Work/Social life balance

Hi everyone, I hope you're all doing well and enjoying your summer holidays/exam leave.

I've just got back from my holiday and I'm off again tomorrow how exciting!!!

Anyway, this post is going to be all about how I juggle my time between work and social life whilst at university and also why it is important to get involved in different activities.

As you all know I commute to university, however this has only been since I started my second year I did live in halls of residence for my first/fresher year. I personally would not commute for my first year of university as I think this really makes it a struggle to meet people and socialise as you'll only be seeing your course mates in lectures. Of course after a while you'll get to know people and establish friends but I think you'll really be distancing yourself if you live too far away to go on those crucial first nights out.
Not only the nights out but you must take time to attend all of the fresher events as this is where you're going to meet some of those lifelong university friends that you will never meet otherwise. People from different courses, all sorts of people. Get yourself involved in every activity going even if you're not that keen you need to be sociable and approachable so that you can have the best chance at meeting some really great people in those first few weeks of moving in.

The balance is difficult, however when you're at university if you want to make sure you can attend every student night all you have to do is make sure you get a weekend job as these always take place during the week and that way you'll never miss out. Although if you are a home person and want to be visiting home at the weekends you'll certainly need to budget you money well in order to be able to not have a part-time job whilst you're at uni. I simply could not afford to live without a part-time job, student finance didn't even cover my rent so I already had to find money for that elsewhere. It was very difficult and I was so thankful for my parents helping me out because otherwise I'd of lived of tins of beans, literally.
The balance between university work and your social life is a lot easier I think because most social events at university happen at night and are mainly nights out. I think as long as you don't overdo it you'll be able to keep on track of work and have a decent social life whilst you're at university.

I don't agree with this image I found, I think as long as everything in your life is balanced you can have a good social life, as well as good grades, time with family and even enough sleep. Just know when other things should come first and don't be silly about it. 

My main piece of advice for this post however, is to put yourself out there when you move to university. Although this may mean you being out of your comfort zone, really that's what uni is all about. Being independent and living by yourself is one of the best things about university as you really find out how difficult it is and everyone grows up when they move away I think.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post.

Until next time,

M

Exams are next week!!!

I have just realised that my exams are next week, and that has given me a lot to think about...for a quite a few reasons.




1. I feel like I need more time to prepare even though I am all revised out I still want more time, but I suppose that's always how it goes. I cannot believe I have turned my whole revising attitude around, all those years at school I had such a laid back attitude towards revision and generally always decided that going out for lunch or anything other than revision was more worth my time.. But from doing a-levels and now am at university level I have realised that achieving a first does not come without some hard work.




2. I will no longer be a fresher. This I'm not so scared about because I realise that I'm only two years away from gaining a degree and that's the one and only reason I am at university, to get my all important degree to put me in the right direction to having my dream job and career. So I guess I'm glad I wont be a fresher anymore, and to be honest I don't think I could cope with another fresher's fortnight again..non-stop partying takes it out of you!




3. My summer holiday is less than five weeks away! This time in five weeks I will be laying by the pool in the sun, without any kind of exam thought in my head.. BLISS!




4. My birthday is soon...ish! That's always a good thing.




5. I have the whole summer of no uni work, this is such a nice feeling. Summer is my absolute favourite time of the year, I am so excited to catch up with friends and just have a brilliant summer with everyone I love!



Those are all of the current thoughts that are going through my mind right now, first and foremost revision but after next week it will be the thought of a relaxed and enjoyable summer at home.

Third Term!

Ok, so I guess it's time to start thinking about my 3rd and final term as a first year at the University of Bedfordshire. It's not much of a term to be honest for me because we have one final week of revision lectures and that's it. Most people will probably stay in Bedford until their exams are finished but I've made the decision to go home after the last teaching week and then drive to Bedford for my two exams.
As for preparation, I think I am as prepared as I can be at this stage, I feel a little skeptical about my exams at this point but I think after I have attended the revision lectures I will feel a lot more comfortable and ready to sit my exams in May.

My Easter break has been jam-packed! I have actually managed to bag myself a job back home which is great as I have a lot planned over the summer and therefore need money! I feel like I have been at home for absolutely ages so goodness knows what I'm going to do with myself all summer. Work , work and work I suppose..oh and go on holiday..

I have been asked to talk about when I applied for university in this blog post which has actually proved quite interesting for me because it snow feels like a lifetime ago! My decision was pretty easy when it came to narrowing down to my firm and insurance choices. I knew I wanted to stay close to home and all of my university choices were within an hour away from where my family and I live. I picked all of the same courses 'Education Studies' for each university and therefore all I had to decide on was the university and halls of residence. I chose Bedford for a few reasons, 1: the halls are so nice and clean, 2: the university is also very nice and small which I liked, 3: the lecturers I met where all so friendly and welcoming and 4: it was my all round favourite university that I had visited. I wasn't fussed whether I got my firm or insurance choice purely because they were both as good as each other and meant I would be doing the exact course that I wanted to do.

The inside of my accommodation in Bedford, and yes it actually does look like this! 

The entrance to Liberty Park. 

I want to stress that it's not all about the stats and figures(it is partly) but you have to like the university you are looking at, one thing I think every applicant should remember is to not settle for second best. Aim high and do not be afraid to come out with your insurance choice, so choose wisely everyone!

Good luck with your UCAS applications and Happy Easter to you all!

Easter Update!

Ok so I thought I would give you all an Easter break update....

Number one, I've realised I'm pretty much moved home forever now...how crazy is that?!

I have one more week after Easter that I have to go back for which I'm pretty sure is just for revision lectures and a top up before we have no more contact with uni until October! I cannot believe that my contact time with university finishes this early!
One benefit of being a student is definitely the time we get after our exams to relax, although mine hopefully wont be spent relaxing as I am going to try my hardest to get a job that gives me lots of hours so I can save up and have fun throughout my summer, I would hate to be bored and money less for the whole of my time off!

As for my Easter holiday plans;

• I suppose it's going to have to involve lots of revision, I'm going to revise until I can no longer stare at my books and notes for.
• I'm going to see Miranda Live Tour. I bought my mum tickets for Christmas so I'm definitely looking forward to that!
• Catching up with friends that I haven't seen since Christmas! 
• Probably a few nights out thrown into the mix...just for good measure! 
• Spending much needed time at home getting settled back into home life and knowing that I'm not moving away again in a few months time. 

I will be sure to give you an update late on into my Easter break to see just how well these plans are going and whether I have managed to stick to each of them or if some of them aren't quite going as well as I had hoped for. 

I expect you are all revising like crazy for your A-Level exams and praying you've done enough to get into university next year!

Happy Easter and Happy Revising (if that even exists)!