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!

I got a puppy!!

Yep, this is a picture of my new puppy, bit of a different way to start the blog this week! She is the cutest thing I think I have ever seen! Four days before my birthday as well, is there anything better?!

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At this point I am waiting on a lot of things. Timetable for next year, whether or not I've been given the choices I like and just an insight into what second year is going to bring!
I've got an update for you all this week;

• I am going to be posting my last ever blog post for the year on the 4th August 2014 so look out for that one.

I can't believe I've already finished my first year of university. It has gone so so quickly it's untrue I feel as though it's flown by and I can barely remember back to my moving in day...scary! 

Everyone always said uni goes quick but I guess you never really know exactly what somethings like until you try it! 

I'd like to encourage all of you to start your own blogs just for your own benefit as I have spent the day reading over all of my posts and it's so interesting to read back on, it's like a diary of my whole first year which is so interesting! 

If you enjoy writing and using your imaginations definitely give it a go and maybe this time next year you'll all be in my shoes reminiscing over your first years at university! 

Need to get motivated!!!

I have got plans to do some university work soon as I am feeling like I have neglected it a little up until now, so I shall tell you all about those!

Now, I don't want you all to think that I'm being lazy and not doing anything...I just haven't had time. We got our reading lists through for second year a couple of weeks back but I've barely had the time to even look at it I've been working so much! However, it's not as though I've left it months and months to start planning for my second year, I'm very dedicated to university and that is why I am working so much, so that I can save my money for petrol as I am commuting next year.

I got a new job about a month ago and even though it's only a small contract I have been given hours nearly every day which is great, I can't complain about extra money especially as I would hate to be sitting around at home all summer.

My plan is to get all of my reading done before I go back to university because we have been given the reading list for next year so I definitely think I should get a good head start and be ready for university this time. I honestly did not feel ready for uni last year and I don't know whether that's something that all freshers feel but anyway.. I did!
So, I'm going to get my head into the books and hopefully then I will feel ready to start my second year and as I have most probably mentioned before do better than I did last year, because although I was happy with my results last year I do still think if I hadn't been as wrapped up in nights out I would have done that bit better, even though they weren't every night I admit I got talked into going out sometimes when I really didn't want to!

I doubt you'll get to hear about what I'm going to by studying next year as I'm not sure if the blogging will be carrying on. I will let you all know as I would love to carry on posting as much for you guys as for myself.
At first I didn't think doing this blog would benefit me that much however, I was very wrong. As much as I hope it gives you all a good idea of university life and studying teaching etc, it allows me to reflect back on my weeks at university and I am really excited to finish my blogs for the year and then read back over them all, I have stopped myself from doing so and I have mainly been posting and not looking back because I want to leave it all for afterwards so I can look back and remember my first year.

I will let you know before I finish blogging if I will be carrying on next year, fingers crossed!

That's all for now, next week you will have my video post so look out for that!

An insight into my Second Year!

Today myself and everyone else carrying on through to their second year of studying education studies received emails telling us about our reading lists for next year. This may sound uninteresting but actually it's an opportunity for us all to get a head start on what we are all going to be studying.

I am sure I have mentioned in a previous post that we all had to choose two options of our own choices to study next year which I have now had a chance to look at in more depth. However, some of the books are not available as ebooks which means I have to buy them.  

I don't remember ever talking to you all about how important university books actually are... don't think I'm boring because trust me I used to think they were useless but they are soooo not! They were my saviors when writing my essays. I am so not a book person but now I've had to learn to be because there is no surviving university or passing university without opening some books. 

Yep, this is what I felt like my desk looked like a lot of the time...BOOK OVERLOAD! 

But, in all seriousness I am genuinely excited to find out more about what I will be studying in my second year and I think this is mainly down to the fact that I have grown up and learnt a lot throughout my first year and I am now in the complete right mind set to focus solely on my studies and achieve my goals. 

Going to university taught me a whole lot from living by myself to how to write a proper essay, and mainly how important my degree is to me.

Summer update!

So, I haven't really got much 'degree' related to post about this week, so I thought I would tell you all about how my summer is going... which is very well!

The one great thing about being a student at university is the LONG summer..

