live 40 minutes from Bedford anyway so that's the plan for next year.

I am also so annoyed that I haven't mastered how to cook certain things..for example spag bol...I still cannot cook it and I have given up trying!

Bye Bedford..Hello Home!