Birthday Celebrations and Another Holiday on the Cards?!

As you may have already guessed it was my birthday on Thursday! I had a wonderful day and got spoilt rotten! I have been celebrating, I went out last weekend and last night I went to BBQ with some uni friends which was nice to catch up and see them, it ended up to be a really good night!
I turned 19 which is a boring age I suppose, I had my big 18 last year which was a very big celebration and to be quite honest I didn't want to stop being 18 ha never mind!

Some more exciting summer news, my cousin and I might be booking a last minute holiday at the end of August. We had always planned to go away together and we both really want to go on holiday so fingers crossed that all comes together and we actually go!

I've started my reading for next year, and by started I mean very briefly, but still it's not just sitting there! I can't really give you an insight into what I'm going to be learning about be the books are about a lot of things. However, if I do get to study the two options I've picked I can tell you that I will not have any exams next year, well none that involve sitting in a cold hall for two hours writing non-stop and coming out with a cramped hand and a rumbling stomach... Yeah, none of that kind!
As you all know I've done that deliberately because I am the world's biggest exam hater and I can't bear to sit another endless exam next year, I'd much prefer to have coursework and assignments as it means I can work on them for a long period of time and don't have to use my useless memory to do well!

I hope all of your summers are going well, I bet you're all off on party holidays(I was in Magaluf this time last year) celebrating the end of A-Levels before you all separate and head to university for your new adventures!

Well, have fun doing whatever you're doing and I shall speak to you next week in my video blog... Exciting!!!

I can't wait for you all to see it, I've worked hard on it and hope you all enjoy watching something a bit different on my blog!

Speak to you next week!

Making choices!

Hi everyone!

Seeing as it's the time of the year that A-Level students are sitting their all-important exams that decide whether you'll be getting into your favourite uni, your second choice or going through clearing (preferably not this option), I thought I would dedicate this blog post to narrowing down my UCAS choices front five to just two...and as you who have already done so know this is extremely difficult for a person like myself who picked several courses at the same university.



I say it's hard to make a decision if you're someone like myself, however, at least I was one hundred percent sure on the university I wanted to go to rather than having to choose between unis, yet, I had to choose between courses. I knew from about the end of year 12 which is the first year of sixth form, that I wanted to take the teaching route for my career, and therefore this meant that I had to apply for universities on UCAS, because let's face it there's a degree for everything nowadays, in fact it's more common to have a degree than to not in this era! So I went to look at some universities close to home because I knew I wanted to be closer rather than miles away from home. I ended up loving the university of Bedfordshire's Bedford campus which is where all teaching courses take place and I also liked the look of Northampton, but not as much as Bedford. So, I went ahead and applied for two courses at the university of Northampton and three at the university of Bedfordshire. When it came to deciding on my final two choices I was STUCK. I had applied for the course 'Education Studies' at both Bedford and Northampton but I had also applied for Early Years and the Young Child in Education at Bedfordshire as well, which weren't the courses I wanted to do. I had to decide on the course or the university and eventually I decided on the course and put Bedfordshire as my first choice and Northampton for my insurance, both for the course I was most interested in: 'Education Studies'.

I am SO glad I decided to pick the course over the university itself because at the end of the day the course is what we are all there for. Even though, I got my first choice I would have been happy studying the same course at a different university as I knew it was the right degree for me and I've definitely made the right decision because I LOVE my course!

Of course you've got to like the university you're going to be studying at otherwise your experience will not be great, you should pick universities and courses to suit you and you alone, it's not anyone else's decision but yours. My main piece of advice would be to go to LOTS of open days even to universities you're not overly keen on; you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and you may well have a completely different view of that university once you have seen it for yourself. Oh, and don't pick a uni just because your friend is, you can stay in touch with that friend and, trust me, you'll meet plenty new ones!

Trust your instinct and go for the course and university that you are completely sold on, good luck in your exams!!

It's Easter!

Hi everyone, well the first week of the Easter break is over and it's safe to say I have enjoyed being home! There has been lots of catching up with friends and family but also a lot of revision for my exams that are at the end of May!

As for how the exams work in your first year, you have to go to a hall in Bedford to take them rather than at the university itself, I'm not sure why I'm afraid!
The best thing about these exams, and also what makes them so different to school GCSE'S or A-Levels is the fact that I have been given the questions for them, which is so much better than going in without any idea of what could come up... My revision style is completely different to school, which is good because I was quite worried that I'd have to go back to revising like I had to at school, I didn't want to have to do that because let's just say I'm not the best at sticking to revision schedules. It's different and more suited to me because I have to write my essay for the exam and memorise the essay and theorists so that I can go into the exam and write my essay after setting out my plan.
We also got to have a look at the different options we can choose to take next year which was really good for me because I have one main problem and that is that I do not take well to exams and exam conditions, I don't know why but I have never done well in exams(even my A-Levels!). By getting an insight into the options it allowed me to see what topics involve exams and which do not, this is such a bonus... However, I am going to make sure that I do not exclude certain topics just because they have exams! So, deciding time is after Easter I think and I know that I'm going to take digital technology for sure as I'm interested in this more than others, I can't quite remember other topics but I know for definite there are these two; SEN( Special Educational Needs) and lifelong learning, just to give you all a little look into what you could study in your second year of Education Studies.

As well as revision, I went on a trip to London with my family to see a comedy show at the O2! It was hilarious and was a nice break from revising the whole time. I also caught up with some friends from uni last week which was nice!

It is so strange to think that I have nearly finished my first year of uni, I can't quite get my head around the fact that this time last year I was trying to decide where to go! When people tell you time flies when you're at university, they definitely are not lying..trust me! I had no idea it would go this quickly. Uni was definitely the right decision for me, but it isn't for everyone I admit. I'm so glad I have had the opportunity to study for a degree and eventually get to my goal of being a teacher.

That's all for now. I'll update you on my second week of the holidays next week!