So:

• I've been on holiday to Spain which was amazing but a week is soooo not long enough!
• I have managed to bag myself two new jobs and I have been able to leave my old one which is great because I was not enjoying it anymore.
• It's my birthday this month..19th which I suppose is quite a boring birthday but I have loads planned, not thing necessarily to do with my birthday, some obviously, but I just have good plans in general at the moment.
• I may be planning a last minute holiday..maybe if I can afford it...I guess student shouldn't go on holiday twice a year should they...save save save! 
• I'm getting bored sometimes...long summers are good but not so good when everyone else is still at work/school.

One thing I can tell you all about is that I keep getting notifications about resits in the summer which I don't have to worry about but it's quite interesting because I can tell you all what it would be like if you did have to resit and whether you'd feel all alone because it's the summer and maybe the lecturers don't work in the summer....

WELL...
that's definitely not the case. The resit process is extremely good, lecturers have scheduled dates that they will be available throughout the summer so that students can meet with them and have revision classes which I think is really good, the tutors really care about their students and want them to do well so they give up some of their summers to help and guide those who didn't quite meet the requirements to go through to their second years but are so determined still to achieve their degrees.

There are notifications all the time on Breo about what to revise, the exam questions have been put up and it just seems like they are getting all the help they can get which is really reassuring to me and hopefully will be to all of you guys as well.

So, don't panic you wont be alone if you don't quite make it through.

I hope all of your summers are going well..

BYE! 

What's right for me?

After getting my results and knowing that I am going through to my second year of university I have been thinking a lot about my future career. Back when I chose my UCAS choices and got my acceptance letter through for Education Studies at the University of Bedfordshire a year seemed a long time and now... that year is up!

So, I am kind of weighing up my options at the moment and one of those BIG choices is whether to specialise in Primary or Secondary education. This has always been so unclear in my mind for a number of reasons..

1. I work so well with young children from my past experiences at Primary schools, however I have never had work experience at a secondary school so perhaps I should look into gaining myself a bit more experience in secondary education before I make that decision.
2. I like the idea of specialising in one subject and teaching it in many different ways and forms to secondary ages.. I think this would be so interesting especially because I would get to teach my favourite subject and wouldn't have to worry about those I don't like so much. I love the idea of teaching English/media studies which are similar subjects.

I have a while to decide.. well really I don't have to decide until I study my PGCE after my degree however I would like to have an idea of what I am going to be doing in the near future before then. 

DECISIONS DECISIONS DECISIONS!!!

I thought this picture was extremely fitting for this post, so I shall leave you all with this.. until next time!

Through to second year!

Hello there!

So I got some extremely exciting and weightlifting news yesterday....

I PASSED MY FIRST YEAR!!!

I got the results back for my two exams, they were average results , which means I have now passed all four of my modules for my first year of university and I can continue into second year. 

I am so thankful I passed, realistically I think I probably could have done better than I have during my first year, although I'm not disappointed with my results I know if I had been just that bit more focused I would have done better. Not that it matters overall at the end of my degree. First year only counts to get into second year and has no input into the score of my full degree. I think this may have been a factor in why I decided to rush a couple of assignments that were due in for the next day and go out when I had finished. 

I'm not saying I was a party animal or anything...cause I am so not one of those...I just probably could have planned my time better so that I didn't have to decide whether to go out or finish my assignment. 

However, saying all of this, I do think that freshers should allow themselves to have the 'fresher experience', all be it I decided not to go crazy and get drunk every single night but I certainly allowed myself to go out and have a good time when I felt like it. I was never the person that went out even if I didn't feel like I wanted to. University for me was never and is never going to be about the party. My mindset is that I'm there to get my degree and achieve the career that I desire, but there's nothing wrong with a night out every week or two(that is part of being a fresher at the end of the day). 

Evidence of a good fresher night out!

I am now waiting for the conformation of whether I get the choices I picked for next year and fingers crossed I do because passing my first year has given me such a buzz about my second year. I am so ready to knuckle down and get my head stuck into some placements at some schools. 

This year has gone so quickly in some ways but in others it has dragged on, it dragged because I had to move flats as my first flat mates were all girls and I am sure you all know how nasty girls can get especially if you don't 'fit' into their crowd, and in others it flew by because after moving flats I had a much better experience living at uni.

It's all a learning curve is all I can say!