Books are SO expensive!!!

So, as most first years do I decided to buy every single book I was told I 'needed' before I started university, which was a mistake!

Take it from me, you definitely DO NOT need every single book you are advised to get. My biggest piece of advice is to wait until you get to university and see for yourself what books you need and also don't listen to everyone else because every person is different and one book may work for your friend but will be useless for you. Take your time and research the books that are really worth purchasing.

Also, one of my mistakes was buying books that are also available as eBooks for FREE. So I bought books for £30/£40 which I could've got for free.Yep, quite annoying.
Another thing is that if you end up going to the University of Bedfordshire, the library is the biggest library I've ever seen with every kind of book you could ask for, you don't really need to buy any books if you don't want because the library is such a huge source of information.

One good thing for me was that I got given a £300 gift card when I started my course for John Smith's bookshops which is used by a lot of universities and that meant I didn't spend hundreds of pounds of my own money, however some people aren't lucky enough to be given such a luxury and £300 is a lot of money to be spending on books that you can get access to for free!

I'm not saying don't buy any books they're all useless because they're certainly not useless, some are extremely useful and I wouldn't have passed any of my assignments if I hadn't opened up a book but I know students don't have hundreds to spend on books when they need money for food. So definitely wait until you get there and see what you have available to you in terms of vouchers, money off, libraries, online resources etc. There is so much put on a plate for students that is never used but could be the different of a first class degree to a second.

There are loads of offers for students like NUS cards which allow us money off in so many stores so it's definitely worth a search around for what is available for students and see what you can do to help yourself out.

If you find anything I already haven't then let me know ha!

Semester 2!

Well that's that then, back to uni and I am already well into semester 2!

I've been thrown into the deep end this term and have been preparing for my first two assignments already this week. I have a PowerPoint presentation coming up at the end of January which I am really looking forward to as I love designing things and being creative rather than just writing essays all the time!
So I can tell this term is going to be a whole lot easier than my previous one, and that is definitely due to the fact that I am no long a 'newbie'. I feel so much more comfortable around uni now, I know where everything(well most things) are in terms of my lecture/seminar rooms which is great because I no longer get lost around campus, ha!

After having a long break over Christmas I was slightly worried that I wouldn't be able to get myself motivated into university life again because I've been so used to home comforts but, it's really not been that bad, so I am a very happy student!

I think a huge part of my happier self is down to moving flats. I'm no longer surrounded by horrible people and I just feel so much more at ease and very happy which is how I thought I was always going to feel after I had settled after the first few weeks of moving in. I guess I got bad luck, someones gotta have it I guess!
Everything's worked in my favor now anyway which is always a bonus!

It's coming to the stage now that everyone is choosing their living accommodation for next year, and I've been thinking long and hard about this decision and have come the the conclusion that I am going to commute from home for my next 2 or 3 years at university, not because I'm not enjoying myself but because I will save a lot of money! Now the decision is to do so by car or train...

I think if I choose train I'll get frustrated with having to time it right with the uni bus and it will also waste a lot of time rather than being able to just roll out of bed and go which to be honest sounds a lot nicer and easier to me.

My little car!

Megan.

New Year!

So as you can all tell by the title of this post it is officially 2014 and I am looking forward to this year for a number of reasons:

1. A fresh start in my new flat at uni. I don't know if I've already mentioned to you all that I have moved flats due to nastiness in my old one and I am so excited to live with nice people after having to live with a flat full of girls who talk nothing but horrible things about each other. Plus I'm moving to the complete opposite side to where my old flat was so I will hopefully not have to bump into those girls again, or not very often anyway! 

   

   This image shows where I used to live and where I live now, couldn't be further away from the bad flat which is so good!
2. I have a lot of exciting things planned in terms of summer holidays etc.I know the summer is far away but at least it's 2014 now so my holiday doesn't 'seem' as far as it did when it was still 2013. Oh how the mind works haha!  

   

   Hopefully somewhere like this...Probably not though, student problems!

   3.  I am looking forward to being exam free after April, and I am also really excited for post exam celebrations back home with my friends!
   4.  I am excited to see what October brings in terms of starting my second year and getting a bit more stuck into teaching with placements and being able to choose subjects for myself rather than having them chosen for you, which is what happened in my first year. Second year sounds exciting although I can't quite believe how quick first year is going! I need more time to revise for my exams ahhhhh!

Until next week!

Christmas Motivation..........

As I had imagined...it is SO SO SO difficult to get myself motivated throughout the Christmas break... I am struggling to say the least.

The problems are that, most of your mates come back from uni too so they want to do stuff with you all the time, you need to see family as well cause you may not have seen much of them since you went off to uni, boyfriends etc. It's all too exciting and happy to be doing work well that's what I think anyway!

I am going to split this blog post into two separate parts.. one for exciting christmassy things like what presents I got and what festivities I have been doing and the second about how far I've come on my assignments that are due in January...Kill me!

Part One

I GOT MY FIRST BLUE BOX!!!

So, as you all have probably guessed my main present came in a blue box!! I got a Tiffany necklace which was something any girl would want, I was so surprised and I am so happy with everything I have received this year as I am ever other year.

Christmas is nearly over... :(

Christmas feels like it's flying by... I decorated this tree by the way ha!
There's been a lot of family and friend meet ups and just in general seeing people and doing things back home. I haven't been working because I didn't fancy working Christmas day and new years eve which I obviously have to work in a pub so i thought I just wouldn't go back and just chill and have a Christmas off! Very nice!










Part Two

For some strange reason, I don't think this part of the post will be that long. Basically I've done one assignment and then not started another...but to be honest at least that's one down, one to go!
But yeah, Christmas holidays are great as per usual and I am just always happy seeing as it's Christmas.

CHRISTMAS!

Hello Everyone!


I guess I should start this post with saying a big Merry Christmas to you all!

Moving on...I am currently doing my Christmas reading for my upcoming modules in January along with buying and wrapping a lot of Christmas presents..haven't done too bad on a student budget I have to say!

One of the things I have learnt this semester is that keeping up to date on my reading set by my tutors each week is such a great way to ensure that when it comes to writing my assignments I am not stuck for things to write..which was the main problem I had when writing my first ever university assignment...it was difficult at times! Although, saying that I have had my first essay grade back which was actually for this particular assignment and I got a C+, which I was quite happy with. Alongside my A- for my presentation grade I have had a great start to my university career.

I am looking forward to getting back into my studies in January and I have high hopes for a good end to my first year at university. Aiming high!

Hope you all have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you in 2014!

End of Semester 1!

Hi Guys,

So as you can tell by the title of this blog post, I have reached the end of my first ever semester at university and I can tell you it has been a great start! I have finished all four of my first assignments which I have to say, is such a great feeling!

It's definitely been a big change moving to university and I may have struggled at the start, but I am so thankful for my place here and my course is brilliant! It is safe to say that I have made a good decision here, and I am looking forward to next semester and even the assignments...as strange as it sounds it is such a good feeling handing an assignment in and after getting my grades back I am extremely happy with myself!
One thing I have learned is that I CANNOT leave my assignments till the last minute anymore and I ALWAYS have to plan my time, because trust me, I tried and it was so stressful I would never want to do it again. I am so thankful for all of the 'how to' guides I have been given because I am not the most organised person in the world I have to admit, they are lifesavers!

The essay's are not that scary once you get hold of the hang of things, they are actually really fun to write because you get to have your own opinion more so than at school..(or is that just me?)!

Well, I guess I will leave it here for this week. Hope you all gathered my excitement in finishing my assignments in this post and enjoyed reading!

Placements

Ok, so one of the major things I am going to be doing in second year which is different to my first is that I am going to be going on placements. I am not sure on how many or where, or many of the details actually, all I know is that I am definitely going to be doing one... which is exciting!

I can give you all an insight into why placements are so important and how to get yourself one as I have already done two placements before starting university.

I did both of them at my Primary school which is a small village school and I am glad I chose that school because I feel as though I have eased my way into learning the ways of schools without overwhelming myself by going to a huge school.
So, to get my placement I actually rang up and made an appointment to see the head who then was extremely helpful and scheduled my experience around my timetable, as I was at sixth form at the time. So, we worked out that I would do every Monday until I needed to knuckle down and revise for my A-Level exams.

It is SO important to get some experience behind yourselves not only in teaching but if you;re studying nursing, any kind of degree really, employers love experience and voluntary is a good sign that you're passionate and willing to work hard to get where you want to be.

I would say these are the best tips(that I can come up with anyway) on how to get yourself a placement;

1. Write a letter to the school to initiate your interest in doing some work experience there
2. Ring the school and ask to schedule an appointment with the head, or whoever deals with helpers coming in
3. Research the school before you go into meet who ever they have said you should meet so that you give yourself an advantage and get some background knowledge on the school and its history and goals/aims
4. Dress appropriately 
5. Be able to start immediately and make yourself as available as possible(but do not put placement before your studies!)
6. Make sure you know the name of the person you are meeting with
7. Look interested and on the ball, as if you know what to expect
8. Encourage your interviewer about why you are looking for such work experience and ensure they are aware of how much you want the position

They may seem like commonsense to some people but others may not have a clue how to dress/behave when being interviewed for a potential job. I do hope these tips help some of you and perhaps even encourage you to go out there and look for some placements for yourselves. It does feel good to already have some experience behind myself